Actually, you have the power. The world of publishing has been all but turned upside down in the last year or so. The ease of indie publishing and the bestsellerdom of books that don’t fit the mold the editors in New York have set for romance and other genres means that we’re entering a new time in the publishing industry.

It’s easy to worry about what this might mean for authors and books and readers. I worry about it a lot, as I assure you, do all of the authors I know. But we’re also excited.

We’re excited because now we have options. If our books don’t perform as expected and our publisher drops us, we have options other than obscurity. Book promotions and sales are everywhere. Readers can download books in a matter of seconds. We’re also excited because even those of us still writing for traditional publishers, like most of us here at the Jaunty Quills, now have more freedom.

Editors and publishers are listening to you, readers. How do I know? Because you did what I couldn’t.

When I was discussing Lord and Lady Spy with my editor in preparation for going to contract, I told her I wanted to make it a series. She was against a series. She said the book was a stand-alone, and the contract I received was for one book.

But guess what happened? The book sold well, and readers asked for more. Readers asked for more of Adrian and Sophia, more of the world I created in the book, and more of the other characters. In this new day and age, editors and publishers are listening to you, readers. The proof is the novella I have coming out in August, featuring Blue, a secondary character in Lord and Lady Spy that I never thought of as a hero. But readers asked over and over for his book. Who am I to argue? So here’s Blue’s book: The Spy Wore Blue.

In September the second of what has become a three-book series will be out. True Spies revisits Adrian and Sophia and also introduces a new couple, Winn and Elinor.

Currently, I’m working on Love and Let Spy, slotted for release in August 2014.

These are books I was desperate to write. These are books you made it possible for me to write. So I’m excited about the new publishing landscape. What about you? Have you noted any changes? Do you think they’re good or bad? I just received ARCs for True Spies. I’ll randomly pick a reader who posts to receive one!

I just returned from the Romantic Times Bookreviews convention in Kansas City. This year was a celebration of the Pioneers of Romance. Authors like Bertrice Small, Jude Devereaux, Julie Garwood, Robyn Carr, Mary Balogh, Thea Devine, and Laura Palmer were honored. I was able to fulfill the dream of a lifetime when I got to meet Julie Garwood and have books signed by her.

I also attended a panel where Jude Devereaux and Julie Garwood spoke and took questions. Jude Devereaux is the author of the first romance novel I ever read. Julie Garwood is the author who inspired me to write historical romance. I’m not ashamed to say I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane when I met them. And I’m not the only one. I talked to Erin Knightley and Sarah Maclean about the panel, and both of them were also completely star struck.

Julie Garwood and Jude Devereaux took questions from the audience, and of course I couldn’t think of any at the time, but I thought of one later. What is it these authors did that made their books so iconic? Why do we read them over and over? Why has their work persisted when I’m sure many of the authors who were publishing when Devereaux and Garwood began their careers have long since been forgotten?

And so I’m asking you, the readers and experts. Who is your favorite “pioneer or romance” and what is special about her books? I’m not a pioneer, but I’ll give away a copy of one of my early books, No Man’s Bride, to two people who comment.

A New Crop of Authors: Erin Knightley, me, Vicky Dreiling, Kieran Kramer

We all lead busy lives, and there are some weeks my life is way busier than others. I’m on an early flight to the Romantic Times convention in Kansas City this morning, and I had to do some creative multi-tasking to get everything ready in time.

And just when I thought I couldn’t add even one more thing to my to-do list, my publisher sent page proofs for The Spy Wore Blue my Lord and Lady Spy novella coming out in August. They were due yesterday. It’s a novella, so I knew it wouldn’t take me as long as a full-length book, but I still had to find some time to sit and read through it, making final corrections.

I remember the days when I had hours at my disposal to dedicate to writing, proofreading, revising. Now I’m lucky if I have one hour. So I multi-task.

My daughter is three and a half, and bathroom independent. Yes! But she still likes me close by when she uses the potty. And, like any kid, she sometimes wants to sit in there and sing or tell herself stories or whatnot. She might be in there ten minutes, but I had better be close by. She will check. So what do I do. Grab my computer and sit outside the bathroom door and write.

Right now her favorite game is Hello Kitty Bingo. The game is for 2-4 players, but we usually have only three—Baby G, Mickey Mouse, and me. Like and three-year-old, she has a short attention span. She wants to play, but then she finds something more interesting and runs off to investigate for five minutes. Eventually she remembers the game and comes back to continue play. I used to sit and try to catch a few minutes’ of sleep while she read a book or colored a picture. Now I open my laptop and write a few paragraphs before she returns.

