Georgette Heyer’s Regency World

By Helen Woodall

Georgette Heyer’s Regency World by Jennifer Kloester
[November 2005; ISBN 9780434013296; currently out of print, available used]

This 382-page hardcover is subtitled “The Definitive Guide to the People, Places and Society in Georgette Heyer’s Regency Novels”. And while it is very much focussed on Heyer’s books, it is also very useful for general information about the Regency period. Just how many people danced a set simultaneously in the quadrille? Where did the man of the haut ton buy his snuff? What on earth is an Aigrette? And how many of those royal characters were real people anyway? The research is very thorough.

I fell in love with Georgette Heyer when someone’s mother loaned me a copy of The Masqueraders. I was maybe 12 or 13 years old at the time and still love that book – and just about all her other historicals as well. So I love this compendium for all the extra details about her Regencies and the world it opens up. But more than that, it is truly useful for general information of the period, details of famous persons, the slang of the times, the historical timeline and a detailed index which speeds access to the data. But it is focussed on Heyer’s view of the period. If Heyer didn't write about it then it won’t be in this book. I must have spent four hours trying to find out a servant’s annual wages in those days – I felt sure I read it in one of her books – but it is not in this volume, so Heyer probably didn't write it.

Historical Hysteria

If you are billing yourself as a writer of historical fiction, you should have at least a basic grasp of history. And then you need to do lots and lots of research on all the details of the time period you are setting your story in.

Some interesting historical "facts" we have seen in both submissions and, alas, published books. 1. Ah, those medieval feasts, with lords and ladies being served a turkey. Wonder how they got these North American fowl in fourteenth century England? 2. You did know that the zipper was common in ancient Egypt, right? Made it much easier to get into and out of those nifty robes. 3. The lord and lady of the medieval manor invited the countryside to their wedding - where they merrily danced the waltz. (The waltz originated in the late 18th century.) 4. The old Earl and his Countess hated their oldest son's bride, so when the Earl died, his wife declared that the title and entailed lands would go to their younger son! Perhaps the author should have done a bit more research on English inheritance laws. I threw the book against the wall. 5. Heroine accidentally breaks a precious vase. So she immediately goes on eBay and buys a replacement. This seems perfectly reasonable - except that this was a time travel, the heroine was now in the early 19th century. Electricity ? Computer ? Internet ? eBay? 6. Historical American Western - the heroine riding in a stagecoach rolls down the glass windows. 7. Setting is colonial New England, early 18th century; hero is an Indian, heroine an English lass. The heroine is injured, and the hero fixes her with a BandAid® ! 8. In a Regency-set historical, the heroine describes her heart racing like an engine revving. 9. The mid-18th-century character was caught stealing food and transported to Australia. Um, no on both counts. It was to the Colony of New South Wales with them (starting in 1770), or Van Dieman's Land (actually Tasmania). The name Australia came into use around 1800. And transportation of convicts started in 1788 and went on for about 80 years. 10. A Regency miss was going to elope with her unsuitable suitor - and assured him she'd be awake at midnight to sneak out to meet him, because she would set her alarm clock! 11. Those American Revolutionary War soldiers only thought they were dying of cholera. Actually, cholera did not spread much beyond India before 1829. 12. So nice that the 1920s-era flapper drank Tang instead of something harder. Too bad Tang wasn't around until 1959. 13. Please, please don't have your pre-20th-century character using "cool" as a slang term to mean something fashionable or popular or desirable. A Regency miss wears a shawl when going out for a walk on a cool day and is cool to the undesirable suitor she meets on the way, but she does not describe her new bonnet as "cool".

Historical Research

by Mary Altman

Lady Jane McDonald flushed and pressed her hand to her anxiously twisting stomach as the forbidding rake hovered inches away from her. He was the bane of every Mama’s existence, the devil with the silver tongue and amber eyes.

He was also the one man she could ever love. And she was going to give herself to him tonight.

“Perhaps my lord would care for a walk?” Jane asked quietly, brows arched in question. “I could use your assistance with a delicate matter.”

“Another puzzle plaguing you?” His voice was like rare velvet, smooth and rich. Jane had to clear her throat and look away before she could gather the courage she needed to continue.

“No, my lord,” she said, looking up from beneath a fan of dark lashes. “I need your help with my zipper.”


And just like that, the story’s ruined.

