Rachael Ruddick's Blog, page 2

Rachael Ruddick:This really could be applied to anything ...

Rachael Ruddick:

This really could be applied to anything in life. I am reblogging it because it is in essence what I am talking about in each of my posts. What do I think about the Contemporary Romance Genre, and what do I want it to say?

Originally posted on bottledworder:

I write well. Therefore I must be a writer.

No, that’s not enough.

Those of us who may still be young enough to think about our career approach towards writing and bold enough to believe that we can make a livelihood out of it (or at least a life by which I mean derive satisfaction in or find a vocation through writing) need to focus on our writing persona as early on as possible.

It’s not enough to believe we can write and have some proof that others enjoy what we write. Being able to entertain or inform others is a great sign of encouragement no doubt and certainly helps us along on the path to good writing. But we all know what an uphill battle it is from the point we find out we are good to the point where others are willing to take us seriously.

We need…

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Explore your writing persona

Reblogged from bottledworder:

I write well. Therefore I must be a writer.

No, that’s not enough.

Those of us who may still be young enough to think about our career approach towards writing and bold enough to believe that we can make a livelihood out of it (or at least a life by which I mean derive satisfaction in or find a vocation through writing) need to focus on our writing persona as early on as possible.

Read more… 854 more words

This really could be applied to anything in life. I am reblogging it because it is in essence what I am talking about in each of my posts. What do I think about the Contemporary Romance Genre, and what do I want it to say?

Things I love in Romance Books

Okay so sometimes I feel that this blog comes off a bit negative. Really I love reading contemporary romance, but a big part of the reason I also write is to come up with books that satisfy what I want to read myself. Anyway I thought today I would write a short ode to the genre.

WHY I READ ROMANCE… AND LOVE IT

1. I like female characters who aren’t pathetic/bitchy/stupid etc. Sadly this seems to be the only genre where I can read about women that I might actually be interested in if I met them in real life.

2. I enjoy the diversity of the people in the books. Not every man is a billionaire, sweeping in to rescue some woman who needs saving. No I enjoy books where characters can go head to head, and you really believe that each gives the other something that wasn’t there before.

3. I enjoy contemporary stories I can relate to. This includes the use of language. I don’t know why but I liked how Addison Fox used the F word a fair bit in her first Alaska novel. It fit in with the characters reactions and thoughts perfectly. Lets be honest we all use it from time to time, even if only in our head. Face it slamming your fingers in a door HURTS and studies have shown that people actually feel some relief from pain when they swear.

4. I like books set in places i am interested in visiting, not to mention one gets to consider life in small towns or big cities and it gets me thinking about the pros and coms of such places and whether I might want to live there too at some point.

5. You get a chance to remember what it was like when you first met your husband, and all the things people go through in relationships, good or bad.

6. The books are easy to read, and considering how many I read, I am really excited to know that I will never run out of cont. romance books to read. There are simply too many, and there are more and more each day (I think this is a good thing).

7. I love series that build on each other. After investing myself in characters, I never want to let it all go on the last page. I helps when I can pick up the next book.

How To Get Your Ice Hockey Fix when the NHL Doesn’t Come Through

I just finished reading Home Ice by Rachelle Vaughn on my Kindle app. As she is another independent author of sports romance I was keen to read her work. I purchased her book at the start of the year, as I noticed some people who had bought my book had also bought hers, not to mention I LOVE cont. romance with Ice Hockey in it! Anyway I only just got around to reading it (shame on me). Once I started, however, I didn’t put it down and I managed to read the book in less than a day.

The reason I am writing a post about this book is because I really enjoyed it and want other readers to find out about it and enjoy it too. The reason I liked it so much was that I found it refreshingly… I can’t think of the word… I found that it didn’t follow the common storylines and cliche’s of the genre. It felt like a real love story, with all the complications of everyday life thrown in.

