Perhaps in response to those who have complained that the internet is a ceaseless chasm of nonsense with not nearly enough within it USA Today's Serena Chase gathered several authors to discuss romance fiction for their website. During their conversations, separated into five parts, they touched upon such obvious issues as the prejudices casual observers hold against romance, what it means to be a feminist, why men should read their novels, how the latest trends don't affect them, why hardcore erotica isn't for everyone and how the advent of virtual dating may twist their stories into cautionary tales of sensationalist horror. While nothing more than a shameless opportunity to mention their work, the discussion was steered into potentially interesting areas on occasion, and perhaps in response to those who have complained that the internet is a ceaseless chasm of nonsense with not nearly enough within it Bewildered Heart has chosen to analyse a few of the comments for the sake of a few cheap laughs.
Where better to begin than with romance itself, and furthermore how it applies to the modern woman, for whom romance is as dead as chivalry and quality literature. Rachel Hauck gets us off to an uncertain start by failing to understand the meaning of definition, 'Everyone wants true love. How I define romance is the person with whom you are most comfortable.' This statement might seem entirely meaningless, but it soon loses its anaemia once studied alongside the other replies. Sharon Cameron and Kathy Tyers agree that the most romantic books are their own. 'My favorite stories are about the tension and the draw, about emotion and a dawning respect where little or no physical contact takes place,' Cameron says. This is only natural a point of view. After all, love, as scientists understand it, is a chemical reaction of the brain and brains are traditionally where emotions occur. Whereas modern love stories have placed special emphasis on sordid lust there will always be room for feelings in romance fiction, in order for the characters and stories to offer the impression of credibility. The authoress' pronouncements lead to predictable criticisms of enviable tales of success, as the Fifty Shades trilogy fails to satisfy the conventions of classical romance by trading emotion and dawning respect for little else but physical contact.
Choosing a route less travelled Chase also chatted to four male authors of Inspirational Romance. First of all, what are Inspys? Harlequin's Love Inspired Range offers, 'Strong contemporary romances with a Christian worldview and wholesome values.' In an attempt to broaden the appeal of this venture even further, two offshoots were created, Love Inspired Suspense and Love Inspired Historical. The attention of each line tends towards emotional connection, community and family in small-town America or close-knit urban sprawl America. In contrast to other strong contemporary romances Inspys prefer to avoid premarital sex, violence, drugs, alcohol, profanity and secular gambling. Once the hero and heroine marry, of course, all proverbial hell presumably breaks loose. The publishers specifically ask that prospective novels do not contain, 'A didactic, preachy tone or doctrinal language.' This does not leave an aspiring author much to fill their books with, besides casual praise to the Lord for inventing clouds. Away from Mills & Boon, however, and the freedoms of Inspirational Romance are greater, with the exploration of darker themes and the potential for requited desire combining to leave the subgenre indiscernible from the rest.
For more we turn to the insights of Dan Walsh, Murray Pura, M.K. Gilroy and John Campbell Clark, all men who write powerful romantic literature that finds time to give every due credit to God. Walsh is a former Pastor with a goatee beard who writes love stories and family-life dramas featuring a definite article followed by a thing, such as The Dance, The Homecoming, The Discovery and The Reunion. Fellow Pastor Pura has a Degree in Divinity and has written several books with possibly enigmatic titles, including The Wings of Morning and The Face of Heaven. Gilroy writes mystery suspense novels with subtle religious undertones, with titles borrowed from song lyrics by some of the world's most bland recording artists, for example Cuts Like a Knife and Every Breath You Take. Finally, Clark co-authored Echoes of Titanic with wife Mindy Starns Clark. The dual-narrative thriller deals with a heroine battling to save her company with the man she once loved as new allegations surface about her great-grandmother, a Titanic survivor turned business owner.
