Contest extended! Because Thursday was a day of Blogger pain, we’ve decided to continue our chat with Raelene on Friday, February 2. I hope Blogger is feeling better and actually allows people to visit.
Today we’re joined by Raelene Gorlinsky, who’s here to tell us about her goals of breathing new life into Trad Regencies. Raelene has generously offered an e-book to a visitor who posts a question or comment today only–as usual, the Riskies will pick the winner!
Welcome to the Riskies, Raelene. Tell us about the new line.
Cerridwen Cotillion is our new line of classic, traditional Regency romances. These are Heyer-style Regencies: strong and appealing heroines, focus on the manners and customs of the era, historical accuracy, period language, lots of emotion and love but no obvious sex.These stories are appropriate for both our adult readers and their youngdaughters!
The website is www.cerridwenpress.com. Click on the Cotillion sidebar banner to see the released books. Submission guidelines are on theSubmissions page of the site, along with the Call for Submissions that lists the specific Cotillion requirements.
What do you feel is the essence of a traditional Regency?
An entertaining and accurate reflection of the life and manners of the era.
How did you get into publishing?
I spent twenty-five years in the computer information communication profession, as technical writer, editor and manager. I started editing part time for Ellora’s Cave because it was an interesting variation from my day job in a computer department. It’s a lot more fun to work on “He caressed her body with his gaze” than “Key in the serial number and press Enter.” In January 2004 I moved to Ohio to take on the job of Managing Editor at Ellora’s Cave, allowing me to use my organizational, managerial, and editorial skills on a wide variety of projects. My position is now Publisher, and I supervise nineteen editors, deal with over 350 authors, manage our digital releases, still edit several authors of my own, and am enjoying this job more than any other in my life.
Your name’s synonymous with that of Ellora’s Cave and to some of us, that transition from steamy erotic romance to the polite world of Traditional Regencies seems a bit incongruous. How did the creation of the Cotillion line come about?
Well, Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc (ECPI) is two imprints: Ellora’s Cave erotic romances (Romantica) and Cerridwen Press mainstream fiction. We are best known for being the leader and most successful publisher of erotic romance. But we’ve had our Cerridwen imprint for a year and a half now, putting out all types of genre fiction, especially romances.
I’ve always loved Regency-set stories. My very first romances as a young girl were Georgette Heyer. When the big NY publishers abandoned the traditional Regencies because of low sales, I proposed to top management at ECPI that we could make a success of this genre as a line within our Cerridwen imprint. My theory and hope is that there are enough devoted tradReg readers out there who are now so hungry for new stories that we can lure them to try ebooks. And we will be bringing the books out in print following the digital release.
How do you think Cotillion will succeed where Signet and Zebra failed?
We have a couple of advantages.
~ Ebooks versus print books: The dynamics and monetary parameters for e-publishers are very different from large print publishers. We don’t need to sell nearly as many copies of a digital title in order to cover our costs – and hopefully will sell enough to make a profit! So we can capitalize on smaller niche markets.
~ New concept in cover art: I concur with people who feel that the standard covers helped kill the genre. The old tradReg cover art style hadn’t changed in decades. It wasn’t very interesting, and it certainly did not appeal to younger readers or draw new fans into the genre. And the covers were practically interchangeable from book to book, making them annoyingly repetitive and meaningless.
However, the core tradReg readers have some firm expectations for “their” book covers, and you can’t just ignore them. When Kensington tried a new cover style, their Regencies looked like contemporary women’s fiction — not appropriate or effective, and it did not succeed with readers.
So we have tried to create an image that is different and new, but is clearly reflective of the historic period. Our covers are all based on actual Regency artwork (portraits in the public domain). They are therefore both historically accurate and lovely, and we and our authors think they are extremely attractive and appealing.
~ Author participation: For small presses and e-publishers, authors must be heavily involved in self-promotion of their books, far more so that what is common for category lines from large print publishers. Our Cotillion authors are a great group, enthusiastic and active. We toss around a lot of ideas for promoting the books and the line. They are out there actively telling people about Cotillion. >>
Is Cotillion looking for traditional Regency plots or plots that break the mold of what is expected in a traditional Regency?
Cotillion stories may include not just the “drawing room” Regency stories, but other elements such as adventure, mystery or suspense. However, fantasy creatures and paranormal elements (except possibly an occasional period ghost) are not appropriate for this line.
We don’t want cookie-cutter stories, we would like new plot ideas. But they must remain firmly embedded in the social behavior and customs of the era. For example, heroines can be bold and unconventional – but in comparison to what was acceptable in 1820, not what would be considered “unconventional” nowadays. And there must be appropriate responses and consequences to their behavior.
We also accept Regency-set historicals as regular Cerridwen romances, not part of the Cotillion line. Those stories could be of longer length or greater sensuality than is appropriate for Cotillion. And we have erotic Regency romances at Ellora’s Cave!
What do you read for fun (assuming you do read for fun, that is!)?
I wish I had a lot more time to read for pleasure! My To-Be-Read shelves contain over 800 books – I guess I’m a bit behind on my reading. 😉 I try to read in a lot of genres, even Young Adult. Within my favorite genres, I select by author. My current preferred genre is paranormal and vampire romances with a lot of sensuality. Right now I’m dying for the next books from J.R. Ward, Alexandra Ivy, Rosemary Laurey, and Jory Strong. I enjoy contemporary romantic suspense (but not too dark) — Linda Howard, Jayne Ann Krentz, Lisa Marie Rice. My embarrassing secret addiction is several Harlequin Presents authors — those over-alpha Australian and European millionaire businessman heroes. I also read a goodly number of anthologies — fantasy, mystery, and romance. It’s easier for me to steal time for a shorter story in my schedule, plus that way I get to taste a lot of authors.
