Musing on Romance and other things

Aug 9, 2023

ROMANCE:  c. 1300, romaunce, "a story, written or recited, in verse, telling of the adventures of a knight, hero, etc.," often one designed principally for entertainment, from Old French romanz "verse narrative" (Modern French roman), also "the vulgar language." It was originally an adverb, "in the vernacular language," from the Vulgar Latin verbal phrase *romanice scribere "to write in a Romance language" (one developed from Latin instead of Frankish), from Latin Romanicus "of or in the Roman style," from Romanus "Roman" (see Roman).

The sense evolution is because medieval vernacular tales (as opposed to Latin texts) typically told chivalric adventures full of marvelous incidents and heroic deeds. "The spelling with -aunce, -ance was very early adopted in English, probably on the analogy of abstract sbs." [OED].

Hopefully, this will solve the definitional problem once and for all. *winks*

Of late I’ve been asked a question that has me musing on my romance writing and why did I take up the genre. I had some small success as a Black Shakespearean and early modern English cultural scholar so why cease in that arena. A few months ago, I received an invitation to write a short piece about “pivoting” from academic to romance writing. I turned down the invitation because I’m not that interested in writing for peer-reviewed publications (once again, I don’t need to do so). This wasn’t my only reason for turning the invitation down. I’ve written about my writing duality in the collection, Black Love Matters. However, I do realize there is a curiosity in the invitation so let me set the matter to rest. I’ve always wanted to be a fiction writer, and particularly romance and fantasy. Academia came much later. A path that would allow me to write fiction while earning a living and having time to write. Lord, was I wrong.

So Dear Reader, there was never a pivot. I’ve always written fiction, even if at times it was only in my imagination while Willie S and Kit M and their counterparts were sitting in the mental balcony keeping the romance fiction lights on.

The Cock & Oyster Historical Cozy Mystery, with a dash of kink Series

I started this series as a lark. A playful way to always have joy in my writing. Aisha Resonne and Percy Howard kept me laughing while I worked on other projects. Willie S provided the texts & context for me to damage several plays (Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Antony & Cleopatra, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Macbeth). As I wrote these novellas, I knew the series would come to an end this year. The Cock & Oyster was never meant to more than a temporary respite, laughter in the midst of a traumatic US society determined to restore a past that was neither glorious nor humane. Readers, the series served its purpose.

This series challenged my self-assumptions about writing far more explicitly about the use of sex toys and games. Realized it’s never about the act but the intimacy, the consensual relationship of trust, and, when there is no harm, there is absolutely nothing wrong with finding your erotic pleasures. I adore Aisha Resonne Howard and Percy Elwen Howard, Lady and Lord Ross. Their complete saga (if I can call it that) will release September 2023 and will be available in eBook and paperback formats. If you’re a pearl clutcher or “clean-romance” reader, you might want to forego this book. Aisha and Percy are sexually active, use sexually explicit language, and lovers of toys and play whenever they make love (whether in bed, in a carriage, in the accounting room, or the parlor). So if this isn’t your cup of tea…

I do have to query: why are you subscribed to MargoH’s Musings since Margo and Elysabeth are one and the same? Anyway, here’s the amazing cover created by www.dotcovers.com.

What I’ve Been Reading

One of my favorite romance subgenre is shifter/paranormal and it’s been a delight to discover Dria Andersen’s books. I first read her novella in Current: A Charity Anthology for Jackson Mississippi. Loved what I read and joined Kindle Unlimited (largely because of inflation I didn’t/don’t have funds to purchase all the books I want to buy). While I’ve enjoyed all I’ve read so far, it is the shifter romances, particularly the Haven Series, The Knight Brothers, and the Hamilton Brothers, that seduced me and keep me reading.

Andersen’s storytelling is compelling, subtlety dealing with the complexities of Black communities and families, and invested with a mythography that is respectful to Black American ancestral beliefs while constructing anew. What I’m especially drawn to are the depths of characterizations in Andersen’s books. Andersen’s shifters are fiercely protected of their communities and loving and nurturing of bonds regardless of the tensions between the different types of shifters. All of this is interwoven in the stories as a natural thread that make these novels a ‘1-sitting’ read.

What is striking, and this is what Indie Black romance authors do so well, is that Andersen always shows the deep-seeded relationships between characters and a community, even when the character is an antagonist to the community’s survival or the main character’s relations with their mate. The range of character traits ensure no two are alike. Shy Celine (The Knight Brothers, book 1) and fiercely protective Mila (Knight Brothers, book 2) balance the books’ romantic arc without falling into traditional romance conventions about needing protectors. None of the male shifters would be who and what they are as lovers, fathers, members of their communities without their mates, mothers, sisters, women cousins and friends. This is the definition, in my opinion, Black romance.

The angst, the laughter, and the joy that comes with living as fully realized beings, imperfect and perfect simultaneously, are all there. If you enjoy the paranormal/shifter romance subgenre, you definitely want to pick up Dria Andersen’s books. Unless you’re a pearl clutching, “clean romance”, or an “I can’t relate” reader, you’ll enjoy her series.

Musing on Censorship Publishing Copyright

You’ll notice there are no punctuation marks (comma to be exact) in the heading to this part. I’ve long had a peculiar relationship to commas—I ‘m not exactly a hater, just not a fan. Most likely it’s because I was taught to use commas as they were breaths in a sentence. Fortunately, I was an avid reader and modeled my writing on what I read. Not until I taught high school and college (yes, I did both) did I develop a serious allergic reaction to comma usage except for the Oxford version (taking no arguments here).