After a quick squiz of her website I found out that this independent author is due to release her next Ice Hockey themed book in the New Year. So check out Rachelle Vaughn’s Home Ice. Her website says her books are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Home Ice by Rachelle Vaughn

I just finished reading Home Ice by Rachelle Vaughn on my Kindle app. As she is another independent author of sports romance I was keen to read her work. I purchased her book at the start of the year, as I noticed some people who had bought my book had also bought hers, not to mention I LOVE cont. romance with Ice Hockey in it! Anyway I only just got around to reading it (shame on me). Once I started, however, I didn’t put it down and I managed to read the book in less than a day.

The reason I am writing a post about this book is because I really enjoyed it and want other readers to find out about it and enjoy it too. The reason I liked it so much was that I found it refreshingly… I can’t think of the word… I found that it didn’t follow the common storylines and cliche’s of the genre. It felt like a real love story, with all the complications of everyday life thrown in.

After a quick squiz of her website I found out that this independent author is due to release her next Ice Hockey themed book in the New Year. So check out Rachelle Vaughn’s Home Ice. Her website says her books are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Romance Reading List 2012

We are reaching the end of 2012 and I thought it would be a good time to recap the books I’ve read this year. I don’t record every book I read, but I will try to remember as many as possible.

Single Title

The Perfect Play – Jaci Burton

Changing The Game – Jaci Burton

Taking A Shot – Jaci Burton

Baby, Drive South – Stephanie Bond

baby, Come Home – Stephanie Bond

Baby, Don’t Go – Stephanie Bond

Baby, I’m Yours – Stephanie Bond

Body Check – Deirdre Martin

Fair Play – Deirdre Martin

Squeeze Play – Katie Angell

Wicked Game – Mercy Celeste

Ride With Me – Ruthie Knox

Playing For Keeps – Liz Matis

Double Dare – Rhonda Nelson

About That Night – Julie James

Bridesmaid Lotto – Rachel Astor

Gamble On Engagement – Rachel Astor

Rapid Hearts – Rachael Ruddick

Just One Of The Guys – Kristan Higgins

Home Ice – Rachelle Vaughn

Category

One Man Rush – Joanne Rock (Blaze)

Double Play – Joanne Rock (Blaze)

Her Man Advantage – Joanne Rock (Blaze)

Sliding Into Home – Joanne Rock (Blaze)

Time Out – Jill Shalvis

There Is Only One Way To Be Handsome

Fictional stories aren’t real. Simple. However, when a story is written in a contemporary setting and is about creating a sense of realism, something people can believe to be possible and can relate to, what then is the responsibility of the writer to society.

My husband is currently reading The Hunger Games, and has said time and again this last couple of weeks how interesting it would be to study in English Class in High School. We compared the different books and themes studied in our own high school classes, as well as discussing the moral issues raised in this series.

In year 12 I studied Romeo and Juliet and our teacher decided that we would read a book based on the play. The book was a Harlequin Contemporary Romance written by her friend and set in our local town.

From this experience, and my discussions about The Hunger Games I started to think about what cont. romance books say about our society, relationships, gender roles and expectations.

Most of my articles have already been based around these themes, however, in this post I thought it was time to think about what these books say about men.

This genre tends to be a lot kinder and more lenient to the female form. This makes sense, the majority of these books are written by females. Heroines are forgiven for carrying a few extra pounds, which are often passed off as luscious or sexy curves. Boobs range in size from mosquito bites to voluptuous melons. Women may be extra short to extra tall, and be petite and breakable or possess ‘man hands’.

When it comes to the hero, authors tend to stick to a much tighter set of characteristics. It is almost impossible to find a modern romance where the hero doesn’t possess a six pack, and narrow waist leading to impossibly broad shoulders. Their eyes range from the deepest blue to the brightest green and their hair is either thick and luscious, or cut to a military buzz.

Should we feel a little guilty that after all our (our being the female gender) complaints about the media constantly pushing women to look a certain, sometimes unrealistic way, that we are essentially doing the same thing to men in these books.

