RNA Conference

Drove over to Gibside today and walked the Great Walk to recharge the batteries. Gibside is a sad, folorn relic of a Jacobean Mansion house built in the early 1600s on a ledge above the River Derwent. The arms of James I are still above the door. (I have a photograph of that somewhere, must try and dig it out) The house was once three storeys, but for some reason I have yet to discover, the top storey was replaced with battlements.

There are so many delightful old houses in this locality and I have photographs of many of them. Yesterday I was out to lunch at Matfen Hall, north of the Tyne, and it is so very different to Gibside. Flourishing, and making money through its new Spa and the award winning restaurant in the Old Library.

Tomorrow I am off to take part in the RNA annual conference at Penrith, and on Monday I shall load more pics of our local old houses. Possibly one or two from the conference, should I stay sober enough to take them!

Grammar and Romance Genres

Heard a new one today. I'm sort of resigned to hearing that a sportsperson has "medalled" but my ears pricked up when I heard that a certain skier has not "podiumed" this year. I'm hope it is not a painful and worrying experience for him.

In view of my mention of genres yesterday, here's a list of the Romance Writers' of America definitions of the romance genres (thanks to Linda for pointing me in the right direction!)

First, a brief intro: "All romances have a central love story and an emotionally satisfying ending. Beyond that, however, romance novels can be set in any time or place, entertain any number of plot elements, or convey moods from light and humorous to dark and suspenseful. The genre of romance can be classified into various sub-genres depending on their setting and plot elements.

Those sub-genres include:
Contemporary Series Romance Series romance novels that focus primarily on the romantic relationship and typically set after 1945.

Contemporary Single Title Romance Romance novels which focus primarily on the romantic relationship, released as individual titles, not as part of a series and set after 1945

Historical Romance Romance novels set in any time period prior to 1945, and taking place in any location

Inspirational Romance Romance novels in which religious or spiritual beliefs (in the context of any religion or spiritual belief system) are a major part of the romantic relationship.

Novels with Strong Romantic Elements A work of fiction in which a romance plays a significant part in the story, but other themes or elements take the plot beyond the traditional romance boundaries.

Paranormal Romance Romance novels in which the future, a fantasy world or paranormal happenings are an integral part of the plot.

Regency Romance Romance novels in which the majority of the story is set against the Regency period of the British Empire.

Romantic Suspense Romance novels in which suspense, mystery, or thriller elements constitute an integral part of the plot.

Young Adult Romance Novels with a strong romantic theme geared toward young adult readers.

The RNA covers the field but in a less specific manner:
"Romantic fiction is the cross-genre genre. In the UK it appears under a variety of publishers' labels including general fiction, women's fiction, historical, romantic comedy, chick lit, sagas - even spooky - as well as romance. These are among the UK's most commercially successful book categories.
It embraces Jilly Cooper's 900 pages as well as the 187 Harlequin Mills & Boon category romances which are published every month; multi-generational sagas and Regency romps; deeply serious meditations on life and flippant twenty-somethings' metropolitan shenanigans. The engine of romantic fiction is love and relationships. The bodywork is infinitely variable."

Whittle Dene and fiction genres

In the Whittle Dene valley there is a collection of holiday dwellings, or weekend retreats. They look self-built, though in the last five years a couple of new ones have appeared, and they look far more sophisticated. The owner of one of the older homes has carefully coiled and wound the branches of growing trees and shrubs into circular shapes all around his property. The effect is curious - part Tolkienish and part hobbycraft.

The trees have accepted their restrictions and kept on growing, sometimes melding branches together. It would be interesting to know why it has been done, but there's never anyone there to ask. I know the woods are coppiced, and the valley used to be famous for bleaching linens as the water was so clean and pure in the Whittle Burn. The old stone buildings are ruins now.

