2008 ELECTION - FOUGHT IN 1964

I haven’t decided yet who’ll I’ll be voting for in 2008, but I had to share this. I hadn’t been born yet when Reagan gave this speech, but I do believe that what he said more than 40 years ago is as important today as it was then.

Nita

Everyone knows there are several different genres in romance books.  There are contemporary, paranormal, historical, mystery/suspense, and erotica to name a few.  Then there are lots of books that cross genres like Teresa Medeiros’ After Midnight which blends historical with paranormal. 

But what I didn’t realize is that sometimes there can be differences even within what you’d think is just one genre.  Over the past week, I’ve learned just how different they can be, too. 

Historical romance is just that, historical romance.  Right? 

Nope.  I’d heard of mainstream historicals before.  Honestly, I thought that anything in the romance industry labeled mainstream historical was really just a historical novel with romantic elements.  I thought the reason they separated it from “historical romance” was because the emphasis was not on the romance. Boy, was I wrong. 

Turns out that a mainstream historical really can be a romance.  One of the deciding factors of whether a book is labeled mainstream historical or historical romance is the hero.  I’m told that in mainstream, the hero is infallible or perfect.  He is romantic, polite, and unfailingly proper and refined.  

In historical romance, sometimes referred to as Americana, the hero is often a rake, rogue, or tortured/wounded character who is reformed or healed by the heroine.  I’m told that readers who prefer this genre are less nit picky about the historical details than readers of the mainstream historical. 

I’ve also learned that the mainstream historicals are far more popular in the United Kingdom.  They want their perfect hero and exacting historical detail.  From the information related to me by a publisher, it appears that Americans (like me) are the ones who prefer the badboy heroes.  And while we do want the historical setting to be reasonably accurate, we are wiling to overlook minor historical details to ensure we have an exciting tale with lots of conflict. Mainstream readers are apparently less concerned with conflict than the ones who read the American style historical romance.

Unfortunately, I learned all this when edits began on A Real Husband.  The publisher wanted to make it a mainstream.  Well, it isn’t.  My hero is a rake in need of reform.  He’s a slightly arrogant English earl who is almost ready to settle down.  My heroine must teach him that if he wants her love, he’s got to loosen the reins.  She’s not a submissive miss who’ll easily accept his edicts. 

The edit changes required to turn A Real Husband into a mainstream were just more than I could bear.  Some of my favorite scenes were to be deleted because the perfect hero of a mainstream historical would never behave as my hero did.  And if the hero could not do this or that, the plot and storyline had to be altered as well.  I’m not sure I would have even recognized it as my book when it was all said and done.

I couldn’t do it.  I just couldn’t.  I love my hero the way he is.  And as an American historical romance reader, I want conflict, conflict, conflict.  I want to see the heroine bring her hero up to snuff. 

So…  The contract has been cancelled.  Of course, I’m disappointed.  But not for the reasons you’d think.  Yes, I’m disappointed that A Real Husband won’t be published as soon as I’d hoped, but that’s not the big thing.  If I had to chose, I’d rather not have it published at all than to change it into something I never intended it to be. 

The biggest disappointment is that I won’t be working with the same editor on it when it is finally published.  The editor is awesome.  She’s a wonderful person, a talented writer, and a knowledgable historian.  A Real Husband would have been polished to a glossy shine.  Heck, anyone who could take a book from one genre and change it to make it fit another has to have talent.  LOL  But I didn’t want my book to be changed so drastically.  

On the up side, I received a letter from a larger publisher a couple of weeks ago.  I’d sent them the first three chapters and a synopsis before I signed the other contract.  They must have liked it, badboy scenes and all, because they’ve requested the rest of it.  I’ll be sending it off to them soon.  I’ll also be pitching A Real Husband at a conference in a couple of weeks. 

Cross your fingers and wish me luck.  But before I sign the next contract, I’ll be making certain that the publisher wants an American style historical romance, not a mainstream.

Nita  

I’ve been looking forward to this 3-day weekend for quite a while.  I haven’t had any real time off since my vacation in March.  The vacation calendar at work has been completely filled, so there was nothing available in May, June, July and the first part of August.

I have some time scheduled now for each of the next four months.  :)  I have three days during the last week of September for a 5-day weekend. That’s the weekend of a writer’s conference I’m attending, too.  Yay! 

I have a two days off the second week in October for a 4-day weekend that will follow the 3-day weekend for Columbus Day.  Then I have the whole week of Thanksgiving.  I have to work the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but it’s only a half day.  And then I have the whole week before Christmas, plus Christmas Eve (Monday) and Christmas. 

So I’m feeling a lot less stressed already.  It’s been a long six-month dry spell, but relief is on the way!

Nita