Favorite "Mid-List" Authors

One of my authors is Alexis Harrington. Her debut novel was "Homeward Hearts," published under the old Topaz imprint back in the early 1990s. Her books are set primarily in the Old West, particularly the Pacific Northwest, in the late 1800s. "Homeward Hearts" had an unusual heroine, a beautiful young woman who was practically a recluse, living on her own in a mining town that was fast becoming a ghost town. Most of Harrington's early books favor unusual settings and plots that are not run-of-the-mill. I wish that Ms Harrington wrote faster, because it seems there is always several years between books (or maybe it just seems like several years when you are waiting). Most of her early works can be located in the UBS or on amazon, through their independent book dealers. She also has a web site at alexisharrington.com.

A much lesser-known author is CiJi Ware. Years ago, Iwatched CiJi Ware do human interest stories for the local news on a Los Angeles television station. Her first book was published in the late 1980s, to excellent reviews. She is still writing, but her books are few and far between now, and she has switched to contemporaries, no longer writing the richly detailed historicals that I love so much.

"Island of the Swans" was Ware's debut novel. It was based upon the life of Jane Maxwell, who was married to the 4th Duke of Gordon, but who had a life-long passion for Thomas Frasier of Struy. The story covers almost a 40 year period, from 1760 to 1797. The book was later revised and reissued in a "history lite" edition, missing most of the historical details that had made the original so fascinating to history buffs. Her second book was "Wicked Company," set in Scotland in 1761, and relating the story of Sophie McGann, a female playwrite and actress. "Wicked Company" only seems to have a cast of thousands, but the list of real and fictional characters does go on for six pages! Sophie herself is one of the fictional characters, but inspired by real women who defied convention and wrote for the stage. It is a fascinating study of 18th century Scotland and England.

So, who are your favorite mid-list authors of the romance world?

Recommend reading:

"A Light for My Love," by Alexis Harrington. Topaz (Penguin Books). 1995. ISBN 0-451-40501-3.
"Homeward Hearts, " by Alexis Harrington. Topaz (Penguin Books). 1994. ISBN 0-451-40497-1

"Island of the Swans," by CiJi Ware. Bantam Books. 1989. ISBN 0-553-27598-4
"Wicked Company," by CiJi Ware. Bantam Books. 1992. ISBN 0-553-29518-7

Cover Art - The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

This is one of those times when I wished I were more computer literate and could post actual covers on the blog to illustrate my points. I think I will approach the subject then from this direction: how much does the cover influence you to purchase a particular book? And do you ever feel totally comfortable with a cover that you find unattractive?

My favorite example of bad cover art is the original stepback cover to the 1991 American paperback version of "Outlander," by Diana Gabaldon. Had I gone just by the cover art, the book would have remained on the shelf at Waldens: there was a broken clock, a terrified horse, and an even more terrified Claire Randall Frasier, looking wild-eyed and singularly unattractive. If I remember correctly, the author disliked the cover so much that she decided that future books in the series would not include any depictions of the characters on the cover. So far her publisher has complied. As soon as the most recent uniform edition of the Outlander series was published, I replaced all of my older editions. I simply couldn't stand looking at that horrible painting of Claire, one of my all-time favorite romance novel heroines!

My favorite covers are those that are reproductions of paintings, drawings, or photographs, similiar to the Modern American Library Classics series published by Random House. I also think that the stepback covers on Marsha Canham's works are quite attractive. I was disappointed that her latest book, "My Forever Love," was not a stepback. Mary Balogh has had some recent books issued with cover art from the time period in which the book is set, and the result was quite appealing.

So, what do you all think? Any really memorable bad cover art that you can recall? And what type of cover art do you find really makes you want to reach for your credit card?

Innocence Vs. Experience

Which type of heroine to you prefer in an historical novel: sexually innocent or experienced? The majority of ladies who post on the Romantic Times message boards seem to prefer virginal heroines over sexually experienced ones, and reserve a special circle in hell for authors who give their heroines multiple partners. Over and over I read posts castigating Virginia Henley and Bertrice Small, in particular, as their heroines frequently have more than one "great love" in their lifetime, and have been know to have more than one partner per book.

T. Marie, on her blog, Romance Reading Mom, asked why it is that if a heroine has been previously married that her dead, estranged, or missing husband is always a cad? My additional comment was that if she truly loved the first husband, it was always made clear that their sexual relationship was less than satisfactory.

Small's heroines, especially Skye O'Malley, can have several great loves, and it is not unknown for Henley's heroines to fall in love more than once. What do so many readers have against this type of story? Is it that so many women truly believe that there is only one person out of all the millions and millions in the world that is meant for just them, and that to suggest otherwise is to tamper with the order of the universe? Our own experience, or the experience of others, tells us that many people find true love and sexual fullfillment more than once in a lifetime, so why be upset if an author acknowledges that truth?

Recommendation: Bertrice Small's latest series, "The Friarsgate Inheritance," has the heroine Rosamund Bolton happily married to, or involved with, three different men by Book 3 of the series (and I'm not including her much older grandfatherly first husband in the count, because he never intended to consumate their marriage). The series isn't over yet, so I suppose Ms. Small could even bring on another husband or lover for Rosamund!

More Confessions...

While I'm at it, I might as well confess that I have never read that beloved classic of romance, "Whitney, My Love." Right now, I can't even think of the author, but I want to say McNaught (coffee is still about two minutes away). I have read about this book for years, but have no idea of the plot, the characters (except that someone is named Whitney), and have only a vague idea as to the setting (which I think is Regency). Is this a book that would be worthwhile tracking down, or is it something I can forgo without guilt?

And I've never finished the Skye O'Malley series either!