The average man doesn’t have a six pack, never will, and those that do probably spend way too much time in gyms, sucking down protein shakes and looking in the mirror. Same goes for those with the wide shoulders.

If a young man were to read enough of these books, would it be the same as a woman reading too many girly mags or indeed boy rags?

I love reading romance stories, but I desperately want to drag them into the current day, so that they are a better reflection of modern life for women in their 20′s and 30′s. Part of this is of course updating how men are portrayed in these books. I believe we need men who go beyond the cliché of tall dark and handsome. Writers need to consider the many other characteristics of male beauty. Each hero should be unique in their looks, just as each heroine is. Think of how different each of the men you have ever considered to be handsome have looked. We know that this is possible and not unrealistic. Take a stand against washboard abs!

When Should I Fall In Love?

This week in England the big story on the news is about a 15 year old girl who ran off to France with her 30 year old math teacher. My husband and I have discussed how ironic it is that the other news of the moment is that ’50 Shades of Grey’ is also the highest selling book in Britain since records started (well this is what the local radio show we listened to in Scotland was claiming, I haven’t verified it).

So this comes to my topic for this post. When a 15 year old girl is seduced by her teacher she ends up in protective custody, with apparently a tough emotional period ahead of her, and the guy ends up in jail. Where as if you add just a few years on to the girl, suddenly the prospect of her being seduced by a teacher is a worldwide hit… How much does a girl really mature from age 15 to 18? Alot you say? Well yes a lot, but in relative terms how mature is that 18 year old to say a 21 or 24 year old. A.K.A. Even though she is considered an adult in legal terms is she REALLY old enough to understand the full consequences of her actions?

During your teens and twenties each year can make such a huge difference in ones maturity and many publishing companies will specifically state that in the genre of contemporary romance they expect the heroines to be in their mid to late twenties with the lead male the same age or slightly older.

So there it is. The magic age for romance as perscribed by the world of contemporary romance publishers is 25-29 for a woman and 27-32 for a man. I understand that these novels are fiction, but they are also a reflection of our societies expectations and culture in regards to courtship and romance.

My mothers favourite line when I was growing up was something akin to ‘well that is what I did, isn’t what I did good enough for you?’. This line was pulled out usually in relation to her getting married at 23 and having her first child by 25. In her eyes that was the ideal, and if you weren’t on time you were either insulting her, or destined to be a lonely and depressed spinster.

Women however ARE getting married older on average than our parents, inspite of our mothers rantings. This of course has positive and negative consequences. The older you are the more mature, the more self aware, the more independant. The older the are the more used to your independance, the more set in your ways and perhaps the more rushed to get things moving along in relationships.

So has the ideal age actually shifted, as in are we not ready nowadays until we are older, and if so why? Or is 25-29 still the golden timeframe for marriage?

Whose Happily Ever After?

To begin with I understand that in romance stories it is common for one or both of the characters to be going through some sort of transition period. After all there has to be some catalyst that changes the status quo and creates an environment for a new relationship.

These catalysts into a transition period can be both physical and mental in nature. For example a character may move towns to start a new job, alternatively they may have just experienced a life altering event such as the death of a family member or a divorce and are re-examining their lives.

Sometimes, as in real life, in addition to these transition periods that the characters are working through, they may also find there are other obstacles that hinder a new relationship. It may be logistical, such as living in different places, or it may be ethical or moral, such as a boss/employer or a client/representative relationship.

As a married woman, and someone going through a life transition period of my own I can’t help but notice that the majority of ‘heroines’ in my contemporary romance books seem to have to sacrifice some major part of themselves at the end of the transition period to fit into their new ‘partnered’ life with the hero. These most often include the heroine moving either house or town, quitting or changing their job, or completely changing their current lifestyle.

