Why Romance?

I’ve had several people ask me why I’m writing a Romance novel…especially people who have known me for awhile and know how much I enjoy reading a good book. And up until the last few months, I never would have put any “romance” novel into that category of “a good book”. So what has changed?

First of all, I started looking at the romance genre in a different light when I found out that Harlequin (yes, Harlequin) will consider publishing unsolicited, un-agented manuscripts from previously un-published authors (aka, newbies).

It is extremely hard to break into the publishing world, no matter how talented you are. My childhood fantasies aside, no publisher is going to pick my manuscript out of the trash pile of unsolicited manuscripts and shout “at last, I’ve discovered the next great American novel!” No. My unsolicited manuscript wouldn’t even reach a publisher’s office, let alone their desk. The same goes for agents – after all, who wants to risk anything on another crazy lady from the mid-west who thinks she can write? But there are places for newbies to get their material in front of the right eyes – one of them is to write a decent book and get it published by a house like Harlequin.

So I started reading these things, surreptitiously checking them out from the library in the self-service line. I was surprised at what I found. Some of them, to be sure, ended up being returned before I reached the second chapter, but most of them were pretty good stories. I started finding the genres within the genres and started identifying my favorite authors. I started reading the books critically (as in “How to Read a Book” by Adler and Van Doren) and discovering the formula.

That’s where romance novels got their bad rap, of course. They’re unapologetically formula books – just like westerns, mysteries, adventure stories, science fiction, fantasy….. There are some elements the story must have, some way the ending must come about, or else the book doesn’t belong in that genre. Unfortunately for the reader, a book doesn’t have to be good to get published if it fits into the genre and the publisher thinks they can make money off of it. But the best stories in any genre are written by talented people who make their readers forget that they’re reading a certain genre – they’re just reading a good story.

And then the formula writer who can write a good story and get it published has a way into the publisher’s office and the agent’s list. Once published, an author has cred. The better the book, the better the cred, and the better the cred the greater the hope of eventually being published outside the romance genre. If the author wants to. Because once the author discovers the secret joy of writing romance fiction, they may never look back. But that’s a subject for another post.

Josie's Changing World

In Divine Appointments, author Charlene Ann Baumbich show us the world of Josie Victor Brooks – a successful systems analyst who never spends more than a year in any one place. She buys and sells real estate with each move to a new city and new job, and never – never – stays long enough to form ties. And that’s the way she wants it…..until she finds a snowglobe at a flea market that she is compelled to buy. From that moment on she feels that her tightly controlled life is falling apart…. or is it just now coming together? As she battles hot flashes and raging thirst and considers her next job change, Josie discovers that the world as she knew it may not be what she thought it was. Maybe she was even mistaken about the person she always thought she was!

I enjoyed this story and the characters – Josie is not the only one discovering untapped potential within herself – and I will be looking for the first in the “Snowglobe Connections” novels, Stray Affections.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Book Review: Slave by John MacArthur

In his new book, Slave, John MacArthur seeks to expose a truth from the Bible that can escape most English speaking readers. At the time when the Bible was being translated into English, MacArthur (and others that he cites in his book) maintains that because of western European sensibilities, the Hebrew and Greek words that should have been translated as “slave” were translated as “servant” instead. This simple change, says MacArthur, has led to a lessening of our understanding of just what it means to belong to Christ. The theme of MacArthur’s book is that “God has expressed the riches of our salvation using the symbolism of slavery.” In contrast, MacArthur maintains that we in the contemporary evangelical church, by adopting a terminology that emphasizes a personal Savior rather than Christ as Master, Lord and King, have reduced our understanding of just how wonderful and blessed it is to be a child of God and to hold our citizenship in heaven. Throughout the book we travel through all of the nuances of what it meant to be a slave during the times when the Bible was written – a good master vs. a harsh master, manumission of slaves, adoption and citizenship. This is a book that can challenge your thinking about what it means to be a Christian – a challenge that can change your walk with Christ.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Book Review: Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

