Tag Archives: romance novels

SISTER SCRIBES: KITTY WILSON ON LETTING BOOKS BE BOOKS

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My latest articles for Frost (with the exception of my last) have all been based around why I write and read romance. I’ve written about the universality of romance and about how I see the genre as one that gives hope. Today I’m going to talk about something a little more controversial, about why I think the romance genre can have a bad name.

When I was first published I had so much support but I also encountered a lot of bias from friends who were unable to understand why I chose to write romance, dismissive of the genre as pure trash (their words). It is not an uncommon view, even people who love the genre often refer to it as such with a self-deprecating laugh.

But why? I can’t help but think this bias harks back to the birth of the popular romance novel specifically written for women a couple of hundred years ago because delicate female minds couldn’t possibly expect to understand the intricacies of politics, economics, science. The world has moved on from such misogyny, yet despite us recognising today that skill in all sorts of arenas is not gender based, society is still struggling to shift the notion that romance books are somehow lesser, that their readers, and writers, lack erudition. We accept in life that you have to be remarkably skilled to make things look easy and somehow we still don’t apply this to books considered easy reads. I know so many people, women and men, who love to escape with a romance novel precisely because it’s an escape. If a book is effectively providing a haven, you are losing yourself in its world, then it is well-written.

When we look at the romance genre and remove this bias and examine what romance and its broad range of sub-genres really are, we see that it tends to be fiction that centres around friendship and family life with the thrill of romance and often a dash of good sex thrown in as well. They are books that usually put women at the fore (an exception being MM romances). We also know from what is (or certainly was) on the curriculum in schools that it’s largely male-centric books that society deems worthy of reading. If you examine the syllabi when I was growing up, you will see that predominantly books written by men for men about men were considered literature. This contributes to shaping society’s attitudes about what constitutes a good book. Whilst I genuinely believe this is changing now (hurrah!) and particularly within the last decade – women-centric books are now universally accepted as literature – it seems that easy-to-read books about women having fun or getting caught up in romance are still deemed less worthy.

Romance books frequently examine love and affection, how it’s human to crave it; they open up discussions about love, loneliness, sexuality and so forth which allows for conversations about these things to become normalised. They have done this for centuries, from women gossiping about the latest romance in Regency coffee houses to chatter over the water cooler about Christian Grey. And where there is discussion there is education, an increased awareness of others’ (and self) needs and preferences can only be a good thing. There are always lessons to be learned in life about understanding ourselves and others, improving communication and strengthening the relationships we have with people. If romance helps this and the bias against it harks back to attitudes we know are outdated then surely, regardless of personal taste, it’s time for romance novels to be accorded the respect they deserve.

 

 

DIAMOND DEAL AT THE HEART OF ROMANCE

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Like to win sixty romance novels to celebrate RNA60? Jane Cable on how – and why – you can.

Those who follow Sister Scribes will know the Romantic Novelists’ Association is very close to my heart. After all, I’ve made so many friends through it and it’s a wonderfully supportive organisation. But how to give something back? I’m not a committee person… I invariably end up wanting to run screaming from the room… so what to do?

Over a year ago I had an idea. It stemmed from a conversation on the RNA’s private Facebook group and it dawned on me that the RNA had nowhere on the platform to communicate with readers. Surely lovers of romantic fiction would flock to a page to chat about – and with – their favourite authors, especially with the strength of the organisation’s brand behind it.

Several other like-minded people commented on the thread so we got in touch and wrote a proposal for the RNA committee to consider, the result of which was a pilot of the Romantic Fiction Book Club with invited volunteer authors, bloggers and readers. All went well and it made sense for the launch to be part of the celebrations for the RNA’s diamond anniversary. We were given a date at the heart of Romance Reading Month – 14th February – but how to make a splash?

We toyed with Facebook live events and launch parties and various other concepts at the limits of our technical ability and then I came up with a crazy idea. What about a competition to win so many books it would make a massive splash? Sixty books, in fact. And sixty more for individual runner up prizes.

At the RNA last year conference I’d met Charlotte Ledger, editorial director of Harper Collins’ digital first arm, 0ne More Chapter. Heart in mouth I emailed her to ask if there was any chance at all they could provide sixty books. She came back within hours with a resounding yes, telling me her marketing manager would be in touch because she had some ideas.

Not just ideas, as it turned out, but expertise and enthusiasm. The competition could be hosted on their platform, they would administer it and provide promotional material as well as the prizes. I was practically dancing around the table with joy. Now all I had to do was find sixty RNA members willing to give a signed book as runner up prizes.