Historical romance is one of my favorite genres to read, but it is one of the most difficult to edit. Where contemporary fiction often relies on an author’s ability to respond to what’s around her (you can always catch a flight to Chicago to get the feel right, after all) historical fiction relies on an author’s ability to invoke what she cannot possibly experience. What was the London Haymarket like? How did people talk during medieval times? How did the air smell during the Jubilee? An author typically relies on her senses to observe and reimagine settings for her books—historical authors must rely on research instead.

But how can you accomplish the left-brained task of research while remaining true to the right-brained action of storytelling? I have a few tips that may help you out.

1) Do the hard stuff first. A few authors I’ve spoken to claim they write the story and then apply the historical facts. While each author’s method is her own, I can’t help but feel these authors are missing something by writing this way. Historical details shouldn’t be the window-dressing on a book—they should be the foundation. The depth of accuracy and feeling is what divides a historical romance from a wallpaper historical, and it’s difficult to lend a story any depth if you’re tacking on details at the end. Schedule in time to get the research done before you start in on Chapter One.

2) Have a bible close at hand. No, not the Christian bible—a writing bible. Once you’ve finished researching, gather your notes and organize them into categories. Some authors prefer a 3-ring binder while others use spiral notebooks and still others rely on Word files. It doesn’t matter how you organize your bible so long as it is organized and in a readily accessible place. You’ll want it someplace where you can access it in a moment’s notice when you’re deep in a scene and need to know what sort of undergarments the heroine should be wearing.

3) Visual aids can keep you in check. If you’re writing about Regency London, why not have an old map of the city taped above your computer? If you’re describing a Victorian woman’s dress, why not have a few fashion plates in a nearby pile? Having a few maps or sketches nearby can go a long way toward keeping your details accurate.

4) Double-check everything. There are scores of research books out there to help authors catch a glimpse into past eras. The problem is, they don’t always agree on what those past eras were like. Don’t take one book’s word as gospel—check around to make sure you’ve got everything correct. Falling in with a crowd of fellow historical authors is especially useful here. They often know what the best research books are and can point you in the right direction. (And no, Wikipedia doesn’t count.)

5) Be ready to defend yourself. It’s your editor’s job (my job) to question everything in a manuscript. Always be ready with your research in hand in case your editor asks you to explain a point. Saying “According to the following sources, puce was the new pink in 1812!” is much more convincing than saying “Well, I read it somewhere.” Your editor is not being mean or calling you to task for anything if he/she questions a historical detail—we simply want everything to be perfect. And trust me, you’d rather have your editor pointing out possible errors than your readers!

The most important thing to remember in writing historical fiction is that readers are savvy. Historical readers tend to read very widely and have a very broad base of knowledge. They know when you’ve got your facts straight and when you’re just glossing over details and flying by the seat of your pants. Scheduling time to do the research may be hard for some, but it pays off in the long run.

So what do you do to maintain accuracy? Tips, tricks, rituals by candlelight--lay them on me.

Word Libs

by Mary Altman and Nick Conrad

When a day is too ________ and I need to ________, sometimes it helps if I _______ a book of Mad Libs® and ________ my mind.

Mad Libs® is a word game in which a player is prompted to fill in the blanks of a sentence to form zany, occasionally ridiculous stories. Here at EC, we enjoy relaxing every now and then with a game, and Mad Libs® seemed like a perfect way to share the fun.

Try this one, for example.

Or this one.

Or maybe this one is more your style.

If you have a particularly funny response, go ahead and share it in the comments so everyone can enjoy it. Who knows? You may even win a prize.

Please Name Him Tom, Dick or Harry

Some character names have become so overused and such cliches in Romancelandia that putting them in your story is embarrassing and laughable. Come on, you certainly have more imagination than that! Or at least could find a baby name book and pick something different. Just don't drift too far into uniqueness and end up with a name your readers will never be able to figure out how to pronounce.

