Christine Amsden's Blog: Christine Amsden Author Blog, page 36

Defining Romance

I’m not going to talk about what it means to be romantic. That’s highly individual, and there are no shortcuts. If you want to know what your significant other likes or dislikes, ask!

What I’m concerned with is the definition of romance in fiction, because sometimes I see it flung about in wide circles at any story in which a man and a woman notice each other as members of the opposite sex. A romance story isn’t just about humans behaving in normal human fashion. It isn’t simply about attraction, dating, marriage, or sex. In fact, the term “romance” as applied to fiction does not describe a theme, setting, or condition.

Romance describes a *plot*. According to Wikipedia:

Plot is a literary term defined as the events that make up a story, particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, in a sequence, through cause and effect, how the reader views the story, or simply by coincidence. One is generally interested in how well this pattern of events accomplishes some artistic or emotional effect.

Plots involve tension. Two opposing forces interact, competing against one another through twists and turns until one comes out on top. In a class murder mystery plot, the detective battles the skills of the murderer, who does not want to be discovered. He will discover clues, follow leads that do not pan out, discover other clues that turn out to be red herrings, and only then will he unmask the culprit.

What would you call this story if someone was murdered, but the protagonist knows from the start who did it. Instead of trying to find out who did it, perhaps the protagonist seeks revenge. This is no longer a mystery, since a mystery identifies a plot in which a protagonist works to solve a, well, mystery. The fact that someone died doesn’t make a story a mystery. People die all the time. It’s the tail end of life.

Likewise, people get together all the time. It’s fine. Great even. Well-rounded characters should live a full life, which may include love, loss, pain, and defeat.

But the fact that they love doesn’t mean they are protagonists in a romance story.

Young adult fiction is getting particularly sloppy with this. Romance sells, or so publishers are coming to understand, so they want a “romance” in their young adult story. This usually means that a girl notices a guy, or visa versa. Seems perfectly plausible to me, given what I remember of my own preoccupations during my teenage years, but it is not a romance, not even as a subplot.

Romance primarily involves the question: How will these two get together? The forces involved are “that which brings them together” vs “that which keeps them apart.” Most romances end with an HEA (happily ever after), but people devour them despite knowing how they will end. Why? Because of the emotional ride in a well-told story.

A romance plot should have twists and turns. That which keeps them apart at the beginning should shift, complicating matters or further separating the two potential lovers. If the romance is the primary plot, it should have several turning points, but even if you want a real romantic subplot, you should have one.

If the only thing keeping two people apart is that they haven’t gotten together yet, it’s not a romance. I see this often in so-called “romantic suspense” in which the hero and heroine are mostly waiting for the suspense to resolve before finally hooking up. That’s not romance — it’s a hookup.

Why does it matter? Maybe it doesn’t, but we do put a lot of stock in labels, and as long as that is true, I think knowing what romance is, and what it is not, takes a lot of the pressure off. Some authors don’t want to write romance, so they keep their characters apart, not letting them get involved with one another. That’s silly. If it is right and natural for them to get together, hook ‘em up. It’s part of normal character development, not part of a subplot you don’t want to mess with. On the other hand, if you *do* want to write romance, know what it is — and write a good one!

Expected Delays

Cassie Scott: ParaNormal Detective, is still coming soon, though perhaps not as soon as we’d hoped. I won’t have anything firm for a few weeks, but we’ve only just been able to get the cover artist we wanted, and he needs some time to complete his work.

I have been waiting on a cover image to begin my full-scale marketing launch. For those who don’t know, books typically need at least 3 months of pre-luanch once they are complete. This gives them time to get reviewed by pre-release reviewers and websites which will not consider a book once is has been released. In some cases, they won’t consider reviewing a book without a good 3-4 month lead-in.

Despite the delay, I am pleased with the possibilities for my latest cover. I won’t release his name until I release the cover, but this time we’re not doing computerized images. This is going to be an original painting.

Stay tuned! More updates will be coming soon.

Book Review: The Age of Miracles

In this dystopian novel, we follow a young girl (12) named Julia in the months after the earth’s rotation begins to slow down. I keep seeing it referred to as a “coming of age story,” although I’m not convinced Julia made the transformation from child to adult during the course of the story. For me it was more about how life moved on for her small circle of family and neighbors in the midst of a worldwide crisis.

