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They're No Bodice Rippers, But Amish Romances Are Hot PDF Print E-mail
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Wednesday, 28 October 2009 15:47

NEWBURG, Pa. -- Rachel Esh, owner of an Amish dry-goods store here, was giddy as customers kept arriving. Cars spilled out of the dirt parking lot onto the hay and potato fields, crushing a few of her neighbor's potatoes.

She ushered the crowd of 40 people swarming in front of her cash register into a line that snaked out the door of Rachel's Country Store. The cause of the commotion: novelist Cindy Woodsmall, who had stopped by to autograph books.

['Where the heart cries']WaterBrook Press

The plot of 'When the Heart Cries,' revolves around Hannah, a young Amish woman who falls in love with a Mennonite and hides her plans to marry him from her strict parents. The lovers kiss a couple of times in 326 pages.

Ms. Woodsmall writes "bonnet books," or Amish love stories, which are a booming new subcategory of the romance genre. The books, written by non-Amish writers, are aimed at a mainstream audience. But Ms. Woodsmall researches her stories among the Pennsylvania Amish, and she has a loyal Amish following.

The plot of her 2006 novel, "When the Heart Cries," revolves around Hannah, a young Amish woman who falls in love with a Mennonite and hides her plans to marry him from her strict parents. The lovers struggle to overcome the cultural divide, and actually kiss a couple of times in 326 pages: "His warm, gentle lips moved over hers, and she returned the favor, until Hannah thought they might both take flight right then and there. Finally desperate for air, they parted."

"I can't stop reading them," said Mary Ann Blank, an Amish woman with a wide smile and graying hair she wears neatly parted under her prayer cap. She clutched her signed copy of the third book in Ms. Woodsmall's "Sisters of the Quilt" series, published by WaterBrook Press, a Random House imprint. "I usually better not start in the morning because then I sit around too long," she added.

Most bonnet books are G-rated romances, often involving an Amish character who falls for an outsider. Publishers attribute the books' popularity to their pastoral settings and forbidden love scenarios à la Romeo and Juliet. Lately, the genre has expanded to include Amish thrillers and murder mysteries. Most of the authors are women.

['when the morning comes']WaterBrook Press

Beverly Lewis, who sets her novels among the Amish in Pennsylvania, has sold 13.5 million copies of her books. Wanda Brunstetter's novels take place in Amish communities in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri and Pennsylvania, and have sold more than four million copies. Publishing house Thomas Nelson plans to release five Amish novels this fall, and six more in 2010.

Barnes & Noble book buyer Jane Love said Amish novels currently account for 15 of the chain's top 100 religious fiction titles. "It's almost like you put a person with a bonnet or an Amish field in the background and it automatically starts to sell well," Ms. Love said.

The explosion of Amish fiction has drawn mixed reactions within Amish communities. Emma Smoker, 39, who was selling homemade pies -- apple, blueberry and shoofly -- in front of Rachel's, said the books don't interest her.

"I live the Amish life -- I don't need to read about it," said Mrs. Smoker, who is the sister of store owner Rachel Esh. From what her friends tell her, she added, the books "aren't quite true to life."

Ms. Esh said some Amish customers snap up the Amish fiction she stocks, but others tell her they don't like the way the books portray the community.

['When the Soul Mends']WaterBrook Press

"There will always be people who say we're getting too exposed," said Ms. Esh, a 48-year-old member of the local Old Order Amish community.

Old Order Amish shun modern technologies such as electricity and TV, forbid members to own cars and computers, and speak Pennsylvania Dutch, a German dialect. They sew their own clothes and try to lead simple lives based on faith and community. The U.S. Amish population has more than doubled in the past 18 years, growing to about 233,000, largely because of high birth rates. About 85% of Amish teenagers, given the choice, end up joining these communities.

While there are no religious strictures against contemporary novels, the church has traditionally viewed fiction as distracting and deceitful, says Donald Kraybill, a senior fellow at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, a religious studies center at Elizabethtown College.

