Amish Romance novels:
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/02/books-amish-romance-novels.html
Now I know why my writing is unpublishable.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/02/books-amish-romance-novels.html
Now I know why my writing is unpublishable.
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I grew up around the Amish, dated an Irish girl briefly, and we have one Amish man in the family. I still live in Amish country, and deal with them almost every week. All of which is saying I have a deep interest in, and high respect for, the Amish. So, for me, these books are great.
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Yes, they are a type of novel experiencing a mini-boom. But this has the feel of a planted story to me. It has been meandering around the media in remasticated forms for about 6 months now. (Psychology Today, Jezebel, ABC, Time) And most of these books come from one of two publishers who no doubt are enjoying the publicity.... I think it is a new 'exotic other' romance (noble savage, highlander etc) and questionably accurate. The Amish, of course, are not permitted to read them.
Good Lord, and to think I was having misgivings about submitting my latest transsexual robot hooker from outer space novel.
This makes me think of T. E. D. Klein's brilliant horror novel The Ceremonies, which was largely set in an Amish (or Amish-like, could have been a similar sect) community.
Why does it make me think of this novel. Um, because that's how my brain (such as it is) works. Plus I think I could write a very sweet Amish romance, so long as I could have a few shoggoths in it. Or wait! A very sweet Amish romance with bonneted vampires! DIBS ON THIS IDEA!!!
Why does it make me think of this novel. Um, because that's how my brain (such as it is) works. Plus I think I could write a very sweet Amish romance, so long as I could have a few shoggoths in it. Or wait! A very sweet Amish romance with bonneted vampires! DIBS ON THIS IDEA!!!
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Jodi Picoult wrote a novel about an Amish girl being tried for murder of her infant. Besides being a great story, I learned a lot about the Amish community.
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The article mentions Witness, which is my only source of knowledge about the Amish -- and I loved that movie. Basically I could easily be or write about the Amish romantically; I very much identify with that kind of simple, God-trusting lifestyle. But as the Newsweek article notes, there is a downside. More's the pity!
Bones had an episode about a frustrated and talented Amish pianist.
Alas, he got whacked. Or maybe he fell out of a window; I forget.
Alas, he got whacked. Or maybe he fell out of a window; I forget.
As a background clarification: I was more amused by this piece than anything else. Like JAR, I also have a good deal of personal background with Amish people. I have nothing but positive recollections of my interaction with them. They made and sold wonderful woollen products and cheese in my local area, among other things. As a mid-teenager I also worked for some days with some hired Amish laborers helping to move a neighbor's house. The actual building, on giant skids, not just the contents. It was pulled by tractors, which they did not drive, but they were perfectly happy to help with the strength work to get the edifice properly situated for the move. My family and the neighbors being moved fed them as well as paid them. Man, those brawny young men I remember could really eat.
Conscientious, polite, hard-working, admirable and firm believers in their religion/lifestyle. I even read somewhere not long ago that their numbers have increased in recent years, despite the endless assault of crass modernity that is 21st Century U.S. of A.
Somehow my brain associates Romance novels in general with edging ever so indirectly into the salacious, and my brain has some difficulty connecting that with what I know about the Amish. I mean, there aren't really cozy back seats in those buggies, ya know?
Conscientious, polite, hard-working, admirable and firm believers in their religion/lifestyle. I even read somewhere not long ago that their numbers have increased in recent years, despite the endless assault of crass modernity that is 21st Century U.S. of A.
Somehow my brain associates Romance novels in general with edging ever so indirectly into the salacious, and my brain has some difficulty connecting that with what I know about the Amish. I mean, there aren't really cozy back seats in those buggies, ya know?
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The Amish romance boom goes hand in hand with the Inspirational romance boom. It's like the more explicit and dark regular romance gets, the opposite end of the spectrum experiences a revival as well.
There was a movie on Lifetime staring the woman from Law and Order SVU...Meisha or something like that. She was an Amish girl's lawyer, but I forget what the charge was...it was on years ago.
