Women’s Fiction Meme

I can’t believe it’s January 25th already. How time flies when you are too sick for two days to do anything but clutch your midsection and moan. I swear, today I am motivating myself enough to make some chicken soup.

I did watch Veronica Mars. Oh, Logan, Logan, Logan, what am I going to do with you? Will you never learn?

I want to say this: I find America Ferrera one of the most charismatic people on film today. I swear, I feel better just watching her. Doesn’t matter what her role is. She’s captivating. I can’t look at anyone else on the screen. (I think part of the reason I find Vanessa Williams to be the other most compelling character on the show is because she shares so little screen time with Ferrera.) Likeability, folks.

Colleen tagged me with a “Women’s Fiction” Meme, though I’m not sure what some of it has to do with Women’s Fiction, and why they don’t just say “Romance.” Here goes anyway:

Contemporary, Historical, or Paranormal?
I assume this refers to my favorite type of romance (and of course, does not account for historical vs. contemporary paranormals…). And I really don’t think I could pick one. Most of the contemporaries I read (outside of the “mainstream with romantic elements”) are category romance novels. I read paranormal or not paranormal with no prejudice between the two.

Funny story: I once heard a reaction to SSG where the reader was all: good story, but needed more vampires. How great is that? I’d like to take this opportunity to announce that there are, indeed, more vampires in Under the Rose than there were in SSG. The wait is over. Maybe I should give a prize to the first reader who spots the vamp.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?
Whatever the book I want to read is available in. I couldn’t care less. Now, I have seen books that were available in multiple formats, and then, it also depends. If it’s a “keeper” then hardcover, if I’m traveling, then MM. If there’s a 3 for 2 sale, then trade. But I don’t have a favorite format.

Heyer or Austen?
I’ve never read Heyer (though I hear she’s great) so I guess I’ll say Austen. I’m a big fan of Austen, especially P&P and Persuasion.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?
Whatever works. I guess I do a little of both, and have no preference. You can’t get me into a bookstore without doing damage to my bank account. I exercise a little more restraint at Amazon, but I am “there” more often, so it probably evens out. Like Colleen, I tend to “order” at Amazon, and pick up stuff on shelf at bookstores. Like now, I have a book that I ordered holding for me at a bookstore for days and I haven’t gone over to pick it up.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Once again, no preference. The bookstore closest to my house is a Borders, so I am probably there most often, but I used to haunt the Books-a-Million near my old office until all the booksellers there knew my name (BAM’s not even on this list!) The Borders in Rockville has been an amazing ally in my book release. I love them! In Florida, my local Barnes & Noble in Clearwater was fabulous, and there are a bunch of B&N booksellers in Va that I bonded with last year at BEA. And finally, we have the indies. Politics and Prose is a gorgeous store in my town.

Um, I just love bookstores. I want to live in one.

Woodiwiss or Lindsay?
I’ve read a Woodiwiss novella. But I used to glom Lindsay something fierce in high school. Once a Princess. Ahhhhh…

First romance novel you ever remember reading?
Hearts Aflame by Johanna Lindsay. (See above.)

Alphabetize by author Alphabetize by title or random?
What? My books are lucky if they get decent shelf space. I crowd ’em all in, several layers deep.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?
Keep. (See above.)

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
I used to think that dustjackets were like those tags on pillows. Now I keep them on because if I didn’t, I’d lose them. But when are we going to invent another method, huh? Dust jackets are so unwieldy. I’m still waiting for the Back to the Future II moment of, “back when books had dustjackets…” I love that line!

Sookie Stackhouse or Anita Blake?
You’ve lost me. Sorry. I mean, I know who these people are, but I haven’t read any of the books they belong to. Can we change the question to something more me? Like:

Bridget Jones or Becky Bloomwood?
There, that’s so much more me. You know, I really, really, really loved Bridget in the first book. But then she got way TSTL (that book is soooo not to Persuasion as the first is to P&P). Whereas Becky was always TSTL, and you loved (or at least loved to hate) her for it anyway. I hated Becky at first, but she grew on me. So, which way is better? Hmmmmmm… Probably have to go with Bridget, because I’m a traditionalist, and she was the original.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Uh, stop reading when I have to? If I’m tired, I try to press through to a chapter break. If I’m in the middle of a scene, it’s because I was interrupted (or because I don’t like what I’m reading).

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Either one. I’m a sucker for a fairy tale, but as long as the writing gets fresher than those openings, I’ll roll with either.

Crusie or SEP?
I’ve heard them both speak. I’ve read one Crusie. I don’t feel qualified to make a decision. But if we’re going with who I read when I want a laugh in “women’s fiction” then the answer is Cara Lockwood. Chick cracks me up.

Buy or Borrow?
Buy. I really do need to get a library card, though. After a weird political reshuffling, my neighborhood growing up didn’t have a local library to call our own, so I never got into the habit.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?
Book reviews will turn me on to a book. They never turn me off. Recommendations are probably the first reason I buy a book, though, and I’ve had some really good luck with browsing (Scott Westerfeld).

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?
Neither. I hate cliffhangers, but if the ending is too tidy, it feels unrealistic to me. I like the idea that the characters’ struggle is over, that the “story question” has been answered, but there are still prices to pay and places to go from there. They aren’t dead. I like to think that they just keep growing and getting better after the book is over.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?
I used to read on the Metro. I also used to read in bed. Now I read pretty much whenever.

Series or standalone?
Series. Nothing against a good standalone, but those aren’t long term relationships.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
I tend to feel as if anything that would be my favorite is loudly touted from this blog as such, and so you guys have heard of it. And then other things that I think are my own private and special possessions are actually huge classics. So I dunno. I loved The Thief of Always by Clive Barker when I was a kid and I don’t hear people talking about that too much (I think Gaiman fans would really love it). But it’s not as if Clive Barker is some unknown midlister, you know? I also really, really loved Hit Reply, by Rocki St. Claire, but I’ve raved about that here before, and I bet a lot of the readers here have at least heard of it, if not read it (and why not?) This year, I loved The Book of True Desires, by Betina Krahn, which is totally a “buried treasure” kind of book. I don’t know why this book isn’t getting more recognition. Gorgeous historical adventure romance. Like an old matinee movie. But again, all RWA readers on this blog have read her article about writing it.

Ooh! Ooh! I know. An Ordinary Princess, by M.M. Kaye. (Hmmm, guess that’s like the Clive Barker thing: “Yes, she wrote children’s books, too.”) So I have no idea if any of these are a decent answer.

I tag… Jill Monroe, Alison Kent, and Heather Harper.