NASCAR + Harlequin Romance=

[Are_grits_groceries]

http://deadspin.com/5465294/tailpipe-your-smutty-nascar-romance-story-hour-a-new-feature

I don't even want to think about the people who try to read this. (I checked. It's not The Onion. They are for sale on Amazon.)

[cali]

1. Hilariously bad. I want one.

In a minor kind of way, I collect really bad novels. For Christmas one of my friends gave me this unbelievably bad novel called Lunch. These look on a par with that.

From Force of Nature, by Kristina Cook:

Damon resisted the urge to lean across the table and inhale Shelly's sweet coconut scent. Thank God her mother had left right after the celebration in Victory Lane had ended. Shelly deserved to celebrate, not make more arrangements to keep her mother out of trouble. Without that added responsibility, she seemed as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Her bare shoulders, he mentally added. Other than that one time in her motor home, she'd been wearing her racing uniform every time he'd seen her at the track. Seeing her now in a halter top and jeans was somehow disorienting, he realized, forcing his gaze away from the broad expanse of bare skin and up to her face, instead.

Her big blue eyes met his, and she smiled. "So," she said, oozing confidence, "let's talk about that sponsorship deal."

[Are_grits_groceries]

2. True. It could be comic relief on an epic scale. nt

[Solly Mack]

3. I'd wager those books sell well...lot of NASCAR fans and a lot of romance novel fans

So from a money-making view, it was probably well worth the marriage.

[Lorien]

12. And so often the two ARE married to each other-literally

I've honestly never met a woman who read Harlequin romance novels who wasn't from a low income/ education "redneck" type background. I always suspected that they needed romance so desperately because their husbands were the types described in "deer hunting with Jesus"; drinking, shooting, fightin' and fuckin' (other women). No wonder those married to them escape into cheap, predicable fictional romances.

[Missy Vixen]

16. I read romance novels

I know 185 other romance authors in the Seattle area, and hundreds more across the country. I've met readers as well; your stereotype is incorrect.

There are two different romance novelists -- Julia Quinn and Susan Wiggs -- in the Seattle area who both graduated from Harvard. The vast majority of other romance authors hold at least a bachelor's degree, and are professionals who write in the evenings after working all day and taking care of their families.

>No wonder those married to them escape into cheap, predicable fictional romances.<

So, Lorien, if you are so convinced they're easy to write, I have a challenge for you. Let's see your first chapter. I'll even give you 24 hours to write it. Truly. Let's see what you've got!

[proteus_lives]

64. Your post is what is called a "Slam Dunk!"

You took Lorien to the woodshed!

:thumbsup:

This comes from a well-educated man who loves comic books, manga and pulp fiction.

[seabeyond]

35. john sanford, lee childs, koontz are three favorite authors of mine. all their books go to mystery

section. they all have romance, relationship, sex and much more than a lot of the supposed romance. tell me the difference? they dont get the title of romance, ergo, they are ok. whereas a lot of the authors i read in romance has little or no sex.

harlequin is another story.... but sayin

[cherokeeprogressive]

57. That's a very broad brush you carry on that high horse of yours.

18" wide and 22hh I'd bet.

[proteus_lives]

68. Ever run into street-lamps?

I imagine walking around must be a challenge with your nose that high up in the air.

[Fast Dude]

53. You lose your wager

They don't sell worth a damn.

However, regular Harlequin books sell well across almost all demographics (it is my business to know this little fact). There are a lot lonely people out there.

PS: We call them "old lady with cats" books.

[Solly Mack]

56. Thanks! I guess it doesn't translate...

So what is their best-selling sub-category of books?

[Fast Dude]

58. The old standard

is the best seller.

This type

[Fast Dude]

59. I might add

Silhouette Special Edition is quite popular as well.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. You have to give them credit for 'One Track Mind'

It's two forms of escapist entertainment. I'm surprised it hasn't been done before (though I suppose you could just says it's just novelisations of "Days of Thunder").

