I love to read and write contemporaries. I love to talk to others who read contemporaries and gauge what they have to say about current books and authors. Recently I got to thinking about the books I’ve written.
The Hot Zone – Sports Heroes
The Chandler Brothers– Brothers and their mother who wants grandchildren
The Costas Sisters– polar opposite twin sisters with an Atlantic City con family
Ty and Hunter– 3 best friends, separated by a deep dark secret
The many Temptations I’ve written over the years
THE LUCKY SERIES – 3 sexy male cousin plagued by a family curse.
I don’t want anyone to think the word “curse” means the LUCKY series is a twist on what I write. Let me be clear. The LUCKY Series is NOT a paranormal series. It doesn’t pretend to be. What the Lucky series does, finishing up with LUCKY BREAK in stores tomorrow, is to touch on the notion that a curse can actually be many things from a streak of bad luck to a self fulfilling prophecy-and how an affected family and those who love them suffer in the process. The newest generation of Corwin men want to find love and break the curse&mdash:but they don’t know how. Derek in LUCKY CHARM reunited with the love he let go in order to protect her from the curse and is now praying that she is his lucky charm. Mike in LUCKY STREAK found a woman adept at gambling and one willing to take risks, their love being the biggest risk of all. And up now in LUCKY BREAK is the last Corwin cousin, Jason.
To read more from Carly Phillips and for a link to enter her Lucky Break contest please click here.
One Comment
Carly Phillips: Thank you for your blog and contests.
What do I want in a contemporary romance? It must be just that, CONTEMPORARY! Not only in setting, but also in attitude. And of course, with characters and relationships that reflect the reality of life nowadays.
There I go again, using the "R" word. But that's
what makes a contemporary romance work for me. They are firmly grounded in the REALITY of today, rather than some revival of the good old days (which were probably terrible; but that's another story).
Being truly contemporary means no marriages of convenience, no shotgun weddings, no old-time roles for men and women, no lead figures who accept if not uphold the double standard. And no marriages for the sake of the hero and/or the heroine's children.
Alas, the themes I don't care for in contemporary romances are very popular with other readers. So I must grin and bear it, and keep looking for those themes I go for.
Which themes? Career women. Love under contemporary stresses. Women who are not afraid to take on challenges. Men who are at ease with strong women, who respect them and don't have to engage in power struggles with them. Marriages motivated by love alone.
This subgenre can, and at best does, allow readers to identify with heroines who take full advantage of the opportunities the modern world has to offer. We can vicariously experience the numerous possibilities of contemporary life for women who are bold, assertive, and adventuresome enough to explore them.
This is what the contemporary romance subgenre can do that other romance subgenres can't do as well, or can't do at all. Therefore contemporary romances should do it for all it's worth. And then some!
Mary Anne Landers
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