A Royal Love Affair

Not sure about anyone else but for any royal wedding I'm pretty much like this in front of the tv screen:

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Which is also what I look like watching any sort of hallmark royal romance movie, or reading royal romance novels. What can I say, I LOVE royal romance.

When I first had the idea for this blog, the big news around the world was Harry and Meghan doing a split from the crown (sad face). Now, of course, Covid19 has swept us away into a life of isolation and uncertainty (bigger sad face).

Today however, I’m hoping to drag you all back into a world of tiaras, duty and romance.

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Put your hand up if you aren’t a fan of royal romance. No one? Well I’m not surprised (plus let’s face it, you probably wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t have a thing for royal romance J)

I’m a total sucker for a good royal romance – it’s the ultimate escapism read for me and as I’m just finishing up the final book in a three book royal romance series, my head is chockablock full of diamonds, sweeping ballgowns, glitz, glamour, duty and of course forever love.

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So I thought, if I love it, surely others do too, and I approached a few of my all-time favourite authors who write compelling, romantic, sensual royal romances that never fail to sweep me away into their worlds, and asked them what they love MOST about writing royal romance.

Clare Connelly on writing royal romance:

“There's so much I love about reading - and writing - royal romance. There's the fairytale, of course! The idea of becoming a princess, of all the trappings, but the thing I adore most is humanising these people we know so little about. I like writing behind the trappings and showing that their problems, worries and sources of happiness are just the same as ours!”

Click to find out more about The Secret Kept from the King

Annie West on writing royal romance:

“You asked my favourite part of writing a royal romance. It’s hard to pin down precisely, but I think the stakes are higher when royalty is involved. All the world is watching and there is tremendous pressure on royal characters to get things right – so when they don’t and things go wrong in a big way (we can’t make it too easy for our characters!) then the consequences grow and so does the tension. I think there’s something about a life lived under the weight of public expectation that adds an extra layer to a royal romance. Plus I love the fact that I’m writing real people with real emotions and in the end it doesn’t matter what their official title is – they’re the same as the rest of us when it comes to grappling with both heartache and joy!”

Click to find out more about Revelations of a Secret Princess

Alyssa J Montgomery on writing royal romance:

“There’s a lot of intrigue about royalty - all the privileges and responsibilities being born or marrying into that status entails. The fascination is no doubt fuelled by the fact that we’re fed a plethora of princess/handsome prince stories as children.

I loved exploring the burdens of royalty for my characters Princess Sabrina and King Gabriel, and what it meant to grow up as the “spare” for Prince Devereaux and Prince Marco - and the pressures brought to bear on Prince Khalid for being the “spare” thrust into the role of inheriting the kingdom. I loved their conflicts and their growth and I’m really thrilled that Escape Publishing are releasing all four stories together as a boxed set in September.”

Click to find out more about The Defiant Princess

I've shared some of my favourite royal romance books, I’d like to now put it back to you: Do you love reading royal romance? And if so, let me know your favourite?

Psst, if you’re looking for a little inspiration I also stumbled across this Goodreads list which I thought I’d share – thank you AusRom for putting this one together!

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/123623.Royal_Fever_Aussie_Style

Let’s bring on the happy ever after, royal style!

I love to love... reading and writing royal romance

I love to laugh... with my daughters whilst playing dress ups (princesses and weddings, of course)

I love to learn... how to paint with watercolours (one of my iso crafting projects)

Tales from the Past Part Five: Rapunzel Stories

By Sharon Bryant

The Rapunzel Story

Rapunzel is one of the fairy tales in the Brothers Grimm collection initially published in 1812. It is very similar to an Italian tale, Petrosinella, published in 1634. Rapunzel storylines are infrequently used in romance novels, perhaps owing to difficulties incorporating some elements like Rapunzel’s very long hair. Rapunzel affords opportunities to explore themes such as innocence, jealousy and the consequences of poor judgment.

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Once Upon a Tower

Once Upon a Tower by Eloisa James contains echoes of the Rapunzel story. We meet Gowan, Duke of Kinross for whom “Fishing for a bride had taken precedence over fishing for salmon.” He likes to be in control and asks for Edie’s hand in marriage thinking she is the most serene woman he has met. However, Edie is in fact passionate and independent of spirit. Both characters have trouble expressing their feelings and must find a way to broker their increasingly tempestuous relationship.

