Romance for Nerds

By Jen Webb,librarian and

life-long book nerd

Romance for Nerds

Romance novels are:• A $1.1 billion industry• One fifth of adult fiction sales• 38% of ebook sales• Recession-proof• Mostly written by women for

women

Romance for Nerds

What is a romance novel?

Three main criteria:

1. A romantic love story2. that is central to the narrative and3. resolves in a happy ending for the lovers.

Dear Author, "Too Many Rules, Too Little Romance" Jennifer Crusie, "I Know What It Is When I Read It: Defining the Romance Genre"

Romance for Nerds

“If you can remove a female character from your plot and replace her with a sexy lamp and your story still works, you’re a hack.”

- Kelly Sue DeConnick

I spent years reading about miserable women like the one who pursued the life she wanted, had great sex, and then ate arsenic; or the one who pursued the life she wanted, had great sex, and then threw herself under a train; or my personal fave, the one who pursued the life she wanted, had lousy sex with a masochistic dweeb, and spent the rest of her endless life atoning by doing good works in a letter sweater. What a great literary education gets a woman is depressed. Very, very depressed. Not to mention very reluctant to have sex.

- Jennifer Crusie

Romance Jargon

Heroine: Female lead characterHero: Male lead characterHEA: Happily ever after (see also HFN, “happy for now”)Alpha/Alphahole: Traditional dominating heroBeta: Mild-mannered, sensitive heroGamma: Hero who doesn’t fit either moldTSTL: Characters who are “Too Stupid To Live”The Big Misunderstanding: tiresome plot device where conflict could have been avoided if characters communicatedKeeper: that rare book so good you kept it (“it’s on my Keeper shelf”)Wallbanger: book so infuriating you hurled it at the wallDNF: Did Not Finish

Romance Tropes

• Enemies to lovers (“Kiss or Kill”)• Damsel in distress rescued by hero• Boss and employee• Damaged hero(ine) healed by love• Playboy falls for girl next door• Uptight hero/heroine learns to let go• Estranged lovers reunite• Marriage of convenience• Secret/unexpected baby• Posing as lovers (“Fake It ‘Til You Make Out”)

Thanks to Heroes and Heartbreakers for some great names for tropes!

Romance: a Timeline

1970s: The “Bodice Ripper” is Born

1980s: American Revolution

1990s: The Reign of Queen Nora

1972: The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss

2000s: Attack of the Vampires

2004: MaryJanice Davidson, Undead and Unwed2005: J. R. Ward, Dark Lover, Stephenie Mayer, Twilight

2010s: Age of Erotica?

2007: Amazon Kindle

2011: E. L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey

1900s-1960s : Innocents Abroad

1740: Pamela: Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson

1700s-1800s: New-fangled Novels

1813: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen1847: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

1919: The Sheik by Edith Maud Hull

"The odd thing is that if I met one of my heroes, I would probably bash him over the head with an empty whisky bottle. It is a type I loathe and detest.

- Mills and Boon author Hilary Wilde, 1966

Romance: a Timeline

1970s: The “Bodice Ripper” is Born

1980s: American Revolution

1990s: The Reign of Queen Nora

1972: The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss

2000s: Attack of the Vampires

2004: MaryJanice Davidson, Undead and Unwed2005: J. R. Ward, Dark Lover, Stephenie Mayer, Twilight

2010s: Age of Erotica?

2007: Amazon Kindle

2011: E. L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey

1900s-1960s : Innocents Abroad

1740: Pamela: Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson

1700s-1800s: New-fangled Novels

1813: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen1847: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

1919: The Sheik by Edith Maud Hull

“Were I a man, you would not smirk so easily,” she spat, hating him.

He raised a finely arched eyebrow and chuckled unmercifully at her. “Were you a man, my dear, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“Don’t fight me,” he murmured. “Let yourself enjoy it.”

“I can’t,” she choked.

“Yes, you can.”

