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Author Archives: Diane Gaston

About Diane Gaston

Diane Gaston is the RITA award-winning author of Historical Romance for Harlequin Historical and Mills and Boon, with books that feature the darker side of the Regency. Formerly a mental health social worker, she is happiest now when deep in the psyches of soldiers, rakes and women who don’t always act like ladies.

What is a Romance Novel?

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What if you were asked What is a Romance Novel by someone who doesn’t read romance novels? A relative asked me this question. She’s an educated, well-read person, so I wanted to give her as good an answer as I could.


This is what I said:

Romance novels can be incredibly diverse, encompassing history (like me), suspense, elements of women’s fiction, comedy, paranormal, inspirational – you name it. They can also vary by tone from light “romps” to darkly emotional. But what they all have in common is that they are telling the story of a romance. The book is about the romance. The story is the romance–How two people fall in love and find their happily ever after. The happily ever after is essential. A romance is not about doomed romance or tragic romance. It is a celebration of successful romance.

What I mean is, an historical romance is not about the historical events; it is about how two people manage to find love together. Historical events might impact on them, but the story is about their romance. Same with Romantic Suspense- the story is not about—say—a murder mystery. It is about how two people find love together while impacted in some way by a murder mystery.

Because of the focus on two people falling in love, romance novels are basically character focused. And because nobody would read a book about a romance that goes smoothly from first meeting to the wedding day, there has to be conflict. There must be forces driving the couple apart as well as the attraction between them that make them fall in love.

The very best conflicts are internal ones, things about the personality or emotional characteristics of the hero and heroine that drive them apart. External conflict should also play a part. External conflict can often be what the hero and heroine think is keeping them apart, but really it is something inside them that they need to change in order to have their happy ending.

Romance novels today mostly have strong heroes and heroines. Gone are the victim heroines who must passively be rescued by the hero. Heroines need to act on their own behalf just as much as the hero. Characters must be three dimensional and must act in sensible ways or in ways that are understandably motivated.

The hero and heroine should not be “Dudley Do-Right” perfect; they should have flaws, ways they need to change in order to have their happy ending. The conflict should not be something that could be solved by a conversation. The hero, in my opinion, should be someone the reader will fall in love with; the heroine should be someone she’d like to be.

There are some “mostlys” we see in romance novels:

The hero and heroine mostly meet in the first few pages.
The hero and heroine are mostly together for most of the book
The plot is mostly fast-paced with a major turning point in the middle of the book and a “Black Moment” toward the end.
But none of these are hard and fast rules.
I also provided some links:

The best place to start is with Romance Writers of America. Here’s their take on what constitutes a romance novel:
Be sure to click on the link to the various subgenres as well.
Here’s a nice article from a respected romance review site where authors say what they think makes a romance.
Here’s another description – The essential elements of a romance novel according to Pamela Regis
Pamela Regis is an academic who has studied, taught, and researched the romance genre. She’s written a scholarly work on Romance Novels: A Natural History of the Romance Novel
Here’s a little summary:
And from my publishers, Mills & Boon, the UK branch of Harlequin- what constitutes a perfect romance

Okay….so, how did I do?

How would you have answered the question What is a Romance Novel?
What links would you have provided?
Speaking of romance novels, my cover of Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Mistress is still up for best Historical cover at Cover Cafe. (So is one of Amanda’s covers) Vote here if you haven’t already, but don’t forget to vote in at least three categories.
On Thursday at Diane’s Blog, my guest will be Colleen Gleason, talking about her new adventure in publishing!

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Dark Mirror – My First YA

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I’m going to reveal a big secret. Until now I’ve never read a Young Adult novel. Nope. Not even the Harry Potter books. Nothing since I was a teenager and then they weren’t called YAs. But M. J. Putney’s publicist sent me her first YA, Dark Mirror, and that book became my first YA.