This past weekend I had the chance to co-lead a writing workshop for some aspiring writers aged 10-12. I had a great time doing it and what a fun group it was!
But one thing that struck me was how each of the girls admitted to having been at times ridiculed or somehow labeled by peers at school and elsewhere. Hippy, goth, nerd, brainy freak: these were some of the assorted terms used to brand them as different, and not in a good way. Some of them reported teachers who must have felt threatened by the differences. One girl was told she couldn’t have spiders and cats talking in a story–um, Charlotte’s Web, anyone????
The co-leader of the workshop and I could recalled similar incidents from our own youths. The girls seemed happy to know they were not alone and not crazy (or at least crazy in a good way). 🙂 Afterwards I reflected that while my writer friends and I have, by and large, found our places in various communities as adults, many of us were somehow “different” as children. These differences were not always appreciated by either our peers or our teachers. But while painful memories can block us, they can sometimes slingshot us into the work and provide source material. It’s no wonder books and films are full of characters trying to cope with being different.
In romance we see a lot of “misfit” types: bastards (whether or not they turn out to be the Lost Heir), heroes with shady pasts, heroines who are hoydens or bluestockings, characters with physical imperfections or even disabilities. I love ’em all, as long as they are unique creations and not imitations of someone else’s misfit character.
Not all heroes and heroines are misfits, of course. Sometimes they get together because of a threat is to the community they’re both part of, or they belong to different communities. Interesting things also happen when one fits in better than the other.
Anyway, here are just a tiny few of my favorite misfits from historical romance:
Having been the nerdy kid with cat’s eye glasses and her nose in a book, I know exactly why I relate to misfits. What I do wonder about is why they are so very popular. Are there really that many misfits who are readers? Or are there “normal” people out there who secretly relate to the misfit?
So why do you think misfits are so popular in fiction and on screen? Do you have any personal favorites?
Elena
www.elenagreene.com
When I was a kid, I loved superheroes. My brother and I would go to my mom and have her pin towels around our necks, and then we’d fly around the backyard and fight bad guys.
At first, we thought all superheroes could fly, and that the cape was the device which made this possible. (Yes, I can hear Edna from “The Incredibles” scoffing at me!)
When we were old enough to actually read comic books, we learned that there were many kinds of superheroes, with many kinds of powers.
Some of these, if you think about it, couldn’t have been all that useful. Okay, so “Triplicate Girl” could split into three versions of herself — but so what? Sure, she, could date three guys at once, but how could she save the world?
And some heroes weren’t even “super”, but had talents and gadgets — like Batman, and Green Arrow, and Black Canary.
On the other hand, some heroes were so powerful — Superman, Captain Marvel, The Green Lantern, Wonder Woman — that I imagine it was hard for the writers not to have them win on page 2.
And so, you say — what does all this have to do with the Regency?
Does it ever seem to you like there are Regency superheroes? The dandy who never attracts lint, the rake who always knows how to please a lady (any lady), the gorgon who has memorized the family trees of everyone in Europe?
So — if you were creating a Regency superhero (or, even better, a whole group of superheroes with different powers, like the X-Men and their foes), who would you create? What would their powers be?
And what would their costumes and names be?
All responses welcome!
Cara
Cara King, author of MY LADY GAMESTER
starring Super Atalanta and her sidekick Tom
This cover discussion begun by our Janet Mullany on Jan 25 is still intriguing me! I know that what makes a good cover is all really personal preference, but I thought it would be fun to continue the discussion
My position is that a handsome man on a romance cover is going to attract more attention than a cover without a handsome man, even if that cover has beautiful flowers on it.
Now, the handsome man does not have to be without half or all his clothes–those covers, I agree can be embarrassing. (So I guess I’m not really fond of “mantitty” covers, as Janet so cleverly called them), but if I am browsing the romance shelves, not in the market for any specific book, the books I’m going to pick up first are the ones with a handsome man on the cover.
This is why I LOVED my cover for A Reputable Rake. I could not have asked for a better cover, by far my favorite. The Rake is just so handsome and his expression perfectly represents the hero of the book.
My Mills & Boon cover for The Mysterious Miss M comes in a close second, because it had a handsome man in a very romantic pose. As my first book cover ever, I was over the moon about this cover and I still love it.
Now I prefer both of these covers to my cover of Innocence and Impropriety, arriving in bookstores March 2007. This cover has both the handsome man and the romantic pose, but it is a tad too sweet for me, and the book is not quite that sweet. Still, I like this cover. I love the setting of Covent Garden in the background. If it were on the shelf right next to A Reputable Rake, I’d bet A Reputable Rake would be picked up first.
I browsed the All About Romance Cover contest archives for examples. Take a look at these two beautiful Jo Beverley covers (the double image means they are “step back” covers).
They are both wonderful covers, but which would I pick up first? The one with that very handsome man.
My cover for The Wagering Widow was nice because it was provokative and hinted at that handsome man by showing his hand. The black and white image is what you would see just inside the cover, so there was a handsome man and the romantic pose if you opened the book.
The same image appeared on Louise Allen’s Jan 2007 Mills & Boon, Not Quite a Lady.
I cannot be objective, though. I don’t know which I would pick up first, if they were side by side, Not Quite a Lady, with its handsome man in a romantic pose, or the provokative, A Wagering Widow?
What do you all think?
Does a handsome man on the cover influence whether you will pick it up, at least to read the back cover copy?
Do you want to vote for a favorite cover? Cover Cafe has a contest, formerly sponsored by All About Romance!
Speaking of handsome men on romance covers, in March, the cover model for The Wagering Widow and Not Quite a Lady, Richard Cerqueira, will be doing a guest interview with Risky Regencies. So let me know if there is anything you would like me to ask Richard about what it is like in a romance cover shoot.
Cheers!
Diane
