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The buzz is that the newest, hottest, trendiest romance sub-genre is Steampunk romance, a blend of Victorian historical, steam technology, alternative history, with, sometimes, supernatural elements, such as zombies and timetravel, thrown in. It's like you have to be a hell of a smart writer who could spout off science and Victorian tea mannerism, as well as give the romance reader her relationshipy goodness. Not exactly an easy balance.
But.
Might I add that there is a subgenre doing super-well and growing in leaps and bounds among romance readers? What, you say? Yup. They're selling hundreds of thousands of copies a book and the bestseller is going at 1.3 million according to this WSJ article I was reading? And. Nary a Scientific Fact or Monster in sight. Oh, and no sex.
WHAT, YOU ASK?
They're called bonnet romances. The women...they wear bonnets. And the characters don't believe in technology, not much anyway. And they kind of lead a pretty strict lifestyle, like handwashing your own towels and making bread from scratch, that sort of thing. And did I mention the dudes all grow up into beardy brawny men? It's like the Giant's favorite phrase: Fear The Beard. Because it's here.
Bonnet romances, aka Amish romances, are sweet and as far from the scale of that other Hot Trend--erotic romances--as one could get. I spent a number of years in Ohio and never knew they were allowed to read contemporary romances, but according to the newspaper articles, they're buying these books in bunches. And reading them like giggly teens under their handsewn covers.
Wait, WAIT, you say. there aren't THAT many Amish women buying up a million books. You're right. The Amish community is only about 233,000 strong (hey, google it!). So, the main readers are non-Amish. Yeah, you and you and me and you and YOU OVER THERE. You're buying these romances with the sweet, fresh-faced, be-bonneted woman standing with wheat fields in the background, and loving them.
You tell me what's up here. Are you tired of de Sexay? Are you wanting some closed door romancing? From perusing the blurbs and reading some chapters, the majority of the plots are Romeo and Juliet-ish, that is, dear sweet Rebecca is in love with an outsider, maybe from the English (don't ask me, that's what they call an American male), and it's about forbidden yearning and the sweet bloom of thinking naughty, but unnamed, unmentionable subjects that are hinted but left unsaid, with lots of lingering eye-exercises and deep thoughts. Hey, I've been there; I grew up in a Third World religious country.
Maybe a number of us are growing tired of clean-shaven Alpha males and sword-wielding snarky heroines, and we're intrigued by beardy men who won't grow mustaches. I don't know. But of course, I have enjoyed an Amish forbidden romance during my time; the movie was called Witness and it starred a hot Harrison Ford, but that's kind of cheating because he was playing the role of the English. But I remember the sexual tension was delicious. And, it was a suspense/thriller to boot!
So, have you been reading quietly under the covers and not letting us know your sweet little secret? Do give your thoughts, make some recommendations. I used to read Dee Henderson's inspirational romantic suspenses back in the day when it was starting to be the hot new trend. They were good, with very strong heroes.
So, the airships, the clockwork thingies, the funny masks, even the time-machine--MOVE OVER! The washboards, homemade bread, self-chopped firewood, and aprons are here.
Fear the Beard (and the aprons).
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Not So Fast Steampunkers!
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3 comments:
Even I confess to having read a couple. I wasn't all that impressed, personally, but sometimes, the cleaner romances are more, well, romantic. I've certainly read quite a few Steeple Hill ones too, and some of them are good.
Oddly enough, while I was thinking of my reply, I thought of Betty Neels, who is totally a guilty pleasure of mine. Her sweet, simple girls and autocratic doctors always make me smile. But in a way, her books make me think a lot of Barbara Cartland, one of the first romance authors I read. Back then, I only read historicals, and her girls were by today's standards, mostly TSTL.
But there was a sweetness and romance in those books that you just don't find in more modern romance. In modern stuff, it's all about the "raunchy words", the woman being powerful, the "taming" of the man.
My guess is that it's not that people are sick of the sexy, there will always be a market for it, but there is also a drive for sweet. Romance is as much about the emotions and build up, sexual tension, as it is about the end result. When I think back to some of the romances that stick with me, most of them have 1 of 2 things: sweet, romantic, emotion or some serious hot alpha male. Some even have both.
I still cannot get over the fact that I ended up reminded of Barbara Cartland in all this. lol
Not Barbara Cartland!!! Hee. Actually, I was a fan of hers. At that young age, it was a romantic quest to be loved by a prince and be beautiful and slim and get everyone to carry me around :-). I also loved Cartland for giving me what I crave--the travels, inside castles, the dress styles, even learning about titles. But, as I grew older, I was left very bemused (and frustrated) by the breathlessness...of...the... heroine's...speech. LOL. I know you'll understand what I mean. I'd thought those girdles must be awful tight to make them unable to speak in full sentences.
I don't mind sweet at all, but it's the closed door thing that I'm still not getting used to. I mean, I've read those back in the days, and had never been happy with them, so I guess I'm still not happy if I'm shut out of that still.
There is always that joke about Amish porn being about Amish women showing off their knees. If these bonnet romances aren't in trade paperback format, I'd have tried out a few just for kicks.
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