Chase asks the question every Bewildered Heart would surely ask given the opportunity to talk with the very men who write the books they have never heard of and have little interest in reading. Fellas, what is the point? Dan Walsh goes big with his response, 'Perhaps (what I write will) provide a voice — in my case a male voice — for how God views this important topic. To me, there's a terrible distortion of God's nature and design for love and romance.' There is no more noble an aspiration than writing the kinds of love stories the Almighty would write if He were available and needed the money. Considering the success of His early work Mills & Boon would be fools to reject a long-awaited follow-up. Murray Pura has more modest objectives, and takes a similar view to his female counterparts, 'Love is the hope of the world, whether it is the love of God, the love of friendship, the love of family, or the love of romance.' There are few more important subjects to write about than human relationships, and therefore, Chase wonders, why is this genre critically and culturally dismissed as emotional porn or poorly-written?
In order to explain such a reaction to Christian Romance M.K. Gilroy elucidates, 'Sometimes romance is defined too closely to a highly emotive expressiveness.' Now, there are words in that sentence, but possibly not all of them are correct. Be that as it may, Gilroy might have made a perceptive comment. Are the perimeters used to measure romance fiction too narrow? Are the characters in their novels processing emotions in a way their readers do not in their own lives? Who is ultimately to blame for the flaws of the genre, the authors or the people who find flaws? Gilroy's point, however, is that besides comparing themselves to romantic heroes in terms of physical beauty, career, wealth and love-making ability, there is also a danger regular men will be made to feel inferior by the hero's ability to speak openly and honestly about his feelings, even though such protagonists are consistently portrayed as arrogance and cruel. The author's advice to those unable to articulate their emotions? 'Inspirational romance reminds all of us that there comes a time when we have to say it loud and with real words: "I love you," "I'm sorry," "I'm glad you're mine."' So there you are. Problem solved. Thanks, professional writers.
For Murray Pura, 'Writing about love — falling in love, the ecstasy of the kisses and touches and feelings — is beautiful; one of the most beautiful gifts humans have been given.' Of course, he would say that, but Inspirational Romance is so named because it celebrates and glorifies God's most precious hand-me-down. Yet conscientious of dismissive critical attitudes Pura goes onto temper his enthusiasm with a rational warning. 'The more we write and talk about love the better. But the writing needs to be as good as it possibly can be for such an important theme, not overly sentimental or badly described or lacking strength and passion.' Pura's genre has seen grand statements like this one before, but their noble intentions are rarely bolstered by books containing what they want to achieve. Venerable rhetoric may attract inquisitive tenderfoots, but Inspirational Romance novelists will need more than words to secure a dedicated readership.
Where better to begin than with romance itself, and furthermore how it applies to the modern woman, for whom romance is as dead as chivalry and quality literature. Rachel Hauck gets us off to an uncertain start by failing to understand the meaning of definition, 'Everyone wants true love. How I define romance is the person with whom you are most comfortable.' This statement might seem entirely meaningless, but it soon loses its anaemia once studied alongside the other replies. Sharon Cameron and Kathy Tyers agree that the most romantic books are their own. 'My favorite stories are about the tension and the draw, about emotion and a dawning respect where little or no physical contact takes place,' Cameron says. This is only natural a point of view. After all, love, as scientists understand it, is a chemical reaction of the brain and brains are traditionally where emotions occur. Whereas modern love stories have placed special emphasis on sordid lust there will always be room for feelings in romance fiction, in order for the characters and stories to offer the impression of credibility. The authoress' pronouncements lead to predictable criticisms of enviable tales of success, as the Fifty Shades trilogy fails to satisfy the conventions of classical romance by trading emotion and dawning respect for little else but physical contact.
Choosing a route less travelled Chase also chatted to four male authors of Inspirational Romance. First of all, what are Inspys? Harlequin's Love Inspired Range offers, 'Strong contemporary romances with a Christian worldview and wholesome values.' In an attempt to broaden the appeal of this venture even further, two offshoots were created, Love Inspired Suspense and Love Inspired Historical. The attention of each line tends towards emotional connection, community and family in small-town America or close-knit urban sprawl America. In contrast to other strong contemporary romances Inspys prefer to avoid premarital sex, violence, drugs, alcohol, profanity and secular gambling. Once the hero and heroine marry, of course, all proverbial hell presumably breaks loose. The publishers specifically ask that prospective novels do not contain, 'A didactic, preachy tone or doctrinal language.' This does not leave an aspiring author much to fill their books with, besides casual praise to the Lord for inventing clouds. Away from Mills & Boon, however, and the freedoms of Inspirational Romance are greater, with the exploration of darker themes and the potential for requited desire combining to leave the subgenre indiscernible from the rest.
