A Pleasant Book

Every year I try and second guess which of the entries will make it all the way to the top. This year, because of the Wattpad experience, I decided to use only the #Top55. I simply didn't have the time to go trawling through the zillions of entries that latched onto the contest.

Unlike last year, I'm one of the semi-finalists so I could be considered to have a vested interest. But being strong minded, I do not include my fabulous entry in the Top Picks. You can take that as read.

I read every first chapter of the #Top55 semi-finalists and did venture further on some stories. I mention this in the summary attached to each title if applicable.

My criteria is very simple. I think the book deserves to be in print and I want to read it. I've also kept in mind whether the book meets the criteria of the imprint.

The choices may not be the ones you would make but that is the beauty and the peril of the publishing industry. There are books for every taste and every taste may vary. Most of them I have only read the first chapter so I have no idea if they live up to the promise.

The overall quality of the chapters is very high as you would expect, being hand picked by the Harlequin Editors.

These are my Top Ten Picks in Alphabetical Order

A Soldier’s Princess– Romantic Suspense

This is a crazy mix of princess and bodyguard and potential destruction of the universe as we know it. Or at least a portion of it. This is a reunion romance and we get a good look at Alana and Gage and their past in this chapter.

Catch the Fallen Star - Superromance

Jonah is a recovering addict, placed in a small town under a false name so his mega stardom doesn’t bring down the paparazzi. Andi has moved into the house next door with her daughter after an ugly marriage breakdown. I’ve read the full story so I know how it turns out. The hero and heroine are well drawn.

Finding Home– Special Edition

Andie has had the responsibility of her family ever since the tragic death of her parents when her youngest brother was still at school. Her specialist Christmas shop is vital for the family finances because her other brother is still building up his veterinary practice. Connor has history with Andie back when she was a high school senior so his return to sell her building out from under her is adding insult to injury. This is another story I’ve read right to the end. At times it felt like almost too much was happening but it fits the SE line well.

Love Like a Man– Blaze

This has a strong chick lit feel at the beginning with the Heroine Claire and her two BFFs. Claire is a career woman but thought she had found her ideal man until he didn’t want to settle down (and promptly married a school teacher). I couldn’t help think of When Harry Met Sally. Now she’s going to forget settling and just date for fun. Gabe is a building contractor doing renovations in her office building and they meet. All his mates are married and settling down so he’s looking to settle. This could be fun.

Love on the Nile– Carina Press

My first thought was of course the Agatha Christie mystery “Death on the Nile” but once I read the blurb it was more like a taste of vintage romance. Good times.

Natasha with her youngish brother Nicky are joining their Aunt Lucy for a holiday in Egypt. She is disconcerted when they arrive to find their Aunt has organised a cruise down the Nile with an enigmatic archaeologist named Kyle. What’s not to like?

One Taste of You– Romantic Suspense

Zoe is our heroine in this chapter. She’s reeling from a put down from her ex that she is sexless and unappealing. You see where we are going here. Her best friends dress her up and send her out on the town to slay all the men. Which works fine, until she spots Zeke. Zeke is an undercover cop and he’s out to trap prostitutes tonight. He’s normally homicide but he’s on loan to vice. You see where we are going here. The next meeting is going to be a doozy.

Out of Focus– Superromance

This is listed as a superromance but it also has a little suspense in it. Eva is in a witness protection program with her children. She’s made a new life as a creative photographer with a small gallery. Her life becomes complicated when her assistant wants to promote the gallery through social media and the assistant's Journalist brother comes to the island. Marshall needs a good story to get a promotion and Eva could be it. I’ve read this right to the end.

Smouldering the Flames– Kimani

Reunion romance. Bing. Music teacher Angela is desperate to fulfil her promise to take the school’s Jazz Ensemble to an event in Madrid. The school is against it, seeing anything not sport connected or academic as a waste of money. Her one chance is Daniel, her first love who is now a wealthy celebrity chef and who donates to the school regularly. Only trouble is, she ran away without confronting him when she saw him lip-locked with his ex-girlfriend fifteen years ago.

Tethered by Twins– Presents

Ah…Presents. Secret babies...blackmail…marriage of convenience. All the good stuff. Of course we don’t get that in the first chapter…that came in the pitch. Rose has come onto Drew’s yacht to tell him a secret but he is in a drunken stupor. Not a man she wants anything to do with even if he is mourning the recent death of his wife. The one he said he was engaged to when he was dumping Rose four years ago. Oh the angst.

When the Brazilian Returns– Presents

Reunion romance. This is my catnip. Ava and Davi have history. Three years ago he dumped her but now she needs help and he’s the only man apart from her estranged father she can turn to. In return, he takes over her life and passport. This is looking like an angsty read.

