08-29-2008, 07:32 PM
Christine Feehan's Carpathians are not really my cup of tea, but she has some novels outside of the Dark series which were very good.
The reason there are no spaces is that historical romance has shrunk in the past few years, and so the few publishing spots left are being taken up by Feehan, or erotica like the Emma Holly upyr books, which I find really dull.
Sherrilyn Kenyon also tried to jump on the bandwagon, and a couple of other authors, terrible rubbish, most of it. Laurell K Hamilton's vampire stuff, modern day, has become one big example of 'sex sells', seemingly.
The thing about all of these, though, is that the supernatural element is emphasised, as opposed to the chilling terror that characterizes Ann Radcliff's novels.
Mainstream publishers just don't have the kind of budgets they used to, and are not even paying advances any more.
Royalties, if authors are lucky, are about 5% of the NET price of the book (not the cover price), so they get about 25 cents a book. So they are not able to really spend time writing a book they fear will not even sell the 1000 copy print run which is all a lot of romances are getting unless they are a top name author.
But as someone point out, the electronic publishers are willing and able to take those risks. I've read some really good ones at HerStory Books http://www.HerStoryBooks.com by Sorcha MacMurrough.
Every one of her historical romances has a mystery element to it, but it is not the modern suspense romance.
I think her Rakehell Regency series is truly Gothic-women in peril, not sure they can trust the man they fall in love with, and some hints of the supernatural, but no 'creatures.' Hot love scenes, but not over the top or gross. She also writes really well about the Napoleonic war. You really believe that her couples fall in love--it is not all growling and snarling primitivism as with the Feehan books.
I gave up on the Feehan books in the Dark series because they were gross-lots of female bodily functions, if you take my meaning. And her 'love scenes' are almost identical from book to book, over and over.
I don't know why vampire types are supposed to be so exciting, but it is a romance genre fad that has gone on way too long in my mind. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been over for years!!
Interestingly, very little Gothic TV has endured-they canceled Night Stalker, Moonlight, Buffy and Angel. Perhaps we just live in a rationalist world, but I for one love a good mystery without it being too much of a 'whodunnit'.
Barbara Michaels' books sort of qualify-she had one really interesting one that took place in old Williamsburg and several others in posh old mansions which kept me guessing.
I joined Booksfree.com because it is awesome-you can get a great back list of your favorite authors, so that is how I found all of these. I read all of her ones under the pen name Elizabeth Peters, the Amelia Peabody ones set at the turn of this century, female egyptologist, creepy villains and tombs.
Can't think of anyone any other authors I would read cover to cover, every book, apart from Barbara Michaels, Elizabeth Peters, Sorcha MacMurrough, and the non Carpathians from Feehan.
The reason there are no spaces is that historical romance has shrunk in the past few years, and so the few publishing spots left are being taken up by Feehan, or erotica like the Emma Holly upyr books, which I find really dull.
Sherrilyn Kenyon also tried to jump on the bandwagon, and a couple of other authors, terrible rubbish, most of it. Laurell K Hamilton's vampire stuff, modern day, has become one big example of 'sex sells', seemingly.
The thing about all of these, though, is that the supernatural element is emphasised, as opposed to the chilling terror that characterizes Ann Radcliff's novels.
Mainstream publishers just don't have the kind of budgets they used to, and are not even paying advances any more.
Royalties, if authors are lucky, are about 5% of the NET price of the book (not the cover price), so they get about 25 cents a book. So they are not able to really spend time writing a book they fear will not even sell the 1000 copy print run which is all a lot of romances are getting unless they are a top name author.
But as someone point out, the electronic publishers are willing and able to take those risks. I've read some really good ones at HerStory Books http://www.HerStoryBooks.com by Sorcha MacMurrough.
Every one of her historical romances has a mystery element to it, but it is not the modern suspense romance.
I think her Rakehell Regency series is truly Gothic-women in peril, not sure they can trust the man they fall in love with, and some hints of the supernatural, but no 'creatures.' Hot love scenes, but not over the top or gross. She also writes really well about the Napoleonic war. You really believe that her couples fall in love--it is not all growling and snarling primitivism as with the Feehan books.
I gave up on the Feehan books in the Dark series because they were gross-lots of female bodily functions, if you take my meaning. And her 'love scenes' are almost identical from book to book, over and over.
I don't know why vampire types are supposed to be so exciting, but it is a romance genre fad that has gone on way too long in my mind. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been over for years!!
Interestingly, very little Gothic TV has endured-they canceled Night Stalker, Moonlight, Buffy and Angel. Perhaps we just live in a rationalist world, but I for one love a good mystery without it being too much of a 'whodunnit'.
Barbara Michaels' books sort of qualify-she had one really interesting one that took place in old Williamsburg and several others in posh old mansions which kept me guessing.
I joined Booksfree.com because it is awesome-you can get a great back list of your favorite authors, so that is how I found all of these. I read all of her ones under the pen name Elizabeth Peters, the Amelia Peabody ones set at the turn of this century, female egyptologist, creepy villains and tombs.
Can't think of anyone any other authors I would read cover to cover, every book, apart from Barbara Michaels, Elizabeth Peters, Sorcha MacMurrough, and the non Carpathians from Feehan.