Back to the subheading. I’ve been thinking about collecting my published essays to reprint them in a single book. To do that I need to get “copyright” back from the various publishers/journals. It is not a matter of “reprint” but of reversion of rights from the publisher to me. Something I didn’t know when I was chasing tenure. So while the intellectual property is mine, the right to copy each essay belongs to another entity. That is, the right to make money (if any) on the article is not mine. That the copyright doesn’t belong to me also means access is limited, paywalls exist affecting readers without access to the sites.

I’ve decided to request reversion of rights from each of the academic publishers, especially essays published over a decade or more ago. That way, any profits from the publishing of my essays will come to me, not sit in corporate academic publishing coffers. If the publishers refuse (‘tis always possible), I still intend to collect the essays and make them available for people who want to read them. My intellectual work should not be gate-kept by others. Stay tuned for the updates.

In tandem with this plan, I’m moving to do less business with Amazon as a publisher and/or direct distribution platform for my romance fiction. I have several reasons. With the rise of groups determined to control what we read, see, or think, I don’t want to play the game. Reviewing Amazon’s “Adult Content” context under “Primary Audience,” I find my novels tick all the boxes:

Sexually Explicit Images or Title: You must select Yes or No to this question in order to proceed with title setup and select categories. Select Yes if your book contains one or both of the following:

·       Sexually explicit images on the cover or within the interior. For example, images containing nudity or sexual poses.

·       Sexually explicit language in the book’s title or subtitle. For example, words or phrases that refer to sexual acts, devices, fluids, or genitalia.

Selecting Yes will automatically make your book ineligible for Children’s categories in order to provide the appropriate shopping experience for all customers.

Reading age (optional): Setting the reading age will indicate your intended audience to customers on your detail page. While the field is optional, if you don’t include an appropriate reading age (for example, for your Children’s book), it may not be eligible for your selected children’s categories and it will not appear in age-specific search results in the Amazon Store. Learn more about choosing an appropriate reading age.  (from Amazon’s “Metadata Guidelines for Books”)

Btw, I have no intentions of engaging a discussion about a person considered a “child” and their access to sexuality explicit content. My books aren’t for children, so miss me with that BS.

What I do question is where does the censorship end? Does it move on to the sexually explicit content between the covers? Will this “oversight” continue if the author’s cover or title/subtitle isn’t explicit but the storyline has very explicit language that “refer to sexual acts, devices, fluids, or genitalia”? Is my use of “kink” a red flag for those “clean romance” defenders of ideologies I don’t support? What about my references to sex toys and acts with explicit details about how toys are being used and acts are being done? Will Amazon deem such “interior language” as problematic as what I’d put in the subtitle? I do not write for people under the age of 18 years. Will the “regulation” of content extend beyond that magical year? Will I be forced to engage in euphemisms simply because I write about consensual sexual acts in the language I would use or, historically, what probably was used?

My second reason is I’ve been having over the past few months as I watch Indie authors wrestle with the titan over its treatment of their books. Books “hidden” because of covers or titles and there isn’t the requisite “yes” checked in the “primary audience” box. Removal and refusal to pay royalties in instances of plagiarism or piracy, or to be legally explicit copyright violation seem to be an on-going issue. Authors facing mountains (bots et al) instead of a molehill to “prove” their copyright. Increase costs for publishing with Amazon, which affects the price of a book. It’s bad enough that trad pub eBooks can range from $12-25 or more; for Indie authors, the ability to keep their prices relatively modest in comparison is being chipped away by Amazon’s actions.

I muse on all this because I am an Indie author who’ve used Amazon as one of the two distribution platforms for my romance books (the other is Draft2Digital). A tangent: in graduate school, I spent a great deal of time studying the rise of early modern English publishing industry, an industry never designed to do anything except make profit. Trust me, there was nothing altruistic about publishing. Tangent done. I am also a Black romance author who refuses to accept the idea that the expression of a Black person’s (or anyone’s) sexuality, subjectivity, and desires should be curtailed to meet some ridiculous societal ideologies when fictional characters are consenting adults.

What is to be done?

Musing of course, but also second-guessing myself before I reminded me I was the first generation of doctorates in my family and it didn’t happen without a struggle. Thus dear readers, I’ve made a decision to begin the uncoupling with Amazon as a publishing platform for my romance books.

Beginning September 15, 2023, I plan to solely upload my digital books to my romance website www.elysabethgrace.com, KobuPlus, Barnes and Noble, and Draft2Digital. Since D2D includes a wide variety of platforms including Amazon, if you prefer Amazon as the site to buy my digital books nothing will change. For paperback copies please order through my website or your favorite Indie bookstore. Signed paperback copies will be available on my website.

I don’t disengage from Amazon lightly. It means far more work for me and lord knows I’d prefer to work on the several WIPs dancing chaotically in my head. However, I’ve come to realize my value as a writer, academic and fiction. That what I do is a measure of who I am and what I do with the gifts my ancestors and the Creator have given me. With diminishing returns and crappy intellectual property protection for Indie authors, Amazon has lost its charm.

As an early modern English literary and cultural academic I’ve always known publishing within capitalism has never been kind to creatives, especially authors however, at least in the period there was a system of patronage separate from publishers—political to be sure but it existed. Now, it seems the publishers have abrogated even that tenuous situation (witness the tidal wave of AI related incursions, revisions of terms of service over legal control of intellectual property of creative activity on platforms and apps, and the legalese in publisher’s ‘fishing’ submission contests).

It is difficult to be a creative in these times but I will do my best to make sure my fiction writings are available and with the least amount of hassle.

Thanks for reading.

© 2024 Margo Hendricks