Quote:
Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks
I guess I tend to use the Library of Congress definitions--I get what you're both saying. But Harlequin is a BRAND as are most imprints. They have a narrower definition of romance and brand their imprints with it, and to some degree, they defined romance for their brand and the industry. When you work in a library or bookstore, you only have so many genres to pick from--and there aren't enough!! Romance has to encompass a lot more in that situation.
So while I completely agree that romance should have HEA
DeLeon is publishing that series on her own, *I think*. She has several she writes on her own now so far as I can tell. Her name shows as the publisher. I think she is branching off and publishing other authors too. I don't follow her, know her, or keep up with any of the other series other than that one so I can't say for certain.
And if she writes for Harlequin, it's STILL a fun series. I'm not stuck on where a book is published or who does the publishing.
I'm not even stuck on genre, but I totally appreciate what you are saying about genres being mismarked, marketed incorrectly and so on.
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Harlequin has defined Romance since the early 50s I think it was. They are not just brand they are a Icon. They are the ideal romance book. Other publishers tried to copy Harlequin. LoveSwept, Fawcett and Signet are a few that comes to mind then later Precious Gems. I get what you say but you have to understand Harlequin
is Romance. It's what every other publisher started copying after after. They are not just narrow definition of Romance they ARE the pioneers of romance. Just like Austen and Heyer are pioneers in Regencies, Harlequin is the pioneer of Romance.
You will find alot of books mistmatch Cozies, Urban Fantasy and Chiklit may get stuck in the wrong section. The truth is romance always focuses on the relationship of the two lead characters. It's easy though by just reading a blub to know if it's a real romance or not. The blurb will be around two people the hero and the heroine.
Examples:
Quote:
#1
LOVE'S DANGEROUS ADVENTURE
Desperate to help her widowed sister and baby escape a deadly pursuer, Lady Chastity Ware dresses as a highwayman and captures the first coach to travel down the road. Coming face-to-face with its occupant, the arrogant aristocrat, Cyn Malloren, she orders him to drive her to a remote cottage.
Little does Chastity realize that after long months of recovering from his war wounds, the devilishly handsome Cyn is looking for adventure, and being abducted by a cocky young highwayman-obviously a young woman in disguise-is even more than he had hoped for. Willingly he is drawn into her desperate plan... and helplessly he is seduced by her lovely sensual presence. Yet he is obsessed with learning the bitter secrets that torment her-and determined to show her that the passion that drives him is a love that will bind them together forever.
#2
IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT
The calls came like clockwork -- a cold, hate-filled voice telling late-night radio announcer Cilla O'Roarke that she was going to die. The never-ending threats had finally made her a believer. She was desperate -- desperate enough to accept police protection.
Cilla preferred to keep her distance from the police, and she had her reasons. But there was something about Boyd Fletcher that made him difficult to ignore. He was strong, laconic, infuriating and clearly determined to watch over her every second of the day -- and night.
And the trouble was, the more Cilla saw of her unwanted bodyguard, the more she wanted him to share the night she loved....
#3
When beautiful advertising executive Maddie Fitzgerald is attacked in a New Orleans hotel, she thinks that she's a victim of random, senseless violence. FBI agent Sam McCabe thinks otherwise--that she's the target of a serial killer who's eluded the FBI for weeks. He also knows that there's only one way to catch him: use Maddie as the enticing bait. But as McCabe's intimate protection ignites irresistible passion, Maddie finds herself in greater danger than she believed possible--and closer to the killer than she ever imagined.
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If the blurb just mentions the hero slightly then it's probably has some romantic elements in it but it's not romance.
If the ending isn't happy it isn't romance but a Love Story.