Greetings from Hades. Last week I figured out that the villain in mess-in-progress isn’t working right. This week it’s been back to the drawing board: reexamining motivations, themes, figuring out what changes need to be made to the external plot (fortunately I think the romance is working).

I’ve been brainstorming but though I’ve come up with a bunch of ideas none of them is clearly a winner. It’s a natural phase in brainstorming but right now I’m more confused than I was when I started. Ugh.

I will not whine any more because I’m not half witty enough about it! I’ll just leave you with a few questions and some comic relief.

How important do you think villains are in a romance? Does a weak villain make or break a story for you? (Not that I’m going to let myself off the hook here!)

Fellow authors, do you ever find yourself in plotting hell? How do you escape (or do we ever)?

And now for the comic relief. My friend Therese Walsh from Writer Unboxed sent me this link to a Mitchell and Webb sketch on the trials of authorhood. Luckily, I’ve never had a real editor like this one. Except for the one in my own head, that is!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Megan is swamped and unable to blog today, so here is a little nonsense for a Risky Regencies Friday.

A Google Alert came in to my email. I google alert many things– my book titles, my author names, Gerard Butler. Today an alert came in for Diane Perkins. It led to a blog by Elisa Rolle who led to a website that promoted Italian books. (I can’t make that link work anymore, though. You can give it a try) This month the releases were by these authors: Jeanne Savery, Sophia Nash (my pal), Diane Perkins, Sara Blayne, Lois Greiman & Sandra Heath

Diane Perkins! My alter ego!

I had to go back through my records to see that, yes indeed, The Marriage Bargain by Diane Perkins had sold to an Italian publisher. So here, Risky Regencies Readers, is the Italian bookcover and what the website said about the book:

785. Diane Perkins – Contratto di nozze (The Marriage Bargain)
Un matrimonio per interesse può diventare un amore per sempre?
Emma Chambers accetta di sposare Spencer Keenan. All’apparenza sembra un ottimo affare per entrambi: Emma otterrà completa libertà, Spencer avrà chi si occuperà della sua tenuta. Ma quando il giovane viene gravemente ferito in un duello, Emma è al suo fianco per assisterlo: la timida fanciulla che ha preso in moglie per convenienza è diventata la donna che ha sempre sognato. Riuscirà ora a convincerla del proprio amore e a farsi concedere una seconda possibilità?
Nota di MarchRose: Un tenero e commovente romanzo regency sul tema degli amanti separati dalle vicende della vita che si ritrovano ad anni di distanza, più maturi, diffidenti ed amareggiati ma anche più forti ed appassionati. La Perkins, che scrive anche sotto il nome di Diane Gaston, è un’autrice molto abile e sensibile, capace di creare personaggi sfaccettati e davvero credibili dal punto di vista umano, le cui vicende riescono a coinvolgere emotivamente in profondità il lettore.
Livello di sensualità “caldo” (warm)

Nice, huh?

Do you Google Alert something? Care to ‘fess up?

Here’s how to set up your very own Google Alerts

Cheers!
And do not forget to join us for our Jane Lockwood interview on Sunday. Doesn’t Jane look familiar????

First, this post is NOT about the relative merits of romances called “sweet” versus romances called “spicy”. It’s about how the terms themselves. I’ve disliked the designations of “sweet” versus “spicy” (or sometimes “hot”) for a long time. Somewhere online I recently saw “sweet” equated to “clean” and decided I wanted to blog about it.

I realize the industry needs an easy way to describe the level of sexuality in a romance, especially since some readers (unlike me) have strong preferences one way or the other.

But I still don’t like the terms.

“Sweet” can translate to “cute” or “safe”. It doesn’t do justice to the fiercely clever characterizations and witty dialogue in a Jane Austen or a Georgette Heyer. Or to romances that have dark themes but don’t happen to take the characters to the bedroom.

“Spicy” or “hot” makes me think of Buffalo chicken wings but my bigger concern is this: that I’ve seen “sweet” romance defined as romance that focuses on the emotional development of the relationship–implying others focus on the sex alone. “Spicy” or “hot” just don’t do justice to the body/mind/soul sort of lovemaking you find in a Laura Kinsale or Julia Ross.

