So just in case you guys and gals didn't know...Harlequin is celebrating Superromance this month over in the community section of the Harlequin blog. Use this link to drop by for a visit:
http://community.harlequin.com/
If you look at the bottom (toward the left) you will see all kinds of cool things they're doing to celebrate the big girl of category romance, including an online read, a chat with Sarah Mayberry, a Superromance reading challenge and a special spotlight forum where people can ask all kinds of questions (and I must say that Superromance reader and aspiring writer Marcie does a nice job of coming up with great questions). It's a smorgasbord of Harlequin Superromance goodness.
As part of this event, I was asked to do a special online read. At first I sort of wondered if I could pull it off. Write short? Uh....maybe? But after thinking about how much fun it would be to share a story with people who perhaps never picked up a Superromance, I knew I had to give it a shot. So I flipped through my mind to all the secondary characters in my Boys of Bayou Bridge and found my sassy, smart-mouthed Mary Belle Prudhomme who, when the second book opens, is fast on the heels of Bear Rodrigue, her high school sweetheart. Well, Bear isn't the sorta guy who is easily brought to heel, and he leads Mary Belle on a merry chase as he gallops after a good time. So I wondered what would happen if Mary Belle gave up on Bear? And even better - what if the former nerd next door turned hot dentist showed up after years of being gone from Bonnet Creek? Oh, what would Mary Belle do if she couldn't stop thinking about Tripp the Drip and the way he filled out those athletic shorts? I tossed in a little revenge for Tripp and brought Lou from Under the Autumn Sky into a few scenes and suddenly Mary Belle wasn't just Lou's sassy friend. She had dreams, goals and a hunger for a certain boy she'd hurt years ago.
Yeah, it was fun to write Mary Belle and Tripp's romance.
So, if you're game, you can catch up on that free online read over at the harlequin community site along with other fun conversations about the books we love by the authors we love.
And lest you think I'm hogging all the limelight, I will add we have a wonderful selection of books out this month with stellar reviews from RT Books, including a debut author in Pamela Hearron. And when I got my RT Books magazine today, the reviews were just as good for the upcoming October books. Yeah, we got great things happening at Superromance, and I'm excited to be part of the terrific writers who create wonderful stories of complexity and emotion. And with some new changes for Superromance coming in the 2013, I can't wait to see the line take its place as the Grand Dame of Category romance. With new voices and old favorites, I can see a bright future for the line I first fell in love with.
Sometimes, it's hard from me to believe that a 12 year old girl who peddled her bike all the way to her aunt's used bookstore now is writing a spotlight for the line. Jeez, my Aunt Lucille would be so thrilled to know it all started in a dusty corner (top shelf) of Rogers Grocery almost 30 years ago.
So, let's chat. Can you remember your first Superromance? Who was your favorite author back in the day? And if you're new to Superromance, what keeps you coming back?
22 comments:
Hi Liz,
I'm new superromance and i see all great author here so i'll keep coming here :)
Happy Celebrating Superomance!.
Liz, I remember that book!!! They need to bring it back as an ebook. Wouldn't it be fun to be able to get some of the oldies on your ereader? Don't remember the story so much, but the title and cover. Might have to go back and look for it :) I've been having a great time reading your online read! It's great fun when we get to chat with the authors of the read too, so mahalo for discussing the chapters with us :)
Oh, I forgot to mention... supers are my favorite line and they got even better when they expanded and we started seeing more of secondary characters! I think it made them more "real".
I've enjoyed seeing you visit us, Eli. We love new readers who like to talk books and life, so thank you for coming by to visit :)
Snookie - There's something fun about going back in time. I don't think I've read "take me" in a long time. I kind of miss that torrid passion - "Oh, Tor, take me!" LOL. I wonder what my husband would say if I used that..."Take you where?"
I'm loving reading each small chapter each day - it feels like a gift to me each morning. Isn't that silly? I love discussing the scenes with y'all. I think I might be addicted to online reads because half the fun is the discussion. Thanks, Snookie :)
I always envy readers with such strong recollections of books they've read decades ago! I've no idea what my first SuperRomance was.
But I do know why I keep coming back. I love the real emotions that unite the different voices of the Super line. Whatever the story, I know I'm in for a book that will touch my heart and characters that will stay with me after I've closed the pages.
Thanks for the insightful blog on Superomance, Amy. I had never been a romance reader until your first book hit the market. At first I just wanted to be supportive, but then I realized what a delightful spicy read it could be. I'm not into graphic romance bordering on erotica. However, you don't need to write down-and-dirty raw sex. Your books depict sex as best when there is a bonding relationship. Too bad much of the industry has lost the difference between down-and-dirty & over-the-top sex. One may be good for the body, but the other is good for the psyche, also.