I have mixed feelings about this story. On the one hand, it was a quick read (it was short, which I suppose is an advantage of reading YA), and I found both character and voice compelling. On the other hand, not much happened. We don’t even get the answer to the biggest question: Why is this happening? It seemed incredible, even unbelievable, to me that no one knew why the earth’s rotation was slowing down. Mixed in with my feelings of doubt was this sort of lack of panic going on. Julia seemed peripherally aware of some people panicking, but mostly life seemed to move on even as a day stretched from 24 to 72 hours. She still went to school. Her parents still went to work. It seemed to me that this is a situation that would very quickly cause the deaths of millions of people, if for no other reason than due to the panic. Maybe that was going on just outside her circle, but I didn’t get a sense of it.

In Julia’s narrow world life more or less moved on. She went to school. She lost her friends (not sure why that happened), her family was in trouble, and there was a boy. Some people moved away. Some tried to get off the 24-hour clock and move to “real time” with the rising and setting of the sun.

I will say this much: It had all the makings of a haunting story.

If you like dystopian stories, you may enjoy this. If you’re not drawn to end-of-the-world scenarios, this isn’t going to be the story to change your mind.

Rating: 3/5

Title: The Age of Miracles

Author: Karen Thompson Walker

ISBN: 0812983602

Published June 26, 2012

Vote NO on Woman Suffrage

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Yesterday, in the midst of all the election hubbub, I found myself going to Wikipedia to refresh my memory of the history of women’s suffrage. We gained the right to be full, deciding citizens of this nation in 1920, not even 100 years ago. Later in the evening, one of my Facebook friends shared this photo, and the reality of it hit me with enough force that I nearly cried. We are so blessed to be alive here and now. Throughout history and across other parts of the world even today, a woman’s fate is tied into the fortune and good will of the men in her life. Here and now, we can choose our own fates.

A few fun facts:

Did you know women began running for public office long before they had the right to vote?

In 1866, Elizabeth Cady Stanton ran for the U.S. House of Representatives. She received 24 votes (out of more than 12,000).

In 1872, Victoria Woodhull ran for president of the United States under the Equal Rights Party.

In 1884, Belva Lockwood also ran for president under the Equal Rights Party. She was the first woman admitted to practice law before the US Supreme Court.

In 1887, we had our first woman mayor — Susanna Salter, mayor of Argonia, Kansas.

In 1894, three women pushed the envelope in Colorado, being elected to that state’s house of reps. (Clara Cressingham, Carrie C. Holly, and Frances Klock)

In 1896 Martha Hughes Cannon became a state senator in Utah.

In 1917, we got ourselves a woman at the national level. Jeannette Rankin, a Republican from Montana, was elected to the US House of Reps.

In 1920, we passed the 19th amendment to the constitution, giving women the right to vote.

In 2012 I got to cast my ballot along with millions of intelligent, thinking women! I won’t even try to count the number of women who were on the ballot at every level of government, from congress to governors to city officials. We haven’t found our first female president yet, but does anyone now doubt that it will happen?

Happy Election Day (US)

We are amazingly privileged to be citizens of the Untied States of America, and for so many reasons. We live in a society with advancements to make our lives easier, with educational opportunities to make the world fairer, and of course, with the world’s best military to keep us safe. We get all of that, and in return our government asks so very little of us — occasionally serve on a jury when called, and vote in regularly scheduled elections.

That’s it. Those are our only constitutionally prescribed duties. Paying taxes is a matter of law, and if you don’t like it, there’s something you can do about it.

In a free country, voting is not a privilege. Informed voting is a responsibility. Our forebears fought and died for it, but today some people take it for granted. It’s not about whether or not a single vote can make a difference. I’m a left-wing liberal nut job (an endearment, I’m sure ) in a dark crimson state, I have no illusions about the weight of my vote. And still it is my duty, as a responsible citizen, to participate in the democratic process.

So if you haven’t already, get out and vote!

Fifty Shades

The Series:

Fifty Shades of Gray

Fifty Shades Darker

Fifty Shades Freed

Disclaimer: I did not read  the final book in this series, Fifty Shades Frees.   I lost interest in this series for the reasons described below. I have been uncertain about whether or not to review this book for my web site, but since this is a hot topic in literature today, I decided to weigh in.

Let me start by saying that I do not feel the need to demonize this series for what it is or for the risque situations it portrays. It is what it is and it does what it does. In some ways, I found it educational. If you maintain an open mind while reading, you may as well.

