Roma Cordon's Blog
June 2, 2022
CAN WE SAVE BOOK STORES AND LIBRARIES?
When I was very young, the first independent action I ever took was walking to a nearby library and borrowing a book for a dollar. (1) It got me off the couch and out of the house (2) I met a charming helpful librarian (3) The atmosphere inside the library was safe and quiet, with no distractions from my teenage brother’s loud music (4) A dollar was well within my budget (5) It gave me something to look forward to; finishing that book and returning it to that charming librarian so I could get another.
Do you remember your first book? The name, the author, the smell of the pages, the tactile sensation of holding that book in your hand. Were the pages smooth, glossy, or pulpy? Did it smell like your school library, or did it have the scent of fresh ink and brand-new paper like that of a bookstore? And most importantly, what did you learn from that book? What did those ideas teach you about yourself?
With my first job, my budget increased a fraction, and I started frequenting the local bookstores where I made new friends and found myself lining up for the latest book from my favorite author.
But with the emergence of e-books, tablet devices and e-readers, and rising fixed costs to maintain, will bookstores and libraries cease to exist?
And if so, what can we do about it?
Well, for starters, visit your local library. Its no longer an old dusty place with outdated books. They have e-readers too and will lend e-books on almost any subject. They provide services for disabled individuals, have extensive databases for research projects, can function as an employment center, provide classes, and a sense of community. Secondly, email your town council and ask them to keep the local public library in their budget.
What about your local bookstore? They offer more than books now. They have intellectual puzzles, arts and crafts, book subscriptions, etc. Plus, you can probably join a really great book club with people who share your tastes in reading. I even saw one that offered language classes and matchmaking services. How about that? And yes, offering more than books is probably a survival tactic on the part of the book stores, but just like every other business, they have to meet their fixed costs as well.
Also, you can probably meet your favorite author at a local bookstore in person at a book signing. Can your e-book do that?
I firmly believe, bookstores and libraries will only go out of business if customers stop supporting them.
PS: A big shout to my subscribers and friends. Thank you for your support! :)
Do you remember your first book? The name, the author, the smell of the pages, the tactile sensation of holding that book in your hand. Were the pages smooth, glossy, or pulpy? Did it smell like your school library, or did it have the scent of fresh ink and brand-new paper like that of a bookstore? And most importantly, what did you learn from that book? What did those ideas teach you about yourself?
With my first job, my budget increased a fraction, and I started frequenting the local bookstores where I made new friends and found myself lining up for the latest book from my favorite author.
But with the emergence of e-books, tablet devices and e-readers, and rising fixed costs to maintain, will bookstores and libraries cease to exist?
And if so, what can we do about it?
Well, for starters, visit your local library. Its no longer an old dusty place with outdated books. They have e-readers too and will lend e-books on almost any subject. They provide services for disabled individuals, have extensive databases for research projects, can function as an employment center, provide classes, and a sense of community. Secondly, email your town council and ask them to keep the local public library in their budget.
What about your local bookstore? They offer more than books now. They have intellectual puzzles, arts and crafts, book subscriptions, etc. Plus, you can probably join a really great book club with people who share your tastes in reading. I even saw one that offered language classes and matchmaking services. How about that? And yes, offering more than books is probably a survival tactic on the part of the book stores, but just like every other business, they have to meet their fixed costs as well.
Also, you can probably meet your favorite author at a local bookstore in person at a book signing. Can your e-book do that?
I firmly believe, bookstores and libraries will only go out of business if customers stop supporting them.
PS: A big shout to my subscribers and friends. Thank you for your support! :)
February 16, 2022
The Bridgertons
There’s no doubt that a beautifully written series of romance novels by bestselling American author Julia Quinn adapted into a Netflix series by the award-winning producer, screenwriter and author Shonda Rhimes was a recipe for success.
But let’s face it, just the pomp, pageantry, and juicy gossip of the Ton in British’s aristocracy and high society during the Regency era was enough to draw me in. Dukes, and Earls and Viscounts, oh my! The rest is, as they say, just a spoon of hot chocolate fudge on a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
I must add however, that I have long admired Shonda Rhimes, ever since the TV series Scandal. I binge watched that one weekend to emerge utterly bleary eyed but emotionally satisfied at the end. I love the way her work is all inclusive because it helps all our imaginations to run a little wild before returning to reality on Monday morning.