And, of course, we have a couple of activities every week. One of them is gymnastics. I love to watch her, but she’s not actually doing any gymnastics for much of the class. In the 3-4 year old class, they run around, sing songs, and learn to wait for their turn on the balance beam or bars. So while I’m waiting for her to show everyone her front support, I read a page of the novella.

And that’s how the work gets done. Anyone else a master multi-tasker?

The Jaunty Quills are excited to host Kate Noble for Bring a Friend Friday. Kate’s new book, Let It Be Me, is the next book in the Blue Raven series. Keep reading to find out how to win one of Kate’s books.

Shana: I have serious cover envy whenever I see your books, Kate. Do you have much say in your covers?

Kate Noble:  I have always been so lucky with my covers. I am lucky too, in that my editors allowed me in on the process a little bit.  They ask me in advance of their cover conference about the book, the characters, and what is important and should be featured.  And they take what I say into account when creating the cover.  (I actually wrote a blog about it a little while ago.)

Shana: Tell us a bit about the Blue Raven series and Let It Be Me. Why did you set the new book in Italy?

Kate Noble:  Bridget Forrester has long lived in her sister’s shadow (Sarah, from If I Fall), and earned a reputation as something of a shrew because of it.  I knew I had to get Bridget out of London and get her a fresh start. Venice is a city that exists like a dream to me – an island bisected by canals, literally living on the water.  A perfect place to fall in love.

Shana: Your heroine, Bridget, is a musician in Venice to study piano. Music is an enormous part of her life and a major part of the book. Do you play? Did you do any research or listen to any period music when writing the book?

Kate Noble: I took piano lessons growing up, but then quickly moved onto something more my speed (the trumpet, only three keys).  But I am nowhere near the musician that Bridget is, and so I did a ton of research on playing techniques, on music from the period – I must have listened to Beethoven’s piano sonata no. 23 about six hundred times while writing this book.

Shana: You were one of the writers for The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Are you sad that it’s over? Any similar projects in the works?

Kate Noble: Of course I’m sad it’s over, it was a wonderful project to work on the fan response was so fervent, it was such a rush.  I feel like every generation gets their Pride and Prejudice and I just feel so lucky that I got to be a part of this one.  I am also going to be involved in the Gigi spinoff Welcome to Sanditon, coming later this summer.

Shana: Very exciting! Tell us what you coming soon.

Kate Noble:  I’m hard at work on my next historical romance trilogy, the first of which will be out in 2014.  And of course, there is Welcome to Sanditon.  I’m also working on a comic book with Javier Grillo-Marxuach of the Middleman fame, and artist Kel McDonald.  I have another couple of pet projects that I can hopeful make see the light of day.

Readers, now it’s your turn. Do you enjoy novels set in romantic locales like Venice or do you prefer authors to stick to London or the USA? One reader who comments will be randomly chosen to win a copy of Let It Be Me. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

London weather is chilly—and the social scene even more so. Luckily, Bridget Forrester is just getting warmed up…

The Jaunty Quills are excited to bring back veteran author Heather Snow. Heather’s new book, Sweet Madness, is the third in the Veiled Seduction series. Keep reading to find out how to win one of Heather’s books

Shana: Welcome back, Heather. You’ve been our guest before, but I’ve never interviewed you, and I’m excited to have the opportunity. Tell us about Sweet Madness. I love the tagline: There is a fine line between love and insanity…

Heather Snow: Hi Shana! I’m thrilled to be here. The Jaunty Quills is one of my very favorite places to be…oh, and please tell Jaunty that Armando the Cravat-Wearing Armadillo says hello, too.

Unlike my first two novels, which featured a lady chemist and a lady criminologist/mathematician who reveled in pushing Society’s boundaries, Sweet Madness is about a young lady who is Society’s darling. She’s always been perfectly behaved. She has the perfect husband. And she’s perfectly content to live the privileged society life she was born to…until her husband’s tragic death changes her forever. It drives her to study the maladies of the mind and leads her to a traumatized soldier who needs her help…and her love. But she also finds that healing is a two way street. To be able to follow our hero to the dark places she must go to reach him, she has to open up wounds of her own. It’s really a story about the healing power of love, with a little mystery and some racy bits thrown in!

It was great fun helping Penelope discover her inner genius and learn that she, too, was brilliant…just in a different way.

Shana: I’m not currently speaking to Jaunty, Heather. I hope armadillos are nicer than porcupines–or at least not as interfering.

