 Well, let's look at a couple definitions... ROMANCE: NOUN a novel or other prose narrative depicting heroic or marvelous deeds, pageantry, romantic exploits, etc., usually in a historical or imaginary setting: the colorful world, life, or conditions depicted in such tales. Marvelous deeds? Imaginary setting? Tales? Come on!!! That's not what romance is! No wonder readers -- people in general ... MEN -- get confused. I'd like to think that I'm living a romance because my husband does romantic things. When he surprises me with a mini-vacation, sends me cute little text messages, gives me sweet gifts, cleans the house before I get home, kisses me sweetly when I don't expect it... That's romantic, so doesn't it make sense that we're living in a ROMANCE story. Let's take a look at the words that define love: Profoundly tender Passionate affection Personal attachment Deep affection Sexual passion Desire Ahh... That's better! So why do we define books as contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, romantic comedy, romantic mystery, and romantic thriller? For the record, I wish there was another word other than "romantic" to describe what I write. Funny that they don't have a genre called "Love-Suspense Novel," since according to the definition, it would work better. Even though when I think of a "love story," the first thing that comes to my mind is the movie Love Story or Romeo and Juliet, and I certainly don't write that!!! The fact of the matter is ... I don't write romances either. I don't write about fanciful events leading up to the characters falling in love. I write about a love that went wrong. Love that started on the rocks and went through tragedies, or love stories that are surrounded by a life-threatening event, a murder mystery, secret pasts, on the run, mistakes... And sometimes, I write about a love that never happened that should have...like the one below. Not sure if many readers know this, but many websites don't even have options for women's fiction, chick lit, or romantic suspense; they have ROMANCE!!! That's it!!!! And sadly, some readers see the tag "romance," and they immediately think of a shirtless Fabio sweeping a half-dressed woman off her feet. My only answer is to try like heck to tell readers in the description EXACTLY what kind of romance you're getting when you download my books! So, read the description and take a chance on one of my romances... Here's One! A Thirty-Something Chick Lit with a Hint of Romance & Humor Or should I say, a Hint of Love...??? I'll let you decide!
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Food in Books... "Please, sir, I want some more." Plus, my coveted recipe for easy Baklava Bites!11/17/2022  I don't know what made me think of this last night while I was making dinner, but I said to my husband, "Remember all our childhood books... Remember how many of them not only mentioned food, but FOOD was a major contributor to the story?" Sometimes it was the character's mission: to find food. And often, a certain food was a character's downfall. The more I thought about it, the more books I remembered, so I set out on a mission to find the top 100 children's books of all time, and then I tried to remember if those books featured FOOD! I forgot how many books I actually read as a child! Hopefully, you'll have a few good memories, too! By now, you're probably trying to think of all the books you loved as a child and remember if the stories centered around food. I'll save you the brain power...
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Edmund betrays his family for Turkish Delight! Hansel & Gretel - Man, that was a rough one! The father has to take the kids in the woods and try to get them lost because they don't have enough food, and then the witch, of course, attracts children with a Gingerbread House! Hunger Games - While I don't feel Hunger Games is a children's book, it's labeled as such, and it's all about food--the lack of it!!! Winnie the Pooh - Of course, everyone remembers how MUCH Pooh ate and ended up stuck in Rabbit's tree. Where the Wild Things Are - The story starts when his mother sends him to bed without his supper! Snow White - The famous red apple. Three Bears, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Giving Tree, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Secret Garden, and on and on... I started wondering WHY all these beloved children's books featured food or lack of food as a primary focus, and then it dawned on me. Most of these books were written around the Great Depression. I remember all the stories my grandmother would tell me how if they got a piece of candy, they would try to divide it into six pieces. I certainly never starved as a child, but we didn't have much food in the house. A ginormous box of Corn Flakes, a huge jar of generic peanut butter, and bread from the day-old bread store were our staples. I always loved going to my aunt's house because her pantry was always stocked. Because of going without as a child, food has always been a priority to me. My pantry is always stocked. Without a doubt, I'd go without electricity before a stocked pantry. And there went my brain again, making me wonder, do I place a focus on food in my books? I do, I realized.
