The Conference season has started and at the end of this month, authors, editors and publishers will be heading for Orlando where the RWA will be holding their annual National Conference. But last weekend I spent five days in London, in Greenwich to be precise, at the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Conference. The weather was hot

 - unexpectedly so for England, the setting in the architecturally beautiful Old Naval College on the edge of the River Thames was spectacular, and the whole event was extra special because it was to mark the RNA’s 5oth anniversary of their  founding in 1960.

There was a  fascinating array of courses and events on offer, with workshops on Conflict, Creating Characters, Managing  Your Writing Career, and Using Colour in  Your Writing. The list of delegates attending read like  a who’s who of English romantic novelists with Katie Fforde,  Kate Harrison, Julie Cohen,  Judy Astley, Susanna Kearsley and the keynote speaker Joanna Trollope. Category romance authors  who were there were  Nicola Cornick, Sarah Morgan, Abby Green, Kate Hardy,  Natalie River – and,of course, me!  Every talk or workshop was fully attended  – and everyone was deeply grateful for the efficient air conditioning that made the conference rooms so much more comfortable than the heat outside of the accommodation blocks.

The RNA’s 50^th birthday was marked at a celebration dinner at the old Trafalgar Tavern  where Charles Dickens once dined. On a hot summer night, the huge windows opening on to the balconies overlooking the river were hugely appreciated , and the sound of the water drifting past was a soft background to the  buzz of conversation.

Harlequin Mills & Boon were strongly represented  by many editors  including Executive Editor Tessa Shapcott and  many of the Richmond team. At their presentation on Saturday afternoon, the audience were given a sneak preview of the new covers that will be coming up for all the Mills & Boon lines  from the Autumn. They will also be reorganising the way that some of the lines are distributed with Modern Heat becoming the newly-title Riva, and some of the Romance line being included with that. The rest of the Romance line will be published under the new name of Cherish.

Along with the new covers there will be some brand new style titles, specially for the Modern/Presents line with the Billionaires and Mistresses and Virgins titles disappearing (thank goodness!) to be replaced by titles such as my own new book, The Good Greek Wife, or others such as The Bride Thief, Reckless in Paradise, The  Man Behind The Mask etc. You can see some of the new covers on Amazon.com and they will be appearing on the Mills & Boon web site very soon.

Another important announcement is the latest writing contest that Mills & Boon will be running. I will be able to give   you more details of this in my next Kate’s Corner blog when all the details have been finalised, but basically the new competition – New Voices – will be a sort of X Factor contest for writers. Entrants will upload a first chapter to the special contest web site (www.romanceisnotdead.com) and the public will be able to read them and comment on them. The editorial team will select a Top Ten who’ll be then asked to write a second chapter. Full details can be found on the Romance Is Not Dead web site  soon and the contest will open fully on September 6^th.  A I said, I’ll bring you all the latest  details on this in my next blog.

The RNA has started Conference Season off with a bang. Sadly, I won’t be able to attend RWA as I shall be teaching in Wales that week. But I shall be keeping in touch with what’s going on in Orlando, and I’ll definitely be glued to the internet when the RITA winners are announced to find out who’s won.  I hope that everyone who is going to any conference has a wonderful time, and comes home as I did, tired out (there wasn’t much sleeping going on) talked out, but fired up with enthusiasm for writing and reading the wonderful romantic fiction that is being published these days.

Kate’s latest Presents EXTRA The Konstantos Marriage Demand is still available  and in the UK  she has The Good Greek Wife coming soon. Look 0ut for this book in Presents EXTRA in October 2010.

 You can find out more details on her web site or on her blog

What Is Women’s Fiction, Anyway?

by Carolynn Carey

Search for “Women’s Fiction” on Amazon and you can choose between Jodi Picoult and Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts and Barbara Delinsky, Christine Feehan and Debbie Macomber. Kristin Hannah shows up on the list, as does Sue Miller, John Updike, Toni Morrison, and Jane Austen.

So what is Women’s Fiction? According to Wikipedia, it is “an umbrella term for a wide-ranging collection of literary sub-genres that are marketed to female readers, including many mainstream novels, romantic fiction, ‘chick lit,’ and other sub genres.”

