Bookish Talk: A to Z Survey
This A- Z list of bookish preferences originated on Perpetual Page Turner’s book blog in 2013 and was reignited as a book tag in 2020. I haven’t been tagged, but I thought this was a fun list to complete.
romance books
Sweet Savage Flame’s 6 Heat Levels in Romances
In romance novels, heat levels can range from as tepid as room temperature to as hot as the sun. Sweet Savage Flame has created a list with what we think are 6 different levels of heat in romances. These range from no heat to closed and open-door love scenes to pornography.
Two Gay Romance Firsts: The Happily Ever After Ending and Clinch Cover
Gordon Merrick created the legendary Peter & Charlie gay romance series. The trilogy portrayed the first mainstream love story between two men that concluded happily ever after. Another milestone in gay fiction occurred when they were reprinted in the 1980s. A young artist named Victor Gadino illustrated the iconic clinch covers. Never before had two men been pictured so intimately on romance novels.
Celebrities on Romance Book Covers
Before they were famous, their faces were on book covers. While these celebrities appeared in various genres, we’re limiting our focus to romance. It’s always fun to track the career of the rich and famous to their humble beginnings, especially if they posed for clinches!
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
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!
Instagram and Vintage Romance Books
There’s never been a better time to be a collector of vintage or old-school romance novels if you want to show them off. The Instagram app is a great place to do this!
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.
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.
Romance Authors With Pseudonyms
In the romance genre, an author might use an alias for various reasons. Perhaps their real name lacks a certain je ne sais quoi. Because some romance writers create fiction for multiple genres, different names ae used. Others are men who want to appeal to a vast female audience. Or they could be married couples or duos who need a catchy nom-de-plume.
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.
What’s in a Name? Favorite Romance Novel Names
In the comment section of the review of Passion’s Treasure/Just Say Yes by Betina Krahn that I reviewed, our colleague Mary Ann Landers asked about the name of the heroine of the book, Treasure Barrett. That query got me thinking about romance novel names: do I have favorite ones? I certainly do!
Why Romance? Why Vintage?
I love to read. I love stories. And right now, my kind of story is vintage romance fiction. By which, I mean romances published in the twentieth century. In particular certain varieties of the genre, with features that were once popular but have since gone out of style. That’s why I’m grateful for a blog like Sweet Savage Flame. Here I can get info and opinions about my favorite body of fiction. And share my own! Why romance? Why vintage? To answer both questions, I must start with who I am as a reader.
Author Spotlight: Penny Jordan
Penny Jordan was an immensely popular author for Mills and Boon/ Harlequin. She wrote romantic love stories that readers have enjoyed for 40 years. Penny Jordan was not her real identity but one of her many pseudonyms. Let’s take a look back at the career of this talented author.
Updates #7
There are some brief points to address here about our vintage romance book blog. And yes, some of this is bragging. I’m so happy at the growth of Sweet Savage Flame and the little community we’re building here, so I hope you’ll share in my joy!
Why Read Romance? The Hero, Heroine, or Love Story?
Why do we read romance? When you read a romance novel, what are you reading it for? The romance? The heroine’s journey? The hunky hero? Or something else entirely?
Updates #6
Living with an auto-immune disease dictates having to work within limits. That means that some plans must change as circumstances do. My upcoming book, The Savage Noble, is near finished, but with meta-reading, editing, marketing, etc., it won’t be released until September. I had wanted What She Says with Her Eyes to be finished by year’s end, although now it likely will not be. I may release it as a multiple-part series of novellas or through Amazon Vella, but I won’t be certain until The Savage Noble is completed.
Pet Peeves and Deal Breakers in Romance
Each person has their own unique limit of what they can or cannot tolerate in fiction. However, despite its absolute requirement for a happy ending, the romance genre can still be filled with deal-breakers for readers looking for a pleasurable experience that takes them away from reality for a few hours.