For more we turn to the insights of Dan Walsh, Murray Pura, M.K. Gilroy and John Campbell Clark, all men who write powerful romantic literature that finds time to give every due credit to God. Walsh is a former Pastor with a goatee beard who writes love stories and family-life dramas featuring a definite article followed by a thing, such as The Dance, The Homecoming, The Discovery and The Reunion. Fellow Pastor Pura has a Degree in Divinity and has written several books with possibly enigmatic titles, including The Wings of Morning and The Face of Heaven. Gilroy writes mystery suspense novels with subtle religious undertones, with titles borrowed from song lyrics by some of the world's most bland recording artists, for example Cuts Like a Knife and Every Breath You Take. Finally, Clark co-authored Echoes of Titanic with wife Mindy Starns Clark. The dual-narrative thriller deals with a heroine battling to save her company with the man she once loved as new allegations surface about her great-grandmother, a Titanic survivor turned business owner.
Chase asks the question every Bewildered Heart would surely ask given the opportunity to talk with the very men who write the books they have never heard of and have little interest in reading. Fellas, what is the point? Dan Walsh goes big with his response, 'Perhaps (what I write will) provide a voice — in my case a male voice — for how God views this important topic. To me, there's a terrible distortion of God's nature and design for love and romance.' There is no more noble an aspiration than writing the kinds of love stories the Almighty would write if He were available and needed the money. Considering the success of His early work Mills & Boon would be fools to reject a long-awaited follow-up. Murray Pura has more modest objectives, and takes a similar view to his female counterparts, 'Love is the hope of the world, whether it is the love of God, the love of friendship, the love of family, or the love of romance.' There are few more important subjects to write about than human relationships, and therefore, Chase wonders, why is this genre critically and culturally dismissed as emotional porn or poorly-written?
In order to explain such a reaction to Christian Romance M.K. Gilroy elucidates, 'Sometimes romance is defined too closely to a highly emotive expressiveness.' Now, there are words in that sentence, but possibly not all of them are correct. Be that as it may, Gilroy might have made a perceptive comment. Are the perimeters used to measure romance fiction too narrow? Are the characters in their novels processing emotions in a way their readers do not in their own lives? Who is ultimately to blame for the flaws of the genre, the authors or the people who find flaws? Gilroy's point, however, is that besides comparing themselves to romantic heroes in terms of physical beauty, career, wealth and love-making ability, there is also a danger regular men will be made to feel inferior by the hero's ability to speak openly and honestly about his feelings, even though such protagonists are consistently portrayed as arrogance and cruel. The author's advice to those unable to articulate their emotions? 'Inspirational romance reminds all of us that there comes a time when we have to say it loud and with real words: "I love you," "I'm sorry," "I'm glad you're mine."' So there you are. Problem solved. Thanks, professional writers.
For Murray Pura, 'Writing about love — falling in love, the ecstasy of the kisses and touches and feelings — is beautiful; one of the most beautiful gifts humans have been given.' Of course, he would say that, but Inspirational Romance is so named because it celebrates and glorifies God's most precious hand-me-down. Yet conscientious of dismissive critical attitudes Pura goes onto temper his enthusiasm with a rational warning. 'The more we write and talk about love the better. But the writing needs to be as good as it possibly can be for such an important theme, not overly sentimental or badly described or lacking strength and passion.' Pura's genre has seen grand statements like this one before, but their noble intentions are rarely bolstered by books containing what they want to achieve. Venerable rhetoric may attract inquisitive tenderfoots, but Inspirational Romance novelists will need more than words to secure a dedicated readership.
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