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!

Welcome Mary Anne

We have a new reviewer Mary Anne Landers, aka “Arkansasannie.” Not only are her reviews fun to read, but she also brings with her information regarding vintage category romances that are outside my usual scope. I’ve learned quite a bit from her in the past few weeks and hope to learn even more.

Mary Anne’s Category Romance reviews are already the most viewed ones on this site, so let’s give her a hand! That tells me that people who come to this blog want reviews on old-school books they can’t find anywhere else, and we’re listening! I have to get my old Dell Candlelight Ecstasy Supremes out of storage and review them!

Remember, Mary Anne is also an up-and-coming author, so you might want to follow her on her Facebook page Mary Anne Landers Facebook, for her latest updates! With her unique perspective on category romances and Blue Falcon’s in-depth reviews on Historicals, I’m very proud of our little group here.

Speaking of our masked superhero, I also have to show some appreciation to Blue Falcon, whose post on Midnight Captive, a must-read Zebra romance by Penelope Neri, is our highest viewed Historical Romance review!

We’re Moving on Up

The good news is we’re getting more monthly views. The number of unique viewers varies from day to day but remains more or less constant. Viewers are sticking around longer and searching multiple pages, so that’s always a plus.

While we’re just a small niche blog, we’re showing up on Google searches and ranking on lists.

On Feedspot‘s Top 100 Romance Book Blogs and Websites To Follow in 2021 list, we’re ranked at #20!

Feedspot is a blog aggregator, and they’ve paid me nothing to say this, but you’re looking for a great blog/website aggregator, why not look into them?

Also, Sweet Savage Flame should be loading faster. I’m looking for some help maximizing speed at this site, so I had to remove my beloved Sweet Savage Flame header. This is who we are, and eventually, I’ll figure a way to post this header without slowing down the pages!

Used Book Store

There’s now a STORE attached to this blog. I’m reducing my vast paperback and hardcover library by selling used books. I have many books to sell from multiple genres, including romance, science fiction, children’s books, and non-fiction. There are few doubles, so it’s first-come, first-serve if you find something you’d like to purchase from my vintage-and-not-so-vintage collection. For example, the rare, out-of-print book Bliss by Judy Cuevas is available for $25, a fair price. We also have books like Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton romance, When He was Wicked, for only $1. Many books are priced at only 50 cents. I am cleaning out my book collection, and there are thousands of books!

The conditions of the books range from excellent to acceptable for reading, and they are priced to sell. Shipping and handling is a default flat rate of $4 for Media Mail anywhere in the US for up to 10 books. If you wish for a faster method or to ship elsewhere, please send inquiries for the cost.

Financial Support for our Vintage Romance Book Blog

Donations are welcome to keep this site up and to run it. It’s getting so busy that I’d like to take on some part-time help, if at least to help with reviews!

If you’re feeling generous, you can support the podcast at Anchor – Jacqueline Diaz Romance Support.

You can support our site at Patreon. We have established tiers, which are being tweaked to best benefit your interests. Or you can make a one-time donation below:

If you have any recommendations or requests for reviews, please comment or email me at jacquelinediazromance@gmail.com.

Thank you all so very much, and happy reading!

When I started this site three months ago, I envisioned a small blog where I’d talk about historical romance novels written in the last quarter of the 20^th century and post an occasional vintage review.

Several weeks in, I decided to broaden the scope to include “contemporary” romances published during that era, which opened huge avenues to discovery. For example, authors whom I’d known solely as historical or contemporary writers excelled in multiple genres. Or the history of one paperback publishing house branches out and takes root into one another, making it difficult to define who published what. More importantly, what I thought would be an easy task turned into a major endeavor: learning SEO, CSS, maneuvering plugins, trying to find a slick-looking template that wouldn’t slow the site to a crawl…

So, blogging.

Jacqueline Diaz Romance

Life has a way of catching up to all of us eventually, and one’s health is part of that. In my family recently, we have had a couple of close calls with relatives. I had a bad spell around Mother’s Day and have just been recovering from another set of ailments that hit me hard early last week. I’m here and am thankful that my problems are not life-threatening, not yet, thank goodness.

