Reader Interview: Candy

Candy Tan is a "Technical writer/illustrator/web designer/ office bitch (as in "Bitch, the color printer is broke! Go fix it!") from Portland, Oregon, USA, and has a blog: Smart Bitches Love Trashy Books. When you were a child, what did you usually read? When I was a wee, wee 'un, I read lots and lots of Ladybird books. I remember being obsessed with the illustrations and read-along version of Beauty and the Beast. The growly Beast voice terrified me and fascinated me at the same time. I also started reading Asterix comics, though 99% of the puns and jokes just flew right over my head. I didn't even get what "Vitalstatistix" was a pun of until I was embarrassingly old--like 15, 16 years old or so. Then when I was about 7 years old, I discovered Enid Blyton. Love at first sight, and I forsook all other forms of entertainment, including TV, just so I could read. Within a year I needed glasses. (According to my mom, it was due to reading too much in dim light, but given that four out of my five siblings needed prescription eyeglasses from a young age, I'm not all that convinced I can blame my shitty eyesight on Blyton). Anyway, I probably read her entire backlist, or close to it. Slowly, though, I started getting more and more tired of how simplistic her books were. I went through a very, very brief obsession with Nancy Drew, but her unrelenting perfection got tiresome real quick. And then, one magical, magical day, when I was 10 years old, I picked up The Twits by Roald Dahl. I can't express how big a revelation Dahl was after the rather saccharine onslaught of Blyton in which I'd immersed myself for the last three years. The bit in The Twits where the two boys escape Mr. Twit's trap by shucking their trousers and running away, "bums twinkling in the sun," both charmed me and horrified me. Authors can SAY that? In a CHILDREN'S book? Oh my God. I promptly went on a hunt for every Roald Dahl book I could find, and I wasn't disappointed. Unlike Blyton, Dahl wasn't shy about adding moral ambiguity into his stories or killing off the bad guys. When the two aunts were squashed by the peach in James and the Giant Peach, I chuckled with evil little girl glee while feeling shocked to my toes. My childhood reading list is really odd, though, because I basically read whatever I could find, which meant I frequently combed through my older siblings' book collection for reading material. So mixed in with the usual children's authors like Roald Dahl, E. Nesbitt, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, Joan Aiken, Rosemary Sutcliff, Lynn Reid Banks, Dick King-Smith, Willard Price, Geoffrey Trease, C.S. Lewis, Peter Dickinson, Judy Blume and the like, I was reading a lot of authors not exactly suitable for 9-year-olds like Sidney Sheldon, Jackie Collins, Stephen King, James Herbert and Agatha Christie. Again, as with reading Asterix at a young age, a lot of the stuff (especially the sexual bits) just went sailing right by my head. I remembered reading Nine and Half Weeks when I was 11 and feeling kind of turned-on, but not really knowing WHY. Semen? What the hell is semen? What the hell is a tampon? And why did the guy like putting one in the narrator? WHERE was he putting it in her? Some of these authors I really, really liked--by the time I was 13, I'd read all of Agatha Christie's backlist. Ditto Stephen King (and thanks to him, to this day I still sleep with the lights on if the Very Tall Husband isn't in bed with me--it's not that I think he'll save me, I just reckon he's a bigger, tastier target and the monster will eat him first, giving me time to escape.) Another staple of my childhood reading addiction was books about animals because I was (still am) an animal lover. Didn't matter if they were fantasy novels involving anthopomorphic animals (Wind in the Willows, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Redwall) or non-fiction like Gerald Durrell. Actually, now that I think back, I read a LOT of Durrell. As a romance reader, what do you usually read? My favorite sub-genre is and probably always will be historicals. But I'll read just about anything in romance, except maybe stories about reconciling couples. I love dark, angsty books, I love light, silly comedies. And I'm definitely enjoying the current paranormal and erotic romance trend. Apart from romance novels, what do you usually read? I read quite a bit of literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, old adventure novels by people like H. Rider Haggard and Alexandre Dumas, children's books, scientific non-fiction, exposé-type non-fiction (Fast Food Nation was responsible for sparking that particular fascination), some thrillers, some horror. Oh, and I'm a bitch for Anthony Bourdain. I bought his Les Halles Cookbook pretty much for the cussing. How can I not love a man who writes this in his introduction to how to prepare poulet rôti:

"That's roast chicken, numbnuts! And if you can't roast a damn chicken then you are one helpless, hopeless, sorry-ass bivalve in an apron. Take that apron off, wrap it around your neck, and hang yourself."