Most cliched and overused character names in romance novels 1. Luc, Lucian, Lucius for male vampires 2. Angelique for female vampires 3. Devil or Devlin - especially in a Regency 4. Colt, Colter, Cade or Cady - especially for cowboys 5. Wolf, Wolfe, or Wulfe - no, no, not another brooding medieval hero! 6. Gray or Grey - Be different, why not Puce or Teal or Magenta? 7. Hawk / Hawke 8. Brand / Brandon 9. Heather - You know, people did name their daughters other things during the Seventies. 10. Jason, Jace, Jayce (ditto) 11. Deveraux as the last name of anyone living in New Orleans 12. Rock, Stone, Granite - Is he a guy or a geological feature? 13. Aiden for every hero of Irish descent

Literary Review's Bad Sex Awards

The organizers call it Britain's "most dreaded literary prize". The contest is "to draw attention to the crude, tasteless, often perfunctory use of redundant passages of sexual description in the modern novel, and to discourage it."

This is its 15th year, and {drum roll, please} the winner is the late Norman Mailer.

A section of the scene:
"So Klara turned head to foot, and put her most unmentionable part down on his hard-breathing nose and mouth, and took his old battering ram into her lips. Uncle was now as soft as a coil of excrement. She sucked on him nonetheless with an avidity that could come only from the Evil One - that she knew. From there, the impulse had come. So now they both had their heads at the wrong end, and the Evil One was there. He had never been so close before.
The Hound began to come to life. Right in her mouth. It surprised her. Alois had been so limp. But now he was a man again! His mouth lathered with her sap, he turned around and embraced her face with all the passion of his own lips and face, ready at last to grind into her with the Hound, drive it into her piety."

You can read the finalist entries at http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2217735,00.html

Frightening, truly frightening. Thank goodness these authors were writing important, socially acceptable fiction, not those *gasp* trashy romances so many people snear at or don't want to admit to reading. ;-) They'd give erotic romance a bad name.

Cover Letter Critiques

By Raelene Gorlinsky

Get Ya' Critique Here! Cheap (free) and Easy!

You can find a zillion workshops, classes, online references and advice on how to write the perfect cover letter that goes with your manuscript submission to an editor or agent. So I’m not going to teach it here. I’ll just give a summary.

1. Keep it short! One page will do, thank you.
2. Focus on the story. The story is the only thing we care about. Provide a brief (one or two paragraphs) blurb that is catchy and interesting and conveys the genre, setting, tone, main theme and target market of the story.
3. No personal info about you unless it is directly relevant to your qualifications to write this story. Your family, hobbies, or pets have nothing to do with whether we acquire the story. Only mention your job/profession/expertise if they relate to the story.
4. Do list previous publication credentials. List writing contests only for WINS in MAJOR contests. No second places, no contests that we've never heard of.
5. Make 100% absolutely damn sure that there is not a single typo or error in the cover letter (or the submission).

And now the fun “show, don’t tell” part. Send us your cover letter, and we’ll tear it apart—err, provide professional advice—online for everyone’s edification. (Without revealing your name, of course.) So send your letters to redlinesdeadlines@gmail.com, and in a couple of weeks we’ll post a few with critique from our editorial staff. If your letter is selected for dissection, you win a free download of an Ellora's Cave or Cerridwen Press ebook.

To get things started, here are three real cover letters we received with submissions. No, we don’t make these up—we don’t need to, the writing world is weird enough without any help from us.

Example 1: Uh, Well, It Is Short

"I am aware of your busy schedules and commitments to other Authors. If it be possible and convenient to you please let me know something within three months. Even if the answer is keep your Day-job."

That's it, the whole cover letter. Okay, this author could have been a bit wordier. Like tell me something—anything—about the story. The writer probably thought the reference to keeping the day job was cute, but I just saw it as an expectation of a rejection. Oh, and giving the editor/agent a deadline is a real no-no. It indicates you either know nothing about the publishing business, or you are totally arrogant.

There was an author bio attached:

"Of course I am {name}. I was born in a little town in {state}. I was raised everywhere on the East Coast. Having a well developed home was something that I have no memory of. However I did not let that be a total failure to me. I was as well off as a thousand other kids that grew up the same way. So it was not that bad. I did serve my country in the U.S. Army and went to Vietnam in the late sixties and the early seventies. I was there over a year. Actually 14 months, 19 days and 1 hour. Not that I was counting or anything like that. I made it back so that worked out really well.

"Growing up without proper training did get me into my share of trouble. However because I was a small person I was not a bad ass. It seamed like I got my hind-parts kicked my share of times. This made things more clear to me. To stay out of trouble one must stay away from some of the things that causes you to be put in those situations. You know if you kick a dog enough he learns why he is being Kicked. I was married several times before I figured it out. This is not the best thing for me. There is people who are meant to be married and then there are people who are not good candidates for this adventure.