- Kathleen Woodiwiss, The Flame and the Flower

It’s Nora Roberts, Motherfuckers

“I’ve got feelings for you, and they go pretty deep.”

“Maybe I’ve got feelings too…I don’t want to punch you every time I see you these days, so maybe I do.”

Montana Sky, 1996

Romance: a Timeline

1970s: The “Bodice Ripper” is Born

1980s: American Revolution

1990s: The Reign of Queen Nora

1972: The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss

2000s: Attack of the Vampires

2004: MaryJanice Davidson, Undead and Unwed2005: J. R. Ward, Dark Lover, Stephenie Mayer, Twilight

2010s: Age of Erotica?

2007: Amazon Kindle

2011: E. L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey

1900s-1960s : Innocents Abroad

1740: Pamela: Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson

1700s-1800s: New-fangled Novels

1813: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen1847: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

1919: The Sheik by Edith Maud Hull

Romance: a Timeline

1970s: The “Bodice Ripper” is Born

1980s: American Revolution

1990s: The Reign of Queen Nora

1972: The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss

2000s: Attack of the Vampires

2004: MaryJanice Davidson, Undead and Unwed2005: J. R. Ward, Dark Lover, Stephenie Mayer, Twilight

2010s: Age of Erotica?

2007: Amazon Kindle

2011: E. L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey

1900s-1960s : Innocents Abroad

1740: Pamela: Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson

1700s-1800s: New-fangled Novels

1813: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen1847: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

1919: The Sheik by Edith Maud Hull

For Further Reading:

Beyond Heaving Bosoms: the Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan

A Natural History of the Romance Novel by Pamela Regis, University of Pennsylvia Press 2003

Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance edited by Jayne Ann Krentz, University of Pennsylvia Press 1992

The Romance Revolution: Erotic Novels for Women and the Quest for a New Sexual Identity by Carol Thurston, University of Illinois Press 1987

For Further Reading:

Journal of Popular Romance Studies

Teach Me Tonight

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Dear Author

Heroes and Heartbreakers

Romance Novels for Feminists

Romance Writers of America

RT Book Reviews (formerly Romantic Times)

For Further Reading:And finally, Jen’s highly biased list of great romances:

Contemporary: Suzanne Brockmann: Hot Target (Suspense; features a gay romance subplot)Jennifer Crusie: Bet Me, Faking ItVictoria Dahl: Close Enough To Touch, Too Hot to HandleJulie James: About That NightLisa Kleypas: Smooth Talking StrangerSusan Mallery: All Summer Long, Two of a Kind, Three Little WordsMolly O'Keefe: Can't Buy Me Love (damaged hero and heroine)Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Match Me If You Can, Natural Born CharmerNora Roberts: Three Sisters Island trilogy, Irish trilogy, Vision in White

Historical: Jennifer Ashley: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie (features an autistic savant hero!)Joanna Bourne: The Spymaster's Lady (Regency spy vs. spy)Loretta Chase: Silk is for Seduction, Lord Perfect, Miss Wonderful, Mr. ImpossibleTessa Dare: Goddess of the Hunt, A Week to be WickedMeredith Duran: The Duke of Shadows, Wicked Becomes You, A Lady’s Lesson in ScandalJuliana Gray: A Lady Never Lies (closer to Edwardian period, involves early automobiles!)Elizabeth Hoyt: To Seduce a Sinner, To Beguile a Beast, Wicked IntentionsEloisa James: The Taming of the Duke, Pleasure for Pleasure, Desperate Duchesses seriesLisa Kleypas: Again the Magic, Worth Any Price, Devil in Winter (Wallflowers series)Rose Lerner: In for a Penny, A Lily Among ThornsTeresa Medeiros: The Bride and the Beast (Scottish)Courtney Milan: Unclaimed, UnraveledAmanda Quick: I Thee WedJulia Quinn: The Viscount Who Loved Me, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton (Bridgerton series)Jodi Thomas: To Kiss a Texan (Western)Sherry Thomas: Delicious