Genre-Jumping: Or any way you slice it, it’s all about the romance

Let's start with the contest: visit my website (link shown at the bottom of this post) and take a look at my books. Then go to the "Contact Cindy" page and drop me a note with which book looks most interesting to you. I'll draw one lucky winner for a free download of their choice. Thanks for reading!

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I’ve been reading romance for pretty much my entire life. Seriously. One of the ways I learned to read was with these cool little book and 45 rpm record combos. My parents bought me dozens of the things, which I played like on my little suitcase record player until I’d memorized every single word. So what does that have to do with romance? Do the names Thumbelina, Cinderella, Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty ring any bells? Face it. A lot of the old faery tales were about love, and every single one ended with the phrase “happily ever after.” I’ve been hooked ever since.

By fourth grade I was sneaking Harlequin Romances into my desk at school. My mom and her friends would pass them around, and I felt so grown up when I got to start adding my initials on the title page along with the adult ladies. Then there were the little historicals, too. Barbara Cartland, mainly, but then Georgette Heyer, and I eventually graduated to thicker and thicker books, some historical, some contemporary, some even with a mystery in it as well. In high school I discovered that some romances even had s-e-x in them, which was even cooler. I was hooked on Kathleen Woodiwiss, Roberta Gellis, and the absolutely incredible Elizabeth Peters aka Barbara Michaels, who wrote both contemporary and historical, romantic suspense and paranormal romance, before those subgenres even had names.

As much as I loved romance though, I was too much of a bookworm to subsist on romance alone. There just weren’t enough, not on my parents’ bookshelves, not in the local library, and darned sure not in the school’s very limited selection. So I read everything else as well. Mystery, fantasy, science fiction, biographies, and histories. I still do, to some extent—I have a lifelong love of Sherlock Holmes, Spenser, Sam Vimes and Arthur Dent. (courtesy of Conan Doyle, Robert Parker, Terry Pratchett, and Douglas Adams) Nonetheless, I like all of their stories better when there’s a happy couple involved. My first and deepest love remains—love.

So when people ask me what I write, I answer, “romance.” It’s simple and it’s true. Everything I write is about people finding the loves of their lives. Now, though, people who know anything about the genre ask, “What kind of romance?” That’s when things get a little dicier.

You see, to me, the romance is what it’s all about. That’s the single true thread in all of my work. Setting, and trappings of magic, science, mystery, or additional partners are all just variations on the theme. I’ve sold over thirty books now, and they honestly include: contemporary, historical, and futuristic time periods. Demons, djinnis, dragons, spaceships, selkies, sirens, werewolves, wizards and witches, not to mention cowboys, cops, and carpenters. Geeks, ghosts and gargoyles. Bondage and bounty hunters. Earls and elves. Some of my books are erotic, others aren’t. Check the publisher’s description if that sort of thing is important to you—I’m not out to confuse anybody, and if you email me to ask about a book, I’ll always be up front about the contents. But I do promise that every single one of them is really all about romance.

In January, I was lucky enough to release Awakening Augusta, an erotic regency romance with Ellora’s Cave. It’s a little novella, just a short, fun read, but TRS reviewer Theresa had this to say: “I loved this sensual quick read…This is definitely a keeper and I can't wait to read the author's future spicy regencies.” Click here for the complete review.

Awakening Augusta, out now from Ellora's Cave Publishing

Blurb: Regency Scotland can be a lonely place, but Augusta MacLeish has four mischievous younger siblings for company—now if she only had money to feed them! Colin Fordyce has recently inherited an earldom, along with five wards in a remote Scottish castle. When he travels to meet them, he discovers his predecessor was skimming their funds. He also learns the oldest Miss MacLeish is absolutely stunning. A knock to his head leaves him seeing two of the buxom beauty, just as one kiss from her tempting lips leaves him longing for more. A night spent together forces Colin and Augusta to marry, leaving them all the opportunity in the world to explore the sexual hunger between them. Colin delights in teaching Augusta all the pleasures of the flesh, awakening the wanton lover beneath her ladylike veneer. From Scotland to London, the flames burning between them refuse to be doused, and oh how they will set the Ton on fire.

Click here for an excerpt, and click here to purchase the book.

Happy Reading!

Cindy Spencer Pape

www.cindyspencerpape.com

www.cindyspencerpape.blogspot.com