Gabriel Devereaux suffers from what we call now PTSD. I did some research on this condition when I was writing If You Give a Rake a Ruby and found there wasn’t a lot out there. What drew you to write a wounded warrior and how did you research Gabriel’s “episode” scenes?

Heather Snow: All three heroes in my debut series served in the wars in some capacity, and their experiences changed each of them. But I knew from the moment this series was planned that this third book would be the darkest. I sort of backed into how I handled Gabriel’s “episode” scenes. Luckily, there is a lot known about PTSD today, even if there was little available back then. I read texts, medical journals and firsthand accounts from today’s soldiers, pulling the signs, symptoms and effects I used to depict Gabriel’s struggles.

As far as figuring out how Penelope would help him, that part was a bit harder. Since little was known about “battle fatigue” at the time, I had to look at the remedies that help today and choose only those that could have been determined or intuited through what Penelope might have known or experienced in her life and her own common sense.

I am glad you brought up the PTSD aspect of my book. As I’ve said, Sweet Madness is a story of the healing power of love, and just as important, of hope. Gabriel is a fictional war hero but there are many real life heroes and their families suffering today. Therefore, my husband and I have decided to donate a portion of all royalties earned from the sale of Sweet Madness to Hope For The Warriors®, an organization dedicated to “restoring a sense of self, restoring the family unit, and restoring hope for our service members and our military families.” You can find out more at http://www.heathersnowbooks.com/Hope_For_the_Warriors.ht

Shana: You’re known for heroines who are smart and scientific, and I know you have the science background to make them authentic. Do you think you’ll keep writing scientifically minded heroines?

Heather Snow: I would love to, and maybe later on I will, but right now there’s a new series percolating in my mind that I’m itching to get started on. I can’t share until all of the details are finalized, but it will certainly feature the smart strong heroines readers have come to expect from me, if not scientifically minded ones.

Shana: What’s it like writing with two small children? How do you manage to get anything done? Is there a magic spell or secret password, and if so, please share with Emily, Robyn, and me!

Heather Snow: Ha! I was going to ask YOU that! You always seem to have it so together.

Let’s see…Bose noise canceling headphones and the infinite patience of my poor husband? Really, I don’t know how women do it. I don’t know how I do it and stay sane (which is debatable, really, my sanity). The last three years have been like running on a giant treadmill and trying not to go flying off of the back and crashing into the wall. I guess I just keep telling myself that the boys will be in school soon enough and then I’ll have more time. And yet, just typing that, I feel horribly guilty for wishing their toddler and preschool years away…

I guess the answer is there is no answer. We just all have to do what we can when we can do it, and rely on our families to pitch in when we’re down to the wire. I do, however, have a fortune from a fortune cookie taped to the top corner face of my laptop screen…it says “Focus your attention.” I look at that a lot when I’m working to remind myself I only have so much time to accomplish what I need to.

Shana: That all sounds very familiar to me. I’m glad I have you fooled!

Finally, tell us what you have coming next.

Heather Snow: Vacation! Sweet Enemy sold when our eldest was still in diapers, and the second was written right after the birth of our youngest—while my husband was finishing up his masters on top of his full time career! He graduated right after I finished Sweet Deception and we’d barely had time to enjoy a breather before I jumped into Sweet Madness. My family and I are looking forward to a couple of weeks on the beach together during the month of May—our first real vacation in three years. Then I’ll get started on my new series…

Readers, now it’s your turn. Do you enjoy historical (or contemporary) romance novels where the characters deal with real life issues like PTSD or miscarriage or a cancer diagnosis or do you prefer books that take you away from real life tragedies? One reader who comments will be randomly chosen to win their choice of Heather’s first two novels, Sweet Enemy or Sweet Deception (which just won the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence for published historical romance and was named a finalist in the New England Reader’s Choice Bean Pot Awards!). This giveaway is open internationally.

Ever since her husband’s sudden and tragic death, Lady Penelope Bridgeman has dedicated herself to studying maladies of the mind, particularly those of soldiers returning from the Napoleonic Wars, but Gabriel Devereaux’s unpredictable episodes are like none she’s ever seen. Even though she knows the folly of loving a broken man, she can’t help herself from trying to save him, no matter the cost…

Read the Prologue and First Chapter HERE…

Rainy Day Books (my local indie)
Amazon (Kindle Edition)
Amazon (Mass Market Paperback)
Barnes and Noble
Books-A-Million
IndieBound
Ibooks
The Book Depository (Free shipping worldwide)

Walmart (online only)

Heather Snow is an award winning historical romance author with a degree in Chemistry who discovered she preferred creating chemistry on the page rather than in the lab. She lives in the Midwest with her husband, two rambunctious boys, and one very put upon cat. Mr. Snow recently promised the boys they could have a dog when the family returns from their beach vacation. The cat is not happy.

