Heres hoping. What he doesnt anticipate is that shell choose to collect on that promise at the exact moment he finally wins his freedom or that his salvation from a very dark past might lie in the arms of a woman whos even better at deception than he is. And I certainly wont pay that per installment on duos or trilogies with very short books each time. And, I have to admit that Nardi is absolutely one of my favorite characters (just re-read Bliss a few weeks ago) so I am definitely looking forward to learning James. But I want to listen to novels, not plays. Great interview, I think it is safe to say that I will be heading out to get The Duke of Shadows. The articles are there, but the design isnt. Sometimes success brings a whole new batch of troubles, and any artistic decision you make can affect the income of hundreds or thousands of people. We appreciate it! // logged into Facebook user but not a GR app user; show FB button BTW, I dont know what happened to the site, but its not rendering properly any more. I love her Darkyn series (among others) and long for the featured stories of some of the characters appearing in the series. Laura Florand, especially since she took a hiatus (which I understand, life happens and is complicated, but I want to maaaaybe have a tentative year for that book) before the final book in her La vie en Roses series, which also has a twist Ive been wanting to read about for a while,now. It demands and entails respect. Im curious. Heres what Blythe had to say: For me, its all about the hero he was completely delicious. She was an author with so much promise and her disappearance still bothers me. Are you basing your views though on any data or scholarship, or is this just your general sense? True, she didnt quit writing entirely, but shes definitely shifted her focus from romantic suspense to thrillers with some romantic elements (as opposed to central romance). Like others have mentioned, her books, along with Judith Ivory and Laura Kinsale, are so grown up, I suppose. Sometimes 20-30 hours or even more, for the same price. But they arent facts. Im so bedazzled at being associated with those authors that I am tempted to say the whole world looks golden right now! What a wonderful interview thanks for giving us a peak into your ideas, influences, and future plans. William Devaliant, Lord Lockwood, was born into a charmed life. I can observe it. And their system definitely favors books less than a week old, which encourages more book churning. Wednesday's column featured a 2009 interview with historical romance author Meredith Duran. I miss Linnea Sinclair. Wednesdays column featured a 2009 interview with historical romance author Meredith Duran. (Not saying impossible, just impractical.). A few caveats: Regretfully, you must have a U.S. mailing address to be eligible and if you review or write for another romance Website or blog, please dont enter. I hope shes well, but its been several years since shes published and I no longer get newslettersso its not looking good. It had been optioned by BBC as a series, but I dont think that ever happened. I. Amazing that I hadnt read anything of hers before. Grant only had a handful of books before she vanished and I liked them all and loved her final one. Thanks for the very informative interview and hope all goes well with the defense. I will definitely need to read this book. They just observe what is popular and try to emulate it. facebook, twitter, etc. Cant wait to read both books. I hope after reading this interview, you will be, too. I hope so! In addition to the authors who just disappeared, Id add Judith James and Lydia Joyce. But I think it says something that Harlequin no longer accepts submissions for their lackluster line Dare, which never allowed erotic content despite advertising itself as Harlequins hottest line yet. Now I avoid her books because they just disappoint me. My main concerns are always the same: to make sure that these characters capture a readers interest; that their romance is gripping and develops believably; and, last but not least, that the world in which they live seems engaging, absorbing, and real. These two are Editors that were telling their authors how and what to write. I listened to audios for both just in the last year. I dont know why I have to go through so much tsuris (I think thats the right word meaning a whole lot of shit) but after throwing out the last third of the book and rewriting it I finally got it to a state thats actually quite delightful. I also miss her. MEREDITH DURAN grew up enamored of British history. Its my opinion based on what I have observed and read over the past 35 years or so of being a romance reader in one form or another. Still, going to make my way into another Duran book next. The only worry is that Harper Collins bought them out a couple of years ago and they own publish AVON the line that started the endless Regency trend in historical romance. Eggletina Wow! I miss Lynn Viehl, too. Now a doctoral student in anthropology, she is happy to report that all three goals have become her favorite things to do. Over the years, AAR has had many a guest reviewer. And if its what their readers want, more power to them. Where are the next installments of the famous IAD series by Kresley Cole? Order of Meredith Duran Books Meredith Duran is an American author best known for her Rules for the Reckless series of books. Much like music, the people who sign authors or artists determine the trends, although happily, with self publishing, there are more options. You mentioned in your last post that your word count would be about 100,000 125,000. And thats totally fine, but there arent authors who have replaced the type of writing they represent. Yes, I follow Stuart on social media. By which I mean, we cant just follow the story of the old woman who lived through Pearl Harbor into the 21st century. Im intrigued with where shes going with this character. I worry that the reason I find less and less of the type of historical romance that I like is because I have aged out of the the current style. Shes publishing regularly. The other thing that occurred as I studied was that I realized some of the authors I miss the most are ones who are still writing but are writing books that just dont work for me any more for a variety of reasons. Im becoming disillusioned with the romance novels being published today. This author sounds fabulous. Shes also intentionally writing for the audio market, so her books are heavy on dialogue and less on narrative passages. Its all likely but it is still speculation on my part. I think the thing I miss the most isnt a particular author as much as its a type of historical romance. Meredith was born and raised enamored of British history. ), MEREDITH DURAN blames Anne Boleyn for sparking her lifelong obsession with British history. Many