Some Amish have nevertheless become avid fans. An Amish woman in Lancaster told Ms. Lewis that "all the women in our church district are reading your books under the covers, literally," Ms. Lewis said. Ms. Brunstetter, who lives in Tacoma, Wash., said several Amish families in northern Indiana have played host to book signings in their homes for her "Sisters of Holmes County" series.

Read Excerpts

Beth Graybill, director of the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, said many Amish novels present a distorted, soap-opera version of Amish life. Outside authors exaggerate the wild activities during Rumspringa, the period when Amish teenagers experiment with technology and worldly distractions, from about the age of 16 until they decide to join the church or leave the community, Ms. Graybill said. Buggy accidents, and romances between Amish youngsters and outsiders, are also far less common than the books suggest, she said.

Ms. Woodsmall -- whose four books have sold about 134,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan -- sets her stories in contemporary Amish communities around Pennsylvania. A stay-at-home mother turned novelist, Ms. Woodsmall, 50, says the plot for her first series popped into her head about 10 years ago while she was cooking dinner. She began researching Amish beliefs and formed a relationship with a Pennsylvania Amish family after a mutual acquaintance introduced them. The couple, Miriam and Daniel Flaud, have six children and three grandchildren and live on a 150-acre plot of farmland with corn, hay, alfalfa and soybeans. Ms. Woodsmall, who lives outside Atlanta, visits them once or twice a year and mails her manuscripts to Mrs. Flaud, who, as a favor, checks them for mistakes.

Mrs. Flaud often catches simple errors, such as characters riding bicycles -- most Pennsylvania Amish ride scooters -- or a mangled bit of Pennsylvania Dutch. Other times, Mrs. Flaud has suggested adding or rewriting scenes. When an Amish character in Ms. Woodsmall's fourth novel, "Hope of Refuge," was shunned for allowing a non-Amish woman to stay in his home, Mrs. Flaud suggested the author include the bishop's perspective to show that shunning is not taken lightly. Ms. Woodsmall wrote a scene that included the church leader's point of view.

Mrs. Flaud said she enjoys helping with the books and finds the plots gripping. "You get hooked," she said. Still, she is wary of upsetting her community and is selective about what she tells Ms. Woodsmall. For example, she doesn't provide details about religious rituals such as wedding ceremonies, which are considered sacred.

During a recent visit, Ms. Woodsmall sat on a swing outside the Flauds' 133-year-old farmhouse and peppered them with questions for her sequel to "The Hope of Refuge."

"This is one of those questions I hate to ask," said Ms. Woodsmall. One of her characters, a schoolteacher, wants to modernize some aspects of Amish education. "What are some things she might want to change?" Ms. Woodsmall asked.

The Flauds' 13-year-old daughter, Amanda, piped up. "The bathrooms," she said, explaining that many students at her school wanted to replace outhouses with indoor plumbing.

Some of her inquiries drew a blank. The Flauds couldn't come up with Amish expressions for the word "quirky" or the phrase "women's rights."

Soon, it was time for the book signing at Rachel's Country Store. Ms. Woodsmall greeted fans, most of them "Englishers," or non-Amish, and signed about 250 books. Miriam and Daniel Flaud stood nearby, watching as Englishers snapped Ms. Woodsmall's photo with cellphone cameras.

Write to Alexandra Alter at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Last Updated on Wednesday, 28 October 2009 15:48
 
Romance Books Rekindle the Romance in You PDF Print E-mail
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Wednesday, 23 September 2009 14:52

As we move on in life we realize all that life keeps teaching us. One lesson that everyone for sure has learned in life is that love actually does not happen by gazing into each other's eyes but it happens by looking outward in the same direction. It is said that true love is the highest law that binds two lovers.

Love is the only universal phenomenon from which nobody can stay away. It is the intoxicating fragrance of love that enriches the emotional intimacy of the lovers. Love has been depicted beautifully in books. There is altogether a different genre which is romance books.