What I love the most about the Bridgerton Netflix series, however, is that the genesis was a romance novel. Being a romance novelist myself, I don’t think the genre is given enough credit, with its ‘happily ever after’ and ‘love conquers all’ tropes. I mean, that’s not indicative of the real world, correct? Well, here’s what I say to that, go ahead and let your imagination run wild, because come Monday morning, there is enough reality waiting for us all.
But let’s face it, just the pomp, pageantry, and juicy gossip of the Ton in British’s aristocracy and high society during the Regency era was enough to draw me in. Dukes, and Earls and Viscounts, oh my! The rest is, as they say, just a spoon of hot chocolate fudge on a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
I must add however, that I have long admired Shonda Rhimes, ever since the TV series Scandal. I binge watched that one weekend to emerge utterly bleary eyed but emotionally satisfied at the end. I love the way her work is all inclusive because it helps all our imaginations to run a little wild before returning to reality on Monday morning.
What I love the most about the Bridgerton Netflix series, however, is that the genesis was a romance novel. Being a romance novelist myself, I don’t think the genre is given enough credit, with its ‘happily ever after’ and ‘love conquers all’ tropes. I mean, that’s not indicative of the real world, correct? Well, here’s what I say to that, go ahead and let your imagination run wild, because come Monday morning, there is enough reality waiting for us all.
January 12, 2022
Closeted Romance Novel Readers
Are you a closeted romance novel reader? You know who you are, Miss Hide That Cover Of The Book of which you’ve disappeared into for the past few hours, or days or weeks. I’ve been there too, on the train or bus, conveniently obscuring those lusty colorful covers as I read away, sitting alongside a hundred other commuters. Those commuters who have comical smirks on their faces, bursting to deliver a wisenheimer crack.
And what is it about these book covers that cause such a ruckus? Is it the unbelievably handsome muscular heroes, scandalously clad, baring their fabulous torsos? Or perhaps it’s the drop-dead gorgeous slender heroines with long flowing hair who appear utterly and completely enthralled, by said fabulous torso, dressed in phenomenal gowns with tight bodices? Maybe it’s just plain skepticism on romance.
In an industry that boasts sales north of $1 billion yearly, you have no reason to be closeted anymore.
So I propose all of us closeted readers have a coming-out party. We proudly display our book covers and our rapt reading at poolside, reclining in a fabulous lounge chair, alongside a slender side-table holding a cool sophisticated cocktail. Or on the train or bus or perhaps inside, sitting on a cushiony divan, with a mug of coffee or tea. And read on!
And to the man who dubbed this genre of literature “Lust In The Dust” years ago and forever scarred my delicate psyche, your opinion no longer matters. Well it does, but I’m just not going to let it bother me anymore. So much so, that I decided to write my own romance novels.
And what is it about these book covers that cause such a ruckus? Is it the unbelievably handsome muscular heroes, scandalously clad, baring their fabulous torsos? Or perhaps it’s the drop-dead gorgeous slender heroines with long flowing hair who appear utterly and completely enthralled, by said fabulous torso, dressed in phenomenal gowns with tight bodices? Maybe it’s just plain skepticism on romance.
In an industry that boasts sales north of $1 billion yearly, you have no reason to be closeted anymore.
So I propose all of us closeted readers have a coming-out party. We proudly display our book covers and our rapt reading at poolside, reclining in a fabulous lounge chair, alongside a slender side-table holding a cool sophisticated cocktail. Or on the train or bus or perhaps inside, sitting on a cushiony divan, with a mug of coffee or tea. And read on!
And to the man who dubbed this genre of literature “Lust In The Dust” years ago and forever scarred my delicate psyche, your opinion no longer matters. Well it does, but I’m just not going to let it bother me anymore. So much so, that I decided to write my own romance novels.
December 12, 2021
My First Book Deal
I’ve found a home with CamCatBooks.com. And let me just say that since it happened, I have been smiling like an idiot. Whenever I catch myself, I take a deep breath and bring it down a notch. I mean unless I want to be accused of smoking something which I shouldn’t, or snorting something that’s a big no, no, I should reel it in. Right?
Sue Arroyo and her team at CamCatBooks.com have made a dream of mine come true. And I have been counting my blessings since it happened. I’ve started working with my very own editor, Bridget McFadden, and it has been absolutely wonderful. My debut novel Bewitching a Highlander is set to be released in June 2022.
