For the Love of a Good Anthology

I am an unabashed fan of anthologies. Why do I love them? Let me count the ways...

First - Discoverability

I love sitting down with one, stomach all aflutter with anticipation. The promise of a cozy, quick immersion in the talent of one of my favorite authors makes me grin. But it's the prospect of finding a new-to-me-and-just-waiting-to-be-discovered writer that has me sinking into my reading chair, squirming into that just-right spot, ready to dive for a few hours of reading bliss.

I've "discovered" some amazing talent by taking a chance on an anthology. Linda Howard - "Lake of Dreams," anyone? Anne Stuart, Carla Kelly, Eileen Wilks, Cait London, Katherine Stone, Mary Blayney, Lori Foster, MaryJanice Davidson, Cherise Sinclair, Stacia Kane. By taking a chance - and knowing I might have to kiss some frogs along the way - I opened myself up to wonderful new worlds.

Second - Re-readability

I love to re-read stories that have touched my heart. And the absolute best thing about a story from an anthology is you can have that emotional catharsis in relatively short order.

When I want to laugh, I'll go to Cait London's "The Nine-Month Knight" in Maternity Leave.

When I want to sweet and funny and lovely, I'll head for Eileen Wilks' "The Proper Love" in All I Want for Christmas.

For flat out emotion, you just can't beat Linda Howard's "The Way Home," in A Bouquet of Babies. Tears my heart out each time I crack that story open.

Third - Craftsmanship

Okay, so this reason is less about a love of reading and more about a love of writing. Creating a world, believable characters, a strong central conflict and a happily ever after is challenging enough in a regular length story. Cutting the word count means you really need to up your game and make every word matter. Reading a tight, well-honed short story is likely immersing myself in a master class of craft. Yum.

Fourth - Themes!

The last reason I'm drawn to anthologies is that I'm a sucker for theme - and how each of us interprets a given them in our own unique ways. Chocolate (check out Lisa Cache's "Eliza's Gateau"). Christmas. Father's Day. Halloween. Kink. Bad Boys. Valentine's Day (duh!). DIY for the paranormal set.  The Rockville 8 is planning our own anthology with a moon theme tying us all together. There's no end to the themes that can tie otherwise seemingly disparate stories into one happy gift for readers.

And speaking of gifts, consider giving one of these to your nearest and dearest romance reader (and that person just may be you!).

A Spirited Season - with The Rockville 8's own Misha Crews!

If Regency Christmas is your go to theme, try this collection of Carla Kelly tales.

For folks with a sweet tooth AND a jones for Christmas, try The Sugar Cook Sweetheart Swap with three delicious stories from Donna Kaufmann, Kate Angell and Kimberly Kincaid.

And while there's no Christmas in this rich collection, it's still a fantastic read and a perfect gift of the heart: Once and Forever - a new release that introduces the R8's Evie Owens to the world!

 Friends - what about you? Fan or foe of the anthology? Do you have a favorite? One lucky commenter will receive a copy of Once and Forever!

What Makes a Hero?

This week we welcome one of our favorite authors, Mary Blayney, to talk about one of her favorite subjects: Heroes.

What fun to be asked to spend the day with the Rockville8. Not long ago I spent a weekend with most of them at a writers’ retreat that I hope is well on its way to becoming a tradition. In the course of our free-wheeling, food and drink aided discussions, I brought up the subject of heroes. I am going to enlarge on it here because it’s a favorite theme of mine. Thanks to the 8 for giving me a chance to share it with a wider audience.

First one very important caveat: for this exercise I use hero as a gender neutral term, with thanks to Keely for reminding me of that.

For romance writers heroes are our stock in trade. Because the happy ending, or at the least an uplifting one, is an essential element of our stories, the hero triumphs, almost always on more than one level.

Due to early exposure to Joseph Campbell’s HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES I’ve been thinking about my definition of a hero for years. After writing more than fifteen books and novella I’ve got it! What fun to open it up for further discussion here.

For me and my characters a hero has honor at the core of his being and is willing to give more than he can afford to give.

Every hero I have written accepts the burden of those two qualities. With gender neutrality in mind, I would say that Charlotte Parnell in TRAITOR’S KISS is the ultimate expression of those elements. Charlotte lost and then rediscovered her honor in a hard school. By the time we meet her Charlotte is willing to give up everything, including her identity, to right wrongs of which she has been a part. Her behavior in living her concept of honor does not ring true with her nineteenth century peers, but it is there as deep and sure as it is in the more conventional hero, Michael Garrett in LOVER’S KISS.

As disappointing as it is, I know not everyone has read my regency set romances published by Bantam or the novellas Berkley publishes. (But, hey, you can always check out the title at MaryBlayney.com)

With that in mind, let me give you some more widely known heroes in literature. Atticus Finch in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD ranks high as does Sidney Carton in TALE OF TWO CITIES. My favorites are lesser known but worth the effort if their names do not ring a bell: Aral Vorkosigan and Cordelia Naismith from the book CORDELIA’S HONOR by Lois McMaster Bujold.

Aral and Cordelia meet when they are on the opposite sides of a war set some time in the future. Their journey to a much challenged happily-ever-after is the epitome of honor and willingness to sacrifice. Indeed, it’s hard to decide whose sacrifice is greater. In fact Aral does sacrifice his honor for a greater good, but then Cordelia is willing to jeopardize hers to spend her life with the man she loves. Cordelia’s success at maintaining her honor is the theme of the second half of CORDELIA’S HONOR.

Cordelia and Aral’s journey brings them together for a lifetime that we, as readers, share through the journey of their son, Miles Naismith Vorkosigan. In the rest of the books in this series Miles struggles constantly with the same questions.

I would love to know what your definition of a hero is and if you have any suggestions for my list. How about someone loved by readers who does not exhibit those qualities? Both Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara come to mind. Is that why their love story fails? I think that’s the subject for another blog. If I’m invited again.

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You can find Mary's latest Novella, "The Other Side of the Coin" in the anthology The Other Side, out now.