The final book in her Veiled Seduction series, SWEET MADNESS, hit shelves April 2, 2013. RT Book Reviews Magazine gives it 4 ½ stars, saying “In this emotional, compassionate romance…the powerful love story will sweep readers away.”

Find out more at www.HeatherSnowBooks.com or connect with Heather at www.facebook.com/AuthorHeatherSnow , www.twitter.com/HeatherSnowRW or at her blog, Heather’s Historical Reader Salon at www.heathersnowbooksreadersalon.blogspot.com

I have always loved to read. I remember holing up in my bedroom for hours and hours when I was in high school. My mom would check to see if I was okay because I was often happy to read all day.

One aspect of becoming an author I didn’t anticipate was how much my reading time would be cut (and part of that cut is from being a mom to a young child too).

When I was trying to think of topics for this blog, I asked my friends on Facebook for ideas. Miriam Clarke Phillips said, “With so many romance novels being published every month, how do you keep up and/or decide what to read?”

Good question, Miriam.

And now I have a confession to make: I have a really hard time keeping up. I want to read all the new books and all my friends’ books, but there is no way I can do so.

Giving this tote filled with books from the RT convention away on my website

It’s not that I don’t read. I do. But I don’t get to choose what I read a lot of the time. I read books for contests, like the Rita contest, where I have to read anywhere from 5-8 novels in the space of about 8 weeks. I judge contests for unpublished authors too. I often have to read 5 or so entries and comment on the author’s strengths and weaknesses.

I read books from other authors who would like me to give them a cover quote. I’ve had a steady stream of those requests lately. I love reading debut books. It’s fun to get a sneak peek, but in the meantime, my personal TBR pile languishes.

Giving this necklace away on my Facebook page

I read research books on topics related to themes in books I’m writing. I read blogs. I read RT magazine and the RWR, which is the journal for the Romance Writers of America. I have to stay up on the industry and what’s new.

I have about 30 to an hour a day to read (sometimes more, sometimes less), and now you know where that time is spent. I read quickly. I’m lucky that way, but I still can’t manage to keep up.

I can’t really give Miriam a very good answer. I suspect neither of us read as much as we’d like. What about you? Can you help Miriam out?

Saturday I went shopping with my mother, sister, and my sister’s good friend for bridesmaid and wedding dresses. My sister is having a big wedding ceremony in November, and the preparations are well underway. I’m the matron of honor and Baby Galen has been deemed well-behaved enough to act as one of the flower girls.

After fortifying ourselves with lunch and a drink (mine sans alcohol because I mistakenly believed I would work when I got home), we trekked to the bridal store, where, fortunately, I had convinced my sister to make appointments.

The bridesmaids went first. I told my sister I’d wear whatever she wanted as long as she didn’t put me in yellow or orange. She wanted a bright blue. We tried on a half dozen dresses, found the style we liked, but when we tried it on in blue, my sister balked.

Uh-oh! First crisis of the day. The blue did not work for her. She and the groom had decided on blue and now she was going to change that decision. Without him. She really liked the plum color of one of the dresses we tried on. We all tried it on again and decided we’d go with sangria (the fancy name for maroon/plum).

Next we headed over to the bride’s area so she could try on wedding gowns. Believe it or not, but the first one she tried on was The One. We could all feel it. Still, we encouraged her to try on about twelve more. I helped on most of them and was complimented on my corseting skills, but I have to say my arms were sore the next morning.

So many dresses looked good on her (bitch!), so it was a hard decision. But guess what? Sometimes the first one is The One.

So we got to move on to the really fun stuff—what were the flower girls going to wear?

How many dresses did you have to try before you found The One? I must have tried on 15-20. Did anyone wear a gown your mother or grandmother wore?

Hello! It’s me, Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire. I’m here with a stash of pine nuts and my latest author interview. Welcome to the Jaunty Quills Shana Galen!

Shana: Jaunty, this is my blog.

Jaunty: So tell us about your new book, If You Give a Porcupine a Pine Nut.

Shana: Jaunty, you know that’s not the title. It’s If You Give a Rake a Ruby.

Jaunty: That makes no sense. Why would a yard implement want a ruby? You can’t eat rubies. Can you?