Yes, I couldn't resist putting a few more in. Hey if the SYTYCW15 Top 50 can jump to 55 who am I to stick to numbers?

As Long as We Both Shall Live - Heartwarming

This is a reunion story. Tawny, the heroine, left Alex the hero, taking their daughter. We don’t know what triggered her leaving but we learn something of her troubled background which could be significant. Alex makes an appearance and we get a little view of where he is at. Tawny is very sick and that forces a confrontation she's been avoiding.

Chasing Mr Crown– Superromance

Unusually, this story has multiple viewpoints, not just the Hero and Heroine. This is the story of Natalie and Dash who meet just as Natalie is leaving for a new job across the Atlantic. They make a connection, but Natalie doesn’t quite trust it and at the end of the chapter we aren’t quite sure what will happen. This is another story I’ve read right through. It was a bit nerve wracking at times once Natalie’s sister enters the scene.

Dating the Undead– Nocturne

This is actually a cute and flirty chapter for a nocturne. It’s told in first person which kind of suits the chick lit feel. The heroine is Silver and she meets a cute and intriguing guy when she gets thrown out of a party. He has unusual speed and seems able to read her mind. Only his eyes are sparkly…sort of. This world view includes Vampires as a regular part of society.

It’s Only Temporary– Superromance

Classic Boss and Secretary trope. Penny is an appealing heroine, temping while she has med school on hold. There is a reason for it but we don’t find out in this chapter. Hero David is the usual, too good looking womanizer. All the same he comes across well. Banter is clever and the rapport is believable. Chapter ends on a nice juicy hook.

Mr Wrong– Kimani

I was a little confused at first with this story. I made the mistake of reading the comments and this author apparently writes Justin Bieber fan fiction. However, the hero is NOT Justin Bieber though there is a secondary character that could be modelled on him. The heroine, Madison, is an image consultant, and she’s just been handed the job of white washing the Rap scene’s biggest bad boy ready to take over his estranged father’s entertainment company. Madison is an interesting character with a strong back story. We haven’t met the hero in person yet, but he looks like one hell of a challenge.

The Shape of Us– Nocturne

First person POV. Jessica is a shifter mage in a small community. She’s alienated from the pack but when the female Alpha’s son comes into hospital with something odd preventing his natural shifter healing abilities, she’s drawn back into the circle. We get to meet Ian, an ex who still has a powerful effect on the heroine. And from the description, maybe on any woman in a five mile radius.

The Sheikh’s Forbidden Jewel– Presents

Another classic presents with revenge, a stolen jewel, and sizzling attraction. Lady Georgina remembers Idriss well. He was her playmate 20 years ago before he and his mother were sent away from her uncle’s castle. Now she needs to find a jewel left to her by her uncle and supposedly in the hands of the Sheikh, Idriss. In her role as party planner, she has the opportunity to go to the castle and search for the jewel. And not fall for Idriss. Hehe.

I think Ryan really says everything about what I want to wish for ALL the contestants, not just the ones featured here.

And of course that includes my own entry. Known as #spymistress on Social Media this is the story of Trauma surgeon Gabe and Anna, a Russian spy.

To go and visit click here

To see my stunning book trailer with an earworm that will make you wish for Anna to put you out of your misery Click here

And to double your suffering I have made a second trailer. Click Here.

Once again, the debate about what constitutes a Romance rages across social media. Of course, I have an opinion. I have an opinion about everything. Even things I know nothing about. Like American politics. After all, I have watched Dave, The American President and Wag the Dog numerous times. I also saw All the Presidents Men in the cinemas back when it was first out. I get to have an opinion.

Anyway…subject in hand. Romance. Genre Romance in particular.

Not a Romance under present guidelines...but back when it was written...maybe a small r romance.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…you get the drift. A romance was any novel that wasn’t true. It was a made-up story. It was purely coincidental that Jane Austen wrote romance in the form of what is known these days as what I shall call capital R romance.

Early last century, Mills and Boon published romances. They might have been about a dog in the wilderness and written by a man. But they were considered romances because some author sat in his garret and “romanced” about a dog in the wilderness.

Somewhere between the Great War and the Great War Part II…it’s all about semantics…women became a force in reading. Not that we didn’t always read, once we were allowed to learn to do it, but women also developed buying power and they wanted to read romantic stories about love that didn’t necessarily end up in tragedy. Because any woman daring to “love” in literature almost invariably came to a bad end.

It was also in this era that genre started to really become a thing. We had the Golden Age Mystery writers like Christie, Allingham, Sayers, Wentworth, Marsh. A very stylised distinct type of mystery. Not new but suddenly everywhere and available everywhere. Serialised in magazines, in libraries for a modest subscription, eventually in paperback (pulp fiction). We won’t talk about the rather sordid tales of PI’s and loose women who eventually ended up dead. The thing is, you knew what you were getting. A neat mystery with a satisfactory solution that the reader might almost guess before the big reveal.

