Clean Romances discussion

I was wondering if there were any fans of Iris Bromige in this group? I love her books and I wish that I could find them on Kindle but her novels haven’t been converted to ebooks. I also like Georgette Heyer’s novels and about fifteen years ago I published my first novel, The Dashing Debutante, a clean Regency romance. The tide was changing at the time, though, and traditional Regencies were going out of fashion. I have recently returned to the Regency genre with the release of my latest novel, A Marchioness Below Stairs. I must admit that I wrote this book, not knowing if there was a market for it, but it seems that there are still readers who enjoy traditional or clean Regencies. I made a joke to an author friend of mine the other day, saying, “The 80’s and 90’s have become fashionable recently. Perhaps traditional Regencies will come back into fashion again.” Well, here’s hoping!

Good for you to stick to your guns, Alissa, and write your novels how you see fit! If more of us did that, publishing would be a more vital industry. Good luck with your new book.

Thanks, Abigail!

I remember reading Iris Bromige years ago. I can't remember anything specific about them - it would have been the contemporary ones I read - but I remember her name as an author I enjoyed so I must have read numerous titles. I do agree with Alissa's comment above - we have to write what feels right for us, lets face it, if money and sales where the reason for writing many of us would have given up years ago. I write clean contemporary and despite it being a "less popular" sub genre, well, its right for me. I say, stick to what feels right and gives you the buzz.

Hi Anne, your books sound great! I realised a long time ago that I needed to stay true to myself and write the kind of books I was comfortable writing, even if it meant I wouldn’t be writing the kind of books that sell large numbers.

Hey thank you, Alissa. You are so right. Maybe we won't rake the royalties in like 50 Shades, but we'll feel content in our own skin. My philosophy is that there are readers out there looking for our type of books no matter what the trends might tell us. And who says traditional Regencies aren't a genre just waiting to come back. You might just be the leader of the revolution - go for it! Good Luck

So true, Anne! I’m going to check out your books. 😊

I completely agree with you, Anne and Alissa. I was told my "clean" romances wouldn't sell. Guess what? They are and they're getting good reviews. You have to be true to yourself.

That’s wonderful, Tina! It’s so nice to know that readers are finding your books. 😊

Tina's comment cements my thoughts. There are readers out there for every genre/sub genre no matter what the current "trend" is supposed to be.

In case you need any more encouragement, writers, I believe trends are a trap. By the time every agent and publisher is screaming, “Your book needs to be like Gone Girl,” everybody is already tired of books like Gone Girl. Everyone in the publishing industry is so terrified that they can’t think; they’ve lost the excitement of discovery. (I say this as someone who has worked in publishing since 1976.) They want to feel safe in their choices, which makes them make stupid, predictable choices. We might as well go out and write the books that readers don’t yet know they want but will be thrilled to discover.

Thanks, Abigail. What you say makes a lot of sense!

Hi Abigail, on another tack... I noticed this addendum on the Group Description of Clean Romances.

“Addendum: Romances between men only please.”

This isn’t an accurate description of this group so I imagine the moderators don’t know it’s there?

Sorry, in relation to my earlier comment, I meant to say “the moderators don’t know it’s there”...

. . . though it might be interesting to read a clean romance between men only. Now, that would be a genre buster!

Hi Abigail, it’s interesting hearing about your perspective on the publishing industry. As you say, trends can be a trap... do you find that things often come full circle in terms of what is popular in the publishing industry at any given time?

Men only? clean romance? the two don't roll together very well, do they? and no pun intended lol...re the trends - my thoughts coincide with Abigail's but for a slightly different reason. The time from beginning a story until publication is long enough that any trend existing has moved on. Remember the waitress, the royals, the sheiks then we moved onto all the paranormal ... I checked expected trends for a talk I gave a month ago - they reckon its now all "political intrigue" so there's a boring outlook. Definitely not a trend I'm going to follow.

I hope so, Alissa! Because I write deliberately “retro” myself. But I don’t know that it happens according to a regular cycle; seems to be more a question of chasing fads.

Tina wrote: "I completely agree with you, Anne and Alissa. I was told my "clean" romances wouldn't sell. Guess what? They are and they're getting good reviews. You have to be true to yourself."

Don't let anyone kid you. There is a strong market for clean romance.

Thanks Robyn, sometimes we all need some validation we're not crazy. I only read clean contemporary and I read a lot. I justify myself by the certainty I'm not the only person out there with what others might call 'a narrow' reading interest.

Anne wrote: "Men only? clean romance? the two don't roll together very well, do they? and no pun intended lol...re the trends - my thoughts coincide with Abigail's but for a slightly different reason. The time ..."

OMG! I totally agree, Anne!

Anne wrote: "Men only? clean romance? the two don't roll together very well, do they?
..."

I'd disagree there.

I only recently came upon a beautiful short story, waxing romantically about love between men.
There may not seem to be much of a market for that kind of storytelling, but that doesn't mean there ain't writers for it. It only means that the publishing industry is terribly short sighted and far too profit oriented.

There’s a huge genre of M2M romance, much of it actually read by women, but not very much of it is clean. Tends to be on the steamy side.

Hey everyone! My publisher is doing cover voting for my debut, Match Me If You Can, and because it is a clean YA romance, I wanted to get YOUR opinions and votes. The voting is open to anyone, but since this is my target audience, I'd love to know what appeals most to you guys. You love clean romance as much as me, so I want to make sure my cover appeals to the right readers! If you want to see the options and vote for your favorite, go here, and thank you so much! Voting will be open for one week!

https://www.swoonreads.com/blog/judgi...