"I learned early in life that I was different. I believe in Reincarnation. That is something I believe that controls our direction in life. We come here to do something. Plus we always bring baggage from other times. This baggage is just as important as anything. We look at ourselves in the mirror at times and ask the question. Who am I? The answer often evades us. Our sexual desires do not stand up to the things that people tell us. So we are left to the dilemma of trying to figure these little abnormalities on our own. Actually all of this makes us a little wiser in some ways. We discover who we are and what we really want in life. Not what others tell us what is good for us. That is what this book is about. People understanding that they are who indeed they are. Not what is normal in a certain situation."

I included this whole mess just so you can see what editors have to wade through. I haven't the foggiest idea what all the drivel means or why the author spewed it all over the page. And the whole point is: WE DON'T WANT AN AUTHOR BIO. Tell us about the story, not about you.


Example 2: Cute But Crazy

"Dear Overworked and Under-Appreciated Editor:"

Hey, I sorta like this opening. This writer understands my job. But a more professional address would have impressed me more.

"You open the envelope. Your eyes sharpen. Not another one, pleading her case with you. Your mouth aches for a smoke and a stiff drink. You sip your coffee instead and catch a glimpse of yourself in the glass. You grin. Oh, yeah, you still have it. You are sexier now than you were five years ago. You have a sensual allure. And a little bit of mystery. Some sadness in the eyes from heartbreak and suffering in the past, for those careful enough to see it. And a little bit of gritty wisdom. A good laugh that turns heads. You inhale deeply and keep reading, savoring your power. You enjoy this. Hmmm, Maybe this query is something different, something special. Perhaps this one would be The One. The query that would meet all your needs and satisfy the secret yearnings that you have never even admitted to yourself. You sit up straighter. You have to tell someone about this. You decide to call a meeting immediately."

I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't like coffee. And I rather resent this stranger making assumptions about my personal life and secret yearnings. Oh, and reading submissions is major stress for editors, not a power high. Perhaps this "clever" writing should be saved for the actual story, not the cover letter.

"I have written a novel, {title} (65,000 words) which I would like to submit for your consideration. It is a lesbian murder mystery that takes place in my hometown of {town}. The protagonist is African-American and a women’s college basketball coach in {other town}. After suspicious death of her most recent ex, she is drawn to {town} for the funeral and some answers. The book also has an historical component connecting the characters to the {event} of 1921. I call it a les/his/mys. It can become a series."

A lesbian historical mystery? Well, it's different, and cross-genre can be very popular. This is a reasonably good high-level blurb and does catch my interest. It even includes the story length.

"I have rejected a five-book contract for this novel from a small, independent press and a one-book contract from a lesbian press only because they were not a good fit. I now have the World’s Best Agent, {name} of {company} Associates, who represents me on another manuscript and who will advise me in a behind-the-scenes kind of way so I will not do something stupid like trade for chickens or beads, which I am likely to do."

Why in the world would you tell me you've rejected contracts, and imply you are a difficult author to deal with? If you have an agent, why are YOU writing to me, instead of having your agent contact me? And do you really want to announce your lack of intelligence?

Example 3: Books from the Big House

It's not uncommon for editors to receive submissions from those incarcerated in prison. (For some reason, only males; we rarely receive one from a female prisoner.) Oh, and they are all insistent on their innocence—I've yet to receive a submission from someone who was guilty of the crime for which they were convicted. Actually, a book might be a lot more interesting from an admittedly guilty guy.

"I spent the better part of the first 12 years of my incarceration pursuing a college education in general business with a minor in psychology in my endeavor to understand how I went from my first year of college on the street with big plans to make something positive out of my life to a convicted murder doing 17-life."

I don't even know what that sentence is saying. I haven't looked at the story submission yet, and I doubt I want to if this is an example of the sender's writing skill.

"What I foundout after some ten courses in the human behavior field wasn’t a pretty picture replete with a second life I uncovered in repressed memories from childhood trauma to a chemical assited hypnosis session which lead to an involuntary guilty plea for someone else’s crime. This total recall type of experiance caused me to abort my graduate studies for what resulted in a ten year pro se mission for justice that further opened my eyes to the corruption in state and federal judical systems."

Huh??