This was also a time of growth for science fiction. Another genre. Once again, magazines, library books, pulp fiction with lovely lurid covers, often with semi-clad females. When they weren’t being murdered over in the mystery genre, they were tangling with aliens and probably coming to a bad end.

It is interesting that most of the Golden Age Mysteries writers included romance in their mysteries. This was also the Era when Georgette Heyer invented the Regency Romance. She started off writing small r historical romances but in the end, only a handful of her books are not considered true Romances under the modern definition.

So, it’s obvious there was a badly needed genre for women who dared to love to get their happy ending. Romance had a bit of a dodgy start, but by the fifties we pretty much knew what we expected from them. One main protagonist we could relate to, a hero suitable for her to redeem and a background cast of characters to provide colour. Occasionally there was a girl somewhere who came to a bad end. Usually for daring to love the hero. Still working on that one.

An interesting sideline. When Harlequin started to acquire Romances from Mills & Boon for the American market, they had to be cleaned up a little. No sordid bigamy, children out of wedlock and suchlike nasty things that those decadent English readers tolerated. The American market still has some idiosyncrasies. But that’s a story for another day.

The real story behind capital R romance is the marketing machine. Because Romance readers are demanding and voracious. They consume more books than any other segment of the reading market. They have very specific demands and the marketing machine know that if they want to capture all that filthy lucre, they have to give them what they want.

What do they want? Happiness. They want to go on a journey that ends up with a Happy Ever After. Romance readers know that in real life, a happy ever after is as elusive as the unicorn. That moments of happiness are as hard to hold onto as dandelion fluff in the wind. If they are going to engage with the protagonists, go on a journey that is often fraught with tears and angst, they want the big reward at the end. They want the fairy tale. They want to believe that love triumphs AND survives. They want it ALL.

When they pay their money, they aren’t buying the sweat of some authors brow, the pain of RSI from typing until all hours to get the book done on time. They aren’t even buying the pretty cover, although they are a nice bonus. They are buying the feels. The feels they get from suffering along with their protagonists and that magical, almost unbelievable happiness when somehow, despite everything, it all comes out right at the end.

What am I trying to say here? I’m saying that we want something with certain ingredients, we label it. You want muesli with oats, sunflower seeds, sultanas and nuts, you check the label. You get home and eat the muesli and discover cranberries in it and you hate cranberries, you are going to be unhappy. You might leave the bowl half full. You might chuck the packet at the wall in disgust. You did not get what you wanted. What you paid for.

From the Romance Wiki: “Novels of this type ofgenre fiction place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending."

Much has been made of the phrase “emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending” by those who say that it doesn’t matter if one of the romantic couple dies so long as the other partner is optimistic about the future and emotionally satisfied even if grieving their heart out for the loved one. IT IS NOT ABOUT THEM. It is about the reader.

Do you really find it emotionally satisfying when you are left grieving the might have beens? When one partner of a romantic couple you have emotionally engaged with is left ALONE. That is not romantic. The love affair might have been romantic. The end of it is not. That is tragic. We might find it absolutely wonderful writing, deeply moving, a literary tour de force. It is not a Romance. We expect both, preferably all, the lovers to survive. Because it is a journey and the destination is supposed to be HEA/HFN for all the main protagonists. Like the marines, we don’t leave anyone behind.

When you are dealing with a product purchased by millions of people who have a specific recipe they want to buy, you label it correctly. Romance is now a label. Romance with a capital R, aka genre romance, is shorthand for saying, when you buy this book it will have the essential ingredients you want. There will be love. There will be people we hope you relate to. Most of all, those people we hope you like will end up happy (and mostly alive, bearing in mind paranormal romance) at the end, no matter what happens to them on the journey. We promise you this.

It's a promise. A happy ever after promise. Do NOT break that promise. People will not forgive you. You don’t have to make that promise to make people read your book. If your book does not have a HEA you don’t have to pretend it does. If it’s a good book, people will read it. They will tell other people to read it. If you lie about your book people will be sad and upset. They will feel betrayed. They will tell other people not to buy your book. Even if it is a good book. Because you promised something you didn’t deliver. You stole their money under false pretences and expected them to swallow the cranberries just because you thought it made the muesli better. Tastier. More meaningful. *cough* Literary.

It's that #SYTYCW15 time of year again. Top Picks

These are my Top Ten Picks in Alphabetical Order

Yes, I couldn't resist putting a few more in. Hey if the SYTYCW15 Top 50 can jump to 55 who am I to stick to numbers?

Romance with a Capital R : Or Why Genre Romance is a Thing