Dear Author » HEA

Does the romance genre need to be more expansive?

Jane — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 09:00:59 +0000

Some readers have argued in the comments at Smart Bitches that the romance genre definition does not include a happy ever after. I had a long and somewhat contentious debate with Robin over the definition of romance. Her argument is that the academic definition of the genre is that romance is a story that focuses on the love relationship of individuals and results in an uplifting ending for the characters involved in the love relationship.

My definition? A book that contains a love story and ends with the promise of happily ever after.

Robin’s argument is that if the more widely accepted definition was not one that included a HEA, that the ending of books would be more satisfying.

My argument is that authors need not limit themselves by the genre definition as expressed by the readers. Meaning, that if an author is crafting her books to be most reader friendly (depending on whom the reader is), then that is her issue and not one reliant on the genre definition. I read JR Ward’s recent book, “Lover Unbound”, as an answer to her fans, at least a certain segment of her fans. To some fans (me) the book read as a sell out. To others, they will appreciate the changes she made. The ending was unsatisfactory to me, but not because of the genre constraints but because the way in which Ward created the conflict and then resolved it was a) not within the canon of the world she had created before and b) reeked of authorial manipulation. (There were many other problems with the book but the ending is germane to the piece).

I’ve never really understood the concept that an author is confined or limited by the genre. I mean, if you don’t want to end your book with an HEA, why not write the book without one if that fits better for the story. It seems on the one hand, authors are gods. They control the characters, the stories, the endings. On the other, they are constrained by the genre? It doesn’t fit for me. You are either a god over your book or you are not.

Just because a book ends with a “tacked on” happy ever after doesn’t mean that the genre is to blame or the need for an HEA is to blame. It just means the author didn’t deliver. Just because an erotic romance contains a bunch of bad sex scenes doesn’t make the entire sub genre of erotic romance invalid. A poorly written book within a genre does not invalidate the genre itself.

Here is why I like the promise of the HEA. I am willing to give myself over completely to author in a romance. She can take me anywhere because I know, in the end, for all the suffering, pain, separation, unhappiness, that these people will end up together. It makes it all worth it. Now, not every book ends well. Not every romance delivers but the reason I read more romances than any other genre? Because I feel safe in the certainty of the book’s ending. It’s not because life is tough because it is. It’s not because I like to read about the leisure class or lords and ladies or vampires and werewolves. It’s because these journeys that I am on always end the same way – together and happy. For romances, I don’t need to read the back of the book. They all (should) end the same.

I am curious to how others define the HEA; whether it is restricting authors from writing true to their authorial vision; whether the HEA constraint adversely influences the ending (i.e., books end with HEAs that are forced rather than natural); whether a more expansive genre definition would increase the quality of romances; and finally, if you read romances and want the HEA, why?

An Interview with Sharon Shinn

Janine — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 09:00:55 +0000

If there’s one author that Jane, Jayne and I have all enjoyed reading, it’s Sharon Shinn. So when I floated the idea of interviewing her, it was met with great enthusiasm and it quickly grew into Sharon Shinn week here at Dear Author. Of course, the whole thing hinged on the author herself agreeing to be interviewed. Luckily for us, Sharon Shinn said she would be delighted to do the interview. So we sat down togeth– well, no, not really. We sat down at our computers to send the questions and answers back and forth. The result was this interview, here for your enjoyment. — Janine

Tell us a little bit about how you got started writing and how you came to be published.

I wanted to be a writer from the time I was about 8 years old. I wrote my first novel the summer I was 20 and working at a pretty slow-paced government job. Every time one of my co-workers asked me what I was doing, I said I was writing a letter. All summer! But that book was unreadable, and the next few were unpublishable. I finally started hitting my groove in my early 30s.

Still took a while to get anything published. I sent out a few unsolicited manuscripts–one of them languished for two years in the slush pile before it got rejected. Finally found an agent, and it was still three more years of sporadic rejections before my first book sold. But since then, the sales have been pretty steady. So I always tell people I’m the poster child for perseverance.

Which books and authors are your personal favorites? Which books do you feel have influenced your own writing?

