Regency Romance Novels – blog

Some books we consume as light reading end up catalysts for change in our lives. Laura Florand’s romance novels have fallen into this category for me (I recommended her free story The Chocolate Rose in my last post). In her chocolate series her heroes are French chefs (the stories set in France). I’ve loved all her heroes. Even the book I gave two stars (The Chocolate Temptation) I’ve actually re-read the first half again (and will read again because the first half deserves five stars). Her French chefs are just so captivating I’ll probably break down and buy the rest of the series (soon).

So how can reading about fictional French chefs finding love change one’s life? If you’d asked me this question two weeks ago I would have raised an eyebrow and stared back with a blank mind. I think it was while reading The Chocolate Rose a second time that change set in. The hero is a pastry chef who pours his heart into his desserts. When he offers the heroine something he’s made for her the reader knows he’s offering his heart on a plate though she doesn’t realise this at first. It made me stop and wonder if I’m dishing up my heart for my creative endeavours and if not, why not? There is no point creating anything without passion (without pouring our hearts into it). It’s made me ask myself, do I dish up my heart in my stories? I do! Am I dishing up my heart in my other artistic creations? Hmmm – not all the time! Why not? What do I want to be creating? Does it make me happy to dish up my heart? Yes, but I must feel passionate about the feeding.

So what else is changing? Read more…

The last few months I’ve been gorging on other people’s stories. Perhaps a part of me has been story-starved. Normally when I’m writing I crave non-fiction, but at the moment I crave fiction (like a fiction-addiction!). Perhaps I needed the escape so as to not think about not being able to write because my brain is still not right (I’m off to the hospital in a few weeks for an ultrasound on my thyroid) – in the mean time I have had new stories sprouting in my head and older unfinished ones demanding attention, but it’s like the characters are talking to me while I’m under water. I’m sure they’re frustrated! I know I am. In the mean time I’ve discovered new authors and tried out new genres. I’ve taken to haunting my local library once a week – willing to crack open any cover that grabs my eye. I’ve spent a lot of money buying books, but there are some great free books out there. I had to share my three favorite.

I downloaded mine from iBooks, but you can also find them free on Amazon (and I’m presuming other sites). My links will take you to the UK Amazon site so you may want to go straight to your own if it’s different. Read more…