(I found to my delight that the recipes are really, really good, too.) I think there may be a genre or two I'm missing, but I think this is a pretty good representation of what I currently like to read. Name top five favourite romance authors if any. Only five?? Whiiiine. OK:

• Laura Kinsale
• Jennifer Crusie
• Loretta Chase
• Patricia Gaffney
• Barbara Samuel/Ruth Wind

And Sharon and Tom Curtis. Sorry, I had to sneak them in. And since they write as a team, they count as ONE person, right? No, Candy. Five is five. Do you have any weaknesses for certain themes, storylines, settings or such in romances? If so, what are they? Oh my, yes. I love pirates. I don't know why, since most pirate romances tend to be just godawful, and there's nothing at all romantic about real-life pirates, but somehow, in my head, pirates = RRROWR. I'm also a sucker for a good beta hero, bonus points if he's a convincing geek, and double bonus points if he's a virgin or sexually inexperienced compared to the heroine. I also love me a good medieval, though those are hard to find nowadays. I also enjoy reading about the Elizabethan, Reformation and Georgian eras, though romances set in those time periods are pretty difficult to find as a rule. When you buy romance novels, how do you make your selection? Back in the Bad Old Days, before I had any sort of an Internet connection, I'd go to Novel House (book rental chain in Malaysia) and just picked up romance novels at random. I'd give them my 15-page in-store test, and if they passed, I'd bring them home with me. Things got a lot more complicated when I moved to America, because I discovered All About Romance and all of a sudden there were all these recommendations and LISTS for me to check out--you know, "If you like this author, try this author" kind of a thing. For a while I followed some of these recommendations blindly, and some of them worked (Judith Ivory) and some of them didn't (Marsha Canham). I also paid attention to new author buzz, and for a couple of years I'd pick up the buzz books blind, too. Woo damn did I EVER get burnt. Adele Ashworth, Liz Carlyle, Stephanie Laurens and many other buzz-worthy authors just didn't work for me (the two big exceptions were Dara Joy and Jennifer Crusie), and after a while I realized I needed to re-instate my 15-page test before buying books, unless they were by trusted auto-buy authors. Nowadays if I want to try out a new author I get the book from the library if at all possible, and if the book is really good I'll buy my own keeper copy; if the library doesn't have what I want, I'll look at a few review sites, ask people for their opinions (Smart Bitches is such a good tool for this--perhaps TOO good) and then give the book the 15-page trial. If it passes, I buy it. For that reason, I really dig Amazon.com's "Look inside this book!" feature. I still occasionally buy blind, though--mostly when I feel like acting a little crazy and livin' on the edge. (Yes, contrary to popular belief, my life isn't all glitz and glamor and crazed sheikhs abducting me for passionate desert lovin'.) What are your pet hates with romance? Oh boy, people who visit Smart Bitches regularly are going to be in for an earful of repetition. Anyway, here's a (not-so) short list:

• Virgin widows
• Orgasmless widows
• Sexual double-standards for heroines vs. heroes in contemporaries
• TSTL protagonists
• Asshole heroes who don't grovel enough
• Rapist heroes
• Secret babies
• Gay villains who also molest children and small animals
• The 'Sudden Realization of Love' plot device, wherein the hero and heroine hate each other with a passion but are hit with this epiphany in the last 3 pages of the novel: they've been physically, mentally and verbally abusing each other for the last 416 pages because THEY LOVE EACH OTHER.

When discussing romance novels and/or the romance genre with fellow readers, which issues interest you most? Oh, just about everything. The top three would probably be:

• Why people like to read what they read
• Sexism in romances
• The double-standards applied to romance novels but not other types of genre fiction.

If an influential romance editor asked you for an opinion on the romance genre, what would you say? Please, for the love of God, buy what's good, not what's trendy. Also, can you please tell the women who write sexy romances with sizzling love scenes but can't even bear to have their so-called bad boy heroes to say "damn" or "fuck" to please, please stop referring to their dick as their "arousal"? Thanks. Name up to five romance novels that left you lasting impressions.

1. Desire's Blossom - Cassie Edwards Worst. Book. EVER. The sentences in this book aren't even grammatical, the Chinese is gibberish, and the punctuation is ... creative.
2. Something Wonderful - Judith McNaught First romance novel I loved. I haven't re-read it in about 10 years, and I'm kind of afraid to.
3. Special Gifts - Anne Stuart PEOPLE REALLY DO KISS EACH OTHER *DOWN THERE*?
4. The Shadow and the Star - Laura Kinsale The first Laura Kinsale book I picked up, and... oh my. It's a book that sounds as if it'd be sordid and cheesy (gaijin ninja in the Victorian era falls in love with a poor seamstress!) but it's so not.
5. The Windflower - Laura London (aka Sharon and Tom Curtis) What can I say about The Windflower? I love it. It has held up to multiple re-reads, and it helped pull me through a truly awful hospital stay. If I had a million dollars, I'd pay the Curtises to write Cat and Raven's stories.

What was the last romance novel you bought? Fool For Love by Eloisa James. I read about 30 pages of it, but I'm abandoning it for the moment and I have no plans to pick it up in the immediate future. Thanks, Candy. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.