Georgette Heyer was my first major influence. I still know a few scenes in her books by heart, and I can tell when newer Regency romance writers quote one of her lines. In the sf/fantasy field, the authors I loved before I started writing were Anne McCaffrey, Patricia McKillip, Robin McKinley (lot of Mc-authors), and Peter Beagle. More recently, I’ve discovered Juliet Marillier in the fantasy field, and a few in the romance field: Suzanne Brockmann, Jennifer Crusie, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

All three of us who write for Dear Author are avid romance readers, and we’ve all enjoyed your books and think that many of them would appeal to readers of that genre, so I want to ask you a few questions about the romantic aspect of your books.

Several of your books have a strong romantic thread or storyline. What is it that inclines you to write about romantic love?

You know, I write the kinds of books I like to read. I read fairly widely, but I always enjoy a book more if a love story is part of it. So while I try to layer on a lot of the fantastical elements of sf/f, and I certainly hope to provide a compelling plot, I usually think the love story is the core of the book. To enjoy the romance again is why I tend to re-read the books I bother to re-read, and the romance is often the part that’s the most fun to write.

Romance Publishers Promises to Romance Readers Part 1: False Promises

Jane — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 09:00:42 +0000

Stay tuned for some exciting features at Dear Author (exciting for us at least). The week of October 2nd through October 8th we will be featuring an interview and several reviews of an author that the Two Ja(y)nes and Janine love. Today marks the first of a three part series on Romance Publishers Promises to Romance Readers. Today’s articles addresses Advertising (the delivery of the promise), next week will feature an article on Branding (the promise), and finally we’ll end with What to Do When a Good Author Goes Bad (or when the promises are broken).

Advertising is the one way that the promise of an author or publisher is delivered to readers. Of course, the writing is the ultimate delivery of the promise that authors and publishers are making but to get a reader to read the promise. In romance, the promise is that there is a committment, a love, between a core group of people. In mainstream romance, generally one woman and one man overcome obstacles to achieve a lifelong togetherness. Publishers deliver the promise a couple of ways:

spine labeling
bookstore placement
advertising online, in trade magazines like Romantic Times, or in bookstore promotions

Way back in May, I questioned whether Kensington was engaged in false promises in the promotion and sale of it to romance readers. The original quote that got the discussion going was smartly caught by Angie W. During an interview with PNR Paraphernalia, Aphrodisia’s Editorial Director stated this:

Audrey L.: While very hot and sexy, Brava still follows the “rules” of traditional romance–"one man and one woman fall in love in the course of the book and arrive at some sort of permanent commitment at the end. Aphrodisia throws away the rules–"anything goes, as long as it's super hot, sexy, explicit, legal, and all about a woman's sexual pleasure. Oftentimes the woman does find and fall in love with her soul mate, but that is not a requirement. However, a happy (or shall we say an extremely satisfying?) ending is a must.

Since that time, other Kensington quotes have come to light.

From Karen Fox’s website (credit Sybil)

Audrey LeFehr buys contemporary romance, historical romance, romantic suspense, women’s fiction, thrillers and Aphrodisia. Aphrodisia is actually erotica, not romance. They are called erotic romance for the booksellers. They’re always looking for talent. You can query Audrey in email, then send in entire manuscript if requested.

From Booklist: Core Collection: Erotic Romance, by John Charles and Shelley Mosley, Kate Duffy is quoted as saying:

In 2006 Kensington launched Aphrodisia, an erotic fiction line. Although it can be difficult to distinguish between erotic romances and erotica, Duffy has a simple yet effective way of separating the two kinds of books. “While there is often a lot of really great sex in an erotic romance, the focus of the story is always on the romantic relationship between the two protagonists. In erotica, while there might be a relationship between the two protagonists, the focus of the story is on the really great sex.”

From both Bookseller Chick and Bookseller Jolie we know that Aphrodisa, Avon Red and Harlequin Spice all categorize their books as “romances” for the purposes of shelving at the bookstore. The more I read this type of blatantly false advertising, the angier I get. Almost all books feature some type of love story but love stories aren’t romances and love stories are not what the romance reader is looking for.