I learned one other thing from reading the first two books in this series, though: Why romance novels are not usually so long, or told in trilogies. That’s it. That’s my bottom line. I was bored, especially in the second book when the educational scenarios from the first book became repetitive and no longer interested me.

Grey didn’t strike me as a particularly believable character. He claimed to want a submissive partner, yet he ended up throwing away everything he had ever previously enjoyed for the sake of our heroine, who refused to even give his lifestyle a chance. For that reason, I felt like the books were making a value judgment, finding the entire BDSM culture lacking. Fifty Shades Darker, in particular, approached Grey’s proclivities as if they constituted some kind of psychological disorder. I didn’t buy it, and I didn’t enjoy the way the story turned from romance to psychoanalysis..

Ultimately, I did not believe in the comparability of the two main characters. I never do, when a coupling requires one half of the couple to become something completely different. If there’s a hot topic in this book, I think it should be the absurdity of love in modern romance. But I guess the appropriateness of kinky sex is, well, sexier. Personally, as long as its consensual, I don’t care what you do in the bedroom, nor do I care what you enjoy reading in a book, although I believe I will stick to “vanilla” romance from here on out.

On Reforming the Rake

He’s handsome. He’s dashing. He has a certain magnetism that makes women flock to him in droves. And he doesn’t care about a single one of them, at least not until…

Despite the popular myth painting romance readers as idiots, most of us know this for the fantasy it is. It works because it speaks to the inner core of femininity that wants to be special, that wants to be the one who is so good that she can make him change for her. And of course, his experience doesn’t hurt.

I get it. I really do. But I am SICK TO DEATH of it! And not just because it’s unbelievable — though it is. There is an inner core to my femininity that wants a man who wants a woman to love and cherish, not some jerk who gets dragged into a relationship reluctantly. Maybe he hasn’t found the right woman yet, but he’s got an eye out for her. He wants that life. He wants children.

This is why Catherine Anderson is one of my favorite authors.

I’d love to hear about other authors whose romantic heroes are looking for love, instead of trying to avoid it. Just share your comments below!

Book Review: Overbite

Overbite takes place six months after the events in Insatiable, in which Meena Harper falls in love with the prince of darkness (Dracula’s son) and they take out some bad guys. In this book, Meena is working for the Palentine Guards, a secret organization attached to the Vatican whose mission is to destroy vampires and other sundry demons. Meena is convinced that her ex-lover can be redeemed, and that every being, even demons, can choose good or evil. She spends much of this book arguing her case.

And I liked that idea. I’m not sure how it was supposed to apply to vampires, but it was a fine, noble idea. It just didn’t come together in the end.

Lucien (the prince of darkness) spends most of the book feeding from an evil river so that he can be a better ruler of dark forces. Meena spends most of the book dodging one attack after another. Her ability to see someone’s death, well formed in book one, didn’t come into play much here.

Lucien’s mother is an angel. I was never clear if this meant Lucien had the ability to choose whereas others do not, because at some point it seemed Meena wanted all vampires to be able to choose good or evil. Yet only Lucien seemed to have that choice.

The plot was fine. It moved. I didn’t have any sticking points here. There was a lot of action and it went rapidly from point to point. Aside from not believing the major theme came together at the end, I think my biggest problem with the book is that I found it misclassified under romance. There is no romance in this book. I think there’s supposed to be some sort of love triangle thing going on between Meena, Lucien, and Alaric, but almost no time was spent on it, and in the end, I remembered precisely why I don’t like love triangles. Nevertheless, it may have helped my enjoyment of this book quite a bit if I had gone into it expecting more urban fantasy and less romance.

I also had the feeling…and I hope this doesn’t get out of line…that the story was rushed, and should have been a longer series. It made me wonder if the author (who I don’t think normally writes fantasy) got in a bit over her head and then just decided to finish it. Most stories of this nature that I’ve read take 3+ books to resolve, and particularly with regards to developing a real romance and fully exploring the good/evil as a choice theme, it could have used another book or two. (Note: The way it is written, this story is done. I don’t expect a sequel, nor am I particularly interested in reading one. I just felt like it should have been written differently, expanding the story to cover more books.)

All in all, if you’re looking for some urban fantasy to read, you may like this duo (Insatiable and Overbite). It’s a quick read (both book) and there are moments of humor you may enjoy. I don’t recommend going into it for the romance, though.

