Clean Romances discussion
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Hi there, Stacy! Yes, it can be frustrating to find clean romances but we all love them here. Some of us also write them. :-)
It is the greatest! There needs to be more groups like this for other clean reads besides romance. It is a shame more are not aware of these clubs within Goodreads. Cami Checketts sent out posts through several blogs petitioning Amazon to create a "Clean Read" genre.
I posted it on my blog http://rockinbookreviews.com last week.
It is badly needed. If you have a blog, it would be good to make your followers aware as well.
Yes, a genre for clean with all types of books in it would be fantastic!
I agree as well!!! So happy we can at least connect here :-)
Check out the 2015 Swooney Awards at Listopia. Already there is a long list of clean reads from several genres and there will be more added as the year progresses. All of them are new books, published since 12/1/14, but you all should be able to find something that tickles your fancy there.
Based on the different opinions on here as to what constitutes clean, and what people actually mind, it needs to be a graded genre don't you think?Personally I don't mind (or I'm not offended) if there's less than clean descriptions, I just find that clean books tend to be more romantic because the physical can sometimes seem to replace plot, or even that the whole attraction is physical, which is not romantic at all.
I have however found a few authors that I like, which if I stuck to purely clean, I would miss out on... if you see what I mean.
Yes, books could do with ratings, just like movies have.
LAWonder10 wrote: "It is the greatest! There needs to be more groups like this for other clean reads besides romance. It is a shame more are not aware of these clubs within Goodreads. Cami Checketts sent out posts through several blogs petitioning Amazon to create a "Clean Read" genre."
That would be wonderful!
The discussion of what constitutes a "clean" rating reminds me of a discussion I started in another group about what constitutes a cozy mystery. I was trying to decide whether or not to stage an important discussion during a sex scene. It would have been the first I had written, and by that I don't mean including all the physical details. However, the overwhelming response was that cozies should not have sex scenes (or repugnant violence or too much profanity). Then I had to decide whether or not I was writing a cozy mystery series, since this was Book #2. In the end, I decided to stage the conversation at breakfast the next morning.I assume that having sex happening offstage, without including a description, still falls within the "clean" definition, unless the "clean" reader insists that the characters do not have sex outside of marriage.
Excellent point, Cathy!I have come across the same issue. My characters waited until marriage until they engaged in "consumating their wedding vows" I have struggled with this in order to keep the series "clean." I stayed away from mentioning details of their wedding night, yet used emotion to get the point across without destroying the PG-13 clean romance.
I left the rest for the reader's imagination.
Any further accounts the couple have as a "Married Couple" are cut off. Very difficult, but my greatest hope was to show teens how thwy should "wait" until marriage.
My guess is readers define clean differently based on their personal value system. If a book isn't labeled as Christian fiction, I don't think they'd necessarily expect the characters to save intimacy for marriage. More likely, they're anticipating a heartfelt romance without graphic physical descriptions.For authors, I think it comes down to how our worldview influences the kind of message we want to convey to our readers.
As a reader and author, I prefer stories that show the realness of physical tension while also offering hope in choosing to wait. One effective way of doing that might be to show the damage left by past relationships, which now serves as motivation for waiting in the current one.
I think as long as we aren't disingenuous by glossing over the struggle altogether, it'll translate well.
I actually wouldn't call it clean unless there was no sex between the main characters, Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer style (or if they're married it's off screen, so to speak). The trouble is that it's much harder to portray realistic modern relationships without at least considering it. I think in educating teens, and telling them that it's a normal part of growing up (which is true) and to be careful etc, some of the books have actually gone too far in that we're almost telling them they should be thinking that way, younger and younger. They are very much in need of role models that tell them it's okay to wait until it has meaning.
At the same time, as I've said, I don't personally mind reading something that isn't entirely clean... I think it depends on how well the rest of the story is written and how tastefully it's done or how in keeping with the plot.
This is a great discussion. There was an article recently by author Melinda Curtis on HEA USA Today, where she asks what constitutes a sweet romance. There were lots of comments afterwards. You can find the article here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyev... And my novel A Way from Heart to Heart is also one of her recommended sweet reads!
