From the Editor

Are book lovers ready for the electronic age?

The answer to that question is a resounding YES! You are already reading online. Take this newsletter, for instance. It didn’t come to you by carrier pigeon. It was conveniently waiting in your email in-box. So what else are you reading online: recipes, reviews, news—for all we know you’re following the daily trials and tribulations of Britney Spears online. You’re shopping online. Picking music online. Finding your soul mate online. So the electronic age is here and you’re part of it.

But you don’t want to drag your computer around just to read. But wait. Aren’t you the attractive woman in the corner drinking lattes, using free WiFi and surfing the Internet? I thought I recognized you! Let’s say you could leave your laptop at home without suffering separation anxiety. That leaves two interesting alternatives for reading on the go. Either the Sony “Reader Digital Book” or Amazon’s “Kindle” will fit nicely into your Kate Spade bag. Both have their own unique features so you can decide which is best for you.

The point is, reading romance fiction electronically is getting easier and easier. All the major publishers are starting to publish their books in print and eBook formats. Many like Harlequin, Kensington and HarperCollins are committed to making their titles available for Sony and Amazon’s handheld devices. Many authors, including bestseller Lucy Monroe, have embraced ePublishing (see her comments below in this issue’s Q&A). Some publishers are putting out their books exclusively online—think MyRomanceStory.com.

There are also online bookstores dedicated to selling eBooks. All Romance eBooks, a newcomer to this group, was recently voted the “Best Book Store of 2007” by the Preditors and Editors readers’ poll hosted by Anotherealm magazine.

The books are out there. The readers are out there. But I’m not sure if this is simply a question of if you release them they will read. Readers can be very tactile people. But they are also very practical people. I have a good friend who travels to work by train. Reading helps her survive her long commute. She panics when she nears the end of a book if she’s forgotten a backup. With one of those neat handheld devices she could store and carry around more than 100 books—leaving her with anxiety-free commutes.

There are many ways to enjoy our novellas. You can subscribe to read the latest releases. You can enjoy some of them as free stories or you can purchase new and past favorites from our redesigned Buy E-Book section or through other eBook outlets. Over the coming months we’ll be expanding our offerings to include stories formatted for handheld readers.

T. N. King
Managing Editor

We ask our readers to tell us who their favorite romance authors are. One name that shows up often is that of Lucy Monroe. Not surprising, since Monroe is a prolific, award-winning author. On her website she lists eight releases for 2008 with two more coming out in early 2009. In all she has sold more than 30 books to three publishers, including Harlequin, which published her first novel in 2003. Her books have been national bestsellers in the United States and England. Her writing is not limited to one romance subgenre. She’s found success writing paranormal, inspirational and romantic suspense, as well as contemporary and historical romances. We recently had a chance to chat with Monroe on a wide range of topics pertaining to romance fiction and publishing.

Read the full interview below.

Good Husband Material
Written by Maryan Gibson
Illustrated by Italo Ahumada
When pediatrician Sally McCoy meets blue-eyed charmer Kevin Armstrong, the sexy musician who regularly entertains the children on her ward, the attraction is powerful and immediate. But Sally avoids musicians like the plague. Experience has taught her they’re nothing but trouble. And Kevin, after a devastating betrayal, is overly cautious about getting involved again. In the end it takes an innocent child and an act of stunning compassion to break down their walls of resistance …

Act of Love
Written by Maria Davies
Illustrated by Enzo Pertile
Celia Hoppert, a foreign correspondent for the San Diego Post, is to be embedded with American DEA agents while they monitor a dangerous operation in Colombia. But there’s a serious personal complication—the ruggedly handsome DEA agent, Mike Fischer. A year ago, she had a passionate love affair with Mike. Their white-hot romance ended when Mike hurled cutting accusations at her. Will her latest assignment give her a chance to prove him wrong and rekindle the fire?

How to Write Romance Fiction

One of the topics we like to blog about is how to write romance fiction. A recent topic covered was the cliché of the "cute meet." Poison Ivy felt one writer had gone to an extreme in shaking up the idea of the "cute meet."

Possibly the Worst Cute Meet Ever
(From MyBlog on MyRomanceStory.com)
By Poison Ivy

I just remembered a manuscript that I read many years ago, and I can't resist sharing. But so as not to sully my prior blog entry, I'm making this a separate one.

