As 2012 dawdles to a close there appears to be no better time to culturally evaluate the changing fortunes of romance fiction. Over at Publishers Weekly Julie Naughton has assessed the evolution of theme, form and sparring partner in an article entitled Anything Goes, and this works out suitably, because there appears to be no better time to culturally evaluate the changing fortunes of romance fiction and without the dedicated research of a journalist Bewildered Heart would have no idea what any of those words mean. The growing success of digital imprints has seen Mills & Boon and Avon greedily pursue this online opportunity, and this means a more open and progressive attitude towards sexuality, monogamy, polyamory and any number of group activities. Fifty Shades may receive a bounty of credit, yet companies such as Ellora's Cave have been selling bondage and sadomasochism since 2001 and romances featuring gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters since 2007. Plans are presumably underway to combine the two next year. Meanwhile, ten per cent of novels published by Carina Press involve relationships other than the heterosexual pairings Harlequin Mills & Boon exclusively insist upon.
Is this a significant move on the part of the industry, a broadening of audience minds or simply a loosening of the classic definition of romance fiction? '“GLBT romance, including male/male and ménage stories, continues to become more popular as our society begins to embrace the idea that love is love and that a good romance story isn’t bound by gender,” explains Lorna Hinson of e-publisher Torquere Press. While this may be the case there is little evidence to suggest those reading traditional romances are becoming tired of the demure virgin meets arrogant billionaire and marries him formula. After all, this year's most popular novel could be summarised by the previous sentence. The author of Melting Ice, Nicole Austin, takes a different approach. “For many readers, being the center of a ménage is the ultimate fantasy. For those who have stressful, demanding careers, the idea of giving up control in the bedroom to a dominant partner is a little slice of heaven. Others may long for a same-sex encounter.” Has the market caught up with their readers, have the readers softened in their attitudes or is Austin trying to sell something? One positive to come from all this perversity is a genuine attempt to create rounded and believable gay and bisexual characters, far removed from the tired and offensive stereotypes of before. Surely the straight characters will be soon to follow suit.
Another phenomenon of romance literature has been the startling success of BDSM, but this is something of a misnomer. As Amy Pierpoint points out, “Romance readers have been devouring erotica for over a decade, but since these books were predominantly bought in e-book format, the sales weren’t reported through traditional sales channels.” Despite this, the surge in popularity is worth noting, albeit belatedly. After all, no such novel had broken through into the mainstream quite like those by E.L. James and now a new audience has demanded more. The reasons for this are unclear, but the ramifications could become serious. Next year will see the release of two interpretations of Jane Eyre, which will wonder out loud how Charlotte Brontë might have written her tale had she been allowed to include brooding and obsessive sex scenes throughout. Part of this move exemplifies the sophisticated transition the subgenre has undertaken. Titles and covers have become more elusive, even if the prose and characters have not. “Previously, the erotic titles featured more explicit covers, whereas the new covers are more subtle and feature objects, artistic lighting, and bold text,” says Cindy Hwang, executive editor at Berkley. Nothing says sophistication quite like a clearly captioned, well-lit photograph of a thing. The cheesy superficiality has disappeared and with it the dated snobbery aimed at brightly-coloured pictures of body parts and weird fonts.
Just as with real life there is a downside to too much sex and no one knows this better than the readers and writers of romance fiction. As Kate Douglas suggests, “The minute you give up on story development just to make something sexy, you’ve quit writing romance and gone over the slippery slope into pornography.” Still, as Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart acknowledged there is no obvious way to define pornography without asking him directly. Fifty Shades of Grey appears to be pornographic in its content, with narrative conventions such as a first person narrator and a barely discernible plot to disassociate it from whatever literary porn might look like. Due to this those readers disgusted by euphemisms and characters incapable of chafing have sought solace in the far end of the romance spectrum. As much as a voracious appetite among readers for graphic sex has developed there is just as strong an audience for the old-fashioned kind of romance, where courting is respectful, love is many-splendored and baby-making is done under woollen sheets and behind closed doors.
For more on this we turn to Laurie Gold of Heroes and Heartbreakers. The alternative to explicit sex is labelled Sweet, just as chocolate is often the alternative to explicit sex. Therefore a new niche has been defined, falling somewhere between, 'Religious morals (and) lustful escapades.' Yet what exists between church and the bedroom? As it turns out there are plenty of things to do and see that aren't offensive. Thus PG-rated stories feature small-towns with distinct personalities of their own, larger casts of colourful secondary characters and a more realistic representation of everyday life. Amy Pierpoint, of the inappropriately named and spelled Hachette, insists these novels will, 'Offer the ultimate fantasy: finding faith, hope, and happily-ever-after in a local community.' The strongest criticism of sweet romances, known to Mills & Boon fans as Cherish, is that they lack the emotional intensity of the sexier stories, but slowly this false impression has been overcome. Gratuitous erotica is not immediately suggestive of compelling plot-lines and the less time the hero and heroine spend in bed the more time an author has for conventionally peripheral concerns such as characterisation, story, depth and theme.
'As one end of the romance spectrum blurs with erotica, the other blurs with women’s fiction,' suggests Gold, with this latest fusion placing an emphasis on plot twists, humour and a grounding in a deeper reality than sexual fantasy. Thus a new style has emerged, eerily-similar to numerous other styles that have been popular for centuries. The situation has become so financially-lucrative that Harlequin has created an entirely new imprint called Heartwarming. Senior Editor Victoria Curran explains, 'Because these romances are not aimed at an inspirational audience, they need to be exciting page-turners.' For as long as Mills & Boon has published romance fiction their product has been sold to female readers as a lifestyle choice with a clear identity. Their heroines are aspirational figures living a good life and achieving their dreams of eternal love, marriage and babies with an idealised partner. Next year's novels, as mentioned by Publishers Weekly, do not stray far from this formula and the addition of vampires, sadists, widows and art thieves are shallow subversions of the conformist approach. As 2013 draws near readers, authors, critics and bloggers can look forward to more sex, less sex, more of the same, less of the same, a new subgenre to cater for each and finally making that choice between inspiring or compelling.
