Category Archives: romance novels

Betty Neels, Outside of Time

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

I am not nearly the connoisseur of Betty Neels’ 134 novels as the gracious hostesses of specialist blog The Uncrushable Jersey Dress. But, having read about a half-dozen of her novels, I now venture to have some general thoughts on … Continue reading →

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Telepathy and Romance

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Telepathy and romance are two great tastes that ought to taste great together. So why is it that, so often, a telepathic heroine or hero–finds true love with the one person whose mind can’t be read?It’s part of a romance … Continue reading →

Posted in romance novels, sf/f, writing craft | 6 Comments

Heroine Doe

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

What do you look for in a romance heroine? Or the heroine of a space opera, or of a quest fantasy? What kind of heroine always makes you want to read further?Does she need to be an orphan, or have … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, reading, romance novels | 8 Comments

Types of Masculinity

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

What does it mean, to be a man? To be masculine? What does it mean to be a man who is the hero of a romance novel?Romance readers, including me, often talk about “alpha” or “beta” heroes as two generalized … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, romance novels | 2 Comments

How Many Sex Scenes?

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I recently read a contemporay romance and got into a brief discussion about the sex scenes.I’d been perfectly comfortable with the amount of sex that was shown. The story focused on the two characters’ relationship issues and issues that were … Continue reading →

Posted in erotica, reading, romance novels | 13 Comments

IASPR Call for Proposals

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Just in case anyone out there is interested! A Call For Proposals for The Third Annual International Conference on Popular Romance: Can’t Buy Me Love?Sex, Money, Power, and RomanceNew York CityJune 26-28, 2011The International Association for the Study of Popular … Continue reading →

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The Journal of Popular Romance Studies, First issue!

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

The Journal of Popular Romance Studies has published its first issue! If only this journal had been around when I was in graduate school…but no, then I never would have gotten around to writing novels.So far, I’ve read A Little … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, reading, romance novels | 2 Comments

Top 5 Marriage of Convenience Novels

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

This post was originally written for Monkey Bear Reviews. # My Five Favorite Marriage of Convenience Novels It was really difficult to make this list! The “marriage of convenience” is one of my favorite romance novel plots. I made the … Continue reading →

Posted in reading, romance novels | 4 Comments

Bearded Heroes

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I’m a guest today at the Novelists, Inc. blog on “Five Ways of Thinking About a Writer’s Conference.” As for my own personal blog, I’ve been wondering something. Where are all the romance heroes with beards? Or even moustaches? I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in moonlight mistress, reading, romance novels, the duke | 4 Comments

Eroticism in To Have and To Hold by Patricia Gaffney

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I recently read Patricia Gaffney’s To Have and to Hold for the first time. If I’d only read the first section of the book (a bit less than half), I could easily interpret it as an erotic novel, though one … Continue reading →

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