I used to be a book snob. “Oh, me?” I’d say. “I only read literary fiction and I absolutely love the classics. I’ve read Anna Karenina twice.” The only time I would read chick-lit or romance was over Christmas and I made sure that everyone knew that the only reason I was slumming it was because it was a holiday tradition I shared with my mom. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare touch that stuff.
I’m surprised I had any friends.
Over the years I discovered that literary fiction often depressed me and I didn’t actually enjoy reading most classics. I was mostly just forcing myself to read them because I thought I should. I got really into thrillers and mysteries and procedurals but, still, STILL, romance was “silly” and reserved for the holidays. If someone gave me chick-lit I’d read it, but I wouldn’t buy it, because that would be admitting I liked it or something.
(Please don’t stop reading if you’re a chick-lit and/or romance fan, I promise I become less of a pretentious asshole)
But then, THEN, I wrote a book. And, while I thought it was women’s fiction with a romantic arc, my publisher (rightly) saw it as a romance with a women’s fiction arc, and she gently requested a rewrite.
Well, I thought, I guess I better familiarize myself with the genre so I don’t embarrass myself. I set aside my thrillers and mysteries and enlisted the help of my book bestie who is a voracious reader of the romance genre (among others). She recommended an excellent reading list which I dug into with mediocre enthusiasm. It’s for my book, I thought. It’s not like I have to enjoy them.
WELL. Obviously, I did enjoy them. A lot.
And now I feel like a whole new world has opened up, right before my eyes. A joyous world with clever humour and fun characters and happy endings. A world with Emily Henry and Jennifer Weiner and Marian Keyes and Taylor Jenkins Reid. A world where I can read a book and not be depressed or have to pretend I understand things I really don’t.
I had been missing so much joy! And so much excellent writing! Why on earth did it take me this long?!
When I was young I read Sweet Valley High and V.C Andrews along with my and R.L. Stines and Christopher Pikes, and I didn’t care what people thought. I read what I wanted to read; I read what made me happy.
Sometime between then and now, I started reading what I thought I should read. What I thought would impress people when we were discussing books. “Oh, have you read the new Jonathan Franzen? So tragic. I liken it to Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment in its metaphorical simplicity.” (This isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with Jonathan Franzen or Dostoevsky, of course, but you catch my drift).
But now, thank goodness, I have finally come to my senses. At the tender age of 46, I have finally decided to read what makes me happy. And, friend? I am READING. Way more than I used to. And I used to think I read a lot. I guess that’s what happens when you’re really enjoying what you read. When you can’t put it down. When you desperately need to know what happens to the characters you immediately fall in love with.
That is the kind of book I want to write.
That’s not to say my thriller and murder mystery reading days are over (I still maintain that The Likeness by Tana French is the best book I’ve ever read and likely ever will read). I’m not crazy. But now I have so many more options! And, because the romance community is so amazing, I’m continually getting great ideas and adding awesome books to my wish lists.
So, it looks like I’m here to stay in the romance realm. Thank you for your patience during my period of ignorance. It’s great to be back.
Someone To Kiss for New Years
Last month I finished all my edits from my publisher's manuscript assessment and sent her the draft. I’m excited to announce that she liked it! It’s now in the hands of the editor for a developmental edit. If you have been following along with my newsletter, you will know that I mistakenly believed that it had already gone through a development edit, somehow, but I was incorrect. To correct this, click here, scroll down to where it says “Developmental Edit” and replace that with “Publisher Manuscript Assessment” in your head. Done. (Don’t subscribe to that newsletter though, it’s old. Subscribe to this one).
So, NOW I'm working on the Christmas romance novella that everyone who signs up for my newsletter — this newsletter — will eventually get. I've written the first, very rough draft, and am now endeavoring to make it readable. It's about a woman who just lost her mom and joins a running group to help herself get through the holidays. She meets a bunch of cool women — and possibly a dude — and romance and camaraderie ensue. Working title: Running from Christmas.
Who's excited to start talking about a Christmas romance novel in March?! Only me? Cool.
Book Review
The Brightest Star In The sky - Marian Keyes
I have mixed feelings about this book.
I love Marian Keyes, obviously, her writing is always great. And, while I liked this book, there was a small part of me that wondered throughout about the reasoning of some of the choices. That’s not to say you shouldn’t read it, you should, it’s just a bit different in some respects.
The book is about an apartment on Star Street and all of the people who live within. I really enjoyed all of the characters, she always writes good ones, they were all uniquely written and fun to read. I loved all their stories; the conflicts and challenges kept me turning pages and looking forward to picking up the book to find out what happened next. The characters were all very real, with strengths and flaws and history and hopes. They were the kind of characters you miss when you stop reading the book.
I think, for me — and of course, this is completely subjective — it might have been better if that’s all that it was, just the stories of the characters. I don’t want to spoil anything but there is a thin thread woven throughout that ties them all together, and I think it could have been just as good — or better, even — without it. It doesn’t ruin it by any means, it was just a bit disruptive, taking me out of the story more than I would have liked.
That said, it was a cool idea, so I still think you should read it (although the book is over 10 years old so many of you may have already) and let me know what you think.
📘📗📔📕out of 5.
Jamie! Are we the same person? I convinced myself that I could only read “literature” (said with a very posh voice) and guess what? I didn’t read sh*t. Then I started to dive into mysteries and thrillers, fantasy (which I loved when I was a kid) and now I’ve found my way to romance. There are so many well written romance novels with great, well developed characters and I enjoy the writing. It has been so freeing to read what ever the eff I want.
I still liked your anti-romance self, but glad you're reading everything you want.