Marlene H.

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Cooking Up Romance

    ~posted by Marlene H. We’ve all heard the saying that food is love. It’s the reason that grandmothers start saying, “Eat, eat” as soon as you walk through the door. Food is also love in romance. Culinary romances are fresh, funny, sexy and sometimes make you very, very hungry. Two of the best known food… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Making the Roaring 20s Roar

    ~posted by Marlene H. What made the Roaring 20s roar? Or in the case of romance, maybe that should be RAWR! Thanks to Downton Abbey, there has been a revival of stories set in the 1920s, and wow! Not all stories with romance in them are necessarily romances. But romance certainly adds spice to a… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Mary Stewart, First Lady of Romantic Suspense

    ~posted by Marlene H. Mary Stewart was arguably one of the pioneers of the genre that we now call romantic suspense. Before her, there was gothic horror, where the heroine inevitably does something stupidly dangerous and waits to be rescued, but that isn’t quite the same thing. And there was contemporary romance, where the entire… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Angels Among Us

    ~Posted by Marlene H. Everyone falls in love. Even angels. Or at least that’s the way it works in paranormal romance. If demons are the ultimate bad boys (and girls) then angels are almost too good to be capable of falling for a simple mortal. Except that in angel romances, of course they do. Sometimes… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: the Baddest Bad Boys

    One of the great romantic themes is the redemption romance, or how someone who has been very, very good saves someone who has been very, very bad, all through the power of true love. In Regency romances, this was the “reformation of a rake” story. In paranormal romance, a vampire has been the hero of… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Love and Money

    ~posted by Marlene H. As the saying goes, “the love of money is root of all evil.” But to paraphrase another saying, “everybody needs roots.” Or, to put it the way that a lot of mothers do, “it’s just as easy to fall in love with a rich person as a poor one.” We always… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: NW Romance Writers

    Posted by Marlene Following in the footsteps of the Science Fiction Fridays series on NW SF & F writers, today’s Romantic Wednesday will take a look at some NW Romance writers. Cherry Adair moved to the Pacific Northwest from South Africa, so it is fitting that the settings of all of her romantic suspense series… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Werewolf? There, wolf

    This post was inspired by that classic line from Young Frankenstein, you know, the one where Frederick questions Igor, “Werewolf?” and Igor responds, “There, wolf.” In paranormal romance if there isn’t a vampire, there’s a wolf. I meant werewolf. Sometimes there are both vampires and werewolves. Sometimes there are werelions and weretigers and werebears (oh… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Even More Hot Reads for Cold, Wet Nights

    It may be warm-ER but it still isn’t exactly toasty around here. And then there’s all that lovely, chilly rain to contend with… To keep warm on those damp, cold nights, I have a selection of paranormally hot reads to warm you up! If vampires are hot right now, then flying vampires must be even… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: More Hot Reads for Cold Nights

    Winter isn’t coming, it’s here. If you believe in Groundhog’s Day, we have six more weeks of this freezing cold weather to look forward to. So here are even more hot reads to keep you warm on those chilly nights. Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: What Makes New Adult New?

    Before answering that question, some definition may be required. After all, “New Adult” is a fairly new fiction genre. As in 2009 new. New Adult has been described as an older YA book, but that doesn’t quite capture it. For this reader, New Adult fiction is all about people who are college-age or early 20s… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Dragon Romance

    Would you like to be part of “A Festival of Dragons” this weekend? It’s the theme of this year’s RustyCon, the science fiction and fantasy convention happening this weekend (January 17-19) at the Seattle Airport Marriott Hotel. In honor of their Dragon theme, this Romantic Wednesday will be devoted to Dragons in romance. And yes,… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: A Second Slice of Holiday Fruitcake

    One post just wasn’t enough to contain all the romantic goodness. There are some people who read holiday romances all year long. (And then there are some who believe that listening to “Grandma got run over by a reindeer” even once is one time too many!) Your own personal holiday mileage may vary. But for… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Holiday Romances

    It’s that time again. What time is that, I hear you asking? In this early December, when the spirit of holiday shopping is everywhere, it’s the perfect time to celebrate the season with the gift of a perfect Holiday Romance. Here are just a few to start off the season, but there will be more.… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: The Romance of Military Science Fiction

    There are two definitions of the word “romance”: 1) a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love, and 2) a quality or feeling of mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life. In fiction, we talk so much about the first definition that we sometimes lose track of the second. Military science fiction is all… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Romance In Death

    There’s a recognized trope in romance that people want to, let’s say, celebrate life after a funeral. Or any kind of “near death” experience. That’s not what this post is about. Ahem. The “In Death” series, by J.D. Robb, is a genre bending mash up of romance, surprisingly classic police procedural mystery, and just a… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Romancing the Ghost

    Tomorrow is Halloween, which makes this the perfect time to talk about the spookier side of romance. Halloween is the perfect time to fall in love with a ghost! Or for your romance to get a little ghostly assistance. Or, sad but oh, so romantic, to get that one last chance to say goodbye, with… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Riding Off Into the Sunset

    There’s just something romantic about the idea of riding off into the sunset, isn’t there? Maybe that’s part of the reason why romances set in the contemporary west are still just as popular as stories of how the west was won (or lost). Or maybe it’s all about the cowboys… Linda Lael Miller is one… Continue reading