It is through reading books that one can get an insight of various love stories and romantic situations. The intimate beautiful moments that you read in your novel can be recreated by you to bring in a new leaf in your relationship or love story. All romance books have generally the same plot, with the hero and heroine deeply in love and the ending is always happy. The scenes that keep the reader hooked on to a romance novel are scenes which have emotions, suspense, action and mystery in them.

The romance books have always had an amazing fan following as the readers enjoy reading the love relationship of others. It is amazing to read love stories where the description of how the lovers meet and how their love stories become immortal build up interest and entice the readers.

There are various kinds of romance novels that are read by many all over the globe.

One of the best things about reading a historical novel is that they take you into the past and recreate everything that happened in that period. These love books of the past are a very good read. There is nothing that can replace historic facts which when mixed with romance will want you to read more and relive the past in the present. The journey through the past will have the capacity to change your present, which in itself is an extraordinary experience.

The historical fiction novels not only vary in the period or the era, but they have style, and research in detail. The historical novels are famous for the mixing of genres like crime, romance, war and even fantasy. These elements have kept so many readers hooked to these historical fictions.

It is while reading the historical romance novels that you get a chance to see the world through the eyes of the author or the characters that were a part of that time period.

It is when you will read these amazing historical romance novels that you will be able to appreciate all the beautiful things that held on to love in those ancient settings.

The experience of reading a historical fiction is always amazing and is a reader's delight. The setting, the story and the situation keeps you hooked to the novel. These historical fictions have been inspirations for many and continue to be so as they are beautiful, intimate stories of love that have been told since time immemorial.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 September 2009 14:53
 
Heaving bosoms passé in romance-book market PDF Print E-mail
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Wednesday, 26 August 2009 19:36

By KATE BRUMBACK

The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Strong women and edgy plots about relationships are replacing the heated passion and ripped bodices of swooning damsels in distress traditionally associated with romance novels.

Some of the more than 500 authors signing their books at the Romance Writers of America's 26th annual conference last week said the genre is not about smut or trash and is no longer exclusively for women.

"It's not all lace and moonlight and heaving bosoms. That's all nice, but it's about a lot more than that," said Emily Giffin, author of best-sellers such as "Something Borrowed" and "Something Blue."

Giffin, 34, who left a career at a New York law firm to pursue writing, sipped an Amstel Light as she signed books for fans and explained that her books focus on relationships, romantic and otherwise.

Sari Robins, another former attorney, said she is tired of people dismissing romance novels as poorly written fluff.

"I write intelligent heroines," she said. "The writing is solid. I take a lot of pride in how good the books are. I think people don't realize how hard it is to get published and that to get published it really has to be good."

The 40-year-old author is promoting her fifth book, "What to Wear to a Seduction." The cover features a woman in a flowing white dress lying on her back with her hair cascading around her shoulders and a shirtless man kissing her neck.

She acknowledged that hot cover art may lead people to think her novels are mainly about sex. When her first book was published in 2002, she said she initially wanted a more staid cover. But after doing some market research, she accepted the age-old adage — sex sells — and agreed to "tasteful but steamy" covers.

Love scenes, she added, should be sexy but not gratuitous. And they should always be used to challenge the characters or advance the plot.

What many may not realize is that romance novels are divided into a number of sub-genres that draw on other types of fiction. They include mysteries, thrillers, inspirational stories, paranormal plots and contemporary, historical and futuristic settings.

 

Because of the wide range of subjects covered, romance novels can appeal to a broad audience, which partly accounts for their success. Romance novels generated $1.2 billion in sales in 2004 — about 40 percent of fiction sales — according to the latest market survey carried out by Romance Writers of America, which said that sales have remained fairly constant for the past several years.

One thing all romance stories have in common — and another reason for their success — is a happy ending.