Reader interview: Jen

Jen is a data analyst from Colorado, USA, and has no blog. When you were a child, what did you usually read? I started out reading the Disney version of fairy tales, moved on to Judy Blume's books like Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing and Superfudge, and Barthe Declement's Nothing's Fair in 5th Grade and 6th Grade can Really Kill You [Amazon]. Along with horse stories by Walter Farley, Mary O'Hara, and Marguerite Henry; oh, and Shel Silverstein's books of poetry, I adore Where the Sidewalk Ends. In Jr high I started to move to young adult books like Patricia Clapp's The Tamarack Tree and Katherine Paterson's Jacob Have I Loved. As well as getting around to classics like Richard Adams’s Watership Down and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Then in high school it was classical literature all the way: Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, etc. That and most anything else someone stuck under my nose to read. Weirdest thing was the Steinbeck glom during my senior year, because I didn’t really like the books except East of Eden, but I read several of them anyways. As a romance reader, what do you usually read? Almost anything that's recommended, but I'm partial to romantic suspense, historicals (Regency, Victorian, or Tudor era mostly), single title contemps, and some categories, usually SIMs. But if someone recommends something or if it's getting a lot of buzz, I'll check it out. Apart from romance novels, what do you usually read? Mysteries/thrillers, chick lit, 19th century lit, trivia books, books on the English language, books on history, the occasional memoir, bestsellers, pop culture and entertainment magazines, and newspapers. Name top five favourite romance authors if any. This is hard because so many of my favorites have written books lately that were ho-hum or disappointments.

Nora Roberts/JD Robb I've never regretted buying a book by her. They all contain something I love. Especially great characters. I adore the In Death books, I find I give up most series after 8 to 10 books, but the changes in character are subtle and consistent. If the mystery isn't good, the developments in character relationships are.

Jennifer Crusie Love her stuff. Like Roberts, all her books are worth the price. She makes me laugh and when I pick up a Crusie book I know I'm in for quirky characters and several hours of fun. I love her voice and her use of pop culture references. Her characters are people I'd want to hang out with and have long talks over coffee or margaritas.

Linda Howard I say her books are hit and miss, but more hits than misses and I'm not even sure about that. The potential misses are the ones I wasn't interested enough to buy. When I get around to reading one of her books, I find myself loving it.

Kelley Armstrong Not sure if you’d count her as a romance author as she’s usually found in the fantasy/sci-fi section of the bookstore, but I do because of the emphasis put on relationships in her books. I think I was one of 3 people that liked Dime Store Magic, so maybe with only 4 books to her credit, I’m giving her too early of a chance on this short list. Especially since so many authors I’ve glommed over the years with larger backlists have recently been bumped from auto-buy to the 'buy with caution' list.

Suzanne Brockmann Oh, how I debated on this one. I’ve been disappointed in her last 3 or 4 category books (2 were early books that just got released so I’ll give her a pass for the so-so quality on those, but I was also not thrilled with her last two Seal books) and don’t get me started on anvil-falling preachiness and 'everything but the kitchen sink' villains from her recent Troubleshooter books. So she’s making this list on the strength of her books prior to Gone too Far (which I liked at the time, but on reflection the lack of subtly in characterization and plot really bugs). After that my money is staying in my pocket and hoping for the return to what I loved about The Body Guard and Heart Throb. And, yeah, the issues were probably there, too, but I was just too happy with the rest of the story to notice. The sad thing is compared to other authors on my former favorite list, even her bad books are still readable and have some really pricelessly enjoyable moments that raise her above the crowd. Do you have any weaknesses for certain themes, storylines, settings or such in romances? If so, what are they? Warrior/military/spy/cop heroes and wounded heroes. Heroines with a dry wit. The return of long lost loves especially ones that were presumed dead. Oh, and books with overly responsible heroines who put their families first (not the kind who sell themselves to the hero to get their father out of debtor's prison, but the ones that put off college or world travel to take care of siblings or a parent), and it takes the hero to come along have her enjoy a little 'me' time. What are your pet hates with romance novels?

• Stupid characters or ones who act illogically
• Dropped plot points (remember if you see a gun in Act One, it better be fired by Act Three). Few things bug me as much as when the character motivation switches from the first half of the book to the second without any segue or worse, a character keeps bringing up an issue. And then it’s not only not resolved in the end, it’s not even addressed/brought up/remembered and I have to flip back through pages to make sure I didn’t miss something.
• Geographical errors (this bugs me even more than spelling or grammar errors) e.g. a character was from Cornwall but had a ‘northern accent’. Excuse me? How hard is it to look at a map and discover Cornwall is the south west of England? If a character has a northern accent, they’re from Yorkshire or some other northerly places.
• 21st century morality and political correctness in historicals. I don’t mind a little bit, especially if it is explained, but so often people go over board and you’re wondering if the heroine time traveled from a 21st college campus to colonial New England and you missed that info in the prologue.
• American social mores for British characters. Hey, if I can spot the cultural faux pas, it’s pretty glaring.
• Heroines who give up life in the big bad city for small town America that ignore the economic realities of living in the middle of nowhere. For example what is the driving industry in the area: agriculture, manufacturing, mining, or tourism? What gets all the people in a town of less than 5,000 to stay put and be able to spend money in the heroine’s quirky boutique, restaurant or bookstore? For that matter running a small business, how does she afford to pay her employees as well as their health benefits, and for her beautiful Victorian with all its quirky high-end furnishings and her student loans?
• Anvils or lack of subtlety in characterization
• Inconsistency. I’m not talking about a secondary character who’s got one last name in chapter 3 and a different one in chapter 7 (that’s amusing), but the character who’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

When discussing romance novels and/or the Romance genre with fellow readers, which issues interest you most? Plot and character types. If an influential romance editor asked you for an opinion on the Romance genre, what would you say?

