When I was asked to contribute to The Good, The Bad, and The Unread this week, my topic was: Why do I love Superromance?
Easy Answer: The men.
Is that shallow? I know it’s shallow. Sorry. I can’t help myself. Have you read a Super? Then you know what I’m talking about.
All romances have heroes, but the men of SuperRomance really hit it for me. I think it’s the reality plus romance. These guys are out there living real lives, doing their best to be dads, businessmen, ranchers, firefighters, etc., and then love walks in and smacks them around and they…fall right for it.
If loving these guys is shallow, I don’t want to be deep.
(I hope my mom doesn’t read this. Or my teachers who instructed me in high-minded literary topics. Because honestly, although I can appreciate a well-developed plot and sterling sentence structure, (Note: That’s alliteration. See, I’m literary…) when I read a romance, it’s all about the men. Oops…all about the man. I better take them one at a time because there’s shallow and then there’s badly behaved. Okay, now I’m really sidetracked. Let me back up.)
Hi. I’m Ellen Hartman and I write funny, heartfelt SuperRomances about men people and their hunt for their heart’s desire. I’m neither shallow nor badly behaved. (Usually.) My characters on the other hand…let’s just say the hero of my current release, His Secret Past started his career playing guitar for a shore band from Jersey.
In case the men aren’t enough to convince you (but seriously, they should be), here are my top five other reasons to love Superromance.
5. Kathleen O’Brien. I read her book, The Homecoming Baby, and I knew I’d found the place I wanted to be published. Kathleen’s books are typical Supers. They’re well written, rich, and extremely satisfying. Oh, and her heroes are really hot. Kathleen was my first but after her I never looked back. Super authors are good at their work and I’m grateful Kathleen brought me into this world.
4. The Supers board on eHarlequin. I lurked there until the month that my first Super came out. Now the Supers board is truly my home on the web. What do we discuss? Everything of importance, including:
- Books: Reading and writing them.
- Husbands: We love them, but we think they may be crazy or that they might make us crazy. Who cares, we love them!
- Tiaras: Why every woman deserves sparkling headgear.
- Dean Winchester: Ellen’s All-Time Favorite TV Character. (Okay, so it’s possible I’m the only who actually discusses Dean on a regular basis. We do cover other hot men, though, including Colin Firth, that guy from Lost, and unanimous board-favorite John Cusack.)
- Help: We assist with plot, prayers, virtual hugs, vacation plans, and are always ready to listen if you need to vent. Plus, there’s a whole group of people who actually like Mondays so if you’re on of those weirdos you should definitely drop by.
3. The Super editors. They’re smart, supportive, and a lot of fun. Heh. Welcome to the sucking up portion of my Top 5. But come on, who wouldn’t love the folks who made her writing dreams come true? For me, SuperRomance is like Craig Hitnr, the guy who gave me a plastic ring complete with purple plastic gemstone in first grade. I’ll never forget Craig or SuperRomance. TLA 4 EVA!
2. Variety. I read SuperRomances for the same reasons anyone reads a particular line. I like to know what I’m getting. But SuperRomances have a lot of variation within the line. In the past year I’ve read Supers about a bunch of poker playing guys, a veterinarian and the cowboy she loves (and his eight children), a risk-taking journalist and her risk-adverse lover, and a love triangle that thankfully resolved into two pairs! For me, SuperRomance is like a diner where the food is homemade and I like everything on the menu. I could eat there every night without running out of choices!
1. Deep, rich stories. As a reader, my number one interest is always going to be the story. People ask me if the “super” in SuperRomance means more pages. (They also ask if it means more sex—some people have no boundaries…sigh.) Supers are one of the longer Harlequin lines, but for me, the super part is the depth of the story. Almost any Super is going to give you a romance plus a hometown, plus extended family or friends, plus a satisfying subplot. Supers are like the boxed sets of romance series romance. They have everything you need and Bonus Features too!
Each month SuperRomance puts out six terrific, complex books. I encourage you to pick one up. I think you just might find yourself falling in love!
Wendy the Super Librarian: Thanks for stopping by Ellen! Readers, you can visit Ellen at her web site and her blog.
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Contest Alert! Ellen has graciously donated books for us to giveaway to TGTBTU readers during our May HSR Spotlight! I will randomly draw the winner from the comments on this post at the end of May. The lucky winner will receive copies of both of Ellen’s HSR releases, Wanted Man and His Secret Past. Good luck! |
Don’t enter me in the contest as I have already read and have copies of the two books. I have to agree with Ellen when she says the best part of Supers are the “deep, rich stories”. I read just about anything I can get may hands on and the Supers are at the top of that list. In fact in order to make sure I get them I have a subscription to
them.