At the convention's book signing, there were rows and rows of authors seated at tables behind towering piles of their tomes. Some had props related to their stories, such as bottles of red nail polish next to a pile of books titled "What Goes with Blood Red, Anyway?" and bowls of candy — especially Hershey's Kisses.

The crowd was overwhelmingly female, reflecting the genre's fan base. Most of the men were husbands or boyfriends obediently tagging along to carry bags and boxes heavy with novels.

With the expansion of romance novels into science fiction and military tales, though, the male following is increasing, said Nicole Kennedy, a spokeswoman for the group. The 2004 market survey indicated that male readership jumped from 7 percent of romance readers in 2002 to 22 percent in 2004.

Kennedy cited the success of Suzanne Brockmann, who has written two series of romance novels featuring Navy SEAL teams, which Kennedy said are wildly popular among Navy SEALs.

Though romance writing remains an almost exclusively female vocation, some men have ventured into the field. Former Green Beret Bob Mayer, who has written many nonromance books under his own name and under the pen name Robert Doherty, teamed up with veteran comedic romance writer Jenny Crusie for a military romance called "Don't Look Down," released this year.

He said, she said

Mayer and Crusie met at the Maui Writers Conference three years ago. Both were looking to do something different, and they decided to collaborate. Crusie writes the parts that come from a woman's point of view, while Mayer weighs in with the male perspective.

"He tells them everything I don't want to hear," Crusie said with a grimace.

"Some people don't want to hear the truth," Mayer shot back jokingly. "Usually, you have women writing the male point of view, too. I read some sometimes and go, 'No, that's not what the guy is really thinking.' "

The conference attracted a lot of unpublished romance writers who came to learn from the masters. One of the most important pieces of advice that best-seller Nora Roberts had to offer to aspiring writers was to have passion for the topic.

Not just about romance 

"I believe strongly that you can't write well what you can't sit down and enjoy," she said. 
Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 August 2009 19:41
 
When Love Is Strange: Romance Continues its Affair with the Supernatural PDF Print E-mail
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Thursday, 03 September 2009 17:26

By Gwenda Bond -- Publishers Weekly, 5/25/2009 

Think of a writer known for creating one of the most popular and memorable vampire series in history—one with 17 million copies of her books in print in 35 countries, one whose fans are so devoted that in 2008 the annual convention honoring her sold out in less than three minutes, one who managed six #1 rankings on the New York Times bestseller list in just over a year. No, not Stephenie Meyer—this publishing phenomenon is the reigning queen of the wildly successful paranormal scene, Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Over the past decade, Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series has increased in popularity until the latest installment, Bad Moon Rising, is virtually assured to land at the top of the lists when it hits the shelves on August 4. Her editor at St. Martin's, Monique Patterson, says, “It's been amazing to watch her grow, literally by leaps and bounds. Dark-Hunter is a brand, a franchise, now. Sherrilyn has a sixth sense for what readers want in their characters, in their stories, and she knows how to speak to their emotions.”

Patterson promises that readers won't be disappointed by Bad Moon Rising, though they may be surprised. “It's a whole new arc in the story line. I can't say exactly what, but it's big.”

That's only one of several Kenyon releases this year. St. Martin's will be reissuing expanded versions of the first three books in her long-out-of-print League series—Born of Night, Born of Fire and Born of Ice—in a major back-to-back release beginning in late September. The publisher also launches the Dark-Hunter series into manga in June. While Avon had planned to release Darkness Within, the newest in Kenyon's Lords of Avalon series (previously published under the name Kinley MacGregor) in August, that title has been delayed for the moment.

Kenyon is just one example of arguably the most in-demand and prolific authors in America these days. Writers of all kinds of paranormal are experiencing a major surge, and the variety of work being published under the banners of paranormal romance and urban fantasy shows no sign of diminishing anytime soon.

