Guest Post + Giveaway: Author Elyse Mady

This is a very first here on Peace Love Books, but today I have a guest post by the lovely Elyse Mady to share with you! Elyse is the author of A White Swan Affair (which I'll be posting my review of sometime this week) and she's here today to talk about one of my most favorite topics of all time: Romance. So without further adieu, here's Elyse!

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Historical vs. Contemporary Romance, pros and cons

To celebrate the kick off of my blog tour for my new Regency novel, “The White Swan Affair”, I was planning on doing a very serious “when you write to types of romance” response to the question of the pros and cons of historical and contemporary romance.   After all, I love and write both.  But then I decided that that was too boring.  So I decided to take a very unwriterly approach and just list the five things I love most about both.   Nothing scientific, just fun!

Five Things to Love About Historical Romance

1. Nobody looks at your hero oddly if he’s wearing tight leather pants.  In fact, it’s de rigeur to wear tight leather pants.   He can wear them as tightly as he likes, hopefully paired with an immaculately cut coat of superfine to show off his equally broad shoulders, and it will be a very good thing.  Yum.
2. Your hero will certainly know how to dance.  If your significant other is anything like my significant other, he would rather have unmedicated dental surgery than hit the dance floor.  Even if he does, through some miracle, actually consent to dance, he ends up looking like a cross between a Dalek and a recently reanimated zombie.  Sometimes, a girl just wants a guy to say “I live to waltz” and sweep her off onto the dance floor whilst keeping perfect ¾ time.
3. You can use the words ‘whilst’ and nobody looks at you funny.
4. Email doesn’t exist.  Smart phones can’t interrupt a crucial romantic moment.  Everything moves at a slower pace.  And there is nothing better than slow and languid in a romance novel.
5. Corsets aren’t special underclothes that come with a merry widow set.  Everybody wore them.  Everybody got great cleavage as a result.  Ooh, and garters and stockings.   It’s like sexy dress up (or dress off) is just waiting to happen.  Because variety in the bedroom is never a bad thing.

Five Things to Love About Contemporary Romance

1. Your hero and heroine can be alone in a room together and no one will insist on an immediate marriage to repair the poor girl’s reputation.  As much as I love a marriage of convenience, sometimes you don’t want to commit to a lifetime together just because you spent five minutes with some guy unchaperoned.
2. While your hero probably (hopefully) doesn’t own a pair of tight leather pants, a worn pair of blue jeans, slung low on lean hips are equally yummy and a tight t-shirt can show off his broad shoulders just fine.
3. Your heroine doesn’t have to explain away her unwarranted interest in: a) higher education b) a career c) an interest in wearing pants  d) sex before marriage.
4. Personal hygiene has seen a marked uptick in the past 200 years.  Running water, indoor plumbing and dental care are all pretty much guaranteed.
5. Your hero and your heroine can be expected to know more and have preferences for positions other than missionary while in the bedroom.  Because variety in the bedroom is never a bad thing.

So now I want to know what your favourite things are in Historical and Contemporary romance. One lucky commenter will win a signed e-copy of my new book, “The White Swan Affair” in their choice of format!

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The Choices

 

About the Newest Release

A White Swan Affair
By Elyse Mady
Release Date: May 21, 2012
Summary: London, 1810
After the tragic death of her beloved, Hester Aspinall vowed never to be ruled by her passions again. Still, she is drawn to her landlord, handsome adventurer Thomas Ramsay—but she doesn't fool herself that a man of his station would look twice at a poor tailor's sister.

With the sea for a mistress, Thomas has no intention of entering into matrimony. And yet, he can't get the plain-spoken and desirable Hester out of his mind, even though she's never tried to secure his attentions as other women do.

Everything changes the night Hester's brother is arrested during a raid on a gay brothel, the infamous White Swan. With no one else to turn to, and terrified Robert will hang for his crime, Hester accepts Thomas's offer to bear the cost of the defense. A true gentleman, Thomas expects nothing in return—but Hester can no longer deny her own desires...
She may offer her body eagerly, but can she protect her heart?

Elyse Mady is the author of historical romances “The White Swan Affair” and “The Debutante’s Dilemma”, with Carina Press and two contemporary romances.  Upcoming books include the Regency novella “The Debutante’s Desire”.  She blogs at www.elysemady.com.  You can also find her on Twitter at @elysemady, Facebook and Goodreads.

In addition to her writing commitments, Elyse also teaches film and literature at a local college. With her excellent writerly imagination, she one day dreams of topping the NY Times Bestseller’s List and reclaiming her pre-kid body without the bother of either sit-ups or the denunciation of ice-cream.

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That was so awesome! Thank you so much for your guest post! There's nothing I love more than a good romance, contemporary or historical, so Elyse definitely brought up some excellent points! If you enjoyed this guest post, be sure to check out the historical romance The White Swan Affair and decide for yourself whether historical or contemporary romances hit the spot for you :)