The meeting will be today at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Westlake (an inner suburb of Austin) at the southeast corner of Loop 360 and Bee Cave Road, in The Village at Westlake shopping center. This Valentine’s Day topic is called: “Love Them to Death with Romance.” We’ll be talking about mystery writing with a romance angle. The meeting not only is free and open to the public, Starbucks will give you a free cup of coffee (real coffee, not the jazzed up, sugary concoctions).
The panelists will be myself, Russ Hall, Sylvia Dickey Smith, Dave Ciambrone, and moderator Joan Upton Hall.
So come on over and ask these mystery authors about adding romance to your book or any other question.
See you there. (And Happy Valentine’s Day to one and all.)
Sounds like a great panel! And I've gotten interested in this subject lately...wish I lived a little closer to you, Helen! :)
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Hope you have a great turnout. I'd love to be there. Have a Happy Valentine's Day.
ReplyDeleteSounds great. Wish I could be there. I always include a little romance in my mysteries.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day!!!
Hi, Helen. That should be a good panel discussion. Are you, by chance, a fan of Julia Spencer-Fleming? I love her Clare Fergusson series. Romance is central to the ongoing story line. She does great stuff.
ReplyDelete~jon
Jon, I've not read Julia Spencer-Fleming. From what you said, she might represent the genre Romantic Suspense or Romantic Mystery. In that genre, the romantic line is "equal" to the mystery or suspense. There are lots of mysteries which have a little romance in them, but they remain in the genre of Mystery.
ReplyDeleteHave a fun time at B&N!
ReplyDeleteAnd Happy Valentine's Day to you as well.
My mysteries always have a bit of romance because those are the types of mysteries I love (ie. JD Robb) and now I've slipped into straight romance writing which is nice too. Hope you have a good turnout Helen.
ReplyDeleteIf I had read this before I made other plans, I might have driven up and joined you. But since my other plans include my live-in handyman and since this is Valentine's Day . . . maybe not. Hope it was great.
ReplyDeleteI wish I lived closer - I'd love to be there!! The ms I've got marinating right now is a mystery with a strong romantic element! Don't tell me, I'm actually writing with a trend???
ReplyDeleteWish I still lived in Texas--Have a great panel! Maybe you can give us a peak at it in another post.
ReplyDeleteMichele
SouthernCityMysteries
Romance in mysteries is indeed becoming a sub-genre, sort of like cozy mysteries or paranormal mysteries.
ReplyDeleteHelen, wish you were doing that workshop next weekend. I will be in Austin on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I like the idea of adding romance to mysteries, unless it is organic to the story. My editor for One Small Victory kept encouraging me to beef up the romance element, but it wasn't working for those two characters and the story. But then, I tend to be a genre purist. I don't like all the mixing that is so popular.
Oh my, I sooo wish I could be there!
ReplyDeleteA lot of mysteries now have "romance" in them. It may not be overt, but something as simple as an attraction between two characters or a spouse who interjects occasionally. Publishers are sometimes pushing for a stronger romance thread because then you have the possibility of pulling in both romance readers and mystery readers.
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