In a recent Romancing the Blog article, Michelle Buonfiglio (she of the NATIONALLY syndicated romance review column), wrote

If the hero and heroine aren't engaged or married by the epilogue, is it really a romance?

I say nope. No way. For me, a romance follows this simple form:

1. Boy meets girl.
2. Girl kicks boy to curb.
3. Boy –" figuratively and/or literally on his knees –" learns he can love without losing his intrinsic masculinity.
4. Boy and girl get engaged, get married, or at very least make it clear they'll probably wed after they've lived together a couple years.

I don't wanna know for nothin' else.

She went on to comment that while she herself enjoys erotica and alternative romances

Let's face some facts, though. I don't promote those alt romances in my column because they aren't mainstream and aren't what the majority of romance readers are buying.

The facts are that Aphrodisia, Avon Red, Harlequin Spice know exactly that they are doing in telling booksellers that the books are romance. They want placement in the romance section where billions of dollars are spent. Not in the self help or sexuality section where few romance readers have EVER looked.

Originally, I thought I would file a complaint with the FTC. The Lanham Act defines false advertising as:

“Any advertising or promotion that misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities or geographic origin of goods, services or commercial activities” (Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 1125(a)).

It’s pretty clear that Kensington is engaged in a blatant violation of federal law which exposes them to fines from the federal government and lawsuits from consumers, possibly even a class action suit. But as I thought about the rights I had as a romance reader, I also thought about authors. Authors have no control over the advertising done by the publishers. A lawsuit or complaint to the FTC may adversely affect the innocent author’s pocketbook.

I think the better thing to do is to write the lines that you care about and tell them that you don’t want books without HEA marketed as romances. I think it is fine for Aphrodisia to include erotica as well as erotic romance but I don’t want to pick up a book labeled “erotic romance” and have it be some chick lit/woman’s fiction novel about one woman’s exploration of her sexuality.

Most every reader who has commented has felt the same way. If you say it is a romance, make sure that the novel includes one unit achieving an emotional committment that implies forever togetherness.

What I find most interesting is that whenever there is a topic like this posted on blogs, authors come out in droves to say “My book really is a romance”. Should an author of a book in the romance section or labeled an erotic romance have to come out and say read me, I’m really a romance? It’s a poor waste of comment space. Their time and energy should be spent saying “Read me, I have an emotionally wounded alpha hero who is scared of love but falls hard for a strong but emotionally vulnerable woman.” Or “Read me because my story is the ultimate in childhood friends awakening to their love for each other when their friendship is threatened by outside sources.” Or “Read me because my vampires are funny as hell as they drink, bite, and fall in love.”

My suggestion is that readers and authors write to the editors of the lines they care about and tell them that if a book is labeled romance or asked to be shelved in the romance section, that it needs to have a HEA. Not a satisfying ending, but an HEA featuring a lifelong committment between the main protagonists.

Avon Red: Executive Editor, Lucia Macro (lucia.macro at harpercollins.com ), Erika Tsang (erika.tsang at harpercollins.com), May/Mai (?) Chen (avonromance at harpercollins.com)

Aphrodisia: Editorial Director Audrey LaFehr, Hilary Sares, or John Scognamiglio. No email addresses were unearthed. Best to send a snail mail. Kensington Publishing, 830 Third Avenue, 16th Floor, New York NY 10022-6222; 212-407-1500; Fax: 212-935-0699. OR you can email the president, Steven Zacharius (szacharius at kensingtonbooks.com). and you could try out that naming convention for all the above editors, ie., alafehr at kensingtonbooks.com.

Harlequin Spice. Susan Pezzack,. 225 Duncan Mill Road, Toronto, Ontario. M3B 3K9 CANADA. No email address found. You could email Katherine Orr at public_relations at harlequin.ca

What do readers think? Should non-romances be shelved with romances? Are authors being forced to assert their book has an HEA? Is it false advertising in your book for a publisher to request its non HEA book to be placed in the romance section?

Next week: Branding (How promises are made)