Shanna Swendson | Exploring Romance in Literature...

Last month, I did a presentation at the Arlington, Texas, Public Library's paperback swap event. Even though Valentine's Day has already passed, we still kept the romantic mood alive by focusing on romance. Just to be different, I spoke about the romantic books you find outside the romance section.

The romance genre itself has some expectations, the most important of which is a happy ending with the couple together in some kind of relationship that looks like it will last. That makes it a safe place if you want to read a love story where one of the main characters doesn't die tragically at the end. But you can still find romantic stories in other places, though there's the risk that it won't work out in quite the way you might hope.


Actually, romance has been important to fiction ever since people started telling stories. Look at all the hooking up that happens in Greek and Norse mythology, in Arthurian legends and in fairy tales. Then there are the literary classics. There's a romantic happy ending in all of Jane Austen's books. Jane Eyre is essentially an inspirational romance, since Jane is rewarded with her true love after she holds true to her faith. Wuthering Heights is widely regarded as a deeply romantic story, though it's one that couldn't have been published in the romance genre (that pesky death problem). Most of Charles Dickens's novels contain some kind of love story.


Then there are the modern books that are classified as "literature" or "general fiction." Often, where these books are shelved is purely a marketing decision. That's where you may find bestselling romance authors whose publishers are trying to break them out as a mainstream author. You'll also find books that are essentially romances but that may break some of the genre rules. For instance, there are the chick lit books, which may be more about how hard it is to meet Mr. Right than about working things out with Mr. Right and which may involve multiple potential Mr. Rights instead of one key hero. Then there are the "women's fiction" books that have romance as a subplot in a book that's more about a woman's journey, such as dealing with divorce or widowhood. Within that category, you'll find those "club" books about an intergenerational group of women brought together by something like knitting, quilting or a book club. Men write romantic stories, too, and theirs tend to be shelved in this section. You'll find "lad lit," which is essentially chick lit from the male point of view by such authors as Nick Hornby, and the male-written romantic stories (which tend to have sad endings involving someone dying or leaving town -- I wonder if that says something about the male view of romance and relationships).

Mysteries, science fiction and fantasy often have romantic subplots within a larger story about finding the killer/saving the world/saving the planet. In the ongoing series, the relationship may develop gradually over the course of multiple books before it gets to the Happily Ever After. When it comes to urban fantasy, the line separating it from paranormal romance gets pretty blurry, and it may come down to a marketing decision or where the best publishing spot was. Finally, the young adult section tends to be deeply romantic and is a good place to find the "sweeter" love stories without as much graphic sex, though sex isn't entirely out of the question in today's young adult books.

Meanwhile, I also learned that, apparently, librarians tend to love Buffy the Vampire Slayer as much as they enjoy watching Masterpiece Theatre classic novel adaptations.

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Shanna Swendson writes "Fairy Tales for Modern Times" and is the
author of the Enchanted, Inc. series about a Texan in New York City, a
magical NYC. Visit her
website or blog
for more information.

Shanna's Road Journal | More Than You Thought...Your Library

Shanna's Road Journal
Shanna Swendson's Observations ... On Line and On the Road

As much time as I spend at my local library (since it's two blocks from my house -- more convenient than any bookstore -- I'm there a lot), I hadn't thought about library resources online, but I'm finding that online library information goes way beyond the electronic catalog.

For instance, I've discovered the information for book lovers at the American Library Association's "I love libraries" site, found at http://www.ilovelibraries.org/.

You can find Booklist reviews, lists of notable books, lists of award winners and lists of recommended books. Don't even click on the "recommended reading" link unless you've got plenty of time to kill. There are lists of books for various age groups and topics, such as popular paperbacks that teens will enjoy, books for lifelong learners, books about various cultural groups, and recommended books from certain genres. There's even a good list of "read alikes" -- other books you might like if you like certain bestselling titles.

If you know a student who needs to find something to read for a book report, this is a good place to start. These aren't stuffy "books that are good for you" lists, either. There are good lists of books for encouraging reluctant readers to read for pleasure, with purely "fun" books organized under popular topics.

If you've thought about starting a book club, there's a guide for that on the same site, with some recommended books about reading groups, some questions to consider when starting a group, some suggested ground rules, tips on picking books and a guide to discussing books in a group.

It's also worth seeing what online resources your local library has. Mine has electronic newsletters about books and library events, e-books you can "check out" for your computer or e-reader, and real-time chat with reference librarians.

Next month, the convention and conference season will be kicking into gear, so I'll be back on the road and actually leaving the house again.

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Shanna Swendson writes "Fairy Tales for Modern Times" and is the author of the Enchanted, Inc. series about a Texan in New York City, a magical NYC. Visit her website or blog for more information.

Shanna's Road Journal | Exploring 'Suburban Fantasy'

I've been on a deadline, so I've barely left the house lately, which rules out being "on the road," and I haven't even been around much online, but there was a panel topic from FenCon back in September that's been churning around in my brain ever since then. The panel was on "suburban fantasy," and that's brought up some thoughts about where contemporary fantasy novels take place.

The current "urban fantasy" genre seems to draw heavily from the hardboiled detective novels, with a somewhat outsider hero (or heroine) who is tough and street smart, dealing with the underworld. In urban fantasy, that hero usually has some kind of supernatural powers or status, and the underworld is the world of the paranormal. But what about contemporary fantasy stories that don't use the city as a setting?

The suburbs would seem like an ideal place to explore the idea of the "other." In our culture, we think of the suburbs as a place of sameness and conformity. The houses all look alike, and every shopping area has the same national chain stores and restaurants. Anyone who doesn't quite fit in can be made to feel very left out. Now multiply that by hundreds of times by making the "other" be not just someone who dresses differently and likes different music, but also is some kind of supernatural or magical being who has to keep that status a secret. In an urban setting, at least all the oddballs manage to find each other and establish a kind of community, but what does a vampire, werewolf, faery or wizard do in suburbia? Then there's the small town environment, which may not have quite the same level of physical sameness but which does tend to be a place where it's hard to keep secrets. These settings might create even more conflict for our supernatural main characters.

There have been a few books that take the urban fantasy type stories or mythology and put them in different contemporary settings. Julie Kenner's demon- hunting soccer mom series, starting with CARPE DEMON, involved a suburban housewife who was also a retired demon slayer forced out of retirement. I'm currently reading a book called ELFLAND by Freda Warrington, which explores a fae magical culture in a modern English village. And I do have my suspicions about a large "fairy ring" of toadstools that keeps appearing in my suburban neighborhood. I know there's a story there.

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Shanna Swendson writes "Fairy Tales for Modern Times" and is the
author of the Enchanted, Inc. series about a Texan in New York City, a
magical NYC. Visit her
website or blog
for more information.