Cress

In Cress, The Lunar Chronicles Book 3 by Marissa Meyer, Cress is trapped on a satellite and forced to follow the instructions of Sybil who reports to Levana, the evil Lunar Queen. Captain Carswell Thorne is part of a group of rebels led by a cyborg who hope to defeat Levana. The group attempts to rescue Cress. Cress has researched Thorne from her satellite home, and thinks she is in love with him. This action-packed space adventure contains elements of romance.

Bitter Greens

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth tells the story of Charlotte-Rose who enters a convent in her forties because this is the will of the king. While she is there, she hears the tale of Margherita who was trapped in a tower by a witch, and of Lucio, the young man who discovers her.

Do you notice any elements of the Rapunzel tale in the romance novels you read? Which elements like best?

I love to love: Our eldest daughter is getting married on Saturday. We are so excited.

I love to laugh: We’ve just returned from overseas. We had the most wonderful night chatting with our host in Galway.

I love to learn: Travelling overseas is the best. You learn so much.

Tales from the Past Part Four: Snow White

by Sharon Bryant

Snow White:The Grimm Brothers Version

The tale of Snow White is one of the darkest of the well-known Grimm brothers’ fairy tales. In their full version, it is Snow White’s mother, not her stepmother, who orders a huntsman to take her into the forest and kill her. The huntsman is unable to do so, and she escapes and finds refuge at the home of the Seven Dwarfs. The queen discovers Snow White is alive, using her magic mirror, then makes three attempts to murder her daughter using tight lacing, a poisoned comb, and finally a poisoned apple.

Snow White is put into a glass coffin by the dwarfs, and a handsome prince finds and kisses her, bringing her back to life. The Queen comes to Snow White’s wedding to check that her daughter is indeed alive. Snow White and the Prince force her to put on iron shoes, heated in the fire, and the Queen dances to her death.

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A Tale Rarely Used in Romance Novels

Given the gruesome nature of this tale, it is not surprising that far more pleasant versions of the Snow White story are better known and utilised in films and children’s storybooks. For similar reasons, perhaps, the Snow White tale is infrequently used in romance novels.

In The Magic Mirror and the Seventh Dwarf by Tia Nevitt, Gretchen, a dwarf, leaves her village and joins a household of dwarfs and midgets in the hope of finding love. There she meets a princess who takes refuge in the house when necessary because the queen of the kingdom is trying to kill her. Prince Richard is enslaved by a magic mirror controlled by the queen. He must truthfully answer three questions asked by the queen twice daily. Given the nature of this curse, he tries to avoid people, but meets the princess and immediately falls in love. Gretchen and Richard must discover how to destroy the magic mirror before the queen murders them all.

Snow: A Retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Tracy Lynn tells the story of Jessica who flees to London to escape the murderous rage of her jealous stepmother. She uses the name Snow, and joins and falls in love with a group of outcasts. Her stepmother discovers her whereabouts using the magic mirror and tries to convince Snow that she has changed and will now protect her. This book is not a romance but is well worth reading.

The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson is a beautifully written Snow White story. In this tale, the heroine, Sophie, is betrothed to a duke, but falls in love with his brother who rescues her from her stepmother's castle. They find refuge in the House of the Seven where a group of outcasts including a dwarf and a mentally incapacitated young man look after them and try to protect them from the stepmother who is determined to kill Sophie.


What is your favourite Snow White story? Did you see the film “Snow White and the Huntsman”? If so, what did you think of it?


I love to love:

My husband and I spent a couple of days travelling in the Mudgee area during the recent school holidays. It’s so much fun spending time together.


I love to laugh:

I’m rereading “The Happiest Refugee” by Anh Do at the moment. The humour and heartache of this story make it a must read.



I love to learn:

I heard Kate Forsyth speak at Sutherland Library during July. Her enthusiasm for history is infectious. She left me wanting to know more – a bit like the way I get so involved in reading her novels.

Tales From the Past: Beauty and the Beast

Romance Novels and Fairy Tales Part 1

Many romance novels are based on fairy tales. For example, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre have similar themes to Beauty and the Beast.

Fairy tales date back thousands of years and have similarities across cultures. Some psychologists think fairy tales span time and place because they relate to essential dilemmas we all grapple with, life lessons many of us learn, and basic truths about what it means to be human.

What message lies behind the Beauty and the Beast story?