• Treat your audience like they have a brain. Readers can follow deep and complex plots. Readers are notorious for digging up details and plot inconsistencies and remembering trivia. Yes, they’re looking for escapism, so give them a story they can really get lost in and enjoy from many angles.
• Stop dumbing everything down or making it all light and fluffy. There’s a place for that, but it shouldn’t be EVERY single book. Yes, it sells well right now, but could that be because that’s all there is? Give readers some options here. Try publishing some books with meaty plots, and that require some thought to counterbalance the fluff.
• Develop characters! Romance readers want to fall in love with and identify with characters, so give them some decent characters.
• Get better covers! If I'm too embarrassed to walk up to the counter to buy it, it doesn't matter how good what's between the covers are. I won't buy it. And if I don't know what's inside I definitely won't pick up a book with a bad cover.

Name up to five romance novels that left you lasting impressions.

1. A Knight in Shining Armor - Jude Deveraux This book got me hooked on romance. I read it in one night and cried the when I got the part where Dougless reads the message Nicholas left for her about their souls meeting.
2. Dragonfly in Amber – Diana Gabaldon This book is the darkest in the series, but I think has the strongest story and framing of the story arc in the series. There are two scenes in this story that moved me as a reader. The first is after Jamie’s hand has been forced to join Prince Charlie and he realizes, based on Claire’s knowledge of the future, that he’s doomed. He gets up to comfort his newborn niece the night before they leave his home to join the troops and Claire spies on him with the baby. It’s a very tender moment. The other is the end when Jamie tells Claire:

   "I will find you," he whispered in my ear. "I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory, two hundred years without you---then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes. For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I shall stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest." His voice dropped, nearly to a whisper, and his arms tightened around me. "Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well."

   That bit makes me go all swoony. *g*
3. Daughter of the Game – Tracy Grant This was one of those books despite all the on-line buzz/praise I was going to avoid. The hero and heroine are both atheists and, while I have nothing against atheists, I just thought it’d be weird (I was even surprised to learn I have this quirk/bias). At some point I gave in and read it, and fell in love. This is a beautiful story about forgiveness, acceptance, and love. Highly recommend to anyone that hasn’t read it.
4. Welcome to Temptation – Jennifer Crusie I love this book. Anyone who enjoys those old screwball comedies like His Girl Friday should enjoy the quirky characters and whackiness of that occurs during the making of a vanilla porn flick in Temptation, Ohio. I love the snappy dialogue and the movie and song references, but mostly I like how the improbable is presented as so mundane and ordinary that it’s believable. If I had to recommend a romance novel to a non-romance reader, this would be it.
5. Hidden Riches – Nora Roberts My very first Nora Roberts book. It broke me out of my guarded little niche where I only read Jude Deveraux, Judith McNaught, and Sandra Brown. Plus it started me glomming my favorite author.

What was the last romance novel you bought? My Surrender by Connie Brockway

Many thanks, Jen! Be good, be bad & be safe.

Reader Interview: Màili

We have a nice line-up of forthcoming reader interviews and to shut a certain person up, I'm putting mine in today. This way, the Sunday line-up won't be messed up. I mentioned a lot of authors, so I'm not putting in any links. Thanks. My battered book journals and I live in Worcestershire, England, UK, and my blog: McVane, e.g. you're here. :D When you were a child, what did you usually read? My stepfather is a great believer in getting children to read books from an early age. My siblings and I had to read two books per week [We get to read a book of our choice and a book of his choice] and compile 'book reports' on Sunday after a visit to church. [I suspect it was a way to stop us getting into mischief, generally being pint-sized anarchists.] Since we didn't have a TV, the curfew [in from the outside at 7pm sharp] and we were miles from schoolfriends, we didn't mind. This is probably why I remember books from those days more than what I read in my adult life. He chose classics for us - Charles Dickens's Bleak House, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters [it completely went over my head], D.H. Lawrence's The Boy From the Bush, and Susan Hill's I Am the King of Castle, Tov Jansson's Moonmins series, Wilfred Owen, William Blake [Tiger, Tiger left a huge impression on me], for instance - while we went for pure YA books, especially those that involve blood, gory, mystery, adventure, and [for me] romance. Books I remember most: Jane Gardam's A Long Way from Verona, Deborah Hautzig's Hey Dollface, K.M. Peyton's the Flambards series, Penelope Lively's A Step in Time, Nina Bawden's Carrie's War, Aidan Chambers's Dance on My Grave, Robert Cormier's I Am the Cheese, Robert O'Brien's Z for Zachiarch, Farrukh Dhondy's East End at Your Feet [this was from my stepfather's selection - a rare hit] and loads of Roald Dahl's books. My favourite authors were Lois Lowry, S.E. Hinton, Rosa Guy, Judy Blume, Margaret Mahy, Jan Mark, Anne Fine, and Liz Berry. I read a lot of romances as well: Johanna Lindsey, Dinah Dean, Catherine Coulter, Penelope Neri, Janet Dailey, Natasha Peters, Lynda Trent, and Jude Deveraux. I'd read every Zebra Hologram historical I could get my mitts on - Martha Hix, Jo Goodman, etc. The only survivor of this 'oh, wow! sex! sex! sex!' period is Rene Garrod's Her Heart's Embrace, an American western historical romance that remains a good old friend today. As a romance reader, what do you usually read? It would be easier to list what I don't usually go for: traditional Regency romances, any stories that involve a child abduction, time travel, French setting historicals, traditional gothic romances, and - surprise, surprise - Scottish historical romances. I'd read them, though, but only when they are recommended. Apart from romance novels, what do you usually read? Just about anything. I'm heavily drawn to a sub-genre of metafiction, e.g. using fictional characters from other novels as main characters in the same novel. Examples: Jasper Fforde's series, Alan Moore's graphic novel series League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Kim Newman's Anno Dracula, and so on. I'm also heavily drawn to 'cult' fiction [e.g. Thom Jones, Gerald Kersh, Frank Miller, Ann Quinn, Jim Carroll, James Hoggs, Nikolai Gogal, Gavin Lambert, Gary Indiana], neo-Victorian novels [or rather, historical steampunk novels], and religious thrillers. I truly love contemporary quest/'treasure hunt' thrillers and literary puzzle adventures. A well-known example would be Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, but my old favourite is Katherine Neville's The Eight. I generally enjoy books by Iain Pears, Tim Powers [espec. The Anubis Gates], Emma Bull, Jane Jensen [I love her games more than her books, though], Charles Palliser, Maria McCann, Neal Stephenson, Alexandra Potter, and many more. I'd read anything, really. :) The only current series I faithfully follow is Sujata Massey's Rei Shimura series. Oh, I'm also very much into Japanese and Chinese novels, but I have a weakness for any that takes place in Hong Kong because I lived there for about two years. Name top five ten favourite romance authors if any.