Yep, it seems food isn't just for fuel. It's such a part of my life that I enjoy reading and writing about it! How about you? I welcome your thoughts on this crazy-long post! What books did you love as a child? Did you recognize the focus on food? Which classic children's books did I forget? The Recipe! Please note: I use super simple instructions for my recipes, as I like to save them in my phone. If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this email, and I'll gladly help. I re-invented my original recipe that I learned in Tarpon Springs, Florida to make it easy to travel and serve. For parties, simply triple the recipe to make 45. The great thing about Baklava is that it is even better the next day, and it doesn't have to be refrigerated. Also, by making them in the shells instead of the sheets I used to use, they are portion controlled and easier to share! Also, I use Country Crock plant butter, and I swear it tastes just as yummy as my original recipe! You can certainly use real butter. Wish I still could!!!! :)  Want more writing tidbits and super easy recipes, subscribe to my Newsletter!
Want first-hand news of new release and book sales, follow me on BookBub or Amazon!  Definition of "romance" according to Dictionary.com No wonder readers -- people in general ... MEN -- get confused. Marvelous deeds? Imaginary setting? Tales? Fantastic or supernatural events? Baseless? Made-up story? Full of exaggeration? Fanciful? Come on!!! That's not what romance is! I'd like to think that I'm living a romance because my husband does romantic things. When he surprises me with a mini-vacation, sends me cute little text messages, gives me sweet gifts, cleans the house before I get home, kisses me sweetly when I don't expect it... That's romantic, so doesn't it make sense that we're living in a romance story. Let's take a look at the words that define love: Profoundly tender Passionate affection Personal attachment Deep affection Sexual passion Desire Ahh... That's better! So why do we define books as contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, romantic comedy, romantic mystery, and romantic thriller. For the record, I wish there were another word other than 'romantic' to describe what I write. Funny that they don't have a genre called "Love-Suspense Novel," since according to the definition, it would work better. Even though when I think of a "love story," the first thing that comes to my mind is the movie Love Story or Romeo and Juliet, and I certainly don't write that. :) The fact of the matter is ... I don't write romances either. I don't write about fanciful events leading up to the characters falling in love. I write about a love that went wrong. Love that started on the rocks, went through tragedies ... that are surrounded by a life-threatening event, a murder mystery, secret pasts, on the run, mistakes... But sadly, some readers don't know that because they see the tag "romance," and they immediately think of a shirtless Fabio sweeping a half-dressed woman off her feet, so I'm not surprised when I read reviews like this one: 5.0 out of 5 stars Never thought I would be reading a romance novel. By Joey Yagin Format:Kindle Edition Never thought I would enjoy reading a romance novel. I hate them. I gave this series a chance only because I was curious about who existed, what is a creatus? Once I read the first of the series, I was hooked. Could not stop reading. Normally, I would stop in between the series and read another book before starting the next book of a series. With this book, I could not stop. I had to find out what's coming next. It was well written, and I did enjoy the characters. I even enjoyed the antagonist of the book. For me, what made it a good read is the combination of the super heroism, supernatural, mystery and suspense ( oh yeah, the romance). All in one series. If you do decide to read it, just buy the set. You will not be disappointed. 5.0 out of 5 stars A Romance Novel for People Who Don't Like Romance Novels By C. M. Lance Format:Kindle Edition I read "She Belongs To Me" and found it to be quite a good mystery/thriller without the overt physical descriptions that overflow from other Romance novels I've ventured into. The Romance is more of a caring, loving sort. I have many reviews like the two I posted above -- many of them by men, some of them by women -- who shy away from any genre with "romantic" in the title, for fear that it'll be the mushy tales of old that were described as the romance definition at the top of the page. When in fact, just about every book or movie ever written includes a background love story or romance. Even war movies usually show a man trying to get home to the woman he loves, ready to buy the house with the white-picket fence. Heck, even thrillers and horror stories usually have a man dying to protect his woman. That's a pretty darn "romantic" gesture if you ask me. So ... what do you think? Do you read novels with a romance tag? What do you immediately think of when you see the word "romantic" as part of the genre description. Please let me know your thoughts. And in case you're interested, here are some more in-depth "genres" than what websites and bookstores allow on my books. :) A romantic suspense with a whodunit mystery... She Belongs to Me - FREE Everywhere! A journey of two souls through tragedies with a romantic-suspense whodunit... Land of the Noonday Sun A romantic suspense with heartbreaking pasts, life-changing events, and evil intentions... Entangled Dreams A romantic suspense with a supernatural edge... Creatus Series A romantic mystery with a ghostly edge The Library (Where Life Checks Out)
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