Gina, this was so much fun! Here’s my ‘go’ at it!

1) One romance book you've read more than once.

Pretty much every one I own. Honestly! I am an inveterate re-reader of books; it’s impossible for me to pick out just one.

2) One romance book you want on a desert island.

Faking it by Jennifer Cruise. Awkward first-time-together sex, lots of laughter, and many secrets. Plus how to pull a con, what more could you ask? Wait, maybe I should go with Mary Balogh’s Slighty Dangerous. The Duke of Bedwyn shows he’s human after all, to his discomfort. Or maybe … this is hard!

3) One romance book that made you laugh.

The Corset Diaries by Katie MacAlister. Barking Spiders. Enough said.

4) One romance book that made you cry.

I cry at the drop of a hat so any scene that has pathos gets me going. I re-read Fancy Pants by Susan Elizabeth Phillips recently, which had several heart wrenching scenes.

5) One romance book you wish you had written.

The Species Imperative series by Julie Czerneda. Not technically a romance, but a sci-fi series with a romance. The characters and world building are amazing and so well thought out and interwoven that it all makes sense. And the hero is strong but flawed. Gotta love it.

6) One romance book you wish you could alter the ending of.

Oh! I know just the book! I can’t put my hands on my copy but it’s a Harlequin Regency from the early 1990’s. The title had something about a Vicar?? Well written and really enjoyable but then very abruptly wrapped up in the last five pages. At the time I was so confused why the author ruined the plot lines she’d developed as well as the story (my sister and I *still* kvetch about the ending, ten years after reading it!). Knowing what I do now, I would guess someone (an editor?) told the author the story was too long and to cut the final scenes, thus wrap it up faster. I’d love one day to read the missing scenes!

7) One romance book you are currently reading.

LOL, I assume you mean a NEW book, not a re-read :-). I’m in a YA fantasy phase right now, so the most recent (new) romance I read was probably Austenland by Shannon Hale. What a fun book, even though I didn’t get nearly all the references. The piano recital was hysterical. My sister got it as a book on tape and had to pull over she was laughing so hard.

8) One romance book you have meant to read.

I *still* haven’t read Pride and Prejudice, despite having started it twice. I think I’m worried it won’t live up to my expectations.

9) One romance book that changed you or your views in some way.

The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye. I read this in my teens and I’ll always remember it as a book with characters from different cultures over coming trials and tribulations all the while leading up to a great romance.

10) One romance book made into a movie that you liked both the book & the movie.

I’m not a big movie person. If I do see a movie, it’s to see something new, not something I’ve read (except Harry Potter!). Given that, I’d pick Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. The book and the movie have only a little in common; however, I really liked both. And yes, there is romance!

Thanks for suggesting this, Gina. I look forward to seeing what others list!

Labels: Austen, far pavilions, favorite books, jennifer crusie, Julie Czerneda, katie macalister, kaye, mary balogh, meme, Romance Writing, shannon hale

In my Internet playtime I came across the following Meme. I don't know how it's missed me until now, but I immediately realized it would be perfect to bring my fellow RWUers out to play. Come on, kids. Let's hear your answers. These are mine:

1) One romance book you've read more than once.

The Kadin by Bertrice Small. My first Bertrice Small and still a classic, imho. What a heroine! And the storyline was amazing. I never tire of studying the history, the turns of phrase, the beauty of that plot.

2) One romance book you want on a desert island.

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb. The ultimate hero who wins the heroine's heart with a gift of real coffee. Oh, the brilliance of these characters. I could read that book every day and always find some subtle nugget I missed before.

3) One romance book that made you laugh.

Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. The cereal killer scene is one I use in my humor workshops to show how easy a one-liner can be. Perfection!

4) One romance book that made you cry.

The Dream Thief by Shana Abe. In the gym, no less. I wept like a hysterical idiot.

5) One romance book you wish you had written.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. But I probably would have stopped at one book. I never liked the rest of the series.

6) One romance book you wish you could alter the ending of.

The only books I can think of for this weren't romances, which is what I'd change. :-) Oh, wait. Maybe Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Blasphemy? Maybe. But I would have loved a little more insight into why the heroine fell for the hero to begin with.

7) One romance book you are currently reading.

Glitter Baby by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Though, I admit, I'm so busy with my own wip, I haven't even cracked open the binding yet.

8) One romance book you have meant to read.

I'm kinda eager to get my hands on Carrie Lofty's What a Scoundrel Wants. I've heard great things about it and I love the premise! Next trip to the bookstore, that one's going into the cart.

9) One romance book that changed you or your views in some way.

Skye O'Malley by Bertrice Small. Before Skye, I never read a romance where the heroine truly loved more than one hero.

10) One romance book made into a movie that you liked both the book & the movie.

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding. The lead roles in the movie were exactly perfect for the characters in my head.

Labels: favorite books, meme, Romance Writing

I write 'Romances'. I also, like many of my fellow RWUers, write in other genres. I write stories that are fantasy, suspense, and what I think would be termed urban or futuristic fantasy. However, all of my works have a romance in them. But…and you knew that was coming, didn't you?…the tales I write in others genres are not 'Romance' stories. In my 'other' stories, the story arc is not about the relationship and romantic love between two people. I do admit they do have, mostly, an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Hey, I am a 'glass is half full' kind of person! (I should thank Wikipedia for helping me with a standardized 'romance' definition!)

Many, many 'main stream' and/or 'literary' novels, new and old, have romantic love in them. Nicholas Sparks is clearly an author who incorporates romantic love in his novels. As for F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hello? What crib sheet doesn't list 'romantic love' as a main theme in The Great Gatsby? Anna Karenina, please, do we need to go there? Of course, not all these stories have the emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending a 'Romance' novel does. However, they *do* have one key element, a romantic love which enmeshes itself so firmly around the story line that the novel would not exist without it.

In other genres romance is also a frequent element. Fantasy novels are rife with 'life bonding', 'soul mates' and other pairings. In these stories the pairings are not the main thrust of the story arc. However, the romantic relationship (or forced non-relationship) between lead characters can intertwine intimately with the development of the plot. Here you more often have the second element, the 'happy ending', that you don't always with literary novels.

I could go on, but I think you see my point: within many 'non-Romance' genre books are romances. There exist outside our 'genre' stories where the relationship and the romantic love between two people impact the story line.

To that end, I'd like to share with you, and I hope you share with me, some favorite 'non-Romance' genre writers whose 'romances' you have enjoyed. Or at least found memorable. ;-)

My list to start us off:

Piers Anthony: Many of the Xanth Series

Kristen Britain: Green Rider Series (with only two out, I'm still on tenterhooks how the romantic element in this will be resolved!)

Julie Czerneda: Particularly the Species Imperative Series

Sharon Shinn: Particularly Summers at Castle Auburn

Mercedes Lackey: The stand-alone By The Sword

Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter

Elizabeth Peters: Any Vicki Bliss Novel, although as I recall all have a romance element

And, of course, Jane Austen (a preemptive strike to avoid getting sixteen posts about her :-) ).

I could go on, but what novels or authors would you list?

Labels: Britain, Czerneda, favorite books, genres, Romance Writing, romantic love, Sparks