• Theresa Weir
• Sandra Canfield/Karen Keast
• Megan Chance
• Michelle Jerott/Michele Albert
• Anne Stuart
• Katherine O'Neal
• Laura Kinsale
• Gayle Feyrer/Taylor Chase
• Marilyn Pappano
• Kathleen Korbel

Do you have any weaknesses for certain themes, storylines, settings or such in romances? If so, what are they? I adore Australian-setting historical romances [and novels], character-driven romances and adventure romances. I also adore scholar heroes, archaeology [Indiana Jones!], action heroines, romantic capers [example: Peter O'Toole and Audrey Hepburn in How to Steal a Million], and plain jane heroines [because I'm a plain jane :)]. A dry sense of humour gets me, too. Every time. What are your pet hates with romance novels? Any that blatantly endorse sexual double standards, jingoistic sentiments [one of reasons why I loathe Scottish historical romances] and hypocrisy. When discussing romance novels and/or the Romance genre with fellow readers, which issues interest you most? Book covers, and readers' likes and dislikes. If an influential romance editor asked you for an opinion on the Romance genre, what would you say? Sort out book covers, please. Apart from that, I have nothing to say. Seriously, I don't! :D Name up to five romance novels that left you lasting impressions.

1. Come Be My Love - Diana Brown
This is my very first 'proper' romance novel. Alexandra is an immature gutter for punishment, and the hero is a selfish bastard, but it was a proper romance. Ironically it was my stepfather who got me this book. This was when Judy Piatkus gave away books to publicise her then newly founded publishing company. He brought some home and gave all to me because I was the eldest. Hur hur!
2. After Innocence - Brenda Joyce Opening chapter: the heroine does some painting outside, next to the sea, and down below she spots a couple getting naughty. She doesn't know whether to hop away or not, but she stays. The hero finally spots her and does he stop doing what he's doing? Nope. *shock* :D As a kid, it was an eye opener. And what's more - the heroine has a limp, a result from a childhood incident. I have read Johanna Lindsey, and most Zebra Hologram historicals - all have foot-stamping, handspannable waists, tiny, tiny but perfect heroines, which thoroughly bored me. This one? It was different - the Gilded age, imperfect heroine, Beta hero, and the like. That said, I can't stand this book today - a lengthy separation between the h/h, a weird and unresolved sub-plot involvingher parents, and such, but I do remember After Innocence with affection for leaving an impact on me.
3. Sea Fire - Karen Robards I thoroughly hated this book. It was the first book that I destroyed. At 14 I was taught that it was 'wrong' to treat books with disrespect, but it horrified me so much that I destroyed it, tearing pages into pieces. This left a deep impression on me.
4. The Light Fantastic - Peggy Nicholson It's solely responsible for making me addicted to 'quest' adventure stories. I can't remember much about this book now [I'm still looking for a copy], but IIRC, the h/h go on a treasure hunt across the US. It wowed me enough to clamour for more, hence my weakness that lasts to this day.
5. The Shadow and the Star – Laura Kinsale I have mixed feelings toward this one. It's a perfect romance novel with many imperfections, which I thoroughly enjoyed. In a way it reminds meof LaVyrle Spencer's November of the Heart, which I also enjoyed. I can't quite put a finger on what makes TS&TS a compelling read. I tried Kinsale's Flowers From the Storm and thoroughly disliked it, mostly because of the ending. I do have a very soft spot for her other books Midsummer Moon and For My Lady's Heart.

What was the last romance novel you bought? Kathleen Nance's Jigsaw. Haven't read it yet. Be good, be bad & be safe.