Shana: Jaunty, the book is about a courtesan and a spy. Fallon is the Marchioness of Mystery, and she wants to keep her past a mystery. Warrick is under threat of assassination, and Fallon holds the key to finding the hired assassin. She and Warrick meet when she finds him in her bed. She kicks him out, but he blackmails her into helping him.

Jaunty: And then they find the hidden pine nut treasure?

Shana: No. Then they have to delve into London’s underworld.

Jaunty: And that’s where the pine nuts are!

Shana: No. There aren’t any pine nuts in this book. Just rubies.

Jaunty: And the rubies taste like pine nuts!

Shana: No, Jaunty. There are no pine nuts and no porcupines in this book.

Jaunty: Shana, you know Kristan is my favorite, right? Are you even trying to compete?

Shana: No.

Jaunty: I don’t believe you. I’ve seen the cover of your book.

Shana: And?

 Jaunty: There’s a porcupine on the cover! Thank you, Shana!

Shana: No problem, Jaunty. Readers, I have no idea what Jaunty is talking about, but as a thanks for reading this interview, I’m giving one person who comments a copy of If You Give a Rake a Ruby. Let me know your favorite color on the cover of romance novels.

…He’ll Ask for a Pine Nut, or so I have found, which is why I really tried to avoid doing the Jaunty interview for my new book If You Give a Rake a Ruby. Here’s the pretty cover!

But Jaunty is threatening to interview me anyway. If I can’t get out of it, you’ll have to check back on Saturday to see that…ahem, “interview.”

In the meantime, before he catches on to what I’m up to, I wanted to tell you a little about the book. It’s the second in my Jewels of the Ton series about three glamorous Regency courtesans. This one is about the Marchioness of Mystery, Fallon, and how she gets mixed up with (that’s a nice way of saying blackmailed by) Warrick Fitzhugh, a spy for the Crown, who is targeted for assassination.

One of my favorite things about writing romance novels is writing the hero’s point of view. Here’s a scene featuring Warrick and the Duke of Pelham, the hero of my last book, When You Give a Duke a Diamond.

 Impatient now, Warrick pulled out his pocket watch. Pelham was never late, but he was also a newly married man. He had been less than enthusiastic about leaving his bride to meet Warrick. But Warrick had insisted, most persuasively.

And he could be very persuasive when necessary…as evidenced by the sight of Pelham striding into the dining room. His clothing was perfectly in order, his blue eyes clear and hard, his mouth set in a firm slash. But something was different about the man. Warrick narrowed his eyes. Pelham’s hair, perhaps? It appeared a bit…tousled.

He rose when his friend spotted him and didn’t hide his grin.

“What are you looking so cheerful about?” the duke asked, taking a seat without being invited.

“Do I look cheerful?” Warrick sat, signaling to the waiter to bring the port he had already requested. It was a vintage Warrick knew Pelham liked. “Have you done something different?”

Pelham glanced at him sharply and shifted. Oh, now Warrick was going to enjoy this. Making Pelham uncomfortable was one of the few joys he had in life. “Your coat cut differently?” He pretended to study Pelham’s conservative coat. “Your cravat tied in a new sort of knot?” He reached out and touched the perfectly tied neck cloth—perfectly tied in the same fashion Pelham had always worn it. “No, that isn’t it.”

“Stubble it, Fitzhugh. There’s nothing different.”

“Oh, I think there is.” He looked pointedly at Pelham’s hair and could all but see the duke leaning back in his chair, away from Warrick’s scrutiny. “It’s your hair. Why, Pelham. It’s positively fashionable.”

“My hair is exactly the same. Now why the devil did you call me here?”

“I don’t believe so.”

The waiter set the port in front of Pelham and Fitzhugh waved the man away.

“It looks a bit tousled. That’s how the dandies are wearing it these days.”

Pelham slapped the table with his palm. “I’m no bloody dandy. Stop looking at my hair.”

“Can I assume this is the new Duchess of Pelham’s doing?” Fitzhugh asked with a satisfied smile.

“I don’t wish to discuss my hair. If that’s the only topic you want to converse about—” He stood, and Warrick yanked him back down.

“What the devil are you about?” Pelham adjusted his sleeve. “Have you gone quite mad?”

“No. I have a serious matter to discuss with you.”

Pelham narrowed his eyes. “It had better not be the state of my cravat.”

“No. I fear we must suspend our fashion discussions for the moment. I need to ask you about one of your wife’s friends, one of The Three Diamonds.”

