romance

Starving Review: Ambrosia by the Sea (By The Sea Book 1) by Traci Hall

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Ambrosia by the Sea (By The Sea Book 1) by Traci Hall (Amazon)

There are times, my literary foodies, that we have to sit back and enjoy life’s simpler pleasures. While we may often pine for ground-breaking and complex genre fusions and intense deconstructive works, what we don’t realize is that often all we want is a good meal, even if it is a deceptively simple one. Today’s meal has the aroma of just such a meal. A straightforward, character-driven, contemporary romance, there are no implications of vast complexity in Ambrosia by the Sea, so let’s see if simple is best in today’s review.

Before we discover the truth, let us check the Starving Review rules:

  1. I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
  2. I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible

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Starving Review: The Planets All Shone by Nora Fleischer

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The Planets All Shone by Nora Fleischer (Amazon, Goodreads)

It would seem, my literary foodies, that the main answer to genre fatigue I see in the modern menus of the world is genre fusion. Mixing the ingredients of multiple genres can be fun and flavorful, but it can also be boring and nasty. In today’s recipe, we’ll see how well our chef tosses together romance, science-fiction, and contemporary thrillers. Which will The Planets All Shone be, tasty or tasteless?

Before we cut to the heart of the matter, let’s recite the Starving Review creed:

  1. I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
  2. I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible

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Starving Review: One Enchanted Evening by L. A. Kelley

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One Enchanted Evening by L. A. Kelley (Amazon, Goodreads)

It’s belated, yes, but we have reached the end of my Local Author Smorgasbord, my literary foodies!  This week, we dip into the paranormal romance basket to find a bit of modern fairy tale fare with One Enchanted Evening.  Will this basket of goodies end our local feast on a high note or will this evening be not so enchanted after all?

Before we slip on our red hoods, let us recite the Starving Reviewer’s creed:

  1. I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
  2. I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible

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The World Of … : The Inspector Redmane Mysteries – Building the Greatest City in Aardsland! a.k.a. Fantasy World Building

We’re mostly back on track today with another The World Of … article, this time talking about my soon-to-be-available first book in The Inspector Redmane Mysteries, The Songstress Murders!  Initially intended to talk about world-building in genre fiction, my crushing fatigue leads me to ramble about themes, the origins of the story, and all sorts of things, but it does get to that pesky world-building thing quite a bit.  Enjoy!

Starving Review: Hungry for You (Haven Book 1) by Michelle Kay

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Hungry for You (Haven Book 1) by Michelle Kay (Amazon, Goodreads)

While the more erotic end of romance fiction is rare in my extensive pantry, it certainly isn’t non-existent!  Today, as part of the Local Author Assault, it’s time to serve up Hungry for You, a contemporary erotic LGBT fantasy romance (that’s a lot of words!) done in the yaoi style of Japanese gay romance.  Will Hungry crystallize the visual style of the manga and anime it is inspired from into a written form or will it fall short?

Before we cut the romance cake, let us recount the vows of the Starving Reviewer:

  1. I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
  2. I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible

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Starving Interview: Michelle Kay, author of Hungry for You (Haven Book 1)

It’s landmark day in the Starving Review kitchens, as we conduct our first live interview with chef Michelle Kay, a local Gulf Bay author and subject of this week’s Starving Review with Hungry for You.  Let’s take a listen!

Starving Review: Savagery and Saviors by Ken Hollern

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Savagery and Saviors by Ken Hollern (Amazon, Goodreads)

You have to respect chefs who have the tenacity to focus on real-world problems with their literary cuisine.  Savagery loads up this recipe, though, with the genocide in Darfur combined with child kidnapping, sex slavery, and human trafficking from the United States.  Are these spices too heavy and too far apart to mix well or do they blend together nicely?

Before we find out, let us cry out the Starving Review creed from the highest mountain:

  1. I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
  2. I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible

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Starving Review: Flawed Gods by Angela B. Mortimer

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Flawed Gods by Angela B. Mortimer (Amazon, Goodreads)

It’s a new year and that should, of course, bring new experiences to the dining room.  So that is where Flawed Gods comes in.  You see, Gods is something a bit unlike any other book I’ve read in the past.  Yes, it could fit into the sci-fi recipe folder and there’s certainly romance and, arguably, erotica overtones.  But there’s quite a bit more to this recipe than that.  Flawed Gods is more than a title, it describes the essence of the flavors infused in this meal.  While this promises to make it a unique dining experience, does it make it a GOOD one?

Before we find out, let us take up the book of the Starving Reviewer and recite the rules of the review:

  1. I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
  2. I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible

(more…)

Writing Is A Bad Habit: Love is Love a.k.a. All Flavors of Romance

Merry Christmas Eve, friends!

The holiday rush left me away from the keyboard yesterday, but I’m not one to shirk my responsibilities.  Here we go, then, with this week’s Writing Is A Bad Habit, to talk about romance in writing.  More specifically, I want to talk about the ins-and-outs of writing a non-heterosexual romance, that is to say a LGBT, and any other letters you can add to that, romance.

To someone that is purely heterosexual, this may seem like a difficult thing to do.  Maybe you feel uncomfortable with the concept or perhaps you have a fear of being offensive to others.  Either one may motivate you to avoid the topic entirely, yet this isn’t the best way to approach it, especially in a world that is coming to grips that these alternate sexualities are as healthy and valid as normal, straight sexualities.

This may seem hard, but there is a simple trick to dealing with the core matters of the relationship in such cases.  Here it is …. get ready for it!

The secret is … it’s just like any other kind of love and romance.  No, really, trust me, I know this first hand.  As a non-heterosexual person myself, take it from me and my time talking about these things with friends of every sexual persuasion.  There is nothing, at the romantic level, that is different or unusual about non-hetero love and relationships.  It is, in all essential purposes, the same.

Now, the real potential trip-ups can come in if you decide to explore past the romance to the societal and cultural issues that can come up from such romances.  For a well-rounded, realistic story, you may have to add considerable dollops of cultural elements and biases to your story.  Still, this isn’t any different from exploring other themes of societal prejudice.  Would you feel comfortable writing about racial issues, class divides, or biases and prejudices based on differing nationalities?  These are no different than dealing with issues of sexual discrimination.

What I want to conclude with is that you shouldn’t feel, if you are a heterosexual, that you can’t include non-hetero romance in your writing.  Simply treat it as any other romance you may write; it is in the end no different.

Until next time, good reading, good writing, and good luck!