Meh. Harmless. No worse than mass-market sci-fi, in which I indulge myself sometimes.

[Berry Cool]

5. It sure took Deadspin a long time to find out about these

They've been out for quite some time. Kind of the deep-fried Twinkies of literature. You take two things with no cultural value and put them together. (JK, NASCAR fans. If you really enjoy watching a bunch of cars race around a track, whatever floats your boat.)

[Missy Vixen]

9. Does "Jane Eyre" and Jane Austen have "cultural value"?

Both Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen were romance authors. Their works have been selling for hundreds of years now, and they're shelved under "literature".

I'm not sure we'll be seeing the "NASCAR" romances in that section of the bookstore in 100 years, but dismissing the entire romance industry as the "deep-fried Twinkies of literature" is elitist bullshit. I'll bet ten dollars you haven't read a romance novel in the past twenty years, if you've ever read one at all.

I'd LOVE to see what's on your bedside table. Then again, I'm sure you're enjoying the Proust and the Chaucer.

:eyes:

[cali]

22. Austen was not a romance writer in the contemporary meaning of the phrase

not even close. she had an exceedingly cynical view of romance. her novels were deft criticism of the world she lived in.

[Missy Vixen]

23. According to our industry, she is

One of the authors I mentioned, Julia Quinn, is recognized as being the "modern-day" Jane Austen. As a matter of fact, she was asked to write the afterword for an edition of Austen's "Mansfield Park".

[cali]

33. naturally. of course your industry wants to glom onto her.

as for Julia Quinn, just who considers her to be the "modern day Austen"? Someone like Cheever or Updike come much closer to that description in that they closely observed their worlds and the inner lives of their characters.

Its not much of a secret in the publishing business that there's been a Jane Austen boom going on and marketing her to a new generation of readers is why they chose Quinn.

[Missy Vixen]

39. It's unfortunate that you have so little respect for someone you can't hope to emulate

If Jane Austen's books were uninteresting, there'd be no interest in "marketing her to a new generation."

Julia Quinn's books stand on their own, as millions of happy readers will tell you.

[cali]

40. you dare talk about respect after your sicko little comment about

how romance writers could buy and sell people posting here? that's a laugh, dear. And furthermore, I find it amusing that you're a writer when your grammar sucks.

"Does "Jane Eyre" and Jane Austen have "cultural value"?"

:rofl:

[Missy Vixen]

43. Oooh, the grammar attack!

Wow, you really told me, didn't you? Maybe I shouldn't mention that those who attack spelling or grammar really have no other argument left.

Considering the fact that everyone here loves to brag about how little money they live on, it's interesting to me that you are so mortally offended by my comment there are many people in the industry I work in that make a very good living, and probably make considerably more than those who malign them.

I find your poutrage amusing at best. In other words, you can't do it yourself, but you'll make fun of those who are.

:eyes:

[cali]

51. I presented an argument about why Austen is not a romance writer

I presented you with authors who are much closer in spirit to Austen than today's romance writers. Oh, and I was not not berating you for your having said that thre are people in your industry- exactly what it is- who make a good living. I was castigating you for your crass claim about how your friends could buy and sell people.

I never claimed to be able to do it. That doesn't mean I'm not entitled to an opinion. duh.

I'm not making fun of the folks who do this for a living. I'm disputing your spurious claims that this stuff is literature. Joyce Carol Oates? Yes, literature. The crap in th OP? Not literature. not for a nano second.

[seabeyond]

42. sanford, childs, koontz, l'amour, patterson are catagorized as mystery or other, yet

have the same shit or more than romance

if it is female and guy adn gal get together, it is romance.

[ensho]

6. these books are like the canary in the mine

nt

[Missy Vixen]

7. Oh, really?

>I don't even want to think about the people who try to read this.<

Gosh. What a wit. Considering the romance industry made over a billion dollars last year in the USA, there's a hell of a lot of people reading them. Twenty-two percent of our readership is male as well.

