by hollandrae | Jul 6, 2020 | Beauty, Characters, Heroines, Industry, Inspiration, Musings, Reading, Romance Novels, Women's Rights
I think there was a time when pop culture and mass media realized that women could be mean. They discovered the secret like it was the Holy Grail and turned it into a trope that would never die. The Mean Girl. The Villainess. The Bitch. The Witch. The Slut. The Prude....
by hollandrae | Nov 25, 2019 | Characters, Harry Potter, Industry, Inspiration, Musings, My Books, Reading, Romance Novels, Uncategorized, Women's Rights
With the rise of Katniss Everdeen and Tris Prior, the literary world saw a shift, a call toward the strong female character, a heroine who could fight for herself and those she loved, someone who wouldn’t take it sitting down. I am all for the strong female...
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 | Jun 3, 2019 | Characters, Feminism, Heroes, Heroines, Industry, Inspiration, Intersectional Feminism, Musings, Reviews, Women's Rights
“I think this might be one of my favorite romantic comedies.” My boyfriend is in full cozy mode on the couch, eating ice cream as we watch Ali Wong and Randall Park play the will they, won’t they? game in the new Netflix original film Always Be My Maybe. While he may...
by hollandrae | May 29, 2019 | Characters, Industry, Inspiration, Musings, Romance Novels, Statistics, Women's Rights
One of the most common themes that comes up when discussing romance novels is the idea of the ‘unrealistic expectation’ regarding men, relationships and sexual prowess. Romance novels create a utopian relationship, critics often squawk. There aren’t any real men like...
