Why I Love Romance...

by Donna MacMeans

I've been in conference mode all week. First with Accounting conferences (zzzzzzz), then - this weekend - the Central Ohio Fiction Writers conference with Suzanne Brockman as the keynote speaker.

Suzanne was great! She's a dynamic speaker and a wonderful teacher as well. As part of her presentation, she asked the 200 or so people in the audience to raise their hand if a romance ever made them laugh or smile.

I think every hand in the room went up. Mine did. Susan Elizabeth Philips never fails to get me smiling. Kristin Higgins, Susan Sey, Susan Heino, Lisa Cooke ...

Then Suzanne asked, "how many have read a romance that brought them to tears?" Again, the hands were raised. Now, I have to admit that while I may feel anxious over a particular romance, they rarely make me cry...but I remember tears tracing a path down my cheeks while I was reading an old Judith McNaught book. Jude Deveraux had me in tears over one of her medieval scenes as well. Newer romances haven't had that effect on me, but that might be the result of my reading choices. I'd rather laugh than cry.

Suzanne then asked, "how many have read a romance that brought them hope or solace during a particularly difficult time?" I was surprised by the number of hands raised, though mine was not one of them. I can't say I've had that particular experience. Reflecting on it, my life has been blessed (knock on wood) so I can't say I found a romance uplifting in the sense of giving hope. Of course, I've always assumed that given sufficient time, all difficulties will work out for the best in the long run. What-doesn't-kill-you-makes-you-stronger sort of philosophy.

So I thought I'd ask you the same questions. Have you read a book that made you laugh or cry? Have you read an uplifting romance that gave solace in a dark time? Spill some titles and share.

I won a basket of books at the conference. To be honest, I forgot I even dropped a raffle ticket in the bag (grin). So let me grab one - here we go - a copy of Sandra Hill's DESPERADO to someone leaving a comment.

The Trouble With Books...

by Suzanne

This Romance Bandit gig is a very cool thing. One of the benefits, at least for me, is that when I do an interview with a guest, I get to read a new release about a month ahead of anyone else. (And being the restrained person that I am, I NEVER rub it in to friends that I got to read a favorite author before them...Yeah, RIGHT!) This is very necessary for me in order to pull out interesting questions, so you, our readers get to learn about the books, without giving away any twists.

So, in preparation for Lorraine Heath's return to the blog in June, I asked her to send me an ARC or a synopsis of the newest release, SURRENDER TO THE DEVIL, so she and I could get her blog post done ahead of time. Since I have a new grandson due around June 1st, I didn't want to get behind on things. (It's a grandma thing.)


Lorraine happily complied with my needs and sent me the book. Now here's where I made my mistake. I opened it. Sigh. Lorraine is what I call a beginning to end author for me. What you say is a beginning to end author? Well, here's my way of categorizing authors or books:





1. TRY AND SEE: Usually a debut author or someone who has been recommended to me by a friend as someone whose books I should try. I usually start these early in the afternoon or evening, or even during a slow period at work. If life or work interrupts, well that's okay, I don't mind. If it's pretty good I'll come back to the book. If it's not one that holds my interest, then I figure I haven't wasted too much time on it.

2. READ IN SPURTS: Anthologies and fairly good books that don't grab me and hold me deep in the story. Anthologies are good for this, because I can usually read one of the stories in about an hour. And in an anthology, usually two stories are good. (By the way have you ever noticed that in a 3-story anthology, usually one story is really good, one is pretty good and well, the other is meh?) So I can invest time in short bursts, still have time to get the ironing or cooking done and not feel guilty about mid-afternoon reading.

3. CRITIQUES: These are those lovely stories my critique partners, (Sandy Blair and Jo Davis), send me--usually in big chunks and across the computer. I try to read them as quickly as possible so I can get any changes or ideas back to them ASAP. Also, luckily for me I love their writing and characters, so this is not a hardship for me!

4. BEGINNING TO ENDERS: These are the auto buys. The favorites. Those authors who I know will deliver a story that takes me away to a world beyond my four walls, to lives and loves I know I'll be bereft over when they're finished. (Julie Garwood, JAK, SEP, Suzanne Brockmann, Sherrilyn Kenyon, JR Ward, and of course, Lorraine Heath.) These are the books I plan on spending the day or evening/night reading. They are my dirty little passions...and I do not want to be interrupted reading them.

So, the moment I opened Lorraine's newest book, I knew I was in trouble. I had to be up early for a chapter board meeting. I needed to sleep. Did I go to bed? Did I act responsibly? Nope, I indulged. AND I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!! (I'd tell you more about SURRENDER TO THE DEVIL...but that's for June's blog...hehehe)

So, how do you categorize your books? Do you have BEGINNING TO ENDERS? Do you set aside a whole day or evening/night to read?