Celebrating 'sweetness' and abiding love.
There has been a lot of discussion in the publishing world about 'what IS a 'sweet' romance.' And in doing a little searching around online for this weekend's blog I have been surprised by the variety of opinion. And yet, underlying those differences is a common denominator best summed up by a comment I came across in another discussion back in 2011.
"I can see the sex anytime, anywhere. Give me the heart when I want to escape
into a book."
And there, for me too, is the crux of the matter. As I understand this comment the reference to the heart equals love as opposed to sex which in this instance is equalled to lust, a short-term quick satisfaction before moving on to the next experience. And while few romance books finish on this note, there is a growing readership who are looking for the deeper 'something' in the relationship between the hero and heroine.
Author Nell Dixon explains it "The best ones (sweet romance stories) have terrific tenderness, emotion and warmth."
Happily there are also a growing number of publishers who offer a 'sweet' genre within their stable. Sweet Cravings Publishing being one of them.
The 'sweet' romance covers a whole host of genres from contemporary, historical, regency, paranormal, Sci-fi, mystery, and even murder. the difference is that even a hard impacting story is considered 'sweet' if the romance hinges round love rather that lust, so there's plenty to choose from.
My Regency romance, No Job For a Woman, revolves around the heroine, widowed Deborah Stavely's
determination to live and self-dependent life. Back in those days a woman, upon marriage, became her husband's property!
Blurb:
Julian Fanshaw answers a call for help from his life-long friend Lord Worth to help keep his friend’s widowed sister, Deborah, safe from her increasingly vindictive neighbours. It doesn’t take long to realise him or Freddie long to realise the Grangers aren’t using her as a long-promised act of revenge against them; but are playing a deeper and far more sinister game of their own.
Deborah Stavely is determined to overcome the increasing harassment from her neighbour without calling on her brother for help. So she is not pleased when Freddie intervenes and involves his friend, Julian Fanshaw.
Circumstances demand Julian and Deborah learn to work together and Julian dares to dream that he might gain the love of the only person he’s ever given his heart to.
But will Deborah live long enough to discover that by releasing everything she values, she will gain everything her heart desires?
Julian Fanshaw answers a call for help from his life-long friend Lord Worth to help keep his friend’s widowed sister, Deborah, safe from her increasingly vindictive neighbours. It doesn’t take long to realise him or Freddie long to realise the Grangers aren’t using her as a long-promised act of revenge against them; but are playing a deeper and far more sinister game of their own.
Deborah Stavely is determined to overcome the increasing harassment from her neighbour without calling on her brother for help. So she is not pleased when Freddie intervenes and involves his friend, Julian Fanshaw.
Circumstances demand Julian and Deborah learn to work together and Julian dares to dream that he might gain the love of the only person he’s ever given his heart to.
But will Deborah live long enough to discover that by releasing everything she values, she will gain everything her heart desires?
Giveaway
Leave an answer to the following question, including your email address and using random.org I am giving away a pdf copy of No Job For a Woman to one lucky winner---
Q: What do you look for when choosing a 'sweet' romance?
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Don't forget to hop on over to meet more authors of 'sweet' romances over at http://secretcravingspublishing.blogspot.com/
and the opportunity to win some fabulous prizes.
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Other outlets for No Job For a Woman
19 comments:
Nice blog, but what question? :0
duh! Cindy. I have added the question now. Guess I better go and chase up my brain and hope a night's sleep will improve things! lol.
Thanks for coming by.
I look for books that have a "light" touch...nothing heavy or too depressing. I shy away from stories that have violence or danger as themes and look for ones that are more character-driven. I like to see how love strengthens the characters and gives them courage to become better individuals.
kcchristinacole AT yahoo.com
Humor. I wanted to laugh and sigh in the same book.
morgan k wyatt
Yay! The question is there. lol
I'm like the others who have commented. I want something light and happy - no gory details, no offensive language but still some excitement and suspense. Much success, Sherry.
Christina, thanks for coming by. I agree, I enjoy a light read that captures my attention and has a HEA.
Hi Morgan, thanks for coming by, yes humour is always a great ingredient in any romance, but especially in sweet ones.
rofl, Cindy. I agree you can get some very suspenseful sweet romances. Thanks for your good wishes and back at ya :-)
I like a sweet romance,that let's me use my imagination.Like little suspense.lemondeborah55@yahoo.com
I like a heroine I can admire and identify with, smart and strong. She can make mistakes, even be goofy, and I love a sense of humor, but she shouldn't be stupid and she shouldn't whine.
Love your quote about heart, BTW.
Debbie you remind me of the story of the young girl when asked if she enjoyed watching TV replied saying (and I paraphrase here :-) ) that she preferred reading because the 'pictures were better'!
Beth I so agree with you. I chose a book off Amazon yesterday and it was bitching and arguing from start to finish - and no I didn't rad it all, After realising where it was going I 'dipped' in the hope it would improve. It didn't!
Thanks for sharing.
The thing I like about sweet romance is I'm not taken out of the story but sex scenes.
I look for the tension between the hero and heroine when reading a sweet romance. I think one of the best is Twilight.
My favorite part of a sweet romance is the ever-growing relationship between the hero and heroine - to watch them grow together through the story.
Thanks for coming by and sharing, Lindsay, I always appreciate your support.
Jeanine, I agree, tension in sweet romance is essential, and I think that surprises a lot of readers who perhaps fail to equate sweet with tension. :-)
So true, Tricia, it's such fun exploring the growing relationship between the hero and heroine and can be nail-biting when done well.
Thank you to everyone who came by and left a comment. I loved reading what matters to you when reading a sweet romance and why.
My winner is Christina Cole. Congratulations Christina.
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