Yes, I once read what possibly was the worst cute meet for a hero and heroine EVER. He was being treated at an STD clinic. For those of you reading this in foreign countries, that means he had a sexually transmitted disease and had sought medical assistance at an establishment staffed by public-health doctors. And the heroine happened to be part of the medical/social worker team.

There were several very good reasons why this isn't a good opening for a romance. I'll bet you can guess at least one of them:

1. Introducing a hero who has had the bad luck or the lack of discrimination to have contracted a sexually transmitted disease does not make him appealing to a reader. In fact, it makes him repulsive and makes the reader question his morality. Most such diseases are accompanied by rank symptoms, too, which are off-putting. Plus, the idea of dangerous and disgusting results from having sex is anti-romantic.
2. A person seeking treatment at a public health clinic typically has no money. A romance hero ought to have his life together enough to be able to afford to visit his own doctor. Instead, imagine him sitting in the clinic with the hoi polloi for hours, just another number waiting to be called. A hero ought to be larger than life, not caught in the machine.
3. This cute meet is the opposite of cute. It might be considered realistic, which is not the preferred tone of a romance. I mean, come on. Who daydreams about meeting a man with gonorrhea? Nobody! Venereal diseases are generally considered dirty secrets or embarrassing plights. They are not the stuff of which romantic fantasy is made.
4. This opening gambit runs the risk of seeming funny to the reader, like a bad joke. A romance is not supposed to be a bad joke.

Cynical realism is a quality that romance writers and readers actively avoid. While I and most romance readers don’t want to see a lot more broken-down car, fender bender or other clichéd cute meets, this one isn’t an acceptable substitute. We’ll take the stupid mixed-up hotel reservation ploy over a nasty sex-related disease anytime.

Sorry. I couldn't help talking about this. Because even many years later, I am still wondering what on earth possessed that writer to think of such an obviously unromantic way to start a romance.

Read more writing advice at MyBlog at MyRomanceStory.com.

Q&A with Lucy Monroe (continued)

MyRomanceStory: What motivated you to start writing?  
LM: I've been telling long and involved stories in my head to anyone who would listen since I was a toddler. However, I didn't start actually writing them down until after an illuminating discussion with God in the bathtub (and, yes I do believe you can be "called" to write sexy romance). 

MyRomanceStory: What's your writing background? 
LM: In terms of education?  My masters degree is actually in business and my bachelors is in Political Science. While I wrote plenty to get both degrees, none of it was fiction. I currently write romance and romantic suspense for three major New York publishers and one small press. My first novel was published by Harlequin Presents in October of 2003 after writing for nine years and submitting seriously for nearly five. To date I have published 38 titles.

MyRomanceStory: How many genres and subgenres have you written in?  
LM: I've published sexy contemporary single-title romance, sexy contemporary category romance, paranormal contemporary and historical romance, sexy single-title historical romance, inspirational romance and romantic suspense.

MyRomanceStory: Any genres or subgenres you haven't tried that you'd like to?  
LM: Honestly? I'd like to write gay romance, but doubt I'll ever have the time. I have a lot of series to keep up with for my readers as it is.

MyRomanceStory: How did you get into electronic publishing? 
LM: I decided to publish a couple of titles with Samhain Publishing because I believe in the ePublishing venue and what many of the publishers in that market are trying to do for the industry. I'm also really pleased that two of my big publishers are releasing all of my print books as eBooks, as well.

MyRomanceStory: Which of the novels you've written is your favorite?  
LM: It changes...depending on my mood, what I'm working on at the time, etc.  I'm not better at answering this question than who my favorite author is...I've got a list of more than two dozen who are autobuys for me. 

MyRomanceStory: What can your readers expect from you in 2008? 
LM: A lot! LOL. Seriously, I've got seven original print releases and you can find out what I'm publishing by visiting my website at http://lucymonroe.com. Check on the "Upcoming Releases" page for all my forthcoming titles. 

MyRomanceStory: Anything else you'd like to tell us about yourself or your books?  
LM: I write in order to touch readers' hearts. Therefore, I love to hear from readers when I've done so. Please drop me a line at lucymonroe@lucymonroe.com any time.

Photo of Lucy Monroe taken by Studio 16.

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