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My first novel was set during the reign of King Henry V – the early 1400s. Now, I know Medievals have gone out of style, but I used to enjoy them. (Still do, in fact!) What’s not to love about Julie Garwood’s The Prize. Or Judith McNaught’s A Kingdom of Dreams. Both of those books were an inspiration to me when I first started writing. Those knights were seriously tough dudes, but they had soft hearts for their lady loves. Sigh.
And then were Westerns. Rough and tumble cowboys who could only be tamed by the love of a good woman. And of course, they conquered the outlaws or bad ranchers who wanted to squash them. Jodi Thomas still writes them, but remember all those Jude Devereaux and Lorraine Heath westerns? I was sorry to see them disappear. Fortunately, we’ve got fellow Quills Jan and Cindy still writing them, although they’re not about the Old West, are they?
As far as historical romance goes, Regency seems to be it now. My last few books have been set in the regency era, but they’re not the old fashioned traditional Regency kind of books we used to read. Remember those? They were full of protocol and etiquette, but aside for the clever repartee, 
nothing much happened.
But all that has changed. My Regencies are just as adventuresome and sexy as my Medievals and Victorians. My current novel, Seducing the Governess, is set during the year after Waterloo with a hero who was wounded there. It’s a Beauty-and-the-Beast story, with the hero scarred for life in battle, and the heroine hardly noticing his scars. (Love that theme!)
Publishers are becoming a little more adventuresome with their new electronic publishing divisions. With e-publishing, there’s not a lot of risk to putting out books that haven’t sold well in paper format, right? So, once you’ve got your e-reader, I think you’ll be able to download all the Westerns, Medievals, Angel-Meets-Demon stories, Space Romances and anything else you can imagine.
What do you think? Will you be happy to see “unsaleable” material available in electronic format? I’d like to know what you think of the “e” revolution that’s taking place. And I’m going to give one of you a good, old-fashioned copy of The Rogue Prince for sharing your thoughts with us today.
Filed in: Jaunty Post
Mar 11th
2011
6:26 am
Kristan Higgins Said:
I’d love to read some of those “no-longer-hot” genre books! I too love medievals…always get frustrated when you can only find one particular “type” of book. I think it’s a great idea!
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Mar 11th
2011
9:12 am
Virginia C Said:
Hello, Margo! I love the characters and story line for “Seducing the Governess”–it’s at the top of my wish list! I understand the importance of ebooks and electronic publishing in today’s literary world. However, I am a lifelong print book person. I don’t own an ereader, but I occasionally reads ebooks on my PC. Risky and risque are some of the more enjoyable elements of Regency Romance. A sharper air of mischief, perhaps due to a spoiled social set seeking to relieve boredom, is part of the fun. Mystery, murder, and mayhem all add to the mix. How malevolent a turn should the story take? As far as the author will take us, as long as there is still a point of return, a chance for redemption and rescue. Some characters and story lines lend themselves more gracefully to darker shadings. However, it is the contrast between “the upstairs and downstairs” which gives a deeper, meatier flavor to certain Regencies. The Ton would not have their drawing rooms and other comforts without the working class, whose labor allows for the luxury of others. Some of the most interesting and satisfying Regency relationships are those between “Societal and Servant”. When there is affection and codependency, whether obvious or subtle, the relationship becomes even more enjoyable.
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Mar 11th
2011
11:04 am
Mary M Said:
There’s a cute youtube video celebrating National Library Week in Ireland and as it spans the library, you see a teen holding up an e reader in the teen section. I love e publishing for offering easy accessibility, abundant choices and great prices!
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Mar 11th
2011
11:23 am
Nancy Robards Thompson Said:
I have mixed emotions about the “e” revolution. I love traditional books. There’s nothing like opening a brand new novel. I love the feel of it in my hands and the look of the hundreds of books on the shelves in my office. However, I must admit to suffering some e-reader envy. I don’t have one…yet. I will get one…someday. Like you said, it will be nice to see the “out of style/print” books get another chance. Bottom line, is the “e” revolution is here. Might as well embrace it.
