by hollandrae | Dec 18, 2019 | Art, Beauty, Body Image, Romance Novels
I make a concerted effort to broaden my range of romance novels, (see my post about the size of the industry here) but it seems I keep finding myself back in the age of corsets, rakes, and scandal, in or around the Regency era. For many reasons, I love the Regency...
by hollandrae | Sep 9, 2019 | Body Image, Characters, Feminism, Heroes, Heroines, Industry, Intersectional Feminism, Musings, My Books, Research, Romance Novels, Women's Rights
When I tell people I write romance novels, I get myriad responses. By far, the ones I find most offensive, (and I promise there are many offensive ones) are those people who ask, Do you ever want to write real books? Yeah. I do want to write real books. That’s why I...
by hollandrae | Nov 13, 2017 | Beauty, Body Image, Characters, Industry, Musings, Reading, Romance Novels, Women's Rights
Feminism is nuanced. Not only does it change from day to day, but there are a thousand different angles from which to analyze the impact of media, politics and science on the relationship – and subsequent privilege and oppression – between the sexes. Sometimes they...
by hollandrae | Jul 3, 2017 | Art, Beauty, Body Image, Characters, Industry, Musings, My Books, Reading, Romance Novels, Women, Women's Rights
Romance has a problem with men. Make no mistake, this is a feminist issue and, like questions of diversity in age, race and sexual orientation, it needs to be addressed before romance can fully move forward as the progressive, open-minded genre it is. We’ve made great...
by hollandrae | May 1, 2017 | Art, Beauty, Body Image, Heroines, Industry, My Books, Romance Novels, Women's Rights
To me, romance is the most feminist literary genre. It promotes female agency in the workplace, domestic sphere and bedroom, as well as celebrating women/women friendships and professional successes. Romance is about communication, equality and going after what you...
by hollandrae | Jun 23, 2016 | Beauty, Body Image, Historical, Romance Novels
There are a great many forgivable elements that show themselves time and again in the romance novel genre. For instance, based on our knowledge of history’s healthcare and abundant inbreeding, we know for certain that every duke, earl, marquis and prince was not, as...