Comments on: Confess Yourself: Are you a closet category romance reader?

By: medumb

medumb — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 07:28:37 +0000

It has been a long while since I have picked up any of her books, but some of her earlier ones traumatised me when I was younger. LOL
For a partial hint of her earlier work check out the fantastic fiction blurb on her:
link

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:35:37 +0000

@medumb – that sounds ominous but intriguing.

By: medumb

medumb — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:28:20 +0000

Jane if you read a Violet Winspear.. will you read one of her earlier ones and do a review??
I am sure it would be quite entertaining!!

By: Lisa J

Lisa J — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:08:39 +0000

I am definitely a category romance reader. I have been since I was a teenager. I now buy cetain authors instead of just purchasing all in the Presents line each month like I used to do.

It would be great to buy them in e-book form, but I read on both my e-reader and my computer at work, which leads me to the DRM dilemma. So for now I am only buying them in paper form.

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:38:26 +0000

@Teresa – I loved Jayne Ann Krentz’s categories. I don’t think I’ve ever read a Violet Winspear. Any particular title you recommend.

By: Teresa

Teresa — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:06:23 +0000

I’ve read tons of catagory romances, even those Second Chance at love, loveswept, and Harlequins. I did read some Blazes and Intrigues. I loved Betty Neels, Violet Winspear Debbie Macomber and jayne AnNe Krentz’s book the Pirate. I’ve read some good and others that were stinkers. I only pass up a book if it had a title that seemed more strange than the usual billionaire secretery title. I did pass up an Intrigue because it had a title I didn’t care for. I do love some catagories. The only ones I didn’t like were Harlequin next. I thought all the heroines in those acted too dumb for words.

By: Bronwyn Jameson

Bronwyn Jameson — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 03:39:17 +0000

Fabulous post, Jane, and all the comments, wow. I started reading category romance WAY back with Lucy Walker's governesses and cattlemen. For amny a teenage year my only ambition was to be a governess! LOL. You have inspired me to (a) search out some Lucy Walkers, the nostalgia bug has bit me good! (b) compile and post a list of my favourite category books. Bron

By: Jenna Bayley-Burke

Jenna Bayley-Burke — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:24:16 +0000

Christine Merrill said…Modern Extra is the current name of the old “Harlequin Temptation” line, that I was reading when I got hooked on category.

Actually…no…that had been the plan, but line direction now makes them more like Presents for the 18-30 set…younger characters and more based in that generation..

However…Blaze is starting a Blaze Blush series that promises to be more like Temptation…

And Jane wanted reccomendations…lately I’ve enjoyed ::

FLYBOY by Karen Foley (Blaze)
The Spanish Prince’s Virgin Bride by Sandra Marton (Presents…but then, I do tend to worship SM)
Miracle On Christmas Eve by Shirley Jump (Romance)
Seduced for the Inheritance by Jennifer Lewis (Desire)

By: Karen Templeton

Karen Templeton — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:15:14 +0000

Oh, yay! Somebody loves us (sniff). ;-)

I’ve been writing category — Yours Truly, Intimate Moments (non-suspense stuff) and now Special Edition (because I write non-suspense stuff) — for ten years. I’ve also written single title and chick lit, and I’ve never found category restrictive at all in terms of characterization, tone or plot. Sure, the shorter word count forces me to be succinct (and cut at least ten percent out of my first drafts), but I’ve never felt I’ve lost anything by doing so. If anything, getting rid of those extraneous words really helps me get to the meat of the story!

Over the years, I’ve read plenty of category books that have made me swoon with envy because they were so good (Kathleen Korbel, Jenny Crusie, Jennifer Greene, Virginia Kantra, Liz Beverly) and plenty of single titles that weren’t nearly as tightly written, nor as original, as those categories. In some cases, size doesn’t always matter!

And category readers are the best. ;-)

By: Claudia

Claudia — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 08:29:42 +0000

I started reading categories in the late, late 80s during my summer library job. The short length meant I could read a couple each shift and they were mostly a way to pass the time. My teenaged mind thought they might as well have been science fiction with the their British settings and crazy plots :) I never thought they were poor quality though.

I read less category than I used to, but I’m reading less romance in general. I was a Temptation fan that sprinkled Desires and Supers in the mix. It was exciting to see the hotter Desires and Temps lead to Blaze, but I quickly gave up on Blaze beacuse the emphasis on sex scenes resulted in poor plots and decreased sensuality.

Most of my recent category purchases have been Nexts with a few Blazes, Kimanis and SEs in the mix. I haven’t liked Desires since the line changed. I’m sorry to see Next fold, but could tell they weren’t selling well because they were some of the few books still in stock near the end of the month.

My next Category venture is try one of the Nascar books :D I’d probably buy more Categories if the ebooks were cheaper. I know some people compare books to entertainment expenses like movies, but I’m less willing to shell out $4-$6 for something I’ll read once if I complete it at all.