Degrees of Difference

It's fairly easy to settle on a definition of what makes a book part of the current paranormal trend, because it can be anything with supernatural elements or that departs from reality. But even that broad definition is open to interpretation, says Chris Keesler, senior editor at Dorchester. “I think that booksellers and many romance readers tend to pigeonhole paranormal, defining the books by the most visible and successful of their type: the vampire romance. Werewolves and other monsters are also common.”

Often it is the most prominent paranormal element that's used to classify a book or series as part of a certain subgenre. In addition to vampires and shape-shifters, it's not hard to find books featuring witches or demons, psychics or time travel within the romance category and also in science fiction and fantasy.

In fact, the terms urban fantasy and paranormal romance are often used interchangeably. But most of the category's major editors work on books that fall into both categories and caution that while the two frequently cross over among audiences, there is a key distinction. Avon executive editor Erika Tsang explains: “In paranormal romance the relationship between the couple is the focus of the main plot. In urban fantasy, the world that the couple exists in is the focus.”

Figuring out the best category can sometimes be hard. Tsang remembers the fan reaction when she chose to publish Jeaniene Frost's Halfway to the Grave as romance rather than urban fantasy. “Readers were up in arms because the characters didn't end up together. But the relationship was essential to the story, so it's a romance to me,” says Tsang.

Choosing the category can be dangerous ground, says Heather Osborn, romance editor at Tor. She employs a simple standard for making the decision. “My number one consideration is if there's a resolution of the romance at the end of the book. If there's no resolution of the romance, and it's in the romance section, readers will let their anger be known.”

Osborn also identifies another factor that must be considered, which is the willingness of the different readerships to leave their home section of the bookstore. “We see romance readers go to the science fiction and fantasy section for the books. Fantasy readers will buy from displays, but not go into the romance section,” she says.

There are plenty of authors comfortable in both worlds, though. Marjorie Liu debuted with the paranormal romance series Dirk & Steele, which she describes as being about a “group of psychics and nonhumans (gargoyles, mermen, shape-shifters and so on) who band together to help others under the guise of working for an internationally respected detective agency.” The series' ninth installment, The Fire King, releases in August from Dorchester. But in 2008, Liu launched Hunter Kiss, a darker urban fantasy series, from Ace, with The Iron Hunt. The follow-up, Darkness Calls, is due out in late June.

“I think we worry way too much about where books should fit inside genres,” says Liu. “In a romance, the hero and heroine are on a journey together, and no matter how awful it gets, by the end of the book they'll be in love, with the probability of a happy ending.”

Viewing the trend in a more historical context helps explain its broad appeal to readers who prefer either type of book. Most editors say that Buffy the Vampire Slayer marked a turning point toward the new breed of paranormal, but that its roots are far older. “There are romantic tales in mythology and folklore with clear fantasy aspects to them,” says St. Martin's Patterson. “But everything is cyclical in terms of popularity. Eight or nine years ago, you couldn't give away paranormal romance.”

Dorchester's Keesler says the coinciding rise of the supernatural across the entertainment spectrum has exerted a strong influence, creating a hunger for similar books. “How many people of the last few generations haven't seen Buffy or one of its spinoffs? Above all, I think every genre is driven and perpetuated by the talent of its most successful authors, authors who cater to the public, to their day and age's literary zeitgeist.”

Timing is everything in publishing, and pop culture's impact on readers is reflected by the age of the audience coming into the romance category. “TV and entertainment media are bringing in people in their 20s and 30s. Romance as a whole skews to an older audience,” observes Tor's Osborn. “People talk about the glut of vampire and werewolf romances, but there is always room for more. Romance readers read tons of books a month.”

Paranormal romance—like romance in general—is doing extremely well during a period when the economic meltdown has exiled much of publishing to severe doldrums. “What's going on in the world now has an impact. With wars and the economy, romance is fantasy—these books are the ultimate escape,” says Tsang from Avon. “Readers are always looking for something new.”

