Dear Author » poll

Poll: Would you read a book featuring protagonists of non English speaking origin?

Jane — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:00:32 +0000

Primarily the books published in English are about English speaking characters. Is there a market for stories about characters who speak another language? And would it really matter if the story is written in English (i.e. the dialogue is all translated?)

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The Mother of Modern Paranormal Romance?

Jane — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:00:46 +0000

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I was perusing the HarperCollins catalog and came across the entry which noted Christine Feehan’s Dark Prince was going to be re-released in hardcover with 100 additional pages. I don’t know if this is a rewrite or just extra material.

I mentioned on Twitter that I thought Christine Feehan was the mother of Paranormal Romance. Others disagreed. Michelle Hauf, for example, thought Kenyon or Maggie Shayne and Susan Sizemore pointed toward Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s St. Germain books:

I would say that Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s St. Germain books are the first paranormal romances & rest of us are Quinn’s children.

BuriedbyBooks posited that Laurell K Hamilton popularized paranormal romantic elements and Feehan moved those elements from fantasy to romance.

Kenyon’s Fantasy Lover was published in 2002. Laurell K Hamilton’s first book, Guilty Pleasures, was published in 1993. I started reading LKH with Blue Moon, published in 1998. Maggie Shayne’s vampires were introduced in 1993. I am not very familiar with Shayne’s works.

The reason I place Feehan as the mother of PNR is because so many of the elements of her Carpathian series can be found in other series. Dark Prince was first published in 1999 by Dorchester. For example, Feehan’s Carpathians were primarily male. After 200 years of existence, a Carpathian male begins to lose his sanity. He can no longer see in color, loses sexual desire and the ability to feel emotions. All of these things are aroused once they find their mate. They mate for life. The link between the male and female is both in body and in mind.

Carpathians hunted vampires, or Carpathians who had gone rogue. Vampires went rogue when they hadn’t yet found their mates. When the darkness overtakes a Carpathian male, it can be alleviated temporarily when in the act of killing another. At this point, a “good” Carpathian will kill himself by seeking the sun. A bad one turns rogue and becomes the prey of the Carpathian. There are few Carpathians because the lack of females and thus, the lack of progeny.

Carpathians can shapeshift, speak telepathically, and some have special other powers.

JR Ward and Lara Adrian are two popular authors who use variation on of the Carpathian myth. From Ward’s glossary:

transition n. Critical moment in a vampire's life when he or she transforms into an adult. Thereafter, they must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive and are unable to withstand sunlight. Occurs generally in the mid-twenties. Some vampires do not survive their transitions, males in particular. Prior to their transitions, vampires are physically weak, sexually unaware and unresponsive, and unable to dematerialize. (my emphasis)

In Adrian’s series, the Breed vampires hunt down Rogue vampires, bloodsuckers who have given into their bloodlust. There are few Breeds. Conception for females is rare and the women breedmates, a human gifted with unique blood and DNA properties, are cherished. The Breed vampires consisted solely of males.

The Carpathian stories are almost completely stories of heroes in pursuit who have serious territorial issues much like the Adrian and Ward men. While the “alpha male tamed by the love of a good woman” existed prior to Feehan, I think she popularized it (along with Stephanie Laurens) and to some degree this trope permeates the mate filled paranormal romance series.

Of course, the myths in Ward and Adrian’s themes can be traced to other books but I see echoes of the Feehan series in many paranormal romance books published since 1999.

Who do you see as the “mother” of paranormal romance? Any one in the poll? Someone who is excluded? None of the above? A mixture (that’s too easy!).

Last Minute Holiday Gift Guide & Poll

Jane — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:00:21 +0000

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Do you buy books as gifts? There’s something wonderful about sharing one’s love for reading with another, particularly kids. Here’s my last minute holiday book gift guide. Share yours!

Pre K to 1st grade: Nora Gaydos “Now I’m Reading” series. I like the collection of 10 books which help your child build her phonics skills. The books are to be read by the child and upon finishing the book, the child can place a sticker on the front. There are forty stickers, four for each book. The end of the book contains exercises to aid in reading comprehension such as questions about the content, rearranging sentences, and filling in the blanks.