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Mar 11th
2011
11:31 am
Christi Said:
First let me say that I loved Seducing The Governess! Congrats on it being a RT Top Pick it deserved it! I am already looking forward to Christina’s story!
I love historicals no matter the time period and am just happy to see so many being published. I much prefer your type of Regencies than the traditional ones.
As far as ereaders. I think most know the good about ereaders and there is a lot – traveling and SPACE being amongst of the top one’s so won’t even go into that! Obviously ereaders are here to stay but I think we will have both books and them for a long time. For me personally it will be a sad day when we can only read on an electronic device. I think before people totally embrace them over books the industry has to change a few things. First, while I’m sure there are some people some where that buy every book they read and then keep it to themselves, most people don’t. People tend to read in groups… they read with the bowling league, knitting group, office mate, family members… every one will buy a book or two read them and they trade around and discuss. People have never bought every book they read so the industry needs to do something about people being able to share. After all you are purchasing a book it’s yours to do what ever you want with it.
Also, when I look at my keeper shelf there is no way I could replace those books on an ereader… believe me I’ve checked, the books I would want including a lot of what you mentioned Margo are around $7.99… crazy since most are over 10 years old and some older than 20… yeah, a couple of those old Woodiwiss’s I still won’t get rid of.
I don’t own an ereader but I do have all the apps on my computer and one thing I think will happen for me is that I won’t care so much if I own the book anymore. I like the whole experience of owning a book, from browsing to find what I want, to reading it, and then having it to pick up off the shelf and look at the cover and flipping through it…. I really think I’ll become a ‘read it from the library’ type of reader if I were to only read on an ereader because for me if I can’t have the whole package I may as well be able to sit in my pj’s on my couch and ‘go to the library’ for my book and then just send it back when done. So like I say I’ll be sad if books go away.
As far as flooding the market with books that were unsellable. I can see where that may be helpful to an author because if the book is inexpensive enough someone may try it that wouldn’t have tried it before. But overall for the industry, I think it would be a mistake because the market could end up being flood with ‘crap’. I think it’s going to be hard enough for the majority of people to get use to shopping for authors and books without being able to browse a store or have a sales clerk that knows them and can recommend for them. It would be a frustrating experience to shop and end up with ‘crap’ every few times they buy.
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Mar 11th
2011
11:44 am
Margay Said:
I think it’s great that the ebook revolution has opened the doors to books that traditional publishing didn’t think would sell. Now the reading public will get a chance to weigh in on this theory for themselves – they’ll get to decide if this genre or that time period sells or not.
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Mar 11th
2011
11:44 am
catslady Said:
I’m one of those hold outs when it comes to ebooks. I have nothing against them other than they aren’t what I want lol. I do think they will be the way of the future but I’m too old to even want to change. I love my print books. I love being surrounded by them (much to my husband’s dismay). I also love historicals which were said were no longer in. Now you are saying medievals aren’t either! Well I’ve always been stubborn and thank heavens there is always something out there for everyone. Luckily too I do like a variety of genres and I think it’s great that they are mixing things up. So even though historicals are my first love, I enjoy many different types of PRINT books lol.
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Mar 11th
2011
12:03 pm
Kay Said:
I like the idea of e-readers, its helps when buying new authors’ books or traveling. It will also save alot of shelf space on my walls!
However I would never replace the feel of paper between my fingers, curling up with a book and a mugg of coffee… mmmm, now that I mention it, not a bad way to spend tonight!
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Mar 11th
2011
12:56 pm
Margo Maguire Said:
I have a kindle and so far, I have to say I’m not exactly a convert. Sure, I can change the font to accomodate my eyes when they’re tired. And I can carry around a zillion books when I’m out of town and want to be sure I’ve got something to read. And I like the immediacy of getting a book into my hands. Last night, I was looking for research material for my next book and found something that I downloaded instantly. That was great.