include authors interviewing other authors or fangirling including Bec McMaster interviewing Amanda Bouchet. But when I tried one of her contemporaries, it just didnt work for me. 5.0 out of 5 stars Made a great . Wow, what great recommendations for this book. I did try to find more about her some time ago and I dont think she wrote another book, at least under this name. She is the author of twelve novels, all published by Pocket Books. The RWA implosion back in January will almost assuredly spark scholarship on the state of diversity in the genre soon, if it hasnt yet. Refresh and try again. James is also glamorous and sexy and flawed and broken and one of the hottest heroes Ive come across in a while. Val Roberts (sfr, only a year since a new release) I dont think writers necessarily use quantitative data when chasing trends either. Likewise, Im not pleased by certain narratives, so I dont have to read (or write) them. Its been several years since Ive read a book this long and I realize now I miss them! I rememberthat there was even a category line that was 85k, I think it was Harlequin SuperRomance, and even the Trad. None of the writers I read tend to write more than a book at year at best and they write complex characters, including complex heroines.But Im only one reader and can only read a certain number of books per year. Still love them, but esp THATC. I think a lot of books would not be published as easily today. Oh no, we have to introduce a perky, bubbly, wannabe journalist 21st century hip chick who interviews the old lady instead of just telling the old ladys story without this presumptuous and hella annoying filter. While Im sure there are some scammers in the bunch, a number of these authors are legit powerhouses who can work at a punishing pace while chasing after dollars and cents. James Durham, Viscount Sanburne, seems to live in a golden world. If a romance writer gets sick of writing romance (I can think of one who turned to horror for a while) you let her go. I have also heard that editors all also asking authors to rewrite entire characters to make them more acceptable in some way and other things that seemed to be less about making the book stronger and more about making sure it fit into the mold they wanted. Im a fan of dense, richly textured, emotionally complex stories, so the past couple of years have introduced a whole host of new authors to my auto-buy list. I really wish she would return to writing historical romances, I adore her books in that genre, and have re-read them so many times. and our I am a big historical romance fan and your novels sound wonderful. For that, we randomly . I miss historical romances where the protagonists are truly complex or deeply flawed, the premise isnt afraid to stretch the genres boundaries, and the details are thoroughly grounded in the historical setting. I am really looking forward to Meredith Durans new books especially as several AAR staff have good things to say about them. So, there you go. I miss Liz Carlyle and Susan Carroll both of whom wrote meaty, complex books. From there, sections written in his POV flowed like water. I look forward toreadingMerediths. Likewise, Im not pleased by certain narratives, so I dont have to read (or write) them. Some exceptions, yes. Im glad theres Elizabeth Kingston, whose writing style I found to be similar to Laura Kinsale. Was there a marketing survey or research that said shorter, lighter romance books sell better and in larger amounts than more serious convoluted ones? So hopefully well have more from her. Or, its based on a few like-minded participants on a forum agreeing that something is a trend. I am perhaps a little naive about the online community as I dont get involved with social media, e.g. I can see it. I reread The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown a few years ago and was, again, agog at their greatness. The entire time I was reading Bringing Down the Duke, I kept thinking, Yeah, this is exactly what I want more of in historical romance! but ultimately, that story hit me more in the head than the heart so Im excited to try the second book in the series. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()), document.getElementById("ak_js_2").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()). Im not on Twitter, but I understand Stein has tweeted that she is still writing but went through a bad case of writers block. Since Regency is not a favorite historical period of mine, I tend to see it everywhere as in, Ugh, another Regency?. Also, their blog, So You Think You Can Write, occasionally posts wish lists for submissions, which tend to skew in the direction you mentioned. Whether or not this signals a shift in the industry, I dont know. By which I mean, we cant just follow the story of the old woman who lived through Pearl Harbor into the 21st century. I have been in awe of Meredith Duran ever since I read Duke of Shadows. Harlequin put them on hold and she apparently cant publish them elsewhere. Im nodding my head at the notion that light-hearted, fluffy romances with one-dimensional characters are popular. Loved Duke of Shadows and would love a chance to win this. Meredith Duran is an English author of romance and historical fiction books. Meredith Duran is the author of ten previous novels, including The Duke of Shadows (winner of the Gather.com First Chapters Romance Writing Competition); Wicked Becomes You (included on the Woman's World List of Best Beach Reads for Summer 2010), and the USA TODAY bestseller and RITA Award Winner Fool Me Twice. Audible sets these prices, I know that. Bourne has definitely been working on a new book because she had posted a few things about it over the years its a Medieval setting, which is quite a departure from her Regency spy works. But to his surprise, he cant quite give up on the will to survive. Elsewhere in the comments of this post, Piper mentioned that Duran, Kinsale and Ivorys books feel grown up and I took that to mean that the stories and writing are matured, rather than the authors were a particular age or they were writing for a specific audience age. ?? If she comes back to romance she'll be better than ever. But her writing has changed over the last couple of years; it lacks the heart and the charm of her earlier work. To enter for your chance to win, simply comment to this post by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Thursday, June 11th. Kris, you are spot on in your assessment regarding some of the major problems in mainstream publishing today. Ever hopeful, he decides to explore the question by pursuing her. I am so looking forward to reading your next novel. And there are some authors who have lost the spark for me, I think their previous books were better than what theyre publishing now, and I do try their new stories but they end up always as bad to ok books.