I've been neglecting this blog for these past few weeks due to a bad cold and life in general not giving me a chance to breathe, but in the meantime lots of very exciting things have been happening.
The RNA have announced their shortlist for the Romantic Novel of the Year and although I'm disappointed that some of my favourites didn't make the cut (Jane Jackson, Nora Roberts, Katie Fforde and Lesley Pearse), I'm pleased that on the whole this year's shortlist perfectly illustrates how vast the genre is.
The shortlist includes two sagas - Katie Flynn's Beyond the Blue Hills and Judith Lennox's A Step in the Dark (Not such a big fan of Ms Flynn, but I had read Ms. Lennox's Middlemere and really enjoyed it. I can't wait to read this book!)
Chick lit is represented by the wonderful Carole Matthews with Welcome to the real World and by male writer Matt Dunn, although I think it's fair to say that his novel,
The Ex Boyfriend's Handbook is more lad lit.
Finally, women's fiction is represented by Elizabeth McGregor's Learning by Heart (I'm not familiar with her writing although reviewers on Amazon certainly seem to love her) and Rosie Thomas' Iris and Ruby.
It will be interesting finding out the results as both the Category and Main Prize shortlists are particularly strong this year. Best of luck to all the nominees!
Meanwhile, you can hear an interview about the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year award on the BBC Radio Cambridgeshire website. If you visit the transita blog at transita.blogspot.com, you'll find all the details. I must say, I did find the presenter to be slightly dismissive of the genre (heaving bosoms? Please!), but Jan Jones's infectious enthusiasm for the genre certainly made up for what I thought was the media's typical ignorance on the genre.
I hope to blog soon and in the meantime, I wish all my blog readers a lovely week!
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