I am so looking forward to reading your next novel. As some here have said, the recent kerfuffle with RWA would be enough for a lot of romance authors to quietly vanish and secretly publish under a new name or genre. Meredith Duran - Facebook Thats my take on it, anyway. In exchange, Phin promises to help her if ever he is able. She and Mary Ann Hudson are still at it there. Plus, they have some queer romances which the Harlequin category romances do not. First, I think skepticism and concrete data seeking are healthy behaviors, but I dont discount the power of observation. I found myself skipping too many parts or throwing them in irritation. The sample size would be phenomenal, but how would the researcher corral and classify the information? Much like music, the people who sign authors or artists determine the trends, although happily, with self publishing, there are more options. They are still quite good. I dont mind it in contemporary romance or even a time travel, but I really dislike 19th century bluestocking heroines that write like modern bloggers. Steve Pockross di LinkedIn: We recently had the CEO of a long-time Why not create her own heroine, or choose a character from another famous book or series that hasnt been copied so often. are fine. Ugh I really hope this story structure goes out of style And while I dont have a distaste for time travel per se, I dont like when its clearly used as a way to make what should be a straight-up historical story relevant for a younger reader by throwing in a 21st century protagonist who doesnt really need to be there. I base this on a range of factors, including my own reading and observations but author interviews and social media accounts and some recent scholarships on representations of masculinity. I cant speak for audiobook sellers and producers since Im not in that game, but you definitely see something similar with erotica e-book pricing scales. https://allaboutromance.com/participant/aar-guest-reviewer/, Id been toying for a while with writing the tale of a cynical Prince Charming who falls in love with the Ugly Duckling. Is this some strange new perversity thats surfacing in him, that leads him to fixate on a stiff-necked, over-educated bluestocking? True, she didnt quit writing entirely, but shes definitely shifted her focus from romantic suspense to thrillers with some romantic elements (as opposed to central romance). What he doesnt anticipate is that shell choose to collect on that promise at the exact moment he finally wins his freedom or that his salvation from a very dark past might lie in the arms of a woman whos even better at deception than he is. Bound by Your Touch is one of the best the very best historical romances Ive ever read. Im going to review it for AG, so well see. Also, their blog, So You Think You Can Write, occasionally posts wish lists for submissions, which tend to skew in the direction you mentioned. Audios are expensive, and I dont like being asked to pay full price for a 4 hour book when most books are 8 hours plus. My favorite book thus far from 2020 is from Sarah Hogle, who I recently learned is in her twenties, and yet her book displayed far-reaching wisdom about what it takes to make relationships work. The LaurasLaura Moore and Laura Florand. The beauty of self publishing is that you can really find anything -and lots of it nowadays. On the one hand, Meredith Duran's writing is stunning. Amazon.com: Customer reviews: At Your Pleasure See if your friends have read any of Meredith Duran's books. Unfortunately, while authors do break out in self publishing, its the ones that get contracts with big publishers that make it into most of the casual readers hands. So, over time, Ive gotten the impression that Harlequin is afraid to tarnish their somewhat wholesome image in the world of romance whereas Avon could afford to take more chances. How interesting, I did not know this. Im also grateful to my other favorite (veteran) authors who still write, despite whatever challenges they face: Meljean Brook aka Milla Vane, Loretta Chase, for example. With Bound by Your Touch, I'm pretty sure that the keyword is faith - or, more accurately, whether or not to love someone is to have total faith in him or her. (I did try to read it again a couple of years later, but nope. I am anticipating an m/f story rewritten with two men, to be honest. It wasnt about Torie, and that makes me sad. Another pet peeve of mine is when an author feels the need to make a historical story more relevant by employing that wonky dual perspectives trope between old person reflecting on life and young person reporting about it. In addition to the authors already mentioned, I miss Ruthie Knox. Try not to be discouraged. But, I could be wrong. (No one is forcing this particular price point by decree, but a number of erotica authors have essentially made an unofficial pact to never charge less than $2.99 for smut lest customers start expecting $0.99 jollies that would only earn an author $0.35 per sale.) I hope they finally get their story because I found them interesting. . Grant only had a handful of books before she vanished and I liked them all and loved her final one. You're a doctoral student in anthropology! I miss LaVyrle Spencer and Muriel Jensen and, although I think shes still writing but never fast enough, Kathleen Gilles Seidel. Some have switched into a different sub-genre that doesnt appeal, some keep writing but their writing has changed and it isnt clicking for me, and some I think the change is in me, where once the books hit the sweet spot, now might seem problematic or have deal breakers. Total immersion, fascinating experiences and interesting points of view from our heroes and heroines, even amazing and difficult and heartrending Redemption of thorough villians-dang, may have to go start re-reading.. Id like to see Deanna Rayburn continue the Lady Julia Gray series! Bound by Your Touchhas one of my favorite set ups of therake hero and the spinster heroine. 