Freedom to Read by Lynn Lovegreen

 

This month’s theme is freedom. We have many valuable freedoms in our lives. One of the most important is our freedom to choose what we read. What speaks to you may not be my cup of tea. That’s okay.

 

This year’s Banned Books Week was September 24 to October 2. Intellectual freedom gives us valuable opportunities to use critical thinking and have important conversations about what we read and view. (To learn more, check out https://bannedbooksweek.org/about/.) But it also allows us to read whatever we like, whether it’s a serious treatise or a fun novel—

 

Which is where Romancing the Genres comes in! One thing I love about this blog is the variety of authors and books we see here. I often discover new subgenres of romance, new writers, and new characters I want to fall in love with. What a great thing to have in our lives, especially when we’re tired or bored or having a bad day. Books can entertain and inspire us. Romance novels always have a happy ending, which is just what I’m looking for when I need a lift. 

 

Our Genre-istas can provide that for you. Look through the posts when you’re looking for a new story to read. Isn’t it great that you can choose something perfect for you? I think so. Let’s celebrate our freedom to read!

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for over fifty years. After twenty years in the classroom, she retired to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering at her local library. Her young adult historical romance is set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.

Blog Queen Memories

Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, one of the Blog Queens and author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic women’s fiction with light paranormal elements.

Today is a special day for me as I share my memories about how fate takes a hand in our lives---or maybe its synchronicity? I saw a post on the Rose City Romance Writer’s loop about getting together with other writers to talk about all things writing.

Who knew when Sarah Raplee McDermed and I met up for coffee/tea at the then Border’s book store and café, that out of those conversations, Romancing The Genre would be born.

Judith and Sarah - our first book signing

It wasn’t that we were excited to start or even be a part of a blog.

In fact just the opposite. We were dismayed that in 2010 – 2011 blogging was a “thing” for writers to do to get exposure, establish a platform, gain an audience, etc. Neither Sarah nor I wanted to blog – at least not every day or multiple times a week as recommended.

An idea to “share” a blog was born when we decided we’d be okay to post once a month. Who else might join us? That discussion blossomed into the idea of a diverse group of international authors who write in a variety of genres. That has not changed!

When we launched on May 1, 2011 not all the Genre-istas were published. That slowly changed over the years and now, not only are we all published (both indie and traditional) but our definition of genres has expanded. We started out with only romance authors. Now we have authors who write in various genres including non-fiction!

You are invited to check us out. Our right side-bar lists all our authors. We have an alumni page so you can see who has been with us and who has moved on.

It’s been a wild and crazy ride at times. And I’ll admit, I’ve thought of giving up but then I see one of the Genre-istas’ posts and maybe I’m inspired or maybe I laugh or maybe I’m more thoughtful. And thus I recommit to another year.

And do join us throughout this year. All the Genre-istas are talking about 10 – very creatively I will say. Next month our theme is Relationships/Partners. July we’ll talk about Peace and in August our topic is Thankful.

And thank you for being along for the ride!

If you are not yet on my mailing list, you can sign up for Choices here. I’ve created a new free offering that includes the novella Sarah’s Ankh along with the first chapter of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl. I hope you enjoy them.

Look for my next non-fiction Yes, You Can Create The Life You Love by late spring aka early summer. And if you need guidance on handling stress, Staying Sane in A Crazy World is available as are all of my books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshley.net

Follow Judith on Twitter: 
JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2021 Judith Ashley

1 plus 0 equals 10 in RTG maths

Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic women’s fiction with light paranormal elements. My stories show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this support, you make choices to overcome the darkest nights and choose love and light.

Running through my mind as I start this post are the words to a song from many years (maybe even decades ago). One is the loneliest number. Many of us who live alone have experienced loneliness which is not the same as being alone either for the first time or in a vastly altered way. However add a 0 and 1 becomes 10!

We’ve seen many changes this past decade with the most challenging ones this past year. Connecting, engaging with others has undergone significant changes. And yet through it all, there have been some consistent touchstones or anchors. I see Romancing The Genres as being one of them.

Ten years! A decade!! Who knew when we launched May 1, 2011 we’d still be hanging out with each other so many years later.

We’ve logged 2928 blog posts from authors around the world.

Those posts have garnered 17,694 comments and 530,689 page views.

Genre-istas live in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States (east to west coast with a couple stops in between).

And the Blog Queens, Sarah Raplee McDermed and Judith Ashley, couldn’t have done it without the support of the Genre-istas. Blogging isn’t always fun nor does the due date always coincide with our lives. Then there are those pesky monthly themes the BQ’s dream up each year.

Of the original 20 Genre-istas, five are still here. Of course the BQ’s, Sarah and Judith. Also celebrating 10 years are Barbara Binns, Paty Jager and Diana McCollum.

Celebrating our 10^th Blog-O-Versary would not have happened without you stopping by, leaving a comment or just reading our posts – taking away what will make your day a bit better. In that vein, you are definitely invited and encouraged to join us each day and help us celebrate.

We’ll all be talking about celebrating or what can happen in a decade or something connected – at least in our own minds.

If you are not yet on my mailing list, you can sign up for Choices here. I’ve created a new free offering that includes the novella Sarah’s Ankh along with the first chapter of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl. I hope you enjoy them.

Look for my next non-fiction Yes, You Can Create The Life You Love by late spring aka early summer. And if you need guidance on handling stress, Staying Sane in A Crazy World is available as are all of my books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshley.net

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2021 Judith Ashley

Celebrate! Celebrate! It's Our Birthday

Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, soul nourishing romantic women’s fiction that honors pagan spiritual practices. My stories show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this support, you do overcome obstacles and find your happily-ever-after.

