Reader interview: Beverly

Beverly, a Library Clerk and Student from Kansas City, Missouri, has a blog: Unicorns Are in the World Again. When you were a child, what did you usually read? I loved picture books as a kid, but as few adults would read to me, I would usually just look at the pictures and make up stories. When I got to be old enough to read full-length books, I loved books that fall into the "Children's Classics" category. I liked Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, but I loved Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom more. I loved the Anne of Green Gables books by L. M. Montgomery. Anne of Avonlea was the first book I ever bought for myself. I remember reading Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss. The first adult books I remeber reading were actually Westerns because my brother-in-law had a huge collection. As a romance reader, what do you usually read? I started out on the big name authors of the '80s like Sandra Brown, Catherine Coulter, Linda Lael Miller, Heather Graham and Johanna Lindsey. Now I enjoy mostly midlist writers in the historical and paranormal/fantasy sub-genres. I like Judith Ivory, Loretta Chase, Laura Kinsale, Melanie Jackson, Emma Holly, Lisa Cach, and Jo Beverley, and I'm probably forgetting some other favorites. Apart from romance novels, what do you usually read if any? These days I probably read other types of books more than romance:

• Fantasy George R. R. Martin, Anne Bishop, Sarah Ash, Jacqueline Carey, Robin McKinley
• Science Fiction Catherine Asaro, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Wen Spencer, Elizabeth Moon, S. L. Viehl
• Mystery J. D. Robb, Tim Cockey, Kate Ross, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Tracy Grant
• Non-Fiction Especially history and adventure.

My favorite type of fiction right now is the new wave of urban fantasy/paranormal novels like those written by Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, and Simon R. Green. And I'll grab up just about anything with unicorns or vampires. Do you have any weaknesses for certain themes, storylines, settings or such in romances? If so, what are they?

• Marriages of convenience / Cabin romances Only when they're done right. They can throw the hero and heroine together enough that I feel like they actually get to know each other rather than just fall suddenly in love.
• Hero and/or heroine with flaws And not just stupid ones like shyness or always telling the truth, which aren't actually flaws at all.
• Hero and/or heroine who are less than perfect, physically
• Beauty and the Beast I'm a sucker for those stories.
• Retellings of fairy tales or mythological stories
• Bluestockings in historicals
• Just about anything paranormal Vampires, werewolves, demons, whatever.

What are your pet peeves with romance novels? I tend to avoid the marriage of convenience stories that are because someone else forced them into it (I'd rather they chose the marriage for their own convenience and not someone else's). I don't like brand-name dropping books. I usually avoid May/December romances. I can't stand books with animal sidekicks. I avoid secret babies like the plague. I get sick of virgins, virgins all the time though I have nothing against them individually. But mostly, I just want romance that is real. I don't want to feel like I missed out on these two getting to know each other, and learning to love each other. I hate "I hate you, Let's have sex, I hate you, more sex, I love you" stories. When you buy romance novels, how do you make your selection? I do most of my browsing online these days, so I make my selections based on covers and blurbs. I don't usually read any of the book before I buy it, and I don't read excerpts online because then I am antsy for the book for the week that it takes to get it in the mail, and I can't stand that. But a good cover, a good description, and a little bit of buzz will sell a book to me. When discussing romance novels and/or the Romance genre with fellow readers, which issues interest you most? Trends in the romance world (what's being published, which authors are on the rise). Book covers (always, always). The online romance community. How sexuality is presented in novels. And the way real situations in life are dealt with in fiction. If an influential romance editor asks you for an opinion on the Romance genre, what would you say? Stop worrying so much about having a hook and worry more about having great characters. Characters with depth can carry even the most hook-less story. And please, get rid of the clinch covers, or at least hide them in a stepback. Name up to five romance novels that left you lasting impressions.

• The Last Hellion - Loretta Chase This and Black Silk are my two favorite romances. I loved the fact that Chase flaunts the whole "people didn't do that back then" idea that so many have about historicals, and had a heroine with conviction, a hero who started out very not heroic, and made me fall in love with both of them.
• Black Silk - Judith Ivory This was the first romance that I loved, loved, loved. I frequently feel like many romance authors write simplistic stories in simplistic ways, and I loved this one because Ivory showed the little things, the little changes in how you think about another person that can lead you to love where you least expect it, and even would have derided the idea of previously.
• Ravished - Amanda Quick This was one of the first romances I read with a fairy tale theme (Beauty and the Beast).
• Hooked - Stef Ann Holm Holm was very different from any of the authors that I had been reading at the time, and her Americana-type romances felt more real than nostalgic.
• Naked in Death - J. D. Robb This first book in the In Death series showed that a good author could combine genres well and sell it widely. The mix of romance, mystery, and science fiction was great, and it was actually the first Nora Roberts book I ever read.

What do you think of romance novel covers in general? I think they have been getting better. I'm not a huge fan of cartoon covers, but some have been alright. Just as long as the people's faces aren't shown, because inevitably they are terrible. I don't like clinches. I don't like the new trend of bare-chested male torsos either. I prefer pictures of the hero and heroine that make an attempt to look realistic, and I do like some of the sexy (but classy!) photos of couples I've been seeing on contemporaries. Do you have any favourite romance covers? If so, which are they? Come to Me - Lisa Cach Tempting - Hope Tarr Outsiders - Melanie Jackson The Dark Queen - Susan Carroll [click on any to enlarge] Urban Shaman - C. E. Murphy The Pleasure Slave - Gena Showalter Charming the Prince - Teresa Medeiros (with stepback) Almost Innocent - Jane Feather Name top five favourite romantic films.

• Ladyhawke I love this movie, I even love the music everyone thinks is weird. Their devotion over years and despite such a horrible separation is just amazing and moving.
• Strictly Ballroom I love this story of a less-than-perfect heroine finding happiness and love.
• The Age of Innocence This one doesn't have such a happy ending, but I think it is a beautiful love story.
• Hotel de Love Many of you have probably never heard of this one but I like the way the characters don't always fall in love with the one they think they want.
• Somewhere in Time Another star-crossed love, this one just makes me bawl every time I see it.

What was the last romance novel you bought? I pre-ordered the Kick-Ass anthology by Maggie Shayne, MaryJanice Davidson, Angela Knight and Jacey Ford, and the Hot Spell anthology with Emma Holly, Lora Leigh, Shiloh Walker, and Meljean Brook. I got Awaken Me Darkly by Gena Showalter in the mail. I bought The Companion by Susan Squires and Lord of Sin by Madeline Hunter Thanks, Beverly!