Morning everyone! I’m here today to chat with you all about romance novels – the stigma attached to reading and writing them, the funny stories, the jaw dropping moments, and more … I hope you are all prepared to share your funny and/or frustrating experiences, to respond to other romance lovers, and to just have a good time.
During the course of the day, I am going to post about 5 threads/posts, and I’d love to see what you have to say about the topics. Respond to one, respond to them all, or however many you wish. : )
To start things off, I’d like to tell you a little bit about my own experiences …
I picked up my first romance novel at age 15. I haven’t a clue at the author’s name, but the title stuck with me. It was one of the older bodice rippers, with an alpha male who wasn’t so much alpha as a control freak. Looking back, it is amazing that romances stuck with me so much. He was a prick, and the way he treated the heroine was way, way beyond acceptable. Yet at the time I was fascinated. Before then it was Black Stallion and Flowers For Algernon, and things like that. This book opened a whole new world for me, and I haven’t stopped reading them since.
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So my first question today is — when did you start reading romances and what was your impression of that first book? Did you hate it, but decide to give another book a try? Did it completely floor you, and you knew romances were something for you? Or was your reaction somewhere in between?
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- About the Author
- Posts in the Past
Born to ride on the back of dragons, to journey among the stars in a ship traveling faster than light, or to dance the night away in the arms of a mysterious vampire, Michelle Houston willingly shares the worlds in her mind in an effort to bring them to life.
 Writing everything from short and sweet stories, to hot and spicy tales of kink, from contemporary tales of romance to erotic romances featuring Greek Gods, vampires and were-creatures, she has crossed sexualities and has gone wherever her mental muse has guided her. A journey she has never regretted.
 With stories either out, or coming out soon, from Renaissance E Books, Phaze, Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, Cleis Press, Alyson Books, and Pretty Things Press, to name a few, she has many more stories just waiting for their chance to be told.
I started reading romances my freshman year of high school. The typical Harlequin, then I discovered the Blaze series. I was hooked. Sadly, I still have the original romance! Makes me sound like an awful pack rat! 😕
I can still remember my very first romance book. In fact, I mention it in my profile on the coffee time romance page. Up until that point, I hated to read. In fact, I failed reading in my third grade because I disliked it so much. Well, my mother was so adamant about me reading that she gave me a romance book for my 12th birthday. I know it was young, but where I came from we grew up really fast. It was Johanna Lindsay’s Prisoner of my desires. To this day I still love that book and I love all her writing. Since then, I have been a huge fan of romance. Then I read Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series and Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark-Hunter series and was hooked ever since. Thank you Michelle for bringing back wonderful memories. To me the greatest feeling in the world was opening that book. It was like discovering another dimension. Now, every time I open a new romance book (or even one I have read already) I get that same euphoric feeling of completion! 😀
Honestly, the first romance I read was in 2nd grade and it was one of those teeny-bopper romances from the 1960’s. My moms old stuff. But by middle school I’d graduated to Harlequins and Zebra bodice-rippers. I was the progressive one of my friends, always with the ‘good’ stuff.
The one I remember from Middle school was a pirate romance, very passionate and adventurous! I’d read anything I got my hands on, and by high school I was introduced to Jude Deveraux who was, and still is one of, my favorite romance authors. I really fell in love with series’ and then dipped into Julie Garwood and Johanna Lindsey. My aunt introduced me to Judith McNaught and, later, I indroduced her to Diana Gabaldon. I know, not technically a romance writer but MAN….does she have some hot stuff in her books!
Now I read many paranormal, TT, sci-fi and erotic romance. After a child-bearing hiatus for a few years, I am now discovering new authors, the world of e-books, and loving every minute!
Oh, BTW Kimberly, I still have many many of my original Deveraux, Lindsey, Garwood, etc. books from the 80’s and 90’s. NOT giving them up, either! 😎
I remember reading my first romance novel in my late teens. I grew up in a small town and well, the choice of boys were hmmm, Let’s just say, ” Boring”
I felt the world should be as it was in the books I read.
While in my 30’s, I discovered ” Angela knight” I was so embarrassed. 😳 I worried about what people might think of me for reading such literature.
Now, I look for books with hot, steamy sex scenes.
I have stacks and stacks of books I have yet to read because I buy one or two every week. I am so afraid I will miss out on a good book.
If I could read in heaven… I would. This would be my heaven.
I started reading Jule Garwood, Jude Deveraux, Joanna Lindsay, and others early on. I still have my favorites by them, but I am now interested in the hotter works. 😉
Recently I hit a kick where I have been reading the early Harlequins, just because I enjoy imagining what goes on “behind closed doors”. I LOVE the Blaze series and was so glad they started it.
Kensington’s Aphrodisia line is also fast becoming a favorite.
Angela Knight – oh yeah! I read her. I also am a member of her newsgroup, which has access to her older, and naughy-kinky works. LOL
And J D Ward. Angela Knight turned me on to her works, and I can’t put them down when I start them. : ) Managed to get a coworker hooked on them too.
Also – Nalini Singh has fast become my FAVORITE author. She can’t write fast enough for me. I bought the latest of hers on Tueday and by Wednesday afternoon I was done and already wanting the next book.
Michelle
My grandmother fostered my reading addiction. She didn’t care for romances though. I grew up with the phrase “trashy romances.”
I picked up a Danielle Steel book at a library book sale once and thought I’d give it a try. I can’t remember the title. I couldn’t get into it. The story just didn’t grab me. It reinforced my belief that all romances were “trashy.”
It wasn’t until about two years ago that I got serious again about writing (I’d had a few false starts). I joined some Yahoo groups about writing etc and found most of the people on the groups wrote romances.
Until then I’d have said my favorite genres to read was urban fantasy/paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi and horror. I soon got a crash course in the sub-genres of romance. I learned that there could be urban fantasy/paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi and horror with romantic elements all in the same book. Whoa, what a revelation!
I saw a submission call that piqued my interest, wrote a piece for it, it was accepted and voila. My romance writing career began.
I’ve since done a 180 degree turn on my view of romances.Having romance in a story doesn’t necessarily make it a bad story. Crappy writing, poor plot lines and unremarkable characters make for bad stories, romance or otherwise.
Carpe Noctem,
Des
Desirée Lee
Putting the Romance Back in Necromancy
http://www.desireelee.com
des@desireelee.com
I couldn’t agree with you more Des. Crappy writing make a book suck, not the genre it is written in.
I have read some books by BIG name authors that were total wall-bangers, in various genres. And I have read some kick *ss romances that were incredible with their sci-fi elements. The world building is the same in any genre, and makes for the best romances.
Michelle