Another term for Women’s Fiction is “relationship books.” These relationships may be between sisters, assorted family members, or friends. Usually, but not always, the relationships are between women. My relationship book, Lily for a Day, is a story about a middle-aged mother and her two adult daughters who have grown apart. A series of life disruptions forces them to interact with each other again, and they not only forge new bonds but they also discover that the wounds from years gone by are no longer so hurtful.

Here’s an excerpt in which the protagonist, Marti, fails to recognize her son-in-law Jake, a movie producer who’s traveled from Hollywood to the daylily farm in Tennessee in search of Marti’s oldest daughter and his estranged wife, Glenna.

When I finally reached the front door, I peered through the peephole to see who it might be. The man standing on the front porch looked vaguely familiar.

He was a nice-looking fellow with a long, lean face and dark hazel eyes. His short-sleeved polo shirt struck me as a little lightweight for such a chilly morning but lots of people underestimate how cool our weather can be in early April.

I tried again to come up with a name to go with the face. Failing that, I decided he must be a former customer, one I hadn’t seen in a number of years. I unlocked the door and swung it open.

“Hello,” I said. “Can I help you?”

The man frowned. “You don’t know me?” he asked.

I examined him for a few seconds longer. Nope. Still no name occurred to me. I shook my head. “I’m very sorry. You do look a little bit familiar but…” My voice trailed off. I didn’t know what else to say.

“I’m Jake. Jake Walker. Glenna’s husband.”

I’m rather embarrassed to admit that I had frequently daydreamed about this very event without ever really expecting it to take place. In my daydream, of course, I recognized Jake at first glance and my face would immediately transform itself into the coldest, most intimidating sneer anyone could ever imagine. And then I would speak in frigid tones, “Well, well, if it isn’t Jake the Snake. What rock have you be lurking under?”

And in my daydream Jake would flush scarlet with either anger or humiliation and then stomp off my porch or else he would bow his head and slink away, depending on my preferences at the time I was daydreaming.

I’m sorry to say that in reality, it was I and not Jake who flushed scarlet. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t recognized Glenna’s husband. In my own defense, I must say that while Jake was still a handsome man, he had changed rather dramatically since I’d seen him the last time. His hair was prematurely white and lines fanned out around his eyes and in the corners of his lips.

“Mrs. Darnell? Are you all right?” A frown of concern touched his beautifully tanned brow.

I realized I’d been staring at him but still I could think of nothing to say.

He glanced down at my cast. “What happened?”

I answered as shortly as I could. “I broke my ankle.”

He looked up. “I figured something like that. Look, Mrs. Darnell, I know you must hate my guts but I need to see Glenna. Is she here?”

I considered slamming the door in his face but that would have accomplished nothing. He wouldn’t leave just because I was rude to him. And for all I knew, Glenna would be thrilled to see him.

On the other hand, maybe he was just here to tell her he was glad she had realized their marriage was over and he wanted her to go through with the divorce. Whatever the reason, I decided I might as well let Glenna and her husband settle their own affairs.

I sighed. “Come in,” I said, not particularly graciously. Then I eased back and maneuvered my crutches to turn in the small entrance hall. I left him to close the front door behind him.

After leading the way to the living room, I paused and nodded toward one of the chairs. “Have a seat. Glenna’s in the shed. I’ll give her a call.”

Jake didn’t bother to sit down. “In the shed?” From his tone, I inferred he now envisioned poor Glenna living in a drafty lean-to.

“Yep,” I replied. “The shed.” I didn’t owe Jake the Snake any explanations. I carefully lowered myself onto the sofa, picked up the portable phone and dialed the business number.

But back to my question: What is women’s fiction, anyway? I agree that many different kinds of books can legitimately be called “women’s fiction.” What’s your opinion? Agree? Disagree?

Personally, as long as my favorite writers keep producing delicious and diverting stories, I don’t care what the sub-genre is called.

Hi everyone, and thanks so much for having me over to visit! I’m Shelley Bates, and I write women’s fiction for Hachette FaithWords, which is based in Nashville and is a sister imprint to Grand Central Publishing ::waves at Lisa Dale:: I also have a secret identity … I write young adult novels for teens, too, as Shelley Adina.