I don't write NASCAR romances, but I know one of the authors whose cover is reproduced above. The books are selling well. Speaking of selling, I'm sure the person in question could buy and sell many of the people on DU. (Try a high-five-figure, low six figure income for writing two books a year, for instance.)

Harlequin's writing guidelines don't allow sex or crashes in the NASCAR series, so that whole "smutty NASCAR" thing is incorrect.

I'm a romance author. I'm proud of what I do. We're approached on a daily basis by those who start out "I always wanted to write a book," but don't have the courage or follow-through to actually do it, let alone persist until that book gets printed. It's unfortunate that someone else's choice of reading material would net such disdain, but I have to say I'm not surprised.

[ensho]

8. I was trying to take you seriously until I noticed your

posting name is Missy Vixen

[Missy Vixen]

10. Oh, gosh, I'm just damaged over your opinion.

It's a screen name. Get over it.

[Lorien]

14. I'm sure the person in question could buy and sell many of the people on DU.

(Try a high-five-figure, low six figure income for writing two books a year, for instance.)

No, that wouldn't "buy" any of us. :rofl:

[Missy Vixen]

17. Again, Lorien, I offered you an opportunity above

I don't think you can do it. Let's see your first chapter.

:rofl:

[cali]

19. lol. so the fuck what if one of the authors of that crap can buy or

sell many here? that comment says a lot about you- and it's not good.

[Missy Vixen]

25. It makes those here who denigrate their work look ill-informed at the least

Then again, why should that surprise me?

[cali]

34. sorry, I'm not ill informed. not even close

not about literature. When I was in my teens and early twenties I read my fair share of romance novels, from Anya Seton to Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart and Daphne DuMaurier. But I also read a great deal more than that. At least DuMaurier and Seton knew how to tell a story.

[petronius]

37. I was generally agreeing with you until I got to that - but the whole

'wealth = value/importance' and 'big sales = good' position is just ridiculous...

[Missy Vixen]

38. The "wealth = value" is pretty damn important to those in the publishing industry

If those here knew what it took to publish (and keep publishing,) they'd know that making a very good living at it is difficult at best.

[petronius]

48. Then it sounds to me as if there are two totally separate conversations

going on in this thread.

Financial success may be important in an industry, but it doesn't equate to making a contribution to culture at large. On the other hand, not making a cultural contribution doesn't equate to bad or worthless...

[superduperfarleft]

27. Just because it's popular doesn't mean it isn't crap.

And just because she got rich writing crap doesn't mean she doesn't write crap.

[ensho]

29. well put

nt

[Missy Vixen]

41. And you'd have this information how?

Do you know how difficult it is to publish a book, and keep publishing? Also, please forward the names and publication dates of your novels. I can't wait to read them.

Just sayin'.

[mainer]

44. Didn't Janet Evanovich write Nascar romances?

Maybe not for Harlequin, but I seem to remember she did write one or two. And she could certainly buy and sell a lot of people on DU.

[seabeyond]

45. she is now under mystery too. though there is certainly relationship. she is funnnnnny....

one of the few authors when i read... her number series... i laugh so hard and out loud, my kids come running into room to see what is up. even tears in eyes, she is so funny

[Missy Vixen]

47. She was the keynote speaker at Romance Writers of America's national conference last July

She's considered a romance author.

The advance for her last book was eight million dollars. She's very successful.

[mainer]

52. Here it is. She writes Nascar/romance humor novels

One of them is Motor Mouth

http://www.amazon.com/Motor-Mouth-Alex-Barnaby-2/dp/0060584033

She's an industry all to herself.

[Mari333]

11. You dont want to read this??????

oh and what...you dont want to read about

"his throbbing body edged closer to her rosy orifice...her cheeks blushed, as his oily fingers unlaced the first button of her tiny blouse...she swooned, and passed out, only to awaken and realize she was still 45 yrs old, her, her kids were screaming, she had to make ramen noodles for dinner again, with peas, her oil stained husband was passed out in a corner smelling like thunderbird, and her cats had peed on the bed."