I also love the Letter Bingo game by Gaydos. The kit contains four tab slide Bingo cards and an Alphabet spinner. It’s fun for adults to play with the kids.

Slightly Older Child: The books by Grace Lin are simply wonderful. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a take on a fantasy story where one girl goes on a journey to find the Old Man of the Moon to change her family’s fortune. The Year of the Rat and The Year of the Dog are two semi autobiographical books about a young girl named Grace and her middle school experiences being a Chinese American. The lessons that Grace learns about being confident in herself and being kind to others regardless of their appearance is one for kids of all races.

Teenage Girl: Forget the Twilight books. Not only have those girls probably already read those but there are really good stories out there that are more female positive. Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games and Chasing Fire as well as books by Justina Chen Headley or Sarah Dessen.

Adults: Last Night I Dreamed of Peace is the diary of a North Vietnamese female doctor, her encounters with enemy troops, and her dream of peace. Her diary was found by an American soldier who was charged with clean up. He read the diary and could not destroy it and instead violating military regulations, sent it to a friend. Thuy, the doctor, passionately believed in the North Vietnamese cause and has many an unkind thing to say against the American soldier, but it’s a poignant story about war and the cost that it inflicts on both sides. I’m not a big war book reader but I was captivated by this story.

If your friend likes fiction, I’ve been hearing awesome things about Stieg Larsson’s series starting with Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I have this book set aside as part of my holiday reading.

Stay safe with your family!

Poll: Movies and Books

Jane — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:14:35 +0000

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New Moon was released this past weekend and grossed a whopping $140.7 million. Record shattering. New Moon also debuted at No. 5 on the NYT Bestseller Children’s list and spent 11 consecutive weeks on the list.

There is obviously overlap between the readers and movie goers. So I ask you, will you see a movie of a book you’ve read and conversely, will you read a book of a movie you’ve seen. (I bought Q&A by Vikas Swarup after watching Slumdog Millionaire).

Con Artist Protagonists

Jane — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:00:03 +0000

JMC posted last week about having problems with con artist protagonists. I’ve enjoyed the occasional assassin book such as Kelley Armstrong’s Nadia Stafford series or Barry Eisler’s John Rain series. Jenny Crusie seems to love the morally ambiguous protagonist with books like Welcome to Temptation, Faking It, and Agnes and the Hitman.

I voted in the poll that I sometimes like the con artist or criminal protagonist, but you know, I prefer the non criminal heroes and heroines. What about you?

Can the locale of a book affect your interest in reading it?

Jane — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:54:44 +0000

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I was emailing with someone yesterday about books set in Minneapolis such as Sunshine by Robin McKinley, War for the Oaks by Emma Bull, contemporaries from Susan Johnson and Connie Brockway; the super fabulous Monkeewrench mystery books by PJ Tracy (they have a new one coming out next year!). Some authors really imbue their love for their towns in their books (Beth Kery’s Ode to Chicago aka Daring Time is one of those). One of the fun things about urban fantasy is the re-envisioning of these noted urban areas like Atlanta in Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniel series.

I loved seeing the places that I know reincarnated in fiction works. But there are other areas of the country that don’t interest me as much, like um, the state I currently live in and other nearby cities.

I don’t know that I would be more interested in reading a book set in a particular area but it could turn me off. You?

POLL: Is it important that you can pronounce character names?

Jane — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:00:31 +0000

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There is so much I could write about in terms of names in books (and maybe that will be an upcoming Tuesday post) but for today, we have a poll inspired by author Christina Dodd who tweeted today:

“For you as a reader, is it important that you can pronounce character names?”

Yes is my reply. I will stop reading a book just because of the character’s name.

Poll: What do you like in your heroines?