You’d be surprised how many parallels there are between women’s fiction and teen fiction, the biggest one being the fact that romance, while it’s a big element in the story, takes a back seat to the woman (whether she’s 16 or 46) learning about herself and coming to terms with her place in the world.

But back to the romance … :)

Since I write for the inspirational market, and you’ve recently been talking about love scenes, I wondered how I could talk about the two in the same breath, LOL! Because of course in inspirational romance, as in any other subgenre of romance, it’s all about the emotions and the developing love story. But it’s pretty difficult to convince a reader that two people are falling in love without some kind of, well, evidence. It can’t all be in their heads, now, can it? So the writer for this audience, while she isn’t going to lay the whole scene out on the page in physical description, is going to take a different approach. What’s going on in the heroine’s head and heart when the hero kisses her or their hands touch for the first time become the essence of that scene, what gives the reader that “Ahhh” moment.

Pocketful of Pearls

Here’s an example of one of my favorite scenes from Pocketful of Pearls, which is book two in my Elect trilogy about women escaping from a toxic church. In this scene, Dinah, the heroine, has turned to the hero, a homeless man she’s taken in, and he finally works up the courage to tell her how he feels:

“That’s all very well,” she mumbled, “but most men want to marry a woman they’re attracted to. And I don’t compete very well in that department.”

“You’re used to seeing yourself through other people’s eyes. How about seeing through mine?” he suggested with a smile. “I see a woman who smiles rarely, but when she does, it’s like the sun burning away the clouds. I see a woman with dark eyes that a man could fall into, and skin so soft and fragile he’s almost afraid to touch it. I see a woman with hands capable enough to drive a Jeep yet gentle enough to comfort a crying baby or cuddle a frightened chicken.”

His voice dropped as he saw her lower lip tremble. “I see shoulders that bear other people’s burdens as well as her own. I see dark hair always trying to work its way out of imprisonment, and feet that would leave but that stay for love’s sake.” He paused. Her eyes were wet. “Why would any man not want a woman like that?”

She made a choked sound, and pitched forward into his arms. He pulled her closer, fitting her against him. He hadn’t held her since that dreadful day when she had lost Sheba. But this wasn’t a simple offering of comfort. He held her because he needed to. Because he hadn’t just been saying these things to build up her confidence and make her feel better.

He meant every word.

In the inspirational world, a kiss is about as far as you can go on the page. But a writer can do a lot with a kiss, especially if you’re writing for teens. Here’s a sample of how I was able to do that in the middle of a suspenseful rescue scene in Be Strong and Curvaceous (January 2009), book three of my All About Us series:

Be Strong and Curvacious

“What if you run into trouble?” I’d always thought his eyes were amazing . . . long-lashed and dark and penetrating. But now, in the dim silver light of the streetlights behind us, I saw something that made them even more beautiful.
Respect. And concern.

For me.

I shook myself so I wouldn’t just fall into his arms like ninety percent of the girls probably did. “The police have to be on their way, especially since I didn’t turn up at school. We could wait for them, but I’m afraid if he hears them coming and gets scared, he’ll do something to her. Brett,” I said, putting a hand on his arm, “I don’t have a Plan B. This has to work.”

He raised his head and did a fast recon of the backyard, making sure no one was moving inside the house. Then, he took my chin in his hand.

And kissed me, hard, on the mouth.

My eyes and lips formed three circles of astonishment as he let me go. I’m sure I looked like some stupid cartoon character, because he grinned and whispered, “For luck.”

And then he ran into the dark.

I heard the fence jingle softly as he went up and over it, and still I sat there like a melting truffle, touching my lips and wondering if I was dreaming.

Don’t wake me up. If this is a dream, maybe it will happen again.

IMO, a romance just isn’t a romance without love scenes. But you can get across what you need to in any number of ways, depending on what your readers are looking for. And I don’t know about you, but I’m looking for that “Ahhhhh” moment—whether it’s in an inspirational or a sexy historical. Vive l’amour!

And hey, before I go, I’m giving away either my Elect trilogy of women’s fiction or the first three books in the All About Us series. Leave a comment, and one winner will get to pick!