Is this a significant move on the part of the industry, a broadening of audience minds or simply a loosening of the classic definition of romance fiction? '“GLBT romance, including male/male and ménage stories, continues to become more popular as our society begins to embrace the idea that love is love and that a good romance story isn’t bound by gender,” explains Lorna Hinson of e-publisher Torquere Press. While this may be the case there is little evidence to suggest those reading traditional romances are becoming tired of the demure virgin meets arrogant billionaire and marries him formula. After all, this year's most popular novel could be summarised by the previous sentence. The author of Melting Ice, Nicole Austin, takes a different approach. “For many readers, being the center of a ménage is the ultimate fantasy. For those who have stressful, demanding careers, the idea of giving up control in the bedroom to a dominant partner is a little slice of heaven. Others may long for a same-sex encounter.” Has the market caught up with their readers, have the readers softened in their attitudes or is Austin trying to sell something? One positive to come from all this perversity is a genuine attempt to create rounded and believable gay and bisexual characters, far removed from the tired and offensive stereotypes of before. Surely the straight characters will be soon to follow suit.
Another phenomenon of romance literature has been the startling success of BDSM, but this is something of a misnomer. As Amy Pierpoint points out, “Romance readers have been devouring erotica for over a decade, but since these books were predominantly bought in e-book format, the sales weren’t reported through traditional sales channels.” Despite this, the surge in popularity is worth noting, albeit belatedly. After all, no such novel had broken through into the mainstream quite like those by E.L. James and now a new audience has demanded more. The reasons for this are unclear, but the ramifications could become serious. Next year will see the release of two interpretations of Jane Eyre, which will wonder out loud how Charlotte Brontë might have written her tale had she been allowed to include brooding and obsessive sex scenes throughout. Part of this move exemplifies the sophisticated transition the subgenre has undertaken. Titles and covers have become more elusive, even if the prose and characters have not. “Previously, the erotic titles featured more explicit covers, whereas the new covers are more subtle and feature objects, artistic lighting, and bold text,” says Cindy Hwang, executive editor at Berkley. Nothing says sophistication quite like a clearly captioned, well-lit photograph of a thing. The cheesy superficiality has disappeared and with it the dated snobbery aimed at brightly-coloured pictures of body parts and weird fonts.
Just as with real life there is a downside to too much sex and no one knows this better than the readers and writers of romance fiction. As Kate Douglas suggests, “The minute you give up on story development just to make something sexy, you’ve quit writing romance and gone over the slippery slope into pornography.” Still, as Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart acknowledged there is no obvious way to define pornography without asking him directly. Fifty Shades of Grey appears to be pornographic in its content, with narrative conventions such as a first person narrator and a barely discernible plot to disassociate it from whatever literary porn might look like. Due to this those readers disgusted by euphemisms and characters incapable of chafing have sought solace in the far end of the romance spectrum. As much as a voracious appetite among readers for graphic sex has developed there is just as strong an audience for the old-fashioned kind of romance, where courting is respectful, love is many-splendored and baby-making is done under woollen sheets and behind closed doors.
For more on this we turn to Laurie Gold of Heroes and Heartbreakers. The alternative to explicit sex is labelled Sweet, just as chocolate is often the alternative to explicit sex. Therefore a new niche has been defined, falling somewhere between, 'Religious morals (and) lustful escapades.' Yet what exists between church and the bedroom? As it turns out there are plenty of things to do and see that aren't offensive. Thus PG-rated stories feature small-towns with distinct personalities of their own, larger casts of colourful secondary characters and a more realistic representation of everyday life. Amy Pierpoint, of the inappropriately named and spelled Hachette, insists these novels will, 'Offer the ultimate fantasy: finding faith, hope, and happily-ever-after in a local community.' The strongest criticism of sweet romances, known to Mills & Boon fans as Cherish, is that they lack the emotional intensity of the sexier stories, but slowly this false impression has been overcome. Gratuitous erotica is not immediately suggestive of compelling plot-lines and the less time the hero and heroine spend in bed the more time an author has for conventionally peripheral concerns such as characterisation, story, depth and theme.
'As one end of the romance spectrum blurs with erotica, the other blurs with women’s fiction,' suggests Gold, with this latest fusion placing an emphasis on plot twists, humour and a grounding in a deeper reality than sexual fantasy. Thus a new style has emerged, eerily-similar to numerous other styles that have been popular for centuries. The situation has become so financially-lucrative that Harlequin has created an entirely new imprint called Heartwarming. Senior Editor Victoria Curran explains, 'Because these romances are not aimed at an inspirational audience, they need to be exciting page-turners.' For as long as Mills & Boon has published romance fiction their product has been sold to female readers as a lifestyle choice with a clear identity. Their heroines are aspirational figures living a good life and achieving their dreams of eternal love, marriage and babies with an idealised partner. Next year's novels, as mentioned by Publishers Weekly, do not stray far from this formula and the addition of vampires, sadists, widows and art thieves are shallow subversions of the conformist approach. As 2013 draws near readers, authors, critics and bloggers can look forward to more sex, less sex, more of the same, less of the same, a new subgenre to cater for each and finally making that choice between inspiring or compelling.