Pelham drank his previously untouched port, swallowed, then said, “Why?”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss that. I can say it’s a matter of state.”

“I thought you’d retired from the Foreign Office.”

“On occasion I am still called upon to exercise my skills.”

“I see.”

“What do you know about the Marchioness of Mystery? She calls herself Fallon, I believe.”

Pelham shrugged. “Not much. She’s not as friendly as Lily.”

“She’s secretive,” Warrick remarked.

Pelham sipped his port. “I don’t know that I’d say that, but I don’t believe all that rot about her being foreign royalty or a gypsy queen.”

“No, that’s rubbish,” Warrick murmured.

“How do you know? I don’t think Juliette even knows where Fallon came from. And what does a courtesan have to do with a matter of state?”

“I’d love to discuss that with you, old chap…”

“But you can’t. Well I will tell you this. I don’t know who you’re looking for, but if it’s a spy or a traitor, looking at Fallon is looking in the wrong direction.”

Warrick leaned forward. “Go on.”

“She’s fiercely loyal—to her friends and to the Countess of Sinclair. The last time I saw her, she told Juliette she was relieved this business with Lucifer was over and done. She said he was…” Pelham rubbed his fingers together, obviously searching his memory for the exact words. Warrick appreciated his friend’s effort to be precise, but then again, he expected nothing less from the orderly Duke of Pelham. “Ah! She said Lucifer was a thorn in the side of the city and had been for years. Struck me as rather patriotic.”

A tingle ran up Warrick’s spine all the way to the base of his skull and then down his arms. So this Fallon knew of Lucifer. That was interesting because the very existence of the man was not common knowledge among anyone who did not frequent London’s gambling hells. And those were certainly not the usual haunts of glittering courtesans like The Three Diamonds.

Pelham didn’t know it, but by trying to defend his wife’s friend, he’d just confirmed everything Warrick had learned, thereby dooming her.

Want to win a copy of When You Give a Duke a Diamond? Just leave a comment about what you love about romance novel heroes. The winner will be randomly chosen, and I’ll notify her by email. As per usual, all blog winners are posted on Sundays.

If You Give a Rake a Ruby by Shana Galen—in stores today!

HER MYSTERIOUS PAST IS THE BEST REVENGE . . .

Fallon, the Marchioness of Mystery, is a celebrated courtesan with her finger on the pulse of high society. She’s adored by men, hated by their wives. No one knows anything about her past, and she plans to keep it that way.

ONLY HE CAN OFFER HER A DAZZLING FUTURE . . .

Warrick Fitzhugh will do anything to protect his compatriots in the Foreign Office, including seduce Fallon, who he thinks can lead him to the deadliest crime lord in London. He knows he’s putting his life on the line . . .

To Warrick’s shock, Fallon is not who he thinks she is, and the secrets she’s keeping are exactly what make her his heart’s desire . . .

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I knew I would cry when I saw the film version of Les Miserables. I wept at the play when I saw it in London. I cry half the time I listen to the soundtrack.

What I didn’t expect was to be moved beyond the sad stories of Fantine and Eponine and Jean Valjean. I didn’t expect for Victor Hugo’s theme to hit home.

Sometimes I think classic literature is wasted on the young. I’m a former high school English teacher, so I have led many young students through the perils of Shakespeare, Dickens, and their kin. I read the same books when I was in school, and what I found was that I appreciated and understood them so much better when I read them as an adult.

This is the way it was for Les Miserables as well. I read it in high school or as an undergrad in college, and I didn’t get it. I mean, I got it enough to write an essay about it. I got an A too, but I might owe that more to my writing ability than my insights. To me, the book was about a guy imprisoned for no good reason and the cop who seems to have nothing better to do than harass him.

But after I saw the movie a few weeks ago, I re-read the book, and I saw Hugo’s novel differently. It wasn’t a story about a convict. It was a story about revolution. Not the student revolution because those guys have it all wrong. The revolution was one of kindness and love. What really made a difference in the life of Jean Valjean, and subsequently Cosette and Marius and even Eponine, was the kindness shown to Valjean by that bishop. One man’s magnanimous gesture inspired another man to do the same for others.

I wish I had understood that as a young adult. I understand it now, and I often write about the poor and miserable (as much as one really can in a romance novel). In my forthcoming If You Give a Rake a Ruby, the heroine is from the slums of London and she would have had a life very much like the poor wretched souls on the streets of Hugo’s Paris.

Were there any novels you read as a young adult that you re-read later and experienced differently? Do you think forcing high school kids to read the classics turns them off to reading in general?