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.

As for Sweet Savage Flame, I love doing this and want to do more! We’re growing, slowly but surely, and I’d like to supply quality content, not just rants. Research takes time, especially when you want to get it right. I also plan to do more podcasts or vlogs, and that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms to open up.

New Additions and the Future

BlueFalcon has been a wonderful addition to Sweet Savage Flame. We both enjoy Zebra historicals, among other old-school romances. His perspective adds a depth of unique flavor and professionalism to this site. My reviews can be hyperbolic and digress extraneously at times; his reviews are direct, organized, and address plot points with sensitive attention to readers’ perspectives.

I’m probably breaking all the rules of Blogging 101, but this blog is an extension of myself in that I’m sharing a meaningful, enjoyable hobby with others who hopefully enjoy it as much as I do, too. Romance novels from the old-school era–and in general—are so rich with substance: the highs and lows, the politics, history, sex, imagination, humor, campiness, artistry, and talent! I’d like Sweet Savage Flame to be a comfy place where lovers of old-school romances can come to on their Sunday mornings and relive some memories or even make new ones.

If I have not responded to your comments promptly, I apologize and will catch up on my correspondence. (Look at me acting like it’s 1861, and I must handwrite dozens of letters to mail out via Pony Express. What a drama queen! 😄)

Used Book Store

There’s now a STORE attached to this blog. I’m reducing my vast paperback and hardcover library by selling used books. I have many books to sell, from multiple genres, including romance, science fiction, children’s books, and non-fiction. There are few doubles, so it’s first-come, first-serve if you find something you’d like to purchase from my vintage-and-not-so-vintage collection. For example, the rare out-of-print book Bliss by Judy Cuevas is available for $25, a fair price. We also have books like Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton romance, When He was Wicked for only $1. Many books are priced at only 50 cents. I am cleaning out my book collection and there are thousands of books!

The conditions of the books range from excellent to acceptable for reading, and they are priced to sell. Shipping and handling is a default flat rate of $4 for Media Mail anywhere in the US for up to 10 books. If you wish for a faster method, or to ship elsewhere, please send inquiries for the cost.

Financial Support for the Site, Podcast, Vlog, & Books

Donations are welcome to keep this site up and running. It’s getting so busy that I’d like to take on some part-time help if at least to help with reviews!

If you’re feeling generous, you can support the podcast at Anchor – Jacqueline Diaz Romance Support.

You can support our site at Patreon. We have established tiers, which are being tweaked to best benefit your interests. Or you can make a one-time donation below:

If you have any recommendations or requests for reviews, please comment or email me at jacquelinediazromance@gmail.com.

Happy reading!

Jacqueline Diaz, Romance Author

Things have been moving quickly here at Sweet Savage Flame.

While I’m busy with this blog, I’m also in the process of completing my first book, The Savage Noble, which I hope to have out by August 1, 2021. You can find the first two chapters of my book at wattpad.com or my website jacquelinediazromance.com.

New Additions and More Updates to Come

I have been adding more book reviews to this site, at least two every day. The Coach to Hell is one book that was fun to review, if not read. We are blogging bi-weekly about romance-related issues and uploading new pages. There’s a blog post about our love for Fabio and pages on the history of Harlequin Historicals and Fawcett Books.

Used Book Store

There’s now a STORE attached to this blog. I’m reducing my vast paperback and hardcover library by selling used books. I have many books to sell, in multiple genres, including romance, science fiction, children’s books, and non-fiction. There are few doubles, so it’s first-come, first-serve if you find something you’d like to purchase from my vintage-and-not-so-vintage collection. For example, the rare out-of-print book Bliss by Judy Cuevas is available for $30, a fair price. We also have books like Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton romance, When He was Wicked for only $1.

