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I love categories. A well-written and tightly-paced cat is so difficult, especially in the new shorter format. I used to read them a lot but haven't lately. Yesterday, I spotted four authors I really enjoy with books out and counting change (argh, quarters and dimes!), I had enough to scoop them all up!
The Martinez Marriage Revenge -- Helen Bianchin (Presents)
Mind Games -- Merline Lovelace (Romantic Suspense)
Danger Signals -- Kathleen Creighton (Romantic Suspense)
Sex, Straight Up -- Kathleen O'Reilly (Blaze)
Some of the big names today started from categories--Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, Linda Howard, Ann Stuart, Kay Hooper, Janet Evanovich, Iris Johannsen--just to name a few. Each of them contributed so much to the growth of the genre, with their unique voices. If you can get some of the older cats from the local UBS, try them. You'll see the first hints of the heros/heroines and themes in their later, bigger books.
I think I have 98 percent of all of Anne Stuart's books, all the way from the seventies. I love the way she broke the hero mold, bringing in the dark gothic anti-hero into my romances. She wasn't the first, of course (Bronte's Wuthering Heights!), but she was the first that gave me the happy endings I yearn for those poor, tortured males. And she's never sappy.
I also collect La Nora's cats, but man, those take up a lot of shelf space! I have most of the Flower Series. I also own some of her hard-to-find earliest books. I love her families--nothing like a NR family squabbling and loving scene. She's the best at cats and I wish she still writes them.
Another one whose style fits cats is Linda Howard. Not a wasted scene in her romantic suspense. I reread all her categories, especially her McKenzies. She taught me so much about balancing romance and suspense.
So many authors who have been on my to-buy category list: Donna Kaufmann, Judith Duncan, Suzanne Brockmann, Rachel Lee, Kylie Brant....If you have never read a Judith Duncan, you don't know what you're missing. A writer whose words drip emotion. Her books are keepers on my shelves.
Read any categories lately? Any authors you miss who aren't writing them any more? Share some titles?
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