first published in the Brisbane Courier-Mail 16 February 2007
The explosion of the internet in the late 1990s had a huge impact on the romance reading community. The faceless anonymity meant that readers could not only freely admit to loving the novels, but they could also discuss them in detail – what they like, what they don’t like, what works, what doesn’t, and who to read next.
Publishers, agents and authors recognised the advertising opportunities almost immediately, and have used them to great effect ever since. Buzz is now so easy to create that people have actively started to ignore it. Almost every author you can name, including those who have yet to be published, has an online presence designed to keep their readership interested. Review sites and blogs have popped up all over the web, and now almost anyone can call themselves a reviewer.
However, there are a handful of sites that have been around since almost the beginning, and have developed a following and reputation that rivals any print publication. Almost the very first of these websites, and certainly one of the most respected, is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year.
All About Romance, found online at www.allaboutromance.com, was started in 1997 by Laurie Gold, from archives of her previous blog Laurie Likes Books. The site has now grown to encompass over a dozen sections, including a fortnightly column about the genre, over 50 reviews a month, and a number of very active message boards.
There are also other useful sections that provide information about the genre for new readers, or those looking to expand their knowledge. These include historical cheat sheets, If You Like lists, and upcoming releases.
The main message of All About Romance is that ‘open discussion of romance novels and the genre itself, both positive and negative, is productive and necessary.’
Certainly destined to foster discussion is AAR’s annual readers’ poll, run over 6 weeks in the beginning of the year. The poll is run annually with the purpose of choosing the best (and the worst!) romances of 2007 across 32 categories, in order to get as broad a range as possible. The poll breaks reader choices down by genre – best fantasy, best historical, best suspense – but also by novel conventions – most tortured hero, strongest heroine, best villain. Less celebratory categories include least believable Happy-Ever-After ending, most annoying romance, and purplest prose.
Readers interested in logging on and casting their votes can do so until the 17th of February. The ballot is extensive, so I would suggest checking it out sooner rather than later. Getting to revisit any excellent romance novels you read last year is just an added bonus!