Since my Mom reads them, I'll give some input. The article touts them as "bonnet-rippers" and they are anything but. You can buy some at Wal-mart and regular bookstores, but a huge market is Christian bookstores. They are love stories along the lines of Love Comes Softly series if anyone is familiar with that. The themes are standard, but there is a big focus on faith.
"Inspirational literature" is all over the place, but it is more difficult to find contemporary fiction with a religious focus or without a lot of sex, violence, and foul language. I think also for my mother it is easy to relate to characters who have some distance in their romantic relationships since my father, who is military, is currently in his 7th deployment. She's also a big fan of the culture, the quilts, the furniture.
Love doesn't have to have sex in it. I can't attest to the quality of the literature, but I can see the appeal of these. They aren't my cup of tea, but that goes for a lot of things.
"Inspirational literature" is all over the place, but it is more difficult to find contemporary fiction with a religious focus or without a lot of sex, violence, and foul language. I think also for my mother it is easy to relate to characters who have some distance in their romantic relationships since my father, who is military, is currently in his 7th deployment. She's also a big fan of the culture, the quilts, the furniture.
Love doesn't have to have sex in it. I can't attest to the quality of the literature, but I can see the appeal of these. They aren't my cup of tea, but that goes for a lot of things.
I have to agree with that. If you read the article, there are several things in it that are just odd statements. One of the things touched on is that many of the readers of these books seem to be seeking more stability and quiet in their lives, particularly if their worlds have a great deal of upheaval.
In my own writing (far from Amish romance) I am striving for positive themes. I think with so much in the world today that is stressful and negative, we have enough to contemplate of darkness and horror. I would prefer to show my readers a way to laugh when grief occurs. To illustrate that simple things we often forget in a fast paced world still hold a tremendous amount of strength, like family and quiet. Not all writers write this way, but I do. I can appreciate an approach like this.
They used to. I remember being obsessed with it in my teens. Maybe it will make a comeback! Some of what I read was MG, but some was older. I read a huge tome that was an account of Nefertiti's life too. I was so in love with ancient Egypt.
I'm into ancient Egypt, too. It's fun stuff. My novel has been on sale to major publishers all year and no takers.
Oh well! Maybe next year they'll want it.
Teen-age Amish vampires in a dystopian near-future America, with a side of zombies and maybe a chocolate shake. Yup, definitely a chocolate shake.
Publishers will touch anything they think it's good enough. I doubt anyone rejects a book simply because it's ancient Egyptian fiction. It sure isn't difficult to find novels about ancient Egypt on Amazon.com.
I think is new to folks outside the romance genre. To those of us in the genre, it's old news. I'm not generally an inspy fan but I've enjoyed a handful of my mother's favorite Amish romances.
Stephanie Dray and Michelle Moran have made big Egyptian historial fiction sales in the last few years.
Well, almost all the rejections I received said "The writing is awesome and the story is great. But we don't know how to market this particular setting in historical fiction, so we're going to pass."
It's less a situation of "simply because it's ancient Egyptian fiction" and more a situation of "the economy is too fragile to take a stab at a new author who's writing historical fiction in a setting that doesn't have a very trustworthy, proven track record of attracting lots and lots of readers, such as, say, Tudor England. Or Amish romances."
I understand it from a business standpoint, and once the economy swings back up somebody will be glad to buy it. I just think it's funny that something as apparently outlandish as Amish romance is selling really well, while a seemingly less outlandish historical setting is a hard sell.
Yes, I am aware of that. My book is represented by an agent at a major literary agency, so I'm sure she's aware of that, too.
Like I said, it's the economic situation and the fact that I'm a new novelist writing in a setting that is still foreign to most historical fiction readers. If I had an established following, I doubt it'd be a problem. And in a couple of years, when publishers aren't feeling so guarded with their cash, I have no doubt this book will be easy to sell.
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