But I like to page back and forth as I read. I like to go back and savor a particular passage, or just recheck facts that I might have missed. It’s cumbersome to do that on the kindle.
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Mar 11th
2011
1:13 pm
Shana Said:
I think the ease of e-publishing will make it easier for “crappy” books to be released. I, for one, need editing! But I do have some books I haven’t been able to sell, not because they’re not up to par but because publishers aren’t interested. i might be willing to e-publish those. But I need time to do the research first!
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Mar 11th
2011
1:19 pm
Danielle Gorman Said:
I think it is great that we are able to get older books to be released in e-format. I also think it’s great that we are able to see other types of work from authors that we know and love.
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Mar 11th
2011
2:32 pm
LilMissMolly Said:
I’ve tried reading books via my computer and on a smart phone. I just don’t get the same vibe and buzz that reading normally gives me by holding onto a book. A good alternative that I’ve found is listening to audio books. To be honest, iphones and MP3 player technology gets updated every year. If I buy a book – hardback, paperback or via CD, I want to go back and be able to read it years later (as my daughter has done reading all of my old Julie Garwood and Catherine Coulter historicals – 10-15 years later!). I’m afraid that e-reader technology will change over the years like smartphones has and those copies won’t be availabe and will need to be repurchased again.
[With a CD you can upload it on your new mobile device using the new technology.] 
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Mar 11th
2011
2:44 pm
Margo Maguire Said:
I’d forgotten about audio books! I used to put in my earplugs and listen to books while I walked every day, but then I hurt my knee and can’t do that kind of walking any more. We still like to listen to books in the car when we’re on a long trip, but they usually go too slow for my tastes. I always want it to move along faster! especially with a page-turner…
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Mar 11th
2011
2:49 pm
Kathryn in Montreal Said:
I have not yet tried an e-reader… I have friends who absolutely love them, but I haven’t jumped on the bandwagom myself. I can see the ease of carrying around thousandss of titles in one slim package, especially when on vacation, but holding a small computer in my hands to read doesn’t appeal to me. I spend most of my day on a computer at work and I wouldn’t want to add to that.
I also love the feel of a book in my hands. I like the cover art, flipping the pages, going back and forth. I love libraries and bookstores. And I am afraid they will disappear with e-books.
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Mar 11th
2011
3:26 pm
Quilt Lady Said:
I have an e-reader and I really enjoy it. But I still love my paper books also. I kind of switch back and forth. I would really love to read some books that didn’t do well in paper books. Sometime it may not do well at the time and do better later. I think it will be great for authors and readers.
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Mar 11th
2011
4:27 pm
StacieDM Said:
I think that books that aren’t considered “hot sellers” are perfect for the eBook release. I also think that authors could include content that was cut for the paperback release. Kind of like a DVD extra.
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Mar 11th
2011
5:03 pm
chey Said:
I like that it’ll be easier to find out of print books in ebooks. I haven’t yet gotten an ereader, so I still read ebooks on my computer.
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Mar 11th
2011
9:07 pm
Barbara Elness Said:
I think it’s wonderful that authors are getting the chance to get some of their work out there that they couldn’t sell the traditional way, so that readers can make up their own minds about whether it’s “saleable” or not. I’m not a huge fan of e-books right now, since I don’t have an e-reader, but I think they’re not going away and since I got a new computer that can handle it, I’m going to be downloading a Kindle app on my computer so I can read them that way.
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Mar 11th
2011
9:09 pm
infinitieh Said:
Even though I don’t own an e-reader, I appreciate having the option of a TBR list that isn’t taking up shelf space. Of course, I still read way more paper books than ebooks and my keeper books are all paper ones. Also, some of the artwork is way better on the paper book than ebooks. Until they get the Agency pricing and DRM issues fixed, I’ll still be buying mostly paper books (that I can lend to friends, donate to the library, or sell back to the bookstore – all actions that are not allowed with ebooks). Plus, I hate Digital Editions with a passion and I think having to buy the same book again in order to read it on different e-readers is just downright stupid.
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