Sweet Savage Flame Hits Feedspot Top Blogs Lists
Last week Sweet Savage Flame got some good news! We were notified by the founder of Feedspot, Anuj Agarwal, that we were selected as one of the Top 30 Historical Romance Blogs on the web.
romance blog
Covers of the Week #56
Heidi Oberheide’s covers express a soft sensuality, often displaying a glorious abundance of bright flowers. From Monday, May 1, 2022, to Sunday, May 6, 2022, Covers of the Week spotlights the romantic illustrations of Heidi Oberheide.
Historical Romance Review: Texas Temptation by Gina Robins
This review is of Texas Temptation a standalone by Gina Robins (a pseudonym for author Connie Feddersen, aka Connie Finch) published by Zebra/Kensington, October 1989. 4 stars
World Book Day 2022
It’s World Book Day today April 23, 2002! What is World Book Day? It’s a day commemorating the importance of the published word. Let’s celebrate by talking about books!
Stepback Covers Part VII: Stepback & Modern Romance Novels
By the dawn of the 21st millennium, the stepback was the pinnacle of cover art in the romance genre. The combination of a best-selling author, a prominent artist, and fantastic design aesthetics meant quality all around. The stepback was an acceptable middle-ground and proved to be constant in an era of transformation.
Stepback Covers Part VI: Stepback Saturday
A fun way to show off old and new stepback cover art is to post them on “Stepback Saturdays” on bookish Instagram or Bookstagram. Using #stepbacksaturday bookish Instagrammers upload pictures of cover art.
Stepback Covers Part V: 1990s Stepbacks
By 1990 every established publishing house was rethinking the way they did cover art. The stepback was starting to mean something special. Rising stars–both authors and artists–would combine for a winning combination, and no publisher could ignore that.
Stepback Covers Part IV: 1980s Romance Stepbacks
Throughout the 1980s, romance publishers would use various tricks to catch prospective buyers’ eyes: embossing, foil lettering, bright colors, explicit embraces, big-named artists, superstar cover models, and more. Nevertheless, the stepback was not commonly utilized until the mid-1980s.
Stepback Covers Part III: The First Stepback in Romance
I’ve searched around to find which was the first mainstream paperback romance to use a genuine stepback cover. I’m not 100% sure but it looks like Pocket Books published it in 1979.
Stepback Covers Part II: The History of the Stepback
The history of stepback covers goes back to the early-to-mid-20th century. Bantam, Warner, and Pocket Books would be among the first paperback publishers to use this innovative cover design in the 1970s.
Category Romance Review: Moon Witch by Anne Mather
Harlequin Presents #38 Moon Witch by Anne Mather In this vintage romance, a much older man falls for his younger ward. It’s an uncomfortable, but compelling read. 3 1/2 stars
Stepback Covers Are Back & Why We Love Them
Conversations about romance covers always draw strong opinions. Are they a source of cringe or are they a form of art? The stepback cover has been popular in the genre for over 35 years. One reason for that is due to discretion. With stepbacks, you can have your clinch and eat it, too.
5 Romance Tropes We Love
At Sweet Savage Flame talked about tropes before. There are some plot devices and character types that never go out of style. We’ve looked around to seek the most popular tropes in Romancelandia that readers enjoy. Here are five that we think you’ll agree that make romance novels more exciting!
A Brief Look at Category (aka Series) Romance
Category lines, or series romance, are one of the cornerstones of the romance novel industry. As we document the genre’s past on Sweet Savage Flame, we’ll delve deeper into each individual line. Category romance, as their name implies, are sorted into category lines and defined by tropes.
The Male Authors of Vintage Romance
While women comprise most of the Romance genre readership and the vast majority of writers, there are many men who enjoy the genre, too. In fact, in the early years of romance, there were quite a few male authors, who had to use pseudonyms to publish their works. Men were a part of the romance revolution of the 1970s and they remain a part of the genre to this day, as writers and readers.
Updates #8
It’s been a full six months that Sweet Savage Flame has been up and running. We started in early Spring, and now it’s Autumn, my favorite season! We’ve grown from a tiny website to a semi-respectable niche romance blog that has amassed almost 18,000 views in that time. Thank you to our readers for being with us, for commenting, and for spreading the word about us!
Podcast: 15 Old School Historical Romances That Revolutionized the Genre
This podcast was originally posted as an article, 15 Old School Historical Romances That Revolutionized the Genre. We thought it would make a great subject for a recording. You can listen to this, read it, or both! Just hit play and relax.
A Closer Look At Sharon Spiak
Illustrator and fine-art painter Sharon Spiak has made a name for herself in the romance industry for producing various gorgeous covers for many bestselling authors. She also had the privilege to paint Fabio almost as much as the Duillo ladies did.
Popular Romance Tropes
In the romance genre, we often see some types of plots or character types repeated. These similarities resonate for myriad reasons. Some tropes are common in vintage or old-school romance, but not so much in modern romances. Then there are tropes that never go out of style.
Why Do I Read Romance?
Blue Falcon’s Romance Journey
In a recent post, Jacqueline asked, “The Hero, the Heroine, or the Love Story?” querying about what people read romance novels for. I answered in the comments section, but I also felt like I wanted to elaborate a bit more. Hence, this post.