Now, I don’t know why the publicist sent me the book. I do know Mary Jo Putney, but I am much more likely to send her a book of mine to read than the other way around!
I think the first traditional Regency I ever read was Mary Jo’s The Rake and The Reformer. It is still a favorite. My third Washington Romance Writers meeting was a workshop by Mary Jo on synopsis writing. We were invited to read her latest book before the meeting and write a synopsis of it for her to read aloud and critique. Only two people attending the workshop actually wrote the synopsis. The first person did it all wrong; she wrote a chapter by chapter outline. I had written a pretty good synopsis and actually received applause, but the joke was on me ultimately. The person who’d written the lousy synopsis was Catherine Asaro, who hit it big in sci fi/fantasy about a year later.
Mary Jo actually helped me plot The Mysterious Miss M. At one of our WRW Retreats, she gave me some good advice on a couple of plot points, advice I followed.
So, for all those reasons, I was highly motivated to read Dark Mirror.
Mary Jo loves Fantasy and loves the Regency. Dark Mirror combines the two. MJ’s Regency is a place where having magical powers, like flying or controlling the weather, is a great scandal. Those young people who display magical powers are sent to Lackland Abbey, a boarding school whose sole function is to remove the students’ magical powers. A group of students and teachers meet in a labyrinth underneath the school to do the opposite, to increase their powers. One night the heroine Victoria falls through a mirror, the time portal, and travels into the future. Ultimately Victoria and her friends travel to 1940 and wind up helping in the evacuation of Dunkirk.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was a satisfying read with appealing characters, surprises, and lots of clever connections using the magic.
Since this was my first YA, though, I also read it with an eye on what makes it a YA. Here are some of my ideas:
1. The main characters are teenagers; adults are much more peripheral.
2. The main characters band together to help adults in important ways.
3. The characters think about things teenagers would think about: friends, clothes, which boys are cute, does he like me?
4. There is a little bit of a message about friendship in the book: not to necessarily believe in your first impression of people.
5. The prose is just a bit simpler. The vocabulary and sentence structure a bit more accessible. This is not to say it is “dumbed down,” just simplified a bit.
What other elements distinguish a YA from an adult book?
What are your favorite YAs?
Have you read Dark Mirror?
Don’t forget to read my sneak peek at Valiant Soldier, Beautiful Enemy and enter my new contest over at Diane’s Blog. Something new is coming at the website on Thursday so don’t forget to visit!
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On the Way to the Retreat

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Like Elena, this past weekend I was at a Retreat–Washington Romance Writers Spring Retreat. Not to work, but to be “In the Company of Writers.” We had speeches and workshops and Romance Jeopardy and much conversation. More about that on Thursday at Diane’s Blog.

Melissa James, my Aussie friend who lives in Switzerland, and I started being “in the company of writers” even before the official start of the Retreat. We joined my critique partners, Lisa Dyson and Darlene Gardner, for lunch and a visit to an historical estate in Leesburg, VA, Morven Park. (L to R: Lisa, Melissa, Darlene)
Morven Park reminded me so much of English country estates in Regency times, not that its heyday was in the early 1800s. Rather, its grand days were 100 years later, in the first half of the 1900s. Westmoreland Davis and his wife Marguerite Inman Davis were a wealthy couple originally from Old South families who had made fortunes in New York. In 1903 they purchased Morven Park, a Greek revival house originally built in 1750, and 1000 acres surrounding it. Davis was an engineer and a lawyer, but he embraced the role of farmer, publishing a farming journal and utilizing the latest farming techniques. His wife ran the house and designed the gardens.
What reminded me of a Regency estate was the way Davis conceptualized the role of gentleman farmer. He felt a great deal of responsibility for his farm workers and for the owners and workers of the surrounding farms. Like a Regency lord might feel a sense of responsibility for an entire village, Davis made certain his community prospered along with him. During the Depression, for example, Davis never laid off any workers. He funded the town’s library and paid the librarian during the Depression. He even served in government. He was governor of Virginia from 1918 to 1922.
It was that sense of responsibility for others in the community that reminded me of a Regency lord. Like Davis, the best Regency lord would have known that people around him could either prosper or suffer, depending upon the decisions made. Like a Regency gentleman, he would have been a farmer, his fortunes rising or falling due to the crops grown there.
Morven Park was a surprise and a delight. And the perfect start to a wonderful weekend. But more about that on Thursday.
How was your weekend?
Later today visit my website for new news and a new contest!
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Regency Poll

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I have an exciting, busy week ahead of me. Today I pick up my friend Melissa James from the airport. Melissa is my Australian friend living in Switzerland and is coming for a visit and to attend the Washington Romance Writers Spring Retreat. Tomorrow we are taking a quick trip to New York City so that Melissa can meet with her agent, coming back on Wednesday. Thursday Melissa’s friend Mia Zachary is coming to spend the day with us and we are going to my friend Lisa Dyson’s house to have a critique group, also including Darlene Gardner. Friday to Sunday we go to the Retreat. Next Monday, I take Melissa back to the airport.