Nine years ago, Sarah Raplee and I published the first blog post here at Romancing The Genres (actually it was Sarah who clicked the button). And here we are starting our 10^th year!

Before I share how I Celebrate, here are our some of the highlights from our first nine years.

Almost 500,000 page views

Most of our readers are in the United States but we have a solid following in Canada, Germany, France, Australia, Russian, Ukraine, China, as well as smaller followings in India, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Kuwait, etc.

When Sarah and I brain-stormed creating a group blog we knew we wanted it to be diverse in varied ways so we’ve had male and female bloggers, authors of color, and authors from around the U.S. as well as around the world. Our Genre-istas run the gamut and write in a variety of genres. Romance in its varied sub-genres is represented both in our bloggers but also in our guests.

Last month we featured former Genre-istas and got caught up on what they are doing now. Next month, we’ll feature Children’s Book Authors. Be sure to check out our Action/Adventure/Thriller authors in July.

We had our first Blog-Versation August 2019 and it was so much fun we’re doing it again. Each Saturday one of the Genre-istas will spearhead the Blog-Versations inviting our regular readers and anyone else to stop by and join the conversation. Each weekend will feature a different focus: 05/02 – Indie Bookstores; 05/09 – Holidays; 05/16 – Heritage; 05/23 – TBD; 05/30 – Friendships. Every Wednesday we’ll feature the Genre-ista and topic in our Headline. Follow us each day and be privy to what each of us do to Celebrate the big and small events in life. Be sure to leave comments to help us add to our options.

And here’s how I Celebrate my birthday:

About the right number of candles?

Before the actual date of my 50^th birthday, I decided to celebrate this milestone by doing something more than cake (actually I prefer pie) and ice cream and going out to dinner. Soo…

I chose to celebrate for 50 days. How that worked is each day I decided on one thing I’d do (or maybe not do) that was my gift to me. Sometimes I bought myself something. Other times I might spend the day in p.j.’s or go out to eat or get take out (I’m not a fan of cooking).

That is a birthday I do remember.

I’ve followed that personal tradition ever since even though I’ve made some modifications. The biggest one was changing how I counted my days. My birthday is in November so initially I kept my celebrating within the calendar year counting back from December 31^st. As I approached mid-October, that decision didn’t feel right so after agonizing (yes, my friends will tell you it wasn’t an easy decision for me), I now start on November 1^st and move forward, into the next year.

If I live to be 102, which is my goal, I’ll be celebrating into February!

What do you do that’s special on your birthday? You just might have a way of celebrating the anniversary of your coming into this world that I can add to my list.

You can find all of my books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2020 Judith Ashley

Celebrating Romance

Celebrating Romance

By Sarah Raplee and Judith Ashley

The month of May marks the 2^nd Anniversary, or Blog-O-Versary, of Romancing The Genres. The Genre-istas’ posts will be about Celebrating Their Writing but underneath it all is a broader based celebration: Celebrating Romance.

Within the Genre-istas' posts contemporary, historical, suspense, mystery, western, military, fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction romance is explored. Several of the Genre-istas Celebrate Romance by blending genres – merging two or more into their own special concoction of love.

Our journey these past two years has exposed us to fantastic writers who celebrate romance in all parts of the world. Our Genre-istas come from the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. We've invited an international group of Romance authors to join us as Guest Contributors in May for our Blog-o-versary Month.
A couple of times a year, we sit down and take a look at where we are and where we want to go. We brainstorm topic ideas for the Genre-istas, and Contributor themes. We do research to find Guest Contributors who fit our themes.

Through it all, we keep in mind that the purpose of Romancing The Genres group blog is to entertain and inform readers by bringing together diverse points of view to explore and Celebrate Romance in all its permutations.
We truly believe Celebrating Romance every day adds joy and happiness to our lives. We invite you to Celebrate Romance with us.

Enjoy,

Judith and Sarah

The Birth of Romancing The Genres

By the time you read this, Romancing the Genres group blog will be five months and one week old and just short of nine months since the idea was born.

A family tradition is to tell the 'the day you were born' story. Here is RTG's.

I began my blog, Intentions and Synchronicity in May 2010 when I took 1st Turning Point's Platform Building class and met Tam Linsey. Sarah Raplee McDermed and I were writing friends who met every couple of weeks to share ideas and support each other’s writing goals. Some of the time, SamMarie Ashe joined us. But on this one particular wintry January day, we were at the now closed Beaverton Borders coffee shop talking about our blogs and how hard it was to get something up every day or even once a week.

Delilah Marvelle’s name came up because Delilah posts once a month and both of us thought that was doable. So, how could they post once a month?

With a group of other writers!
Paper and pen in hand, ideas were noted and the foundation for Romancing The Genres was laid. Week days in the months were counted and that’s how we came up with 21 – all months have at least 21 week days in them. Next was - who to invite.

We put our heads together and expanded our original list to include various parts of the country and various genres because we wanted this blog to inform, educate and entertain both other writers and readers. Since both Sarah and Judith are ‘yet-to-be-published’ we included other writers like us as well as published authors.

And genres? Well, as you know if you’ve followed RTG, there are genres and then there are Genres. We decided that romance was the key and we wanted as many sub-genres of romance to be included as we could. However, there are not enough days in the month to cover all the sub-genres of Romance. Take Historicals for example – that would cover a whole week and still leave some out!

We focused on finding Genre-istas (Sarah coined that term) who live in various parts of the U.S. Currently Genre-istas live in Alaska, Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, New York, North/South Carolina, Oregon and Washington.  We have Laurie SchneblyCampbell to thank for most of our Arizona Genre-istas.

In November we are adding Bronwen Evans from New Zealand.

It’s my party and I’ll blog if I want to! Since it's easy and effortless when done once a month – I do.

© Judith Ashley, 2011. All rights reserved.