38985 books suggested | I don't feel so good.. And another who I periodically check on is Katherine Allred. Theres one Ancient Egypt romance recently published and a couple of bootleg era 1920s America. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. I have to put a weight on them to keep them closed.). And the number of authors mentioned on this page who have been cited as saying its hard for them to make a living writing what they like is very concerning. James was always clear to me. These two are Editors that were telling their authors how and what to write. Clearly, you are a long-time romance fan. This is last major publisher that does Medieval and they just had a Biltz for just Medieval, Viking and Highlander stores so it seems like they are really trying to expand in that direction. For me, unless its an auto-buy writer, I just wont pay $11 for a short novel or novella. Which means, I think, that we have a remarkable book on our hands. Now a doctoral student in anthropology, she is happy to report that all three goals have become her favorite things to do. If there is one thing I have learned about publishing, if one person does something successfully you can guarantee the market will be flooded with knock offs. Loved all their books. I couldnt agree more. Id love to win a copy. I think that the two of you along with Elizabeth Hoyt and Joanna Bourne represent a true return to a golden age of historical romance. 2012 A Lady's Lesson in Scandal. I follow her Facebook page. I miss HR author Adele Ashworth. is it okay to take melatonin after covid vaccine. I bought it and didnt get a chance to read it during the Christmas season so I kind of forgot about it. I also miss Cara McKenna and Charlotte Stein. It happens with e-books as well. Who would you cite as the authors who inspired you? I stopped reading historicals a few years ago because I couldnt get into them anymore. It's the music - and any devotee of the book, a fictional oral history of a Seventies rock band, will have strong feelings about exactly how it should sound. Lydia thinks not.She believes that having faith in someone is part and parcel of loving that person.In her view, if you break faith with someone, you cannot claim to love him. So hopefully well have more from her. Duran grew up with a love and obsession with British history which led her to set many of her novels in 1880s Britain and Victorian England. Yes, agree about Judith Duncan; I loved her books set in the Canadian wide open spaces. Meredith Duran is an English author of romance and historical fiction books. Anne Calhoun and Jill Sorensonneither of whom has published anything new in several years and both of whom left secondary characters (who seemed to be getting set up for their own stories) hanging at the end of their last published books. Sometimes a very short book (usually under 2 hours) will be priced at less than $5. Oh no, we have to introduce a perky, bubbly, wannabe journalist 21st century hip chick who interviews the old lady instead of just telling the old ladys story without this presumptuous and hella annoying filter. J.Quinn. Im willing to wait. Were very excited about this one. Its a bit of the chicken and the egg in my mind. Thankfully, when I looked this up, I discovered there was one last Morsi historical I hadnt read, so Im checking that out right now. Cant wait to read these new books! Meredith Duran OverDrive: ebooks, audiobooks, and more for libraries That it exists at all can be blamed on Lydia. Also, I recently discovered Carla Kelly. Just wanted to say, I love those titles, especially Written on Your Skin. I lovedDuke Of Shadows and today is my birthday, so winning would be an great present! As you can probably tell, I miss those epic romantic historicals. Would a 5,000 word erotic HR short receive the same treatment as a 120,000+ word inspirational tome? Since 2007 no full length book like the ones I mentioned has been released. It might also account for stories that, about a decade ago, would have been one big volume now being broken down into duets or trilogies. I think Ive read one or two books by each and have been meaning to explore their backlist. I would like to win this. I love Thomas, Bourne, and Hoyt and would love to add another author to my auto-buy list! Im finding heroines today from a wide range of authors to be quite interesting and complex. I was definitely aware of some of the chances Harlequin takes, like the conquistador and native romance you mentioned. The problem is, trends are often just a product of cultural resonance without any rhyme or reason. Sigh. Judith A Lansdowne; Marjorie Farrell; Barbara Metzger; Emma Drummond; Paul Detmer Riggs. Elsewhere in the comments of this post, Piper mentioned that Duran, Kinsale and Ivorys books feel grown up and I took that to mean that the stories and writing are matured, rather than the authors were a particular age or they were writing for a specific audience age. She is the author of twelve novels, all published by Pocket Books. I am unlikely to listen to this one though, even though I love both narrators, because Im not enjoying any of her work right now. I really enjoyed The Duke of Shadows and cant wait to read Bound by Your Touch! I hope shes well, but its been several years since shes published and I no longer get newslettersso its not looking good. And these are my go-to historical romance authors when I need that shot in the arm: Laura Kinsale, Judith Ivory, Loretta Chase, Sherry Thomas, Connie Brockway, Joanna Bourne, Marsha Canham, Jo Goodman. The skill they bring, or not, to writing about 2 men is what will be the determining factor for me. As the old Tootsie Roll commercials say, The world may never know. James has spent the last few years deliberately attempting to wreck his own life; Lydia has spent these years focusing all her passion into her scholarly work.