"After concluding the party’s that conspired to bring and keep me down were untouchable, I spent another ten years or so which partcially overlaped my futial mission for justice pursuing various jail house hustles with intentions to buy my way out of prison. For one reason or another these endeavors proved as futile as my mission for justice and some 3 years ago I started to write with an eye on the N.Y. best seller’s list as my ticket to freedom."

Really? Your conviction gets overturned if you write a best-seller? And I'm so sorry to hear that your 'hustles' didn't earn you enough money to finance an escape attempt or buy off a judge. (Does the writer really think this sort of thing is impressive?)

"One of my biggest problems in getting published will be the challage my stories will be for editors and legal department in my use of celeraties from the music, motion pictur, and TV industry as characters. I believe sunanims and other devices can be utlilized to avoid the deflimation of charactor law suite. As you can see a spell checker will also have to be utlized to bring my work to market. I look forward to your request to review some of my work."

Nice to see the writer understands the legal issues in publishing. And why didn't he use spell checker on this letter before wasting my time with it?

Okay, time for YOUR cover letter. Seriously, send it to us and we'll give you our best suggestions for grabbing an editor's or agent's attention for your book.

Fan vs. Fiction

by Mackenzie Walton

It happens all the time. You’re watching a TV show—or seeing a movie, or reading a book, or doing any number of things—and it occurs to you that two characters have a lot of chemistry. You get to thinking about how the pair would get together, what obstacles they would face, the hot sex that would inevitably ensue, and before you know it, you’ve spun a scenario that you think is even better than what the writers have cooked up.

Less frequently, but still on a regular basis, someone is so moved by the brilliance of their angst-filled story about Riker and Crusher’s timeless love affair that they type it up and submit it to us for publication.

Um, please don’t do this.

Basically, what is being produced is called fanfiction. For those of you who may not know about it already, fanfiction is an unauthorized story written about licensed characters or settings. It’s been around for decades, originating largely in fanzines and then exploding into prominence once the Internet made sharing information so easy.

Despite its illegality, fanfiction is extremely common and opinions about it are divided. Some creators actively encourage fanfiction. After all, it shows that fans care about these characters. Others denounce any form of unauthorized work featuring their characters and actively try to keep it from being readily accessed in order to protect their copyright. Regardless, fanfiction writers are rarely threatened with legal action because their work is generally on a small scale and is not for profit.

Key words—not for profit.

Because that’s where things can get sticky. A story that is accepted by a publisher is (hopefully) going to make a profit. That’s the whole point. Readers buy it, the writers gets a portion of it, the publisher gets a piece of the pie, eventually a few pennies trickle down so the poor editors who are chained to their desks can buy a crust of bread for dinner. Everyone is happy.

But if it’s fanfiction? The actual owners of the concept get nothing. Believe it or not, people don’t like it very much when tons of people are making a mint off their idea, while they don’t make a cent.

So, at the very least, that’s not very nice. We like our authors and we certainly wouldn’t wish this kind of scenario on any of them. Even more threatening, however, is the fact that the owners of these characters—especially those owned by big corporations, like Time Warner or Disney—have lawyers. They might not bother to hassle a lowly fan writer who doesn’t have two dimes to rub together (Bill Gates probably isn’t holed up in his mansion writing Due South stories). They will, however, sue the pants off a publisher who is producing unauthorized work.

Moreover, in many cases, there are already legal venues for the publication of certain characters’ continued adventures. For example, Pocket Books produces authorized novels about Star Trek characters and themes, and other publishing houses have similar deals with other series. So if one is truly zealous about an idea, there are legitimate ways to pursue it. However, this road may be long and fruitless, and the writer may ultimately have to conform to the owner’s vision.

So, to sum up—we can’t publish these kinds of stories. It’s simply not worth the liability.

That being said, there are still some options to legally publish what some might consider fanfiction. Where works of fiction are concerned, copyrights generally last for the duration of the creator’s life, plus 50 or 70 years. This is why novels featuring characters such as Dracula are fairly common. There are also folkloric characters such as Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast that no one owns and are free to be reinvented by anyone. Copyright laws can sometimes be tricky, however, so you should research carefully before proceeding.

A more cautious approach might be to use these characters solely as a basis for your own stories. If you like the cockiness of Han Solo, surely you can translate that into a hero of your own creation. There can be intelligent teenagers other than Hermione Granger. There’s no reason why you can’t use your favorite characters as inspiration for a story that is fun, thoughtful, and most importantly, publishable.