A post in the RNA’s private Facebook group and within twenty-four hours they were all pledged, which just goes to show what a fabulous organisation it is. As I write this the hard work is continuing behind the scenes to co-ordinate this aspect and the whole admin team is getting involved. The group is already open for new members but on launch day we can really start promoting it and the bookish chat should really take off.

“But how do I win sixty books?” I hear you cry. Simple… the link to the competition is here, and there are a number of ways you can enter. Just make sure one of them is to join the Romantic Fiction Book Club. https://gleam.io/EIObQ/one-more-chapter-and-rna-diamond-anniversary-book-giveaway

My heartfelt thanks go to the team at 0ne More Chapter and fellow admins of the Romantic Fiction Book Club, Lizzie Chantree, Julie Morris, Michele Josie and Ellie Henshaw who have worked so hard to make this competition happen.

SISTER SCRIBES: KITTY WILSON ON WHY SHE WRITES ROMANCE

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I was due to speak as part of a panel on Why I Write Romance at Exeter Literary Festival the other day, and knowing that my Sister Scribes post was due I thought I could write about speaking at such events. Unfortunately, chronic ill health meant I was unable to go and thus my intentions disappeared into the ether.

But all was not lost, jotting down my thoughts on why I write Romantic Comedy I inadvertently wrote an essay of over 3,000 words. Too many for here but I can at least share my number one reason for loving romance with you.

Simply put, I love the sheer humanity of romance. Romance is universal, most of us have a desire to find a partner, someone you can share your life with, grow old alongside. But the ability to be a calm, confident and capable individual in life is often lost when faced with someone you are attracted to, even if you didn’t realise you were attracted to them until you start stammering and the flush of your face is radiating like a beacon.

I’ve learnt that no matter how golden or blessed someone appears to be, they usually share this awkwardness, self-doubt is at its height when it comes to meeting a potential partner, self-sabotage often unwittingly kicks in and age does not always make us worry less.

Oh my god! Did I just say that? I said that out loud? Now I’m going to go home and worry for three days.

The adolescent fear – my face is covered in spots and my sibling did something mortifying in school – they’ll never fancy me now, I may as well never leave the house and just curl up in a corner and die.

The slightly older fret – how can anyone love me with a saggy tummy and too much grey hair, I’m nowhere near as attractive as I was when I was in my twenties (although I’d argue actually you’re heaps more attractive but that’s a tangent I’ll get lost in for hours) they’ll never fancy me now…and repeat.

Romance as a genre reminds us everyone feels like this and we are not alone. The playing field here is level. Romance is relatable. Really relatable.

I love a literary novel and am in awe of how those writers deal with topics of race, gender, class, poverty, abuse, justice and so on and when I read literary fiction I feel clever and worthy because that’s how attitudes over the years have conditioned me to feel but romance is what I want to read.

I want to read about the heroine battling with the mundane, the washing machine that’s broken just as she’s stained her best dress and is due to meet the person of her dreams for their first date. I want to read that the dog has just pinched the dinner our hero or heroine has spent hours slaving over and it is now being vomited up over the living room – these things make me feel less alone, make me feel comforted. They make me feel reassured (and thus able to giggle) about my own life which is largely spent in the house dealing with domestic catastrophes rather than my imagined-and-never-quite-realised life trekking across continents being glamourous.

Romantic comedy reminds me that we all have our insecurities, we all have our everyday tribulations, sometimes we can be our own worst enemy but we are all in this together, we all share these emotions but hopefully, like the protagonists of romantic comedy, each day we grow and with that earn our own personalised happy-ever-after.

Kiss Me Under the Mistletoe By Fiona Harper | Book Review

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Kiss Me Under the Mistletoe is a well written and fun book. Single mum Louise Thornton divorces her philandering movie star husband and buys an old movie stars house. Louise wants to escape the paparazzi and her vacuous former life as a trophy celebrities wife.

Louise is a great character. She has become hardened thanks to her life as a movie stars wife, believing that everyone wants something from her. She has built a barrier around herself but will she manage to grow and let love in?

I read this book at quite a fast pace. It is very readable and flows well. A fun way to spend an afternoon.

Is a second chance at love the best Christmas gift of all? Single Mum Louise Thornton’s waved goodbye to the red carpet and escaped for Christmas in the country. But she can’t avoid the mistletoe…

Kiss Me Under the Mistletoe (Mills & Boon Special Releases)