Jane — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:00:03 +0000

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To give equal time to the women, I present the heroine poll. Do you like your heroines perfect or flawed, physically? Personally, I like both but if I had to choose (and I am making you if you want to vote) for the physically flawed heroine because perfection can be boring.

Really beautiful heroines have their own problems and some authors choose to deal with it such as in The Guardian by Joan Wolf or even to some extent in Surrender of a Siren by Tessa Dare.

From The Guardian:

I bit my lip in indecision, and then I told her something I had never told anyone else-’ not even Stephen. “I have this test I apply to people. I think: If I had smallpox, and my face became scarred, would this person’s feelings toward me change?”

Eugenia said, still in that softly gentle voice, “And that is how you select your friends?”

“Yes. For example, I know that no matter what I looked like, Sir Matthew would still want to hunt with me, and Susan Fenton would still want to gossip with me, and…” I let my voice trail away. “Do you see what I mean?”

Poll: How do you like your heros?

Jane — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:35:48 +0000

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I’ll admit I’m a bit shallow. I like my heroes tall, at least 6′. I think other romance readers must as well because you rarely read about the short hero (even if the heroine is short, the hero must tower over her). Jayne Ann Krentz is about the only author I know who gets away with writing under 6′ heroes (all of hers hover around the 6′ mark). Wes, a hero in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series underwent a height transformation. I believe he was around 5′ 9″ or 10″ and when he starred in his own book, he was 6′. (And no, he wasn’t a teen when he was first introduced). The ideal size for a special forces person is not the giant hulk but someone shorter, more wiry.

In the second story of Jasmine Haynes contribution to Twin Peaks, an anthology which included two stories of hers and one story of Susan Johnson (I don’t recommend this antho btw – the Johnson contribution was awful), the hero turned out to be short and bald. I never finished the story. In talking about this with another reader, it occurred to me that height was more important than looks and it seemed like a good poll question. What do you think?

Poll: Do you like the beginning or the end of the book the best?

Jane — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:25:54 +0000

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I asked this question of Sarah last week at Borders. My initial response was “the end, of course” because I love that feeling at the end of a good book. When I pondered this more, though, I came the realization that I am much more excited to start books than I am to finish them. When I start a book, I am hopeful that I am going to enjoy it. I haven’t yet been disappointed. It’s all new and shiny. So for all the great emotions that I feel at the end of a good book, generally, I like the beginning the best. How about you?

Poll: What Do You Do When You Are in a Reading Slump?

Jane — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:09:27 +0000

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Reading slumps are a bad, bad thing. You start thinking that the genre sucks or that maybe you’ve changed so that the genre no longer appeals to you. You pick up ten books in your to be read pile and they all look horrible. The mere mention of a bookstore makes your lip curl in disdain. Even talking with other readers becomes tiresome. What to do?

Poll: What reasons do old favorite books not work for you anymore?

Jane — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:00:42 +0000

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This coming year will see a lot of re issues of older books. It’s financially convenient for publishers as they’ve already paid the advance on that book. Sometimes, though, our old favorites simply don’t hold up over time. Keishon, Avidbookreader, blogged about her recent re-reading of Sandra Brown’s Tiger Prince. Dated, Keishon wrote, but still good.

For me, I have a mix. I recently went on a re-reading binge of old Linda Howard books. Her Kell Sabin series is one of my favorite series of all time (definitely worth tracking them down on the used bookstore circuit). But I couldn’t re-read Whitney, My Love, without ruining all my electronics from the wall banging that would ensure. I’m convinced that my unholy love for Whitney My Love came from the fact that I was emotionally at the same level of Whitney when I read it in my early teens.

What about you? Old favorites that you can’t bear to re-read?

Poll: Are older heroines under-represented in the romance genre?

Jaili — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:47:21 +0000

At the Popular Romance Studies: International Conference, organised by the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance (IASPR), there was a brief discussion to explore this question: Are older under-represented in the romance genre? If so, why? Good questions.