[Lorien]

15. Lol!

:thumbsup:

[asdjrocky]

13. Marketing genus!

Genus I tell ya!

[lunatica]

18. If the fellas had no shirt on and the gals boobs were popping out of

Their clothes there would be much hotter sexy stuff. These are all totally clad. It means no sexy stuff. Romance novel giveaways.

[a la izquierda]

20. Oh my lord, I saw these at the store once...

I tried to convince my friend, who likes the bodice-ripper genre, to buy them. She wouldn't.

[Blue_Tires]

21. leave out the woman; the love story between man and car is more than enough!

:evilgrin:

[SidDithers]

24. When will we see the one about the romance between Brad and Steve...

drivers for rival teams?

Sid

[Missy Vixen]

26. M/M is one of the hotter trends in romance right now

Check your local bookstore...

[SidDithers]

28. I'm not surprised about that trend in the least...

but these are NASCAR books.

Sid

[NashVegas]

30. Wide Open Market

no pun intended.

Are you paying attention to the soap OLTL? Daytime TV's first steamy m/m romance.

[seabeyond]

31. brockmann who has a really popular series, not harlequin, has done just that in a couple of books

in her series she has a gay guy, that connects with an actor gay guy and they are in a number of the books, ultimately having their story told in one of the series. and continued on in series as married couple

was fun

[Missy Vixen]

49. Brockmann is a flaming liberal

She's great. She is VERY outspoken in support of LGBTQ issues.

She's done a lot of consciousness-raising in the industry as well.

[seabeyond]

50. very much so. nt

[seabeyond]

32. this has me laughing. the guys on this thread really seem offended by these books, along par

with how women feel about porn. lol

seeming like they are defenders of the porn and actin like a bunch of pearl clutching prudes with these books.

interesting, interesting

[Missy Vixen]

46. One of the authors above is a man

I had drinks with him and Vicki Lewis Thompson at our national conference a couple of years back. He's a nice guy, and the NASCAR line keeps him busy.

The difference between porn and romance. Porn = no emotional element. Romance = there must be an emotional element, in other words, a committed couple.

[L0oniX]

36. Tea bagger reading material.

[Fast Dude]

55. Hate to burst that bubble but

...Harlequin sells really well in heavily Democratic urban and rural areas.

The "old lady with cats books" cross all political lines.

[L0oniX]

61. It was only a fart bubble anyway.

[havocmom]

54. What are the socio-economic street sign for the corner where I live?

Do I get a prize?

[Are_grits_groceries]

60. I worked in bookstores for 20 years.

All kinds of women read Romance. Some read the short series romances and others the ones with a western motif. AND to think we never would have known Fabio without the romance genre. The Horror!

A lot of women authors get started in that genre just to get a foot in the publishing door. Some become decent writers in other categories such as mystery. I think Tami Hoag is okay and that Sandra Brown is dreck in mystery.

I snark with the best at the genre, but they are reading. That's more than can be said about a lot of people these days.

My Mama was a fanatic about westerns. I believe she read everyone that was printed before she passed. I got into the Louis L'Lamour books.

My genre is mystery/thriller or whatever you call it.

[seabeyond]

62. i like all genre or i dont. depends on the writing. that is what a good story is for me. nt

[alfredo]

65. Orhan Pamuk writes some good mysteries. I loved

"My Name is Red."

[alfredo]

63. Flame proof bodice rippers.

[Fast Dude]

66. You think those are bad...check out the latest children's book

I'm serious...this is a kid's book

Sir Fartsalot Hunts The Booger

[seabeyond]

67. i had to get quirky and funny gross for youngest son, to get him to read. nothing sad, ever

he could never do. but beginning reading he had to have something that made him laugh. other son, read everything, especially biographies, factual based books. i had to fight with him adn force him to read fiction.... like 5th, 6th grade, just to get diversity with him