Whew!! I’m exhausted just writing this!
So, today, all I have time for is a poll I’ve devised for….no reason at all!
Diane’s Regency Poll
Pick your favorite:
a. Wellington
b. Napoleon
a. Keats
b. Shelley
a. Austen
b. Brunton
a. Thomas Lawrence
b. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
a. Floris Scent Shop
b. Gunter’s Tea Shop
a. George Brummell
b. Banastre Tarleton
a. Elizabeth Armistead
b. Harriette Wilson
a. Vauxhall Gardens
b. Astley’s Amphitheatre
a. Castlereagh
b. Sidmouth
a. Brighton Pavillion
b. Gretna Green
How many a’s did you score? How many b’s?
The more a’s you have, the more you think like me!
What Regency choices would you create? Add to my poll.
This Thursday at Diane’s Blog, I’ll tell you about my New York trip with Melissa! Next Monday here you’ll hear about the Retreat.
Posted in Regency | 19 Replies

Classic Novels: How Many Have You Read?

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As I have said many times, I am probably the world’s worst read romance novelist. I am in awe of how many books my fellow Riskies and our commenters are able to read, but I just can’t keep up, even though my love of books is deep and heartfelt.

Somehow (don’t ask me how), Janet’s and Megan’s blogs about movies made me think of movies I’ve seen and those I haven’t. That led me to books. That led me to wondering just how poorly read was I.
There are tons of must read lists on the internet, but most were too long or included obscure (to me) titles I figured most people would not have read. Others seemed to be confined to one person’s opinion. I settled on Booklist’s Classic Novels list. This would be a good test of how poorly read I am.
Here’s the list and my scores as well:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
yes
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
no
Beloved by Toni Morrison
no, but I think I’d like this book
The Best Short Stories by O. Henry
I’m not sure if I’ve read them all, but I’ve read O. Henry
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
surprisingly enough, no. My schooling somehow did not include this book.
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
no
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
yes, read by choice, not for class
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
yes. A must-read for any adolescent
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
(don’t hit me!) no
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
no
Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
no. I confess, I had not heard of this book.
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
yes
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
yes
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
yes
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
no
The Great Gadsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
no
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
no
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
yes, thanks to a wonderful Black Literature course in college
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
yes, of course
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
yes
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
yes
My Antonia by Willa Cather
no, but I’m certain I read some of her short stories
Native Son by Richard Wright
yes, that Black Lit course, again
1984 by George Orwell
no. It was never required of me
Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham
no
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
maybe…but somehow I think I read it as a play
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
yes
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
yes!!!
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
no
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
yes
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
yes
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
no, but I would like to read this one
Silas Marner by George Eliot
yes
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
no
The Stranger by Albert Camus
no
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
yes
Tales by Edgar Allen Poe
yes, at least some of them
Tess of the D’Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy
yes
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
no, but another one I’d like to read
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
yes. In fact, my high school English teacher, Miz Lee, was Harper Lee’s cousin, but I’d read the book before then
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
no
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
no – are you kidding?
Wineburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
no. Another collection of stories I’d not ever heard of.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
yes
My score is 23 out of 44, a tad above 50%. I suppose that would be a failing grade, wouldn’t it?
I have excuses! Although I was an English major in college, I steered myself primarily to English authors, not American ones. In fact, that Black Literature course, innovative for its time, was probably the only course I took covering American authors.
Even more appalling, I asked my adult daughter if she’d read some of these books. She took lots of English in high school and some in college. She’s even worse than I am, which makes me wonder about the state of schools these days. She never read Moby Dick, for example. Or The Old Man and The Sea. She did read The Grapes of Wrath, but for an economics course, not English.
Who is brave enough to share their scores? If you graduated high school in the last 10 years, we might need to give you consolation points.
Visit me again on Thursday at Diane’s Blog. I’m going to talk about asking for what you want, and NOT in The Secret kind of way. And on Wednesday I’ll be writing something historical for the Harlequin Historical Author blog.
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