Because I am currently on a Kinsale glom and a huge fan, I can't help but point out that Laura Kinsale wrote Flowers From the Storm.

You are absolutely right, and that was dopey of me. I have fixed it.

I'm always a little taken aback by people who insist on "realistic" sex scenes or criticize people for "unrealistic" sex or violence. I can't help thinking on those occasions that the critic doesn't know much about the subject. My experience has been that humans struggling in the throes of extreme passion (martial or amorous) are never anything but funny to an outside observer, no matter what the stakes.

Hi Sara,

Of course, you're right -- blanket condemnations of any genre is a dangerous thing to do, and I get incredibly grumpy when people do the same with crime fiction (that said, I'll be the first in line to admit there are *way* too many serial killer thrillers, and have said publicly several times that when I see a new deal reported as such, it will take a lot to convince me to pick up the book once it's published.)

That said, although I don't read romance novels now (for more complex reasons than the somewhat flippant line I used in that post) when I did I tried awfully hard to find what I considered to be the cream of the crop, and the handful of books you list certainly numbered among them (but would BLISS and DANCE, and even FLOWERS FROM THE STORM, have a hope of getting published now? I suspect not...)

Glad you're enjoying the blog otherwise.

Sarah --

thanks for stopping by, and also for the clarification. For the record, I do think Bliss and Dance and Flowers from the Storm would get published today. There are some very smart, very savvy editors at various houses who specialize in romance, and I can't see them passing over any of those three. Judy Cuevas is still publishing (but as Judith Ivory) and her work is still top notch.

A question for you (to answer here, there, anywhere, if/when you have time): would you classify John Sandford, Lee Child, G.M. Ford, Dennis Lehane and their like as crime writers? Thriller writers? I never know what to call them.

Heh, all these Sara's. ;) Just cruising the feeds late at night, and I came across this comment thread. I'm rather puzzled by the suggestion that FLOWERS couldn't get published now? I'm not having any trouble getting books published in the genre. (The opposite, in fact--my trouble is getting them written! ;) )

Sara --

With regards to the writers you mention, I tend to use the catch-all phrase "crime writer" because the lines are pretty well blurred, mostly because of publishers trying to break the mystery genre out and attract more mainstream fiction readers. That said, someone like Lee Child is definitely writing thrillers, but Lehane's writing (at least lately and presumably, from now on) literary fiction with a crime element.

The reason I said that I wasn't sure BLISS or DANCE could get published now is because of economics -- the books didn't sell all that well upon publication (and, IIRC, went out of print fairly quickly) and Cuevas's success only came later when she changed her name to Judith Ivory and wrote historicals set in Britain instead of France, thus "starting from scratch" as too often happens in the business.

FWIW, I'm making the distinction between an author keeping his or her career alive and particular books being published. How many times has the cry "such and such genre doesn't sell anymore" been heard, or trend bandwagon jumping occurred? And then markets change and the cry begins anew...

Laura -- first, thanks for stopping by. Second, it was Sarah Weinman who raised the question, so I'll leave it to her to clarify.

My position is this: I listed some of the best books the romance genre has ever produced, and that I believe any of them would get picked up and published if submitted today for the first time. Even if the physical setting is out of the primary target area.

On the other hand, I think that Sarah has a valid point about the way publishing works, in terms of fads and bandwagons and wild leaping onto, and off of.

PS Sarah -- about Dennis Lehane. I love everything he's ever written, and I wish him well in whatever he wants to write -- I'll be first in line. But I do hope he hasn't given up on Patrick and Angie quite yet.