Josh Gressel argues Beauty and the Beast imparts the essential message, we must learn to love and accept those parts of ourselves we dislike, and experience as “beast-like”. Beauty needs to find what is beautiful in the beast, and the beast needs to accept that his issues are part of him, and to learn to cope with them. Only then can they find true love.

Fairy tales appeal to children and adults because of the essential truths they impart.

Many engaging, well-written, recently published romance novels use a Beauty and the Beast theme.

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Some Beauty and the Beast romance novel page-turners

In The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, Lucy comes to realise Josh's sometimes difficult behaviour stems from shyness, and failure to deal with major issues from his past. She falls in love with his caring nature and masculine vulnerability, and can accept his flaws, once she understands him better. Josh must learn to accept his personality in its entirety, and realise he can fall in love, and be loved in return.

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Kate Forsyth writes of Ava's growing understanding of her husband Leo in The Beast's Garden. Her fear of her husband changes to fear for him when the Valkyrie plot fails, he is arrested and sentenced to be executed. This intriguing, page-turner is filled with romance and suspense as the tale of Beauty and the Beast is retold in a Nazi Germany setting.

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When Beauty Tamed The Beast by Eloisa James is a delightful, historical novel with a Beauty and the Beast theme. Both hero and heroine must learn to accept the flaws in themselves, and in each other before love can triumph.

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What is your favourite Beauty and the Beast romance? What do you think is the central message of the Beauty and the Beast tale?

I love to love:   

Friday night dinners out with my husband are the best part of my week.

I love to laugh:   

Sally Thorne's humour in The Hating Game is the best.

I love to learn:   

I think much of life is about learning and personal growth. Sometimes challenging, often fun.

Advice for Writers from the Wonderful World of Disney

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with Marilyn Forsyth

A lighthearted post this week in honour of the release, nearly ninety years ago on November 17, of Steamboat Willie, starring Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse. For your inspiration this week, here are 6 quotes from Disney movies that I believe hold meaning for writers and their writing.

1. ‘Fairy tales can come true. You gotta make ’em happen; it all depends on you. So I work real hard each and every day, now things for sure are going my way.’ Tiana from The Princess and the Frog.

The only way to get that book written is to sit down and do it. Writing a book is damn hard work and ‘butt on chair’ time is what it’s all about. Are you participating in Nanowrimo? Good on you! (But what are you doing here? Taking a well-earned break? Okay then.) Even if you don’t reach 50 000 words during the month, and what you’ve produced is not of a publishable standard, at least you have something to edit. As the saying goes, you can't edit an empty page.

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2. ‘I was just scared. And the thing is I’m not scared anymore.’ Rapunzel from Tangled.

Fear can be a great motivator. Whatever your biggest writing fear is—success (yes, that is a thing), not being able to translate what’s in your head onto the page, that nobody will want to read your book—you won’t get anywhere unless you push past the anxiety.

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3. ‘Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’ Alice from Alice in Wonderland.

Like Alice, set your imagination free. If you let your ‘Goofy’ out (pun intended), those creative juices just might start to flow. Play the ‘What if…?’ game. Write by hand. Start your story in the middle if the opening is too intimidating. Have fun with it!

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4. ‘Your identity is your most valuable possession.’ Elastigirl from The Incredibles.

‘Identity’ is another word for ‘voice’. Your writing voice - your style - should be unique to you; it’s what sets you apart from other writers. Ensure your personality comes through in your writing and it will help you to connect with your potential audience. Don't be like Elastigirl, here - let your voice be heard!

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5. ‘The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.’ The Emperor of China from Mulan.

Rejection hurts, there’s no denying that, but if you accept it as a challenge to improve, your writing can only benefit from it. Pick yourself up and take heart from the fact that Walt Disney himself was rejected over 300 times before he got the financial backing to create Disneyland. And of course let's not forget J. K. Rowling's experience.

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6. ‘If you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true.’ Cinderella from Cinderella.

Believe in yourself! Remember: Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way, you’re right. ’Nuff said.

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Do you have a favourite movie quote? Love to hear it.

Love to Love: Gabrielle Battistel's Trailermade Production. You'll find fantastic trailers for some of your favourite authors' books at http://www.trailermadeproduction.com/. Be sure to check it out!


Love to Laugh: at some of the memes I found when searching for gifs for this post (despite the spelling error :)).



Love to Learn: how long it's going to take me to read Kate Morton's The Lake House. A bit over 3 hours, according to the experts at http://www.howlongtoreadthis.com/. Follow the link to find out how long it will take you to read your next book.