Thank you having me today! I thought it would be
fun to talk about historical romance, how much the subgenre has changed over
the past thirty years, and my personal keepers. When I first started reading
historical romance, the stories were long, adventure filled books that could
take place over years. We were taken from the Caribbean to Russia and many lands
in between. Even being a fast reader, it could take me days to finish one of
those lush books. These were the books with the reputation that came to be
known as bodice rippers.
I miss those books…well, some of them. Some, I will admit,
were more like rape than a slightly forceful sex scene. That is not the part I
miss. I long for the exotic destinations like St. Petersburg, Nassau, Italy,
France, and yes, even the USA.
With many authors self-publishing today, we are finally
seeing some differing locales, but the mainstream publishers haven’t picked up
the concept again. I think one reason we see a lull in historicals every few
years is people get tired of every book being set in England or Scotland. The
readers move onto a different subgenre of romance until they tire of all the
millionaires and secret babies, then they come back to historical romances.
I doubt we’ll ever go back to the long historical, though.
This is something I can understand. I work full time, write when I can, have
two almost grown sons, and very little time for reading. I have been reading
one of my favorite author’s books for over a week now and I’m only halfway
through it. The book is not poorly written and it’s not dull. It’s a lovely
story. I just haven’t had the time to put into reading this wonderful book.
Years ago, I would have been done with that book in two days or less.
So, as I’m sure you have guessed by now, not only do I write
historical romance, it is also my favorite subgenre to read. Some of my
favorite authors are Johanna Lindsay, Julia Quinn, Christina Dodd, Victoria
Alexander and Kathleen Woodiwiss.
I thought it would be fun to discuss keepers. The books you
go back to over and over until you have to buy a new copy because you’ve worn
out the old one. Of course, with e-books that won’t be a problem.
One of my top keepers is A
Heart So Wild by Johanna Lindsay. First, I love this story because it’s set
in the western US but the hero isn’t really a cowboy. I always found this to be
a very magical story. It is one story that makes me cry almost every time I
read it.
Next on my list is Judith Ivory’s The Proposition, because who doesn’t love a hero who’s a rat
catcher. If you haven’t read this one, I can’t recommend it enough. I just
pulled it off my bookshelf so I can reread it again because it’s been a couple
of years.
So what are some of your keepers? No, they don’t have to be
historical or even romance. Anything is fair game. Just tell me about that one
book you reread every year or so because it touches your heart.
And what do you think about seeing exotic locations? Do you
love them? Don’t care either way? Tell me how you feel.
Thank you so much for sharing with us!
Be sure to check out Christie's latest release!
Only His
Passion. . .
With
his estate near bankruptcy, Simon Blakesworth, Earl of Hartsfield already has a
perilous secret to keep. Still, when he finds Mia Featherstone badly beaten, he
doesn't hesitate to shelter her in his home. . .and offer marriage to protect
the lovely healer from her attacker. But Mia is concealing a danger this
honorable earl never imagined--and can't resist. . .
Can
Save Her Love. . .
Mia's
valuable discovery on Simon's land saved her patients' lives. Now the only way
she can help the man she's always loved save his home is to secretly find the
rest of a cache of hidden artifacts. But their passion is making it impossible
for Mia to ever walk away--even from a love that may not survive the truth. . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Award winning author, Christie Kelley was born and raised in upstate New York. After
seventeen years working for financial institutions in software development, she
started writing her first book. She currently writes regency historicals for Kensington.
Christie now lives in Maryland with her two sons.
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