Was all the blood, sweat and tears worth it? You bet it has. A lot of late nights and working weekends are starting to payoff. But the best part about it is that I get to continue to do what I love. I get to continue to create stories that let readers escape the ordinary.
And the smiling like an idiot part? Well, call it validation or acceptance. But perhaps I’ll indulge in it just a little while longer.
Sue Arroyo and her team at CamCatBooks.com have made a dream of mine come true. And I have been counting my blessings since it happened. I’ve started working with my very own editor, Bridget McFadden, and it has been absolutely wonderful. My debut novel Bewitching a Highlander is set to be released in June 2022.
Was all the blood, sweat and tears worth it? You bet it has. A lot of late nights and working weekends are starting to payoff. But the best part about it is that I get to continue to do what I love. I get to continue to create stories that let readers escape the ordinary.
And the smiling like an idiot part? Well, call it validation or acceptance. But perhaps I’ll indulge in it just a little while longer.
December 2, 2021
Why Do I Write Romance Books?
Books are amazingly secure. If the villain, or bully or psychopath, or hardship gets to be too much, you simply close the book and walk away.
Life is not that simple. It’s terrifying, its full of difficulties, intolerance, grief, hate, rigidity, torment, drudgery, cruelty, hostility, insanity, and we each of us have our own personal demons to battle. But there are also fragments of beauty, brilliance, generosity, heroism, humor, wit, love, freedom, and instances that are so profoundly moving, adorable and affectionate they steal our breath away. I choose to focus on the latter. Why? There is enough of the former around us, every day.
Why romance? People are crazy for love. I am no different. Just walk into a chocolatier’s store or a florist’s shop, on Valentine’s Day, if you have any doubt.
A good romance has personal struggles, drudgery, cruelty, etc.. But it’s also a story about overcoming difficulties. It’s a character’s personal search for definition of themselves, for truths, for substance, for justice, for humanity in themselves and in the world, and it’s a search for love. A good romance novel is where love triumphs. In the real world it doesn’t always. And that’s the very point I am trying to get at here. Books are a safe place to escape to for a few minutes during the day.
I consider it an extraordinary privilege to get to write about what I love. Love. And yes, we can get into a deep discussion about the various types of love, love for a parent or grandparent, a spouse, a child, a pet, a friend, a job. I have reverence and respect for all types of love.
Yet I choose romantic love between two people. Why? Because of all the types of love, that one fascinates me the most. It’s idiosyncratic and prodigious. It’s playful, it can bring out the best in you, the worst in you, it can give you butterflies, the hives, it can make you speak too much or too fast, it can steal your words, it can blind you, it can make you shiver, or heat you up like a furnace, it can freeze you in your tracks, or make you go everywhere all at once, it can make you fly or it can take you down to the lowest depths of hell. Like I said, fascinating!
Life is not that simple. It’s terrifying, its full of difficulties, intolerance, grief, hate, rigidity, torment, drudgery, cruelty, hostility, insanity, and we each of us have our own personal demons to battle. But there are also fragments of beauty, brilliance, generosity, heroism, humor, wit, love, freedom, and instances that are so profoundly moving, adorable and affectionate they steal our breath away. I choose to focus on the latter. Why? There is enough of the former around us, every day.
Why romance? People are crazy for love. I am no different. Just walk into a chocolatier’s store or a florist’s shop, on Valentine’s Day, if you have any doubt.
A good romance has personal struggles, drudgery, cruelty, etc.. But it’s also a story about overcoming difficulties. It’s a character’s personal search for definition of themselves, for truths, for substance, for justice, for humanity in themselves and in the world, and it’s a search for love. A good romance novel is where love triumphs. In the real world it doesn’t always. And that’s the very point I am trying to get at here. Books are a safe place to escape to for a few minutes during the day.
I consider it an extraordinary privilege to get to write about what I love. Love. And yes, we can get into a deep discussion about the various types of love, love for a parent or grandparent, a spouse, a child, a pet, a friend, a job. I have reverence and respect for all types of love.
Yet I choose romantic love between two people. Why? Because of all the types of love, that one fascinates me the most. It’s idiosyncratic and prodigious. It’s playful, it can bring out the best in you, the worst in you, it can give you butterflies, the hives, it can make you speak too much or too fast, it can steal your words, it can blind you, it can make you shiver, or heat you up like a furnace, it can freeze you in your tracks, or make you go everywhere all at once, it can make you fly or it can take you down to the lowest depths of hell. Like I said, fascinating!