It’s hard to think of better terms though. I can come up with definitions but it’s hard to come up with single words that don’t either imply “sweet” romances are uptight or “hot” romances are trashy. “Clean” vs “dirty”? “Chaste” vs “sexy”? See what I mean? At least both “sweet” and “spicy” can be thought of as good things.

But two terms aren’t enough anymore.

All About Romance has a Sensuality Ratings Guide that defines levels from “Kisses”, “Subtle”, “Warm”, “Hot and “Burning”. Their definitions look useful and pretty optimal to me, despite the lingering chicken wing connotations.

So what do you think? Are you content with the old definitions of “sweet” vs “spicy”? Do you have other ideas to suggest?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

We’ve got lots and lots of winners….

I have the great pleasure of announcing the winners for our Risky Regencies Second Anniversary celebration. And there are a lot of ’em.

But first….
The winner of Claudia Dain’s October book, The Courtesan’s Daughter, is…Maggie Robinson!

Congratulations, Maggie!

Our Weekly Winners are:

Monday KimW!

Kim, you win Diane’s hardback/bookclub version of The Marriage Bargain, A Reputable Rake (a rake, not a book) and a hand-embroidered handkerchief for your sniffles.

Tuesday Lois!

Lois, this is such poetic justice! It is too funny that you will have to make a DECISION on which prize you want from Cara:

PRIZE A: A new, never-read, still-in-its-shrinkwrap softbound copy of A PASSION FOR PERFORMANCE: SARAH SIDDONS AND HER PORTRAITISTS published by the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Or

PRIZE B: A Regency novel grab-bag, including two copies of Cara’s award-winning MY LADY GAMESTER, signed and dedicated to whomever you choose; used paperback copies (varying amounts of wear) of Carla Kelly’s SUMMER CAMPAIGN, Carla Kelly’s MISS CHARTLEY’S GUIDED TOUR, Jasmine Cresswell’s LORD CARRISFORD’S MISTRESS (a Fawcett Coventry Regency from 1980), and Patricia C. Wrede’s MAIRELON THE MAGICIAN (a fantasy novel set in Regency England.)

Wednesday Haven!

Haven, you have another choice. Either Elena’s most recent release, LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE (Romantic Times Top Pick and Best Regency Romance for 2005) or HIS BLUSHING BRIDE, an early anthology Elena participated in, along with authors Alice Holden and Regina Scott (also a Romantic Times Top Pick).

Thursday diane!

(not me, Diane, but diane diane, who commented on Janet’s blog)

diane, you don’t have to decide. You get to win both a signed copy of Janet’s Dedication and The Rules of Gentility.

Friday AndreaW!

Andrea, your prize is a copy of Megan’s book, A Singular Lady, and a DVD of The Lady And The Highwayman, a Barbara Cartland adaptation starring Hugh Grant, and one of the worst movies Megan has ever seen. It is kind of her to dump…er…donate this DVD to you. And…Megan hints at something else she will include in your prize package.

Saturday doglady!

doglady, you win Amanda’s prize, an autographed copy of her August book A Notorious Woman (look for its sequel in April ’08, to find out what happens to Nicolai), plus a fancy beaded bookmark from Ganz (Trust her, it’s pretty)

That’s it for the weekday prizes. Congratulations, ladies!

Now for the Grand Prize winner…Drum roll, please…

Kim Giglio!

Congratulations, Kim! You have won our Grand Prize, a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate.

Our heartfelt Risky thanks to all of you who participated in our week-long Anniversary party. We are the real winners to have readers like all of you. Thank you all for making this the best Risky Regencies week ever!

Winners, send an email to riskies@yahoo.com to tell us where to mail your prizes. Include your real name and any other details we may have requested, like which prize you picked or how you want the books signed.

All our winners were picked entirely at random, just like Bertie told us to do. To see more of Bertie, stop by Risky Regencies often. You never know when he’ll show up.