Julia - I don't remember the exact first Superromance I read, but I did read a lot of them. My hungry teenage heart thristed for love stories....and they were the thickest books :)
Jackie - I like that Superromance has all heat levels, but more importantly, I like that they naturally fit the framework of the story. I don't force my sex scenes (if I even have them) - they are a progressive part of the book. And I so appreciate that awesome support you give me :)
Awww, thanks for the shout-out Liz!
My first Super - Kay Stockham's Montana Skies. I was at a multi-author book signing and her book was on a table with the other author's books. I've always been interested in Harlequin so I picked it up, read the back, and met Kay! The rest, as they say, is history.
I really, really do hope readers discover SuperRomance. Great stories and great authors.
MarcieR
Me, too! Marcie! And I'm so glad you picked up Kay's book. You're a great advocate for all of Harlequin...hmmm....you might need a job in their marketing department :)
It's so funny but when people I know read my book, they seem very surprised to find that it's a "real" book. There is a misconception that Harlequins were for little old ladies, and at time that prevails and pervades readers' perspective. I love having reader friends who read my book out of loyalty and then move on to other Harelquin authors. It's a grassroots thing. The more we talk about good books, the easier it is for people to find us and appreciate us. Thanks, Marcie!
Liz,
I've been enjoying your online read. Just right for a quick break.
My first Superromance was Helen Brenna's THEN COMES BABY. It came out in Dec 09, and it is so much thinner than the others on my shelf. Like I was so much thinner a few years ago.
What I love most about Supers is the realism. Anyone who dismisses romance novels as unrealistic and setting women up for disappointment obviously hasn't read a Super Romance.
LOL – that Jocelyn Haley book was published the same year I was born!
My first Super was pretty recent – I’m almost certain it was by Sarah Mayberry. But don’t worry, I’ve done a lot of catching up since!
Liz - That would be awesome!! I would LOVE to work for Harlequin.
Well, once I get pubbed I WILL be working for them, but in the meantime....
MarcieR
It's great to see so many new readers...well, relatively new. Kristina - funny how we've grown over the last three years. Can't wait to see what the new 2013 books will look like.
Sonya - we're so glad you're catching up. Isn't that book something. I wish I could share some of it with you but I'm thinking I might violate some rights rule or something. Funny how dramatic it is :)
Of course, Marcie, but you're such a powerful voice for us all. Just creating the right place for yourself. That's awesome! Thanks for all you do to help the Superromance authors gain new readers.
liz. its awesome pic. well im a new superomance book fans. i laugh when i read your comment take me to where? lol. maybe my hubby will said that too. wow, its been long time since the first tine to now right. happy celebrate!
Thank you Cecillia - I love it when we can all laugh together, and in all seriousness, that's probably what he would say.
So happy to have new Superromance readers :)
Well I really can't remember which book was my first Super Romance, but I started reading them around the year 2000. I have acquired a few of the original books and they are around 380 pages long. Supers were about 300 pages long when I first started reading them and then they shrunk to about 260 pages. They grew back to around 280 to 290 pages. I'm waiting to see what is in store for them in the near future. The covers have certainly changed over the years as well. the white background disappeared they became Harlequin Super Romances instead of World Wide Super Romances. In case anyone is interested in looking at the covers go to:
http://www.fictiondb.com/covers/series~harlequin-super-romance~14068.htm
I don't think this will work as a direct link but you should be able to copy and paste the link.
Quite a few authors who write for the line are on my auto-buy list. I love the fact that most of the books are about people I can relate to with problems that can happen in everyday life. I do love a lot of the secondary characters in the books as well.
I'm sorry the link doesn't take you where you need to go. Pick Publisher Series list ~ Fictiondb ~ Scroll down to Harlequin Super Romance and select it. There's a tab on the left top saying cover view.
I'm also sorry I missed two mistakes in this line. Corrected in parenthesis. (T)he white background disappeared (when) they became Harlequin Super Romances instead of World Wide Super Romances.
Liz, my memory isn't good enough to remember the first Super I read ;-), but I do know that it spurred me to start writing Superromance. It's a great line! I love reading AND writing it.
I'll pop over to Harlequin to catch up on your short read. The premise sounds wonderful!
Thanks, Mary and Kaelee! I will check out that link - appreciate your sharing it :)
My first SuperRomance was NIGHT INTO DAY by Sandra Canfield and it's still one of my most favorite romances I've ever read!
It's on my keeper shelf....maybe I need to go pull it out for some weekend re-reading! :-)
Addison
Guess I'd better go check this out :)
Hi Liz, i am new with superromance. But, hey i found that superromance having many good books and wonderful author. So here i am a new fan of superromance;), aretha zhen
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