The conditions of the books range from excellent to acceptable for reading, and they are priced to sell. Shipping and handling is a default flat rate of $4 for Media Mail anywhere in the US for up to 10 books. If you wish for a faster method, or to ship elsewhere, please send inquiries for the cost.

Sweet Savage Flame: The Podcast & Vlog

My podcast can be found on Spotify and other sites:

I’ll be uploading my Spotify podcasts to my Youtube channel. Or is it the other way around? As we’re new to this, thank you for bearing with us while we go through more growing pains. I don’t even know how to set my channel name officially to Sweet Savage Flame, so for now, it’s under the name Jacqueline Diaz.

Financial Support for the Site, Podcast, Vlog, & Books

Donations are welcome to keep this site up and running. It’s getting so busy that I’d like to take on some part-time help if at least to help with reviews!

If you’re feeling generous, you can support the podcast at Anchor – Jacqueline Diaz Romance Support.

You can support our site at Patreon. We have established tiers, which are being tweaked to best benefit your interests. Or you can make a one-time donation below:

If you have any recommendations or requests for reviews, please comment or email me at jacquelinediazromance@gmail.com.

Happy reading and may your days be filled with sunshine and joy!

Our Blog So Far…

Hello, everyone! T.S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month, and it’s certainly been a tumultuous one. I’m thankful it’s almost over, and that May will soon be upon us in all its flowery glory.

It’s hard to believe this vintage romance blog is only a month old, as it’s taken up so much of my time trying to put it together. Besides researching authors, publishing houses, and cover artists, I’ve been reviewing books and tweaking the site to make it more user-friendly with plenty of links and additions to the menu.

Used Book Store

You may have noticed there’s now a STORE attached to this blog site. I’ve decided some Spring cleaning is on the agenda, so I’m reducing my library by selling used books. I have many, many books to sell, but there are few, if any, doubles, so it’s first-come, first-serve if you find something you’d like to purchase from my vintage-and-not-so-vintage collection.

The conditions of the books range from excellent to acceptable for reading, and they are priced to sell. Shipping and handling is a default flat rate of $4 for Media Mail anywhere in the US. If you wish for a faster delivery method, please amend your order to First Class, which is a $6 flat rate, or to Priority Mail, which is a $9 flat rate.

This flat rate is for orders of 10 books or fewer. Larger purchases may require insurance or additional packaging, so please inquire about shipping costs before ordering. If you would like to ship to Canada or the UK, please send inquiries for the cost.

Sweet Savage Flame: The Podcast

Back on April 3rd, I blogged about some of the history of the romance novel industry and its roots in bodice rippers:

Well, I’ve decided to branch out from writing to blogging and now to podcasting. My first Anchor podcast is a repeat of that discussion, with a little more depth, and currently can be found here on Spotify:

Financial Support for the Site & Podcast

If you’re feeling generous, you can support the podcast at Anchor – Jacqueline Diaz Romance Support.

Or, if you prefer, I would gladly welcome any donations to keep this site up and running. It’s getting so busy that I’d like to take on some part-time help, if at least to help with reviews! I’ve committed to reviewing and researching both historical and “contemporary” vintage romance, so many more reviews have been added to this site.

More Additions and Updates to Come

I will continue to be adding more information and pictures to current pages as well as uploading new pages. Please subscribe to SweetSavageFlame.com to keep updated on any changes or new blog posts. If you have any recommendations or requests for reviews, please comment or email me at jacquelinediazromance@gmail.com

Happy reading and may your days be filled with sunshine and joy!

Hello, again! I hope all is well on your end. My family is going through a bit of a trying time right now, as one of our beloved cats has departed from us and it hurts terribly to think about her being gone. I’m trying to keep myself busy with writing, blogging, and fixing up this site, so I hope you don’t mind my updates flooding your inbox.

As you might see, I’ve added a bit more to the site: more book reviews, more cover artists, and more information regarding publishing houses, author biographies, and backlists. Plus I’ve expanded the scope of Sweet Savage Flame to include other categories of romance that were published in the post-Flame and the Flower era to the turn of the millennium. I want this site to be a valuable source of historical information for romance bibliophiles.