There's been an interesting and helpful discussion on the RNA (Romantic Novelists' Association)online group recently about the distinctions/genres used by publishers and agents. I thought I knew what these were, having worked all my life around books, but still had lots to learn. Given the ease of communication today, American terms and British terms are used interchangeably but they do not necessarily mean the same thing. Also it seems to me, agents/publishers apply their own definitions to terms like commercial fiction, literary fiction, womens' fiction. Sigh. Homework time!

RNA and Pin ups 2009

Romantic novelists have voted and the results are out ~ here are their choices for the sexiest male celebrities of 2009:

1 Richard Armitage - see pic to the right. I didn't see him in North and South, regrettably, but caught up with him as baddie Guy in the latest Robin Hood. The fact that he wore black leather and played opposite a less than charismatic Robin had to help. He replaces Penry-Jones in Spooks ( and what an exit he had! Talk about going out with a bang!) and I'm watching....

2 Johnny Depp. H'mm. Saw him as the pirate and recently as JMBarrie. Good actor, but there's something not quite right....

3 Hugh Jackman - see pic with towel. I haven't to my knowledge seen HJ in anything, but like what I see...

4 George Clooney - nah. Almost a caricature of a handsome man

5 Daniel Craig. a bit scary sometimes as Bond, but certainly fanciable.

6 Sean Bean, ah yes. It's that wicked grin and the insubordination that do it for me, but is he perhaps just a tad past the pin up stakes now?

7 Alan Rickman, a great actor but not exactly a pin up for moi.

8 David Tennant. Definitely dislike the wide-eyed look he persists in displaying

9 Pierce Brosnan. Like Sean, perhaps a little over his sell-by date

10 Gerard Butler. Who?

I have no quarrel with most of the choices, though Clooney, Tennant and Rickman don't do it for me. I think one person they've overlooked is the new world number one tennis player

Rafa Nadal (in the blue tee shirt).

How about it? Anyone agree with me?

Pigeons and workload

The youngster flew into our window and either hurt itself or lost its confidence in flying. The chick wandered about our garden all day and only perked up when mum flew in. Towards dusk mum flew off and the chick must have followed eventually, for s/he wasn't there next morning. Nor was there a body, or a suspicious pile of feathers to indicate that the local cats had been at work. Breathed a sigh of relief.
Today I must do some work. I need to get my decks cleared, for I know Far After Gold is being edited as I write, and it is only a matter of time before it wings its way back to me and demands attention. I need to send chapters of the Victorian to cps, do work on crits recevied on the Regency tale, and age the heroine of the Tudor adventure and still remember to unload the washer, do some ironing and feed us both.
Vacumming and dusting? Who does those nowadays? And the grocery shop is due tomorrow. We've had some disruption in the household the last few days, but I'm aware my work rate had slowed even before the disruption clicked in. A meeting of the RNA in Morpeth on Friday was good fun and informative, but stole another day. Then there was my long overdue hair appointment, and a round of health checks looms - argh! I must get organised!

Romance publishing

I journeyed to Alnwick today to visit with the Border Reivers group of the RNA. Great fun. I whizzed through the glorious autumn countryside in the Mini Cooper and enjoyed every moment of the hour and a quarter it took me to get there, possibly because I travel on back roads, not A -roads. Not for me the long straight boring stretches of tarmacadam - I opt for the bends, swoops and curves of road through Stamfordham, beside Bolam Lake, a swift jink through Scots Gap and over the top to Rothbury - slow down for the High Street and then rev up the hill by the Cragside entrance, over the next top, cross the main road carefully and then on - wave at the ruined castle - I must stop and investigate one day -and then down into Alnwick. Wonderful. The trees are beginning to turn golden and the hedgerows are alive with red berries.

We talked about the Radio Four programme on Mills and Boon. If you want to read an entertaining rant about it, do go and enjoy Trish Wylie's rant: http://trishwylie.blogspot.com/
She has covered it all!

On the whole the programme coverage was not as bad as I expected it to be. I think the people like Brayfield, Mary Evans and one or two other detractors condemmed themselves out of their own mouths - they cannot have read a M&B since the 1960s. Shame on you ladies, for not keeping up with the current publishing world.