Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 002863196X, Paperback)

Romances account for more than half of all mass-market paperback fiction sold. Two thousand romances are published each year. Ah, a land of opportunity, the writer is prone to think. Not so fast, Swifty. If you aren't already a reader of romances, chances are you'll never write a convincing one yourself. But if you genuinely love happy endings, Julie Beard (My Fair Lord) is here to help you become the next, well, Julie Beard. Embedded within chapters about writing and publishing and promoting your romance are all kinds of juicy tidbits about the romance biz. Beard discusses each romance subgenre in detail, disclosing typical story lines, the appropriate tone to use, and authors whose work is worth checking out. She talks about current trends (the biggest one at publication is the "cowboy-rancher-baby-bride" romance) and how to spot future ones (hint: keep your eye on popular culture). She knows what to include in your book--irresistible heroes and heroines, for starters--and what to avoid: nontraditional locales, rape scenes, sadomasochism, infidelity. She defines such terms as black moment, regency, and clinch ("the passionate embrace that typifies the traditional romance cover"). And yes, Beard says, even men can get their romances published--though it may be the one field in which they can succeed only if they are willing to take on a pseudonym of the feminine variety. --Jane Steinberg