Things Editors are Thankful For

Besides turkey and stuffing, and family and friends, there are things editors give thanks for on this day.

1. Authors who can spell--and proofread! 2. Authors who can create intensely emotional stories. 3. Authors who understand the importance of world-building, and create lush and unique worlds. 4. Control+Z (undo!) and authors who use it correctly. 5. Onelook.com - your one-stop dictionary look-up. 6. Authors who will apply corrections and advice not only where the editor has suggested, but to the rest of the story AND future writing. It's never too late to learn! 7. Control+F...used very carefully. 8. TimeandDate.com. 9. Authors with a sense of humor. 10. Authors who love to research. 11. Authors who ask, "What can I do to make this story better?" 12. Authors who understand the publishing world. 13. Authors who take that extra minute to say thanks for everything we do.

Conferences for Writers and Readers

by Raelene Gorlinsky

There are writer conferences and then there are fan/reader conventions. Although some types of activities may occur at either, these are actually two separate species of beast. You as an author or aspiring author need to understand the differing benefits and decide where you want to spend your money—because participating does not come cheap.

The writer conference may have an event or two (often a booksigning) open to the public, but the main activities are aimed at authors and the profession of writing. Authors and aspiring authors come to share knowledge about their craft and business, network, schmooze with fellow industry professionals to get the latest news and predictions.

Reader conventions also have lots of authors in attendance, but the point is for fans to be able to interact with their favorite writers and for authors to promote their books to readers. The convention will focus more on parties and social events, and "accessories" to publishing such as cover models, contests, free books and promo souvenirs. Because some fans are also aspiring authors, and because the convention needs to attract author attendance, there are often workshops or panel discussions, but not to the seriousness and depth that one gets at a writer conference.

Of course, we are all familiar with the "biggie" writer conferences, those put on by the professional organizations like RWA, MWA, SFWA. The quintessential reader convention is the Romatic Times annual blowout. But there are many, many smaller events that are more affordable, may be closer to home for you, and offer a more intimate atmosphere and attendance (usually less than 100) that permits more personal interactions. Here are two that I have attended and recommend to all.

Womens Fiction Festival in Matera, Italy

From their website (http://www.womensfictionfestival.com/index.php?lang=en):
"The Women’s Fiction Festival in Matera, Italy, is a writer’s conference with a difference. It is a relaxed and fun forum for writers, editors, agents and booksellers from all over the world to meet and talk about writing. […] panels on the European market, foreign rights and bookselling channels in Europe."

The conference (this was its fourth year) is still small but growing. It is funded by contributions and grants from local banks and businesses, Italian government agencies, and Harlequin Mondadori. WFF is becoming well-known as a cultural event in the region. The 2007 conference got daily coverage in the regional newspaper, there were posters in many store and restaurant windows around town and in the town square. Some of the events, like author readings, are open to the public and drew crowds. So this is a pretty high-profile conference for being small.

The conference itself was fantastic! Very well done, high class. This is a wonderful learning and networking opportunity for professional authors—lots of panels and presentations, but no promo giveaways, no raffle baskets, no speeches at meals, no mobs, no pressure. Participation by important people in the European and U.S. publishing community: Italian, German, UK, and US publishers, agents and authors. The PR director from the American consulate in Naples was a speaker. They had a staff of simultaneous translators, for us non-Italians.

I would label this as the most enjoyable and unusual writer conference I've attended.

Celebrate Romance
http://www.crspring.com/

In two separate incarnations, this reader/author meet-and-greet has been going on for, hmm, maybe eight years? I attended four of the first five as a fan, before I moved to Ohio to work for EC. They were the first reader conferences I ever attended, and gave me the wonderful feeling of being part of a huge group of fellow book lovers.

The convention moves around the country, a different location each year, to make it convenient to different groups of readers and authors. The next one is February 29 to March 2, 2008, in Columbia, South Carolina.

From their website:
"Celebrate Romance (a.k.a. “CR”) is a unique conference where romance readers and authors come together as equals to celebrate their love for the romance genre. Unlike many other conferences, this gathering has no other agenda but to support readers and their passion for romance novels."

The event is run entirely by volunteers. Because of this, all attendees (readers or authors) pay the same registration fee and participate in the same events. Fans spend the weekend at meals, panels and social events with their favorite authors - heaven for romance readers!