My Education as a Romance Reader

The Coolest Quote of the Week award goes to KarenS in a thread about Linda Howard's Sarah's Child at All About Romance's Reader-to-Reader message board, :

"With Howard's men, the bigger they are, the bigger they fall! And when Rome fell, it was forever."

What I learnt from reading British-setting historical romances:

• Everyone addresses each other by their first names
  
• Parents are a) dead, b) bitter and twisted, or c) eternally widowed
  
• Parents have no qualms in naming their daughter Mackenzie or their son Devon
  
• Five things heroines are obsessed with: a) a desire to lose their virginity, b) a need to protect their virginity, c) shagging heroes blind, d) saving the working poor, and e) getting the hero to say, "I love you".
  
• There are five career options for heroes: spy, adventurer, war hero, Highland warrior and rake
  
• There are four British time periods: Regency, Victorian, "Medieval" and Elizabethan
  
• Everyone in the Highlands speaks in Scots
  
• Everyone in the Highlands hates the English
  
• The Highlands is Scotland and Scotland is the Highlands
  
• A Highland-born hero automatically takes over his late father's place as a chieftain
  
• A 'laird' is a Scottish nobleman
  
• All men in Scotland wear short kilts
  
• The English & Welsh law system covers Scotland
  
• Everyone in working-class London speaks Cockney
  
• It takes only three servants and a butler to keep a large mansion in order
  
• Only towns that exists in England are London, York, Bath, and Brighton
  
• Only towns that exist in Scotland are Edinburgh and Glasgow
  
• Only towns that exist in Wales are ... I don't think Wales exists
  
• No one goes to church on Sundays
  
• It takes only a couple of hours to travel in a horse-driven carriage from London to York
  
• There is no difference between the working class and the poor class
  
• The gentry is no different from the aristocracy
  
• Only weather conditions exist in England are sunny, raining or icy cold
  
• During the Medieval period, heroines are a) psychic, b) healer, c) saviour of the poor, and d) easily shocked when told that they have to marry a complete stranger
  
• During the Medieval period, heroes are a) knight, b) lord, c) spy, or d) all three
  
• During the Medieval period, everyone says, "Nay" and "Aye"
  
• During the Georgian period, heroes never wear wigs, coiffures or curls, not even for lavish fancy dress balls
  
• Heroes have nicknames, ranging from Hawk to Ram and from Satan to Devil
  
• It's rarely cold in English mansions
  
• English and Welsh bastard heroes can inherit their fathers' titles
  
• It's easy for the noble-born hero and heroine to have sex anywhere in a servant-run mansion or townhouse
  
• People of ethnic minorities don't exist in the UK; when they do, they are usually lady's maids or servants
  
• Anyone can marry into the aristocracy
  
• The majority of heroes attended Eton college and the rest went to Rugby
  
• A title is a privilege, not a duty
  
• A British nobleman can marry a non-noble woman without suffering any consequences of how it'd affect the rest of his family that are part of the lineage
  
• Everyone measures walks with blocks
  
• Regency-era heroines can be forced to marry against their will and without their parents' knowledge

ADDITION: Mrs. Giggles has a fantastic list of romance novels with characters as secret agents: Why Do Secret Agent Stories Have These Stupid Things? We need more lists like this! Anyone? Futuristic romances, Regency historicals, Americana romances, contemporary romances?

Be good, be bad & be safe.

Reader Interview: Kristie J.

Kristie J. is from Southwestern Ontario, Canada, and has a blog: Ramblings on Romance, etc. When you were a child, what did you usually read? Well, as a future romance reader in training, I loved fairy tales. I loved them and read them all until ... My grandmother had a very old book of fairy tales – the true stories. Boy, they didn’t call them the Brothers Grimm for nothing. Did you know for example the “real” ending for The Little Mermaid? ***spoiler starts**** She did save the prince and fall in love with him. She gave up her mermaidhood in order to become human, but they took away her beautiful voice (they had to have been men), so she couldn’t tell the prince she was the one who saved his life. He married the princess he thought saved him and the little mermaid died of a broken heart and became waves on the ocean. ***spoiler ends**** Then there were the Freddy the Pig books. This was my introduction to series books. Freddy was a talking pig who saw himself as a writer and a detective. Man I loved that pig. I think as a young girl, I even had a bit of a crush on him. But he was from the country and I was a city girl. It was quite a shock years later when I read Animal Farm by George Orwell, expecting the same kind of tranquil farm life. I was also a big fan of Dr. Suess. That’s where I learned the power of humour in literature (ha). And of course Nancy Drew. But I read them more to see if Ned Nickerson would ever kiss Nancy Drew than for the mystery. I don’t think he ever did. Years and years later, I read something somewhere that I thought was hilarious. Apparently, in this writer's view, Ned was gay. I suppose that’s why he and Nancy never got beyond solving mysteries. As a romance reader, what do you usually read? Anything! I started off reading mainly historical with the occasional Nora Roberts thrown in. Then my universe grew to include westerns. I had such a hoot with them, I began adding to my reading repertoire. Now I’m game to try anything at least once. Apart from romance novels, what do you usually read? Well, do newspapers count? I’m strictly a romance girl these days. In my misspent youth, I read every kind of book there was, but now with all the different sub-genres available and since I enjoy romance books so much and I have so many yet to read, why not just stick with what I enjoy? The last non-romance book I read was a John Grisham about a year ago. Name top five favourite romance authors if any.