Lady in Waiting is an intriguing story – actually two stories – of Jane, a New York antique store owner living in the 21^st century and Jane, the Tudor Queen of the 16^th century. The 21^st century Jane is waiting for her husband to make the decision of what he wants to do about the emptiness in their marriage, just as she has waited for him and her parents to make the decisions that have shaped her entire life. While she waits she discovers a ring hidden in a recently acquired book that she decides could have belonged only to Lady Jane Grey. Jane’s quest to learn more about the 16^th century Jane leads her on a journey inside her own soul – a journey that leads to the discovery of what duty and choice mean, and the decisions she needs to make to preserve her marriage.

This is the first novel I have read by author Susan Meissner, but it won’t be the last. Her writing is fluid and seamless and the stories flow smoothly between the centuries. I felt an immediate liking for her characters, enjoying them so much that it was hard to put the book down. I recommend this book highly, and be sure to follow it up with more of Susan Meissner’s books!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Book Review: The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers

Grady has been pretending he was a feechieboy for as long as he can remember, travelling from town to town with Professor Floyd and putting on a real professional act. That is, until people stop believing in feechiefolk. Now, you tell me, how can you make any decent money educating the populace about feechiefolk when they don’t even pretend to believe what you say?

As Grady and Floyd travel throughout the island of Corenwald we follow Grady on a quest. Although he has been raised by a show man on the road, Grady longs for home – a place to belong with people who know him and want him. In every village he peers into people’s faces, looking for a familiar looking eyebrow or ear, any family resemblance. He wonders what it would be like to have a friend, to see the same people every day, to find out who his real family is.

Jonathan Rogers has created a world of swamps, alligators and small towns that feels very familiar. The Corenwald world fits around the reader’s shoulders like an easy old sweater. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment of Grady’s story, due out in 2011.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Book Review: Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

Sonja and Todd Burpo’s amazing story of their son’s journey to heaven and back is a book of discovery. After nearly losing their son during an emergency appendectomy they are treated to a slow revelation of what happened during the minutes when they had nearly lost hope.

But lost hope is the opposite of what this book is about. Over the next several years Colton shares what he saw in a matter of fact, every day, little boy way. “Of course I sat on Jesus’ lap – doesn’t everybody?” is his approach to his experience. Colton’s straightforward faith and revelations of meeting people he couldn’t have known is what convinces his parents that what their little boy saw was real.

Colton’s experience in the hospital was anything but normal, and filled with awe-inspiring episodes that leave his parents and the reader with the assurance that heaven is for real.

I received a free copy of this book for review from Booksneeze. I was not required to write a positive review.

Book Review: Almost Heaven by Chris Fabry

In Chris Fabry’s newest novel, Almost Heaven, he tackles the question of God’s omniscience and omnipotence. Why, we have to ask ourselves, does God allow bad things – sometimes horrible things – to happen? How can one man’s life – scarred by tragedy – serve to glorify God?

Those are the questions that Malachi, the angel assigned to “look after” Billy Allman, asks as he watches and tries to protect his charge. He searches for understanding of God’s purpose, but even though he is able to see the top side of God’s tapestry, as he puts it, while mere humans are forced to work their way through the tangled threads of the underside, he still has trouble understanding the significance of this one boy’s life.

Billy lives in the coal mining area of the West Virginia hills. He experiences things that make us weep, but in spite of everything he still maintains his faith in God and His good purpose. What Malachi doesn’t understand is Billy’s soul – the soul that praises God in a song that weaves its way through Billy’s life. That music seeks, and finds, its resolution in the climax of the book.

Chris Fabry has given us a book filled with real people experiencing real life, and a glimpse into what one person can do when he seeks to serve God. I’m looking forward to reading more of Mr. Fabry’s books.

Tyndale House Publishers has provided a copy of this book for my review.