The average age of heroine in U.S. romance novels is between 24-26 (and possibly younger in historical romance). And yet according to the Romance Writers of America RWA), the biggest slice of romance reader demographics is “women aged 31-49 who are currently in a romantic relationship.” (http://www.rwanational.org/cs/readership_stats#Readers**).

Could it be the same reason why the majority of readers prefer their heroines to be virgins or virginal: reclaim the innocence?

**The Age of Romance Readers

The mean and median age of romance novel readers is very close to that of the general population.

Mean: 44.6 years
Median: 44.9 years

Those aged 31 to 49 are more likely to read romance and comprise 44 percent of the readership.

Golden Era of Romance

Jane — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:35:30 +0000

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McVane has kindly thought up some poll ideas for me. (They are hard, you guys!). I thought this topic was particularly apt given two things. First, there are some readers who believe that the best of romance is in the past and that what is being published today is good but will never live up to the “classics”. Second, because publishing is hurting (and because readers are buying more established authors than new authors), publishers are turning to old standbys, re-releasing and re-packaging books that they’ve already paid on advance on and are written by authors who are now considered a success. To some extent, these repackaged books play on the nostalgia of a reader. I just received a copy of the trade paperback version of Black Silk by Judith Ivory and spent the evening petting it.

Do you think that there is a Golden Era of Romance?

Is It Ever Acceptable for a Published Author to Critique the Work of Another Published Author

Jane — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:10:16 +0000

NOTE: I flushed the poll because there was some confusion about the “PUBLIC” nature of the criticism. I want the poll to reflect the temperature of whether public criticism is acceptable. Sorry for the restart.

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The website mistress of The Season (a place to find out about new historical romance releases) asked this question on Twitter this morning. Many authors I know believe never in saying anything critical of another author’s work in the genre. As a reader, an author saying something negative about the book of another author does not bother me in the least.

Further, one of the biggest complaints I hear about Dear Author is that we are mere readers and don’t understand the craft of writing. It is true that we are a group of readers here and we don’t have intimate knowledge of the craft of writing (although at times I feel like I know more than the writer if the book is particularly bad). Who understands the craft of writing better than a writer?

Appropriate Age for Allowing Girls to Read Romances

Jane — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:53:33 +0000

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I think I was a preteen when I first started reading romances, albeit against my mother’s wishes. I am sure I was only 14 when I read Whitney, My Love. God I loved that book when I was 14. Of course Whitney and my maturity level was about the same so it made perfect sense. I’m grappling with when I will let the tot read romances. I mean, I recognize the subversity of some of these boss/secretary books, but will she?

Is Abortion Acceptable in Romance

Jane — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:01:43 +0000

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Abortion has been fairly taboo in romance. In other words, a heroine has rarely ever seriously contemplated abortion or had one. Would a heroine who had an abortion be acceptable?

Are there too many books published?

Jane — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:49:18 +0000

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There are officially over 400 books published each month and this number only counts print published books and does not take into account digitally published books.

400 seems like a lot, particularly given that we don’t have tons of diversity within the genre. Do we need less books published (and hopefully higher quality) or is the number just right or do we need more books published?

When is adultery acceptable in romance?

Jane — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:40:02 +0000

To me, infidelity and adultery is something that is a flaw that must be overcome in a romance. Related posts: The must have response of a romance hero and bodice ripping All About Romance Reader’s Top 100 Poll Condoms in Contemporary Romance Related posts:

Do You Need the Words “I Love You” in your romance books

Jane — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:18:54 +0000

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This was a topic Keishon blogged about last week. (Thanks Tee!). I recall there being a controversy over Jane Feather’s book featuring Jack and Arabella in Almost a Bride. This was a book published pre Dear Author, but it was a book both Jayne and I liked. The hero, Jack, is a duke and never once says “I love you” to Arabella even though I was convinced (and I believe Jayne was) that he did love her in the end. His not saying those words was in keeping with his characterization which was autocratic and full of superiority.

There is the famous line in Ghost where Patrick Swayze’s character says “ditto” whenever Demi Moore tells him she loves him.

Are the words necessary for you?