• I think Linda Howard is “da bomb”
• I haven’t read a Liz Carlyle I didn’t like (and I’ve read them all)
• JD Robb has managed to keep me coming back for more even 20 books down the line, although I don’t read Nora Roberts any more
• Candace Proctor writes wonderful books although she hasn’t been heard from for a while. I really miss her.
• Patricia Veryan’s older books. They brought me back to romance and I still have a special love for them.

Do you have any weaknesses for certain themes, storylines, settings or such in romances? If so, what are they? Well, I really like older women, younger men books. Must be my inner cougar wanting out. I LOVED Laura Leone’s Fallen From Grace and Suddenly You is my next favourite Kleypas book after Dreaming of You. I also seem to like stories where the hero wrongfully or unjustly imprisoned. (scratching head and wondering why – must be all that pent-up desire waiting to be released) The Rainbow Season – Lisa Gregory Jackson Rule – Dinah McCall One Summer – Karen Robards Long Way Home – Janis Reams Hudson Morning Glory - LaVyrle Spencer All are on my keeper list. What are your pet hates with romance novels?

1. My pet hate is definitely stupidity in the heroine. If the hero is stupid, as long as he’s not cruel, I can write him off as a big dufus, but I’m very unforgiving with stupid women (such as Meg from Brockmann’s The Defiant Hero). Not fair I know. Why should I hold women to a higher standard then men? I don’t know the answer, I just do.
2. Adultery in contemporaries is a big bugaboo with me. I had real issues with Bittersweet by LaVyrle Spencer for example. It’s also keeping me from reading The Goddess of Kitchen Avenue. In the right context it’s not a problem in historicals and I’m not one who rants on message boards but I don’t care for it in contemps.
3. This is mostly a historical issue, but when the hero/heroine hate, hate, mistrust, dislike, hate each other. This type of book goes to the UBS sooner than you can say Jumpin’ Jack Flash.
4. Long separations between our hero/heroine. I mean what is the point if they spend a majority of the book away from each other.

When you buy romance novels, how do you make your selection? Mainly three ways. Buzz on the Internet. Not so much a review but other opinions in addition to the review. New and mid-list authors. I’ve had such wonderful success this past year with new, new-to-me authors I’m keeping it up. And finally the shallow part of me WILL judge a book by its cover. If I like the cover, I’m a lot more likely to give it a try. When discussing romance novels and/or the Romance genre with fellow readers, which issues interest you most? All my fellow readers are on the ‘net, and the issues that I enjoy them most are “good reads” and the every-day life of a romance reader. You know, what do you do when you have a book with one of “those” covers. You're standing in line and the next available cashier is a young very hunky guy. What do you do? You know that kind of thing. (If I have the nerve to go through him, I’ll usually say something like, “My sister has been looking for this book for so long and it’s her birthday next week.” I doubt they buy that, though.) If an influential romance editor asked you for an opinion on the Romance genre, what would you say? The main problem I see with romance books today is in the historical genre, so my answer would be location, location, location. I want to see more books set outside Regency England. Why not more in Canada, eh? Australia, Europe or the US? It’s a whole big world out there, editors, and people fall in love all over it. I simply DO NOT understand this tunnel vision they seem to have with England. I don’t mind the virginal heroine, but I also want experienced and mature heroines – now that I’m one myself, that is. Name up to five romance novels that left you lasting impressions.

1. the In Death series - J.D. Robb
This may be cheating, but I’m lumping all the In Death books together. And what I find so fascinating about them and keeps me coming back, is the growth of Eve Dallas as a woman.
2. After the Night - Linda Howard Besides having some of the best rocking good sex scenes I’ve read J, I love that Faith Devlin managed to rise about her background. She was the daughter of the town drunk and the town whore, yet she managed to overcome it and start her own business. She risked coming back to the town she had been thrown out of and she stood up to a very Alpha Gray.
3. Whispers of Heaven - Candice Proctor Although this was definitely a romance, what really touched me about this book was the growth of Jessie, the heroine. She literally gives all for love. I tout this book whenever I get a chance more than any other book I’ve read.
4. One Summer - Karen Robards The mystery wasn’t that great but I loved the story of Rachel (older woman)and Johnny (falsely imprisoned)- two of my favourite themes.
5. Dreaming of You – Lisa Kleypas Derek Craven. Need I say more?

What was the last romance novel you bought? Funny you should ask that. I was blog hopping long one bright and sunny day when I came across Wendy’s blog of her first F book. I made a mental note to avoid it like the plague. It sounded dreadful. I was in Walmart on the weekend and saw what looked like a very interesting book. The cover appealed to the shallowness in me, it was a new author and it sounded “different”. Later on, when I took it out of the bag and noticed the publisher was TOR, to quote Han Solo: “Chewie, I have a bad feeling about this.” Sure enough, my mental note wasn’t enough. (I’m going to have to start using pen and paper from now on. Old age and dying brain cells suck.) It was the book I planned NOT to get. So I’m going to do something I have never done before. Take it back to the store for a refund. The book? Windwalker by Natasha Mostert. Now had your question been what was the second last romance novel you bought, my answer would be much different so I’ll just pretend that’s what you really meant Lips that Touch Mine by Wendy Lindstrom. I read it and LOVED it. Thanks, Kristie J. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.

