Here’s the thing…
Romantic clichés come under two headings: what the uninformed THINK
romance stories are about, and what they EXPECT romance stories to be about.
The THINK part is easy, and pretty much goes across all romance
genres: ripping bodices, sex, handsome men, sex, flawless heroines, sex, exotic
settings, sex, fantastic fashions, sex, and then ~ there’s the sex. And always guaranteed
is the Happily Ever After, cheesy or not.
The EXPECT part gets a little narrower, especially when it comes to
Historical Romance (which happens to be what I write). Here, you get the
Regency period (which, I don’t write) with British words like “Ton” spoken by rakish
dukes, innocent would-be duchesses, nasty earls, and grasping uncles. Think
Jane Austin on steroids.
Or, you have countless kilted warriors (which, I don’t write
either): tall, muscular Scots with long red hair, impervious to cold and rain,
swashing around with their longswords (pun intended) and dropping the T from
the end of “Not” with their thick brogues, calling everyone “lassie.”
Catch any clichés there? *wink*
The reality is that there ARE stories that fit these clichés. Good
ones, even. They are popular in part because they are familiar and comfortable
~ and what many of us cut our romance-reading teeth on. After all, America was very heavily populated by immigrants
fleeing from, or being thrown out of, England ,
Scotland and Ireland
But there are a lot of us who have broken away from this mold, and
taken our historicals from the Bronze Age through World War II. We also moved
them out of England and Scotland
What an uphill battle this has proved to be! Who knew? Not every
reader is willing to step out and try something different. Those who do,
however, are reaping interesting and imaginative rewards by the pageful.
Dark-eyed Indian Rajas from Mumbai, powdered and beautifully coifed Geishas
from Japan
Though I cannot prove any Norwegian ancestors directly, my DNA is
“100% Northern European” ~ and with four grandparents with English, Scots,
Irish, and German surnames I figure I am most definitely Viking spawn. As if
the Scots and German weren’t enough, throw in some Norse and I can be a bit
stubborn. No, really.
So, dang it, I am going to succeed with my Norwegian heroes. Big,
blond, buff and beautiful, with eyes the color of seawater, and the blood of
their Viking ancestors flowing through their veins.
Can you feel it?
It’s time to buck a few clichés. Go on, swim upstream. You’ll see ~
the water is wonderful.
5 comments:
Well done, Kris! Love the picture and caption...it is true readers purchase a book with expectations. It is one way I travel back in time to other parts of the world. I learn, from those authors who do their research, so much about another culture, another period in the world's past. Having a Danish paternal grandfather and English and Irish on my mother's side of the family as well as my maternal grandmother's, I can feel the call of the Northern European Viking ancestors.
If only the Big 5 publishers could understand that readers want VARIETY!!! ;)
There certainly isn't anything cliche about your wonderful stories, Kris. I fell in love with Brander in the first books about him and will follow him to the ends of the earth. Yep, I, too, have a lot of that Viking blood raging through my veins and proud of it. Just don't stop pushing water uphill - ever!!
Thanks, Paisley! <3
I am one of a legion of readers who look for something different in my historical picks! I LOVE your books, Kris!
Another book I'll never forget was set in the ancient Mideast. The heroine was a widowed perfume maker. The hero was someone else's slave who had earned his freedom.
Most of the Regencies and Scottish Highlander books I've read have become a blur after so many. Give me something interesting and new!
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