I think for me it comes down to whether this is really the story of a relationship and real people, with good characterisation or whether the writer has strung the most simplistic of plots across a couple of cut out characters and then slotted in the obligatory sex scene, here, here and here. It's a bit like HBO - I don't mind nudity but I don't watch for it - I'm watching for the great stories so if you just want to prance around naked I'm going to get pretty bored.My friends and I write sweet romance (as Marisa Hayworth) because it makes you work harder as a writer - you can't take short cuts in the way you can when you make romance physical. besides love and lust aren't the same thing. I'm more interested in watching people get to know one another than I am simply in physical attraction which can, let's face it, be quite fleeting. never seemed to me like lust was a good basis for a relationship yet that's kind of what a lot of romances push at you - it's all love at first sight because s/he has dark flowing hair and a nice body. Real attraction grows with time :)
What Noe said suggests a useful distinction between reality (or perhaps literalism) and realism. Casablanca feels real, but it doesn’t have to plod us through every aspect of reality. Stories can be told, often better, if the author doesn’t shove everything in the reader’s face. We can fill in the gaps or not, according to our own inclinations. A little bit of unknowing is very useful in storytelling!
Louise wrote: "I think for me it comes down to whether this is really the story of a relationship and real people, with good characterisation or whether the writer has strung the most simplistic of plots across a..."I agree, Louise - as a reader I don't mind reading something beyond 'clean' as long as it's well-written, but as a writer my first romance came out 'clean' because I like a character-led romance and I wanted to concentrate on them and their relationship!
Well said, Noe. All of my books are of romantic suspense genre, but they were chosen for second editions in Thorndike Press's Large print series, "Clean Reads", because that's exactly what they are.
Where can I find a list of books or authors that are "clean reads"?
Hi, Debi, if you go up to the top of this page and look on the right under the Clean Romances heading, you’ll see a green link titled “Bookshelf.” Click there and a whole world will open up to you!
Debi wrote: "Where can I find a list of books or authors that are "clean reads"?"Please check out the bookshelf for my group for clean reads in all genres.Clean,Secular/Non Religious,Reads
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
And please join the many others who are asking Amazon to create a "Clean Read" genre,that would cover books from the many genres.
Like a movie rating system it would mention if the book has profanity and how much[such as mild-occasional,to vulgar-pervasive],if there are explicit sex scenes and how many,and how graphic the violence if any,is.
I'm new to this group! Very happy to have found it.
I agree with Louise, it's so easy to write a simplistic plot just for the sake of feeling up space around sex scenes. It's not romance if that's the gist of the story, it's baseless sex. I think those types of books should have their own genre. Instead of "Romance", the genre should be "Lust-mance":)As someone said above, it takes creative talent to be able to write about true love from the heart. I love writing wholesome, clean romances, where the characters develop a relationship from the heart, rather than developing only a physical relationship and call it love. Only my married couples make love, not graphic sex. And readers have imaginations, let them use it, I always say.
I thought at first, clean romances were going by the way of the dinosaur, but I decided I would stick to my guns and write from my heart. And then I found this forum, and I am so happy that there are others who feel the same way.
Welcome LJ.
http://www.groovylee.com/
Hi, I just joined this group today and though I initiated my own "Hello everyone, really happy to be here! :-)" discussion thread, but felt like greeting everyone individually too! Well, looking forward to great recommendations and wonderful friendships :-)
Thanks and Happy Reading! :-)
--Ramla Zareen
Welcome, Ramla ZareenAre you an avid reader of romance, a writer, or both?
Groovy wrote: "Welcome, Ramla ZareenAre you an avid reader of romance, a writer, or both?"
Hi Groovy, I am basically a reader and my favourite genres to read are "Golden-Age" and "Cozy" Mystery, with "Historical Romance" following close behind. I also very much enjoy "Contemporary Romance", "RomCom/Chick-Lit" and "Classic RomCom".
I do write, mostly on my blogs, but at the moment it's just a hobby and a way to enhance my writing skills. I would like to be able to write a book one day, most probably a Contemporary Romance or Chick-Lit, but I think that I have a long way to go before that happens!
But anyway, thanks for your interest, I am looking forward to checking out your books :-)
Aw, you're so sweet, Ramla Zareen. Thank you.
Groovy wrote: "Aw, you're so sweet, Ramla Zareen. Thank you."Thanks :-)
All my best,
Stacy "S.L." Morgan