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.