The Next Big Monster

The continuing Twilight mania and Alan Ball's adaptation of Charlaine Harris's novels into the HBO series True Blood may have injected an even longer life into books about vampires.

“It's clear that vampires have never been hotter in the romance genres,” says Claire Zion, editorial director of NAL. She cites the breakout success of J.R. Ward's Lover Avenged when it released earlier this month. The seventh Black Dagger Brotherhood novel and the first to be released in hardcover,Lover took high slots on several bestseller lists.

The paranormal field is in no danger of a vampire shortage. Other hot releases featuring bloodsuckers include Jeaniene Frost's Destined for an Early Grave (Avon, July), Lynsay Sands's The Renegade Hunter (Avon, Sept.), and Katie MacAlister's Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang (Signet, May). Berkley plans a back-to-back release of Emma Holly's Kissing Midnight (June), Breaking Midnight (July) andSaving Midnight (Aug.).

There are also plenty of shape-shifters to be found this season. In another back-to-back release, Avon will launch Pamela Palmer's Feral Warriors series, beginning in July with Desire Untamed, followed byObsession Untamed and Passion Untamed. Tor has high hopes for C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp'sCold Moon Rising (Aug.), blurbed by popular urban fantasy author Jim Butcher. Meanwhile, Kendra Leigh Castle's Wild Highland Magic (Sourcebooks, May) continues the MacInnes Werewolves series, and Patricia Briggs fans will no doubt snap up Hunting Ground (Ace, Aug.), which follows the developing love story between werewolves Anna and Charles.

Although werewolves and vampires are still tremendously popular, they better look out for the new trendsetters coming behind them. According to Dorchester's Leah Hultenschmidt, “Demons are the new vampires,” calling attention to the publisher's The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers by Angie Fox, released this month. “I predict after demons come fallen angels.”

It's true that demon and angel-themed series are becoming more prevalent. Kensington has seen Richelle Mead's urban fantasy series featuring shape-shifting demon Georgina Kincaid take off; its fourth book, Succubus Heat, comes out in June. And Grand Central was so pleased with last year's reception for newcomer Larissa Ione's Pleasure Unbound that it released two follow-up Demonica novels, Desire Unchained and Passion Unleashed, in March and April. Both landed on various bestseller lists. “It's a sign that readers are still willing to take a chance on new authors,” says Amy Pierpont, editorial director of Grand Central's Forever line.

For those fallen angels, try J.R. Ward's hotly anticipated new spinoff series, kicking off with Covet(Signet, Oct.). And what about urban fantasy? Readers who want a little less romance and a lot more fantasy world-building can keep an eye out for titles like S.J. Day's Eve of Darkness (May), Eve of Destruction (June), and Eve of Chaos (June) from Tor, debut author Kelly Gay's The Better Part of Darkness (Pocket, Nov.) and Caitlin Kittredge's Street Magic (St. Martin's, June).

Not to mention Harlequin's first foray into young adult fiction. The new program launches with Rachel Vincent's My Soul to Take in August, with Intertwined by Gena Showalter to follow in September. “These books promise to have crossover appeal between young and adult women,” says Loriana Sacilotto, executive v-p of global editorial for Harlequin.

All this without getting into a number of other developing trends—faeries, immortal protectors and a little bit of anything else you can imagine. Kensington editor-in-chief John Scognamiglio says, “Paranormal romance remains red hot and shows no signs of stopping. Anything paranormal is immediately moved to the top of the submission pile.”

Readers may wonder if there's any creature that won't eventually end up in the role of leading man. The answer is yes—there's a strong consensus against zombies. “Zombies are not sexy. Romances don't feature zombies,” says Tsang, laughing. “Zombies are rotting dead flesh who eat brains. When you say vampire, you think David Boreanaz. Until David Boreanaz becomes a zombie—no way.”

For complete bibliographic information on books mentioned, see this article on the Web athttp://www.publishersweekly.com.
Last Updated on Thursday, 03 September 2009 17:28
 

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