#FallBackInTime Any Day!
Some people think you need a machine like H.G. Wells’, or Dr. Who’s TARDIS to travel through time. Others believe all you need is to stumble into a faerie ring.
Me? I think all you need is a good book!
Today, the Historical Romance Network is celebrating National Author’s Day and the end of Daylight Savings Time today with a special #FallBackInTime event on Facebook and Twitter as well as Tumblr and Google+ to share their love of the historical romance genre. So if your social media is flooded with pictures of romance books, don’t grumble and ignore it, TRY one!
I had trouble picking just one book, so I chose Lynn Kurland’s A Dance Through Time because I felt it best fit the spirit of the #FallBackInTime hashtag. Time travel, thematic title and a great read! However, you can see from the shelves behind me, that my historical romance keeper shelf (6 ft bookcase, 40″ shelves, double stacked) is overflowing! Somehow, browsing through my kindle reader isn’t as fun as running my hand over the spines on this shelf.
The variety within the historical romance genre these days is amazing. From Medieval, Vikings, Scottish Highlands, Elizabethan, Georgian and Regency, Victorian, the Wild West and Colonial America, Edwardian, WWI, The Roaring 20s, WWII, to ancient Egypt and ancient China (GO read Jeannie Lin now!)! You can escape almost anywhere you’d like and find plenty more to read along the way.
So, what do I like about Historical romance as opposed to other subgenres of Romance? I like the slower pace of life and the distance and perspective shift away from the craziness that invades my everyday life. Everyone in those long carriage lines as everyone arrives at the balls are patient and the drivers aren’t stupid or rude, they’re just part of the process. Unlike the drop-off lines at school where I swear I need a doctor’s note to show my kids that I’m not allowed to go in there because of the effect on my blood pressure. You’d think by high school these people would know what was expected of them and it’d be calmer and more orderly. Not!
Anyway, I digress…
I tend to read a lot of Regency set romances because I like the fairy tale aspect of the balls and the titled men. Oh yes, and the cravats! Mustn’t forget those! But honestly, I’ll read a bit of everything. I started out reading fantasy and science fiction in the very early 80s, and naturally also found my mom’s stash of romance novels. She read a lot of cowboys, Native Americans, Dukes, Earls and Viscounts. The worlds that historical romance opened up for me were very similar to the fantasy and science fiction I was reading, but also very different. There was a guaranteed feel good ending. The Happily Ever After. Now she also read mysteries and contemporary romances, but those didn’t spark for me then. I like mysteries, but they’re not my first choice unless they’ve also got a good love story attached!
I hope if you don’t read historical romance, you’ll give it (another?) try! And if you read a book you enjoy, regardless of genre, post a review to help spread the word or drop them a note through social media and make their day. It’s a fabulous way to thank an author!
If you need a recommendation, check out my post: 13 Repeatedly Reread Books or my Historical Romance Shelf on GoodReads or check out my Interviews section!
Excellent and interesting post. I enjoyed reading it!
Thanks, Susan! Glad you enjoyed it! The whole event has been a lot of fun so far! I know some authors are offering prizes at the facebook event.
Wonderful post! I love historical romances and other historical genres, though for a long time the Regency Era has been a far favorite. One can lose oneself in an era that has such a strict structure it provides many kinds of conflict built-in. This helps the stories and avoids books, of which I’ve run into too many lately, with no real conflict – just a sort of forced or phony conflict. An author gets one chance with me when that kind of book shows up and I’ve wasted my time and money on it. But the Regency is also fascinating from the historical perspective. We like to think its archaic, but all those sneer-worthy behaviors and all those sycophants and fakes and forms of class-distinction live with us in our day to day world. But in the Regency we get to examine it in “costume” and rail against it all and/or enjoy it all… live vicariously through the story while simultaneously drawing a deep breath of relief that any particular awful thing no longer exists. We also sometimes, have to admit a lot of it still does. Now the regent himself, in today’s terms, is a “write off” by American standards – though he likely does not much more harm than some of our present-day politicians on the social and monetary damage fronts! But as a form of reading – mind candy – I find it fascinating fun, a form of fantasy and I dearly hope the authors keep writing it for many years to come.
Exactly, Ellen! I love the idea of “examining [today’s society] in costume”! It’s just far enough removed it’s exotic enough, but human nature changes so slowly. Thanks for stopping by!