Confession Time

I have never read the novels of Rosemary Rogers and Kathleen Woodiwiss -- there, I've announced in an open forum that I have never read the novels of the "mothers," so to speak, of the current romance genre. I think this is in the same category as an English major stating they have never read the novels of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, or Mark Twain (I intend to post about all of those authors eventually, as they are favorites).

How much have I missed by not reading Ms. Rogers and Ms. Woodiwiss? I remember when they first started publishing, as I was working in a Waldens. The clerk in charge of the romance section dismissed the entire genre as "crap," although she never expressed that opinion openly to the customers (this is why I have no trouble believing posts where readers write about being insulted by book store employees). Should I go back and read a sample of these authors? or just forget it? I do have a copy of "The Wolf and the Dove" in my TBR pile, so it is a given that I will eventually read it. But what about Ms. Rogers: any suggestions? And is there anyone else out there who has not read an author who is considered to be a classic of the romance genre?

Details, Details

Several times in the past few months I have read and/or participated in on-line discussions regarding "history as wallpaper" vs. history as "another character" in an historical novel or romance. I think I made my position fairly clear in my "mission statement" when I wrote that I tend to ignore the history-as-wallpaper romance authors. I will agree that in some cases an author can overwhelm a reader with details -- I am thinking in particular of the novels of Patrick O'Brian, which have guides and crib sheets for those who are unfamiliar with the details of the age of fighting sail. My dear son assures me that none of those guides would be necessary if I would just to go with the flow of the novel as a reading experience, and let the details take care of themselves.

Putting Patrick O'Brian aside, in this post I am just musing on the idea that someone would read historical romances but have little or no interest in the details of how people of that time period dressed, ate, bathed (if they bathed at all) , traveled, or worshiped, just to name a few activities. To me, at the very least, an historical romance should include descriptions of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, as well as the current social mores and conventions. But I have read posts on message boards that indicate a complete lack of interest in any of those items, let alone a discussion of the events of the day, or the details of a military campaign.

So my question is, why read an historical romance if you have no real interest in the time period, or, as I have read elsewhere, even find history boring?

A FEW AUTHOR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THOSE WHO LIKE DETAILS (these are personal favorites):

Marsha Canham,Sara Donati, Diana Gabaldon, Patricia Gaffney, Virginia Henley, Madeline Hunter (the series set in the Middle Ages), Anya Seton, Bertrice Small, CeJe Ware ("Island of the Swans"), and Joan Wolf (the prehistoric series & the series set in the Dark Ages).

GOOD NEWS FOR ANYA SETON FANS!

Last year Chicago Review Press reissued Anya Seton's classic novel of the Middle Ages, "Katherine," in an attractive trade paperback format. At the time, I wondered if this new edition of "Katherine" was a sign that other works of Ms. Seton, so long out of print, would be reissued as well. Apparently, the answer is "Yes," because Seton's beloved novel "Green Darkness" was just released by the same publisher on April 1, 2005.

I will briefly summarize the plot for those unfamiliar with "Green Darkness": as the author stated in the original introduction, the theme of the novel is reincarnation. It opens in the England of 1968, with Richard Marsdon bringing his new American bride, Celia, to his ancestral home, Medfield Place. Ever since their marriage, Richard has been cool and distant to Celia, much to her bewilderment. During a weekend house party, Celia and Richard have an angry confrontation, and Celia loses consciousness, then apparently goes into a catatonic state. While her body is in a 20th century hospital, her mind has gone back to the year 1552, where she was Celia Bohen, an orphan girl of minor family, and Richard was a monk. Their forbidden love for each other in the past must be dealt with before Celia can have any hope of recovery in the present.

This novel is popular historical fiction of the highest quality. Those who are familiar with her works know that she always researched the historical background of her novels thoroughly, and "Green Darkness" was no exception. One of Ms. Seton's many gifts was the ability to give the reader the sights, smells, and sounds of past times, so that the reader feels transported into that period of long ago. "Green Darkness" was the author's last novel, as she stopped writing shortly after it was published. There is conflicting information as to the exact state of her health at that time, but Ms. Seton claimed that she was too ill to continue with her career. She died several years later.

I contacted Chicago Review Press via e-mail to find out if the company was planning on reissuing other books by Ms. Seton. According to the publisher's spokesperson one of Ms. Seton's earliest books, "Dragonwyck," will be published in September 2005. No decisions have been made as yet about which of her other novels, if any, will be reissued in subsequent years.

Publisher information: "Green Darkeness," by Anya Seton. Chicago Review Press, April 1, 2005. ISBN: 1556525761. $14.95. Publisher's toll-free number for orders: 1-800-888-4741

Introducing Myself

My name is Anne E. and I am a compulsive reader! I am a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, where I have made my home for the past ten years. I have a B.A. and M.A. in American Studies, with an emphasis in American literature. My reading tastes are very eclectic, but I have decided to devote this blog to romance novels, and, within that genre, to historical romance novels.

I firmly believe that romance novels should be held to a higher literary standard than is common among most reviewers, who are primarily interested in whether the hero and heroine have a Happily Ever After Ending (usually a given) within the conventions of the genre. I freely admit to a bias against "history as wallpaper" historicals -- novels that could be set in any period of history, including the present, because the historical background is sketchy and frequently inaccurate. I will, however, try my best to control my bias, as I realize many readers truly enjoy historical romances, but want them to be "history-lite."

I also must confess to a certain amount of computer illiteracy. This will probably not be the prettiest blog on the block, but I hope to learn as I go. I hope we can all have a little fun here, and I promise to never intentionally hurt anyone's feelings regarding their choice of reading materials.