I won’t tell you how many times I’ve been tempted to subscribe to the HSR and HH lines – but so far I have resisted! Just the thought of what that would do to my TBR Mountain Range sends a chill up my spine LOL
“TBR Mountain Range” 😀 What does it say about me that I can see exactly what you mean, WendySL?
I won’t say that I read romance exclusively for the men, but they definitely play a
hugeerm major role in my enjoyment 😉Hi Guys,
Ellen–nice to see you here. I always get a kick out of meeting my online friends in new places!
Wendy–the subscription scares me too. I’m sometimes tempted, though, because I feel like I miss books since the Harlequin lines go so fast.
Azteclady–I don’t read just for the men either, but for some reason I need to really like the hero for the romance to work. Maybe it’s because I already have enough wonderful women friends in my real life but I just have the one (admittedly pretty great) husband. 😉
Ellen
Ummmmmm I have two mountains and while I keep thinking I should drop some of my subscriptions I am afraid I might miss something and the regret it. But I have a lot of reading time since I finally retired from teaching after 35 years and would rather read that watch TV all day.
I buy them as ebooks. You’d think because they don’t take up space that I could pretend I don’t have a virtual mountain to read. But they’re sitting on this computer anyway and I know it. I’d love to win these, but if I don’t I’ll go off and buy me some more electrons.
I have recently become addicted to SuperRomance’s. Thanks to Amy Knupp from the WriteMinded Authors. I read her three and have since added several more.
There’s a depth of character to the characters that are missing in some of the Harlequin/Silhouette lines. I love how either the hero or the heroine or both usually have to overcome or deal with something from their past before moving onto the HEA.
Ellen, I like a man that knows how to play his… guitar 🙂 Please enter me in the contest! I’d love to subscribe to several Harlequin/Silhouette lines, but I don’t think it is possible with me living in Germany, or do they send them that far? I have a TBR mountain too, but that doesn’t keep me from getting more books. LOL
I agree about the Men in the romances. Strong yet emotionally frail when love comes along and BAM, he’s a goner.
Hi Greta–I love Amy Knupp’s books too. I haven’t read The Boy Next Door yet but I’m dying to. I have my eye out for it whenever I’m in a used store. She’s such a great, straightforward person and I think it shows through in her writing.
I’m a character person–I would forgive a lot of plot flaws in a book if I can love the characters. I agree that character is a big strength in the Superromance line.
Have fun with Amy!
Ellen
Hi Kris,
There’s an old rumor among romance writers that musician books don’t sell. I have no idea why because a man and a guitar are so sexy to me. 😉 In this book Mason is retired but he does play for some friends at a wedding. I loved writing that scene.
Harlequin will send subscriptions just about anywhere. You can find out more on their website here: http://www.eharlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=43&chapter=0#shiprates. (Hope that link works.)
Thanks for coming by!
Ellen
Sandy–yep, that’s the kind of guy I love. Tough and capable on the outside, cupcake on the inside. I’m definitely not an alpha male kind of person. I think that’s one of the draws of Superromance for me. The men aren’t so overbearing and the women are pretty strong and independent, so the relationships seem more evenly matched. Romance is so much about our personal preferences, I think.
Take care,
Ellen
Phyl–I hate clutter on my computer as much as I hate it on my nightstand so I don’t think e-books are my solution. 😉
I try to force myself to be reasonable about my buying because reading is my true pleasure. I don’t want to feel like it’s on my to do list! I do love the post-holiday stack, though, when I have lots of options and can pick and choose based on my mood!
Cheers,
Ellen
Great post! I’ll have to check out your book. I have a love hate fascination with rock star heroes.
Hi Devon–thanks for your comment on the post!
Mason isn’t a rock star anymore. 😉 He runs a planned community for people who are down on their luck. I don’t actually know enough about the rock and roll lifestyle to write that with any authenticity. (Which I’m pretty sure is a good thing…)
Part of the inspiration for his character came from a documentary about Metallica called Some Kind of Monster. It’s an amazing look at an iconic band when they were in serious crisis. I was struck by how “real” the guys in the band were. They had work/family balance issues; unresolved conflicts with themselves, their parents, and each other; basically all the same things regular people had.
Still, you can’t beat the rock star past for some instant sexy cred. 😉
Cheers,
Ellen