Rating: 2.5/5

Title: Overbite

Author: Meg Cabot

ISBN: 0061735108

Published July 5, 2011

Running Wild by Linda Howard

Carlin Reed is on the run thanks to a stalker who thinks two dates means he owns her. He followed, called, broke into her apartment, and finally — when she ran to a new city to get away from him — killed her friend in a case of mistaken identity.

Zeke is a Wyoming Rancher whose lat marriage failed because his wife never should have married a rancher. He doesn’t want to get married again, and it isn’t even on his radar until his long-time cook and housekeeper quits on him. Turns out, getting someone out in the middle of nowhere to do those things is pretty tough, especially when he decides he wants someone old or male.

I enjoyed this setup, and the characters. Carlin — named for George Carlin — was just the right blend of sass and sympathy. Zeke was the western cliche, but of course, that’s just what a runaway in danger needs, isn’t it?

The book meandered a bit, although I enjoyed most of the ride. Carlin didn’t know how to cook at the beginning of the book, but she took on a job as a cook and by god she was going to figure it out! Kudos for that. She made her “Never Fail White Cake” until she got it right. (I think I had the EXACT same problem the first time I made that stinking cake…or one just like it. There are recipes at the back.)

Brad, the stalker, was mostly a background presence throughout the book — sort of a ghost making Carlin afraid and ready to run at the drop of a hat. Meanwhile, this was a romance, straight up.

I have two quibbles with this book: First, I found it to be overly repetitive. The two main characters’ thought processes felt like broken records to me at times. I actually think this book could have been about 10% shorter without losing a thing. Second, I had a serious believability issue with the idea that a good hacker could somehow know that you typed a specific name in a search engine on a computer in the middle of Wyoming, and he would know in real time. I asked my computer-savvy husband about it and he called it “B.S.” We hashed this one around for a while, actually, trying to make allowances for the fact that he was a cop, but it still didn’t ring at all true. Hacking isn’t magic, although it often comes across this way in fiction. This was one of those times. In the strictest sense of the word, if x and y and z and a hundred other things, it is possible, but it is so far-fetched as to defy reason and belief. Sort of like your truck going over a cliff but being saved by a boulder and a very thing tree. Hmmm….that happened too, now that I think about it.

It’s a good read, sensationalism aside. Check it out.

Rating: 4/5

Title: Running Wild

Author: Linda Howard and Linda Jones

ISBN: 9780345520784

Publication Date: November 27, 2012

I received this from Net Galley. I was not obligated to review it, and my opinions are my own.

Book Review: Whispers in the Dark

Nathan Kelly has hit rock bottom. Imprisoned, tortured, all hope gone, he’s ready for death to claim him when he hears an angel inside his mind. Only its not an angel, it’s a woman with psychic powers reaching out to him from the other side of the world. With her help, he escapes, returns to the bosom of his family, but he can’t stop thinking about her, or wondering if it was all a dream.

Then, six months later, she calls out to him. Now she’s the one in trouble, and he is determined to help her.

You know I like a bit of the paranormal in my books, so for me this was a welcome twist to a romantic suspense series I was already enjoying. There was a great connection between these two, and decent chemistry, even if there wasn’t much romantic tension. I mean, the two forged a mental connection when they were on opposite sides of the world, and Nathan declared her “mine” from the start. So there wasn’t anything keeping them apart except that she still had bad guys after her.

I do have to say…I don’t normally complain about the execution of sex scenes. In my opinion, whether or not a sex scene is any good depends entirely on the buildup, and how interested I am in the two as a couple. After that, it can be steamy, it can be barely there, whatever. Just as long as I’m feeling the emotions. In this case, though, I was struck by a powerful sense of deja vu. I felt like she had copied and pasted the sex scene from the third book in this trilogy into this one.

Look, here’s the real problem: Cooke-cutter heroines. It struck me particularly because Shay is not a virgin. Modern heroines often aren’t, and I’m cool with that. It’s nice that romance has gotten past the innocent virgin thing. The thing it, though, that modern literature needs to get to a point where virginity (or lack thereof) is influenced by the *character* and not by current trends in modern romantic literature.

Shay lived in a compound with her sister her whole life. she was home schooled. She was in danger and in hiding. Her parents were killed and since then, she’s been on the run. So, I ask you, exactly when and under what circumstances did she lose her virginity?

I’m just saying…I didn’t buy it.

But putting that aside, it was a fun and exciting ride, far-fetched and sensational, just like romantic suspense should be.

Rating: 3.5/5

Title: Whispers in the Dark

Author: Maya Banks

Published January 7, 2012