So now when you go to the MENU bar you can access books and authors by historical romance or category romance (contemporary) genres.

If there are authors or books you’d like to see represented here, please drop a comment and let me know. For example, I’m currently working on Charlotte Lamb and Penny Jordan pages.

These topics can be easily accessed from the MENU bar:

AUTHOR PAGES:

• Teresa Denys
• Fern Michaels
• Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

COVERS

COVERS OF THE WEEK PAGE

COVER ARTISTS:

• Ray Kursar
• Francesco (Franco) Accornero

BOOK REVIEWS

Another dozen or so reviews have been added. Just go to the MENU to search BOOK REVIEW by genre, category line, author, rating, or in alphabetical order by title. You can also access reviews by clocking on LATEST TOPICS.

LINKS

I will be adding more information and pictures to current pages as well as uploading new ones. Please subscribe to SweetSavageFlame.com to keep updated on any changes or new blog posts. If you have any recommendations or requests for reviews, please comment or email me at jacquelinediazromance@gmail.com

Happy reading and hug your loved ones!

Hello, again! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life to the fullest. To anyone actually looking at this site and interested in what there is to look and talk about, we have some more updates.

POLL: FAVORITE OLD-SCHOOL AUTHOR

Vote for your favorite old-school historical romance author!

AUTHOR PAGES:

• Johanna Lindsey
• Rebecca Brandewyne
• Natasha Peters
• Laurie McBain
• Rosemary Rogers
• Bertrice Small
• Valerie Sherwood

COVERS:

COVERS OF THE WEEK

COVER ARTISTS

• Harry Bennett
• Elaine Duillo
• John Ennis
• Elaine Gignilliat
• Robert McGinnis

BOOK REVIEWS

At least 15 more have been added, Just go to the MENU to search the BOOK REVIEW page by rating or in alphabetical order by title. You can also access reviews by clicking on LATEST POSTS.

LINKS

I will be adding more information and pictures to current pages as well as uploading new ones. Please subscribe to SweetSavageFlame.com to keep updated on any changes or new blog posts. If you have any recommendations or requests for reviews, please comment or email me at jacquelinediazromance@gmail.com

Happy reading!

Hello There, Romance Lovers

Hello, there! Hope all of you in the northern hemisphere are enjoying the return of Spring. To those folks located in the southern hemisphere, enjoy your Autumn, as it too is a beautiful time of year.

As you may have noticed, this blog is a work in progress, so I ask you to bear with me as we go through some growing pains.

I might revamp this blog’s theme, but my poor tech skills could delay that a bit.

You also might have seen that in addition to discussing historical romances and reading book reviews, you can also access pages dedicated to some prominent authors of old-school historical romance.

In addition a few of my favorites. Plus, pages on books, publishing houses, and cover artists via the menu located on the top of each page.

Feel like dropping a comment? Any helpful criticisms or words of advice are always appreciated.

Some new additions to this site that be easily accessed from the MENU bar include:

AUTHOR PAGES:

• Rebecca Brandewyne
• Rosemary Rogers
• Bertrice Small

COVER ARTISTS:

• Harry Bennett
• Elaine Duillo
• Elaine Gignilliat
• Robert McGinnis

BOOK REVIEWS

As always, we post new reviews every week! Search by author name, title, or rating.

LINKS

Thank you so much for sharing this experience with me.

I love vintage historical romances and know that not every modern reader feels the same, so it’s wonderful to create and grow a community dedicated to old-school fun where stories could span years and countries.

The novels could have pro-woman themes that subtly tackled the changing sexual dynamics in the 1970s, others were mindless dreck. They ranged from dark and passionate sagas to lustful romps that were enjoyable in a campy, check-your-brain-at-the-door way.

I will be adding more information and pictures to current pages as well as uploading new ones. Please subscribe to SweetSavageFlame.com to keep updated on any changes or new blog posts.

Happy reading!