Of course there is some effort by many authors to make sure it comes across as either the heroines choice or at the very least in the heroines best interest. But to tell the truth I don’t believe it most of the time. A line or two at the start of the book about how she doesn’t really want to be a ‘insert job title’ here or live ‘insert current homes town’ here. Isn’t a good enough justification for her to give it all up just to be with the hero in the end.

Even more disturbing is when the hero tells the heroine what her actual dream job is (and it just so happens to fit perfectly into a life together) and the heroine is so happy to be saved by the hero and given the courage to follow her, up till then unknown, true passion that how can a reader not but want to go along with it.

In real life we all know how this would probably end though. A year or two down the road, perhaps more, the heroine would find that actually this dream job of hers turned out to be just another job and when bad days pile up, so does her resentment towards the person who steered her there.

I want to read MORE contemporary romance books where the heroine doesn’t sacrifice her career/beautiful house/lifestyle for the relationship, whilst the hero keeps going on as usual. Perhaps though what I read in these books is a more accurate, even though I don’t like it, depiction of what actually has to happens in relationships. Sacrifices have to be made and they won’t always be fair and evenly distributed. And yes the woman is more likely to make those sorts of sacrifices because well that is just how it seems to turn out. What do you think?

Top First Contemporary Romance Books To Read

Reading romance books is still for some stupid reason seen as kind of taboo. Something you only admit after a few drinks.

It is also one of those guilty pleasures that people seem to be curious about. Once you tell people you are an avid romance reader many people want to know why. Most non-rom readers will fall into one of two camps and depending on which I perceive them to be, I will frame my response accordingly.

The first are shy about admitting their curiosity, as if even discussing it is somehow akin to letting their crush go through their iPod playlist, Justin Beiber songs and all. For this camp my response tends to be more about being happy to call myself a romance reader, and talking about the virtues of the genre. Also mentioning that it is the most widely read genre out there, and there really is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.

The second group are those haters who would never deign to lower themselves to such dribble. They think romance is all swashbuckling pirates and dames in distress. To these people I ask them to reconsider their position by actually reading a few so that they can form their own opinion. I also inform them that the genre covers a wide range of sub genres and perhaps they just need to find the right stories for them.

Of course being a fan I am excited about introducing new people to the genre. My quandry comes in making the right recommendations to the right people. You want their first book to be a great experience, so that of course they want to go straight on to another book.

So here are my top recommendations for first contemporary romance books to read:

For the professional:

Julie James was a lawyer before she became an author. Her books are about career focused, smart women. They build up the relationships slowly and as such are light on sex scenes, which normally occur well into the book. Her books can be read in series or alone, so it is easy to suggest starting with her most recent book “About That Night”.

For sports fans:

Susan Elizabeth Phillips football series is the obvious choice. These books are classics for good reason. I recommend starting out later in the series, as some of the earlier books can come across as somewhat dated. If they love it they will want to go back to the start. Another obvious choice is Rachel Gibson’s or Deirdre Martin’s Ice Hockey series.

For the romantic, or someone with weddings on the brain:

Nora Roberts recent four book series about four wedding planners is one of my all time favorites. The first book of the series is “Vision in White”.

For those interested in action and adventure:

Cherry Adair has written a series about ocean treasure hunting brothers. The books are intense page turners that will keep you reading late into the night.

Lovers of small towns, soap operas, and the good life:

Susan Mallery’s Fools Gold series is simply prolific with new books still coming out. Once a reader has established a relationship with characters and towns it is lovely to be able to return to it time and again and be able to journey with them through the changes, ups and downs.

For cowgirls and country folk at heart:

Linda Lael Miller draws readers into contemporary western living like no other writer. Her McKettrick’s series is fantastic and she has a new series out now starting with “Big Sky Country”.

The time weary:

Easy, pick out a favorite Harlequin series book from your collection. I like reading one of these if I have a few hours to kill and will want to finish a book quickly. I tend towards the Blaze line, but enjoy most of their contemporary series. One of my favorite authors with Harlequin is Jill Shalvis, and any of her firefighter books.