Reader Interview: Keishon

Keishon is a pharmacist from Texas, USA, and has a blog: Journal of an Avid Reader When you were a child, what did you usually read? As a child I read almost exclusively Judy Blume's books like Superfudge, Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing, Forever, Are You There God, It's Me Margaret? Blume was it for me as a kid and I could go on and on and on. I really enjoyed her stuff because she tackled some serious issues and I had a kick reading her books. Also read V.C. Andrews stuff in high school. Very emotional reads as well. As a romance reader, what do you usually read? I usually read historicals, but only by those few who seem to know how to write them the way I like to read them with something else going on besides the romance. Apart from romance novels, what do you usually read? Mysteries, sci-fi/fantasy and, especially, historical fiction. Historical fiction is my passion now. Name top five favourite romance authors if any. Off the top: Judith Ivory, Laura Kinsale, Diana Gabaldon, Roberta Gellis, Kathleen Gilles Seidel [AAR interview]. Not by a long shot are they the only ones up there but the first to come to my head when asked. So I guess that says something, eh? And I admit to revising to exclude Brockway, but she would be up there too! Do you have any weaknesses for certain themes, storylines, settings or such in romances? If so, what are they?

1. Wrongly accused. Love heroes who are wrongfully accused and sent to prison and they meet the heroine who is only one in the whole world who gives him a chance, and they fall in love and live happily ever after. I love that.
2. Marriage of convience stories - the heroine looking for a home and family of her own.
3. Troubled marriages are great to read, especially when it's done realistically and the couple face some real tough issues in their marriage. After the dust has cleared and all grievances have been vented, the couple realizes that they still very much love each other and feel that their marriage is worth fighting for. Love that.
4. Second chance at love, best friends to lovers, unrequited love - love them all.
5. Older/Younger or May/December romances are another favorite when written well.

What are your pet hates with romance novels? I can't stand stupid people, stupid virgins, stupid plots. Also can't stand to read about fake rakes and rakes in general, and the king of them all: duke of slut. I don't know about other readers but there is nothing romantic about a man that sleeps with anything with a pulse and then wants to pursue you, and have you bear his bad-ass children and pass along all his nasty little cooties. Also can't stand books that focus more on sex rather than characterization. I know where to find a sex manual if I want to know all the various in's and out's, but I pass on books where all there is sex, sex, sex. I need to see people flirt, kiss, dance, work, joke,cook, solve problems, sing and talk to each other! I don't think that's too much to ask for. When you buy romance novels, how do you make your selection? I will usually check the library first. I hardly ever go directly to the romance section anymore unless there are favorites there with new releases. Also, word of mouth will get me to buy a new author. Especially by readers whose tastes are similar to my own. When discussing romance novels and/or the Romance genre with fellow readers, which issues interest you most? Hmmm. The lack of realism in most fiction these days. I know most readers don't like their fiction to be too realistic and neither do I. But I do require that fiction have some realistic foundations and that people behave in a realistic manner and have some common sense. I think a lot of novels written today lack common sense and characterization. Without characteriazation, you've lost me. If an influential romance editor asked you for an opinion on the Romance genre, what would you say? Quit assuming that readers like simple, silly stuff. We are a intelligent bunch. They should learn to take some challenges. But you know, it really isn't the editors, the publishers I should worry about. It's the readership and what their preferences are that often conflict with mine because who else is buying all these secret baby, secret daddy stuff. Publishers are only part of the problem as I see it. I think since we can voice our dissent with the genre on message boards and such, we think we represent a majority. Sad thing is that we don't. So, publishers are only doing part of their job by providing what sells and if secret daddy stuff sell, then that's what you see. Name up to five romance novels that left you lasting impressions.

1. Voyager - Diana Gabaldon One of the best adventure reads. There were so many twists and turns in the story. Wonderful page-turner and the best of the series. I know there is a backlash againt Gabaldon and her books, but I adore Jamie and Claire Fraser.
2. Reason To Believe - Kathleen Eagle A contemporary troubled marriage story. Lasting impression was made for me when Ben, the hero, made every effort to make changes in his life for the better to win his wife and daughter back.
3. The Bronze Horseman - Paullina Simons A novel rich in historical detail as well as a very nice lovestory. Tatiana and Alexander loved each other and went through everything together; no one could say they these two didn't belong together.
4. Remember The Time - Annette Reynolds This is a best friends-to-lovers theme and could also be classified as a 'second chance at love' type of theme, too. I love the ending and would always reread the ending because it gives me such a smile. A very emotional read about two people who fell in love at the wrong time in their life and never once did they forget each other. It's a bit melodramatic but worth reading.
5. Heart of the West - Penelope Williamson A woman's search for love in the Frontier. An excellent story of love, family, a woman's journey through life, love and laughter. This book took some work to get me engaged but once it did, I didn't want it to end. Ever.

What was the last romance novel you bought? Payback by Harper Allen. Many thanks, Keishon. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.