Before I go on about this, I'd like to note that I think Paul would love Crusie's "Faking It"...but most of this is unabashedly chick-stuff. :p
I thought I might share the results of my, ahem, research into romance fiction. As you are all aware, some of it is wonderful and some of it is dreadful. Taking my hint from the RITAs, the annual awards of the Romance Writers of America, I have some authors to recommend. I'm bothering because I keep noting as I read how like certain authors' styles some of your fanfic is. Makes me wonder....
Recently read:
Nancy Butler--Prospero's Daughter won the RITA for best Regency. So that was what I picked up first. Her plotting isn't overly complex, but she has a way of bringing normal-fallible people, some with injuries or disease into her fiction and I find it wonderful. After all, nobody needs Mary Sues running around. I'm working down her catalogue and I'd actually recommend that you start with The Discarded Duke (2002 Signet). But all of it is high quality, fairly true to Regency period (not a lot of detail) and in character. It reminds me of Yvonne's writing...except, in truth, Yvonne is even better.
Kathleen Givens--Rita winner this year for long historical, I wonder if she and LabRat are related. This is the stuff that Wendy loves to read and Lynn and LabRat love to write. Angsty and painful and full of difficult choices all set in 17th century Scottish Highlands when loyalty to Scotland or England was a really really big decision. Givens is an American so I'm curious to see how LabRat feels about her language choices. I recommend Kilgannon and The Wild Rose of Kilgannon even before The Legend and The Destiny.
Madeline Hunter--My personal favorite Regency author---and she just started!!!! Her original works were 14th century. But she has a Regency series that is the best ever. I think that's because she's an Art History professor and knows how to do research. She has a new one coming out at this months' end...but, for anyone who likes really well written historical romance wherein the heroine stays strong but also in period with the book, this is your author. The Seducer, The Saint, The Charmer, The Sinner and the new The Romantic are fabulous. (So's the other series)
Jennifer Crusie--Our lady of chick lit is a professor and probably the best seminar-leader/lecturer in writing on the circuit. She's CC's humor combined with chick-lit subjects. Don't ask questions, just read ALL of it. The latest was a take on fairy tales called "Bet Me". But the best of her ouvre (did I spell that right?) is Welcome to Temptation and Faking It. (You don't have to read WTT to "get" Faking It, but it helps.)
As a last comment, I can't help but feel that Nora Roberts is overrated and dreadful. What have I missed? Somebody enlighten me....or is she simply the most prolific?
Comments anyone?
Sherry
