FROM AUSTRALIA WITH LOVE
by Joanna D'Angelo
I'm so pleased to announce that my documentary WHO'S AFRAID OF HAPPY ENDINGS? - a witty and revealing film about the world of romance novels premieres in Australia tonight at 7:30 pm on the Ovation Channel. It already premiered on Bravo! Canada and will hopefully hit a TV set near you in the coming months!
So I thought I'd re-post this article that first appeared in March of this year on the wonderful ROMANCE BANDITS blog. The Bandits are a group of award winning romance writers (one of whom includes Christine Wells who also writes for popculturedivas - yay for us). Christine Wells asked me to write a guest blog posting for the Bandits so I chose to write about my experience making my documentary about romance novels and what inspired me to make it. Ain't Karma wonderful sometimes. Christine is also Australian. Christine was also the person who alerted me to the premiere (I knew it was coming but didn't know the exact date.) So it pays to have friends in high places. Or in this case. Down Under!
Who's Afraid of Happy Endings?
Over 60 million women in North America do it at least once a week – read romance novels, that is!
That's the tag line from the promotional material for my documentary “Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings?”.
“Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings?” chronicles three Canadian romance writers: Kelly Boyce, an aspiring writer hungry to sell her first book at a major industry conference; Kayla Perrin, a contemporary romance author eager to break out of the smaller African-American market and into the mainstream with her first erotica novel; and Kathryn Smith, an historical romance author, embraces her fascination with vampires and makes the leap to paranormal romance as a way to stand out in a competitive market.
Featuring interviews with some of the brightest stars of the romance world, including Jo Beverley, Jennifer Crusie, Eloisa James, Debbie Macomber and Nora Roberts, as well as Susan Pezzack, editor at Harlequin, Toronto, “Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings?” explores the history of romance novels, its many sub-genres and what it takes to make it in the business.
I co-directed “Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings” with my friend Christine Alexiou (a writer based in Toronto, Canada). We began our journey in 2004/05 - spent about a year researching and raising the money for the film and then another year shooting and editing. No nefarious criminals were uncovered. No deadly secrets were revealed. No civil wrongs were righted. No scandals were created (well at least beyond the edit suite ;) But I think this film accomplished something good.
When we began our research - neither Christine nor I could find any other documentaries that that had anything positive to say about romance novels. Well, we had something positive to say and we wanted to share it with the world. Yes - romance fiction is fantasy. It can be fun, entertaining, sexy, even (dare I say) tawdry. But it's also feminist. Yikes! How can I make that claim? Well, let's see. It's written BY WOMEN, ABOUT WOMEN, and mostly FOR WOMEN. The woman - the heroine - always overcomes. She always wins. In the words of Jennifer Crusie (whom we interviewed for the film - lucky us!) "It's a female fantasy quest". So – yes, it is a fantasy. But it’s also a quest. Which means that the hero-ine undergoes a transformation in each and every story. Okay, she falls in love with the hero. But it also means she falls in love with herself as she overcomes both internal and external conflicts. She changes. She grows. She conquers. She loves. Certainly, there's a lot more to romance fiction than that but it's one of the reasons why I love it…why I have always loved romance fiction and what prompted me to make this documentary in the first place.
From the time I started reading romance (way back when I was about 14-15 years old and I discovered “The Flame and the Flower” and “The Wolf and the Dove” by the late, great Kathleen Woodiwiss – in my high school library no less!) I knew inside that romance was empowering. Even when I studied journalism and film theory and kinda hid the fact that I read romance from my friends (silly me) - I always loved it. And I figured out (like all romance fans do) that Jane Austen wrote romance! Ah yes, redemption! After I got older – and wiser I no longer cared who knew that I loved romance fiction. After I finished my documentary in 2007 I launched a romance fiction group on facebook called “A Love of Romance Novels”. The group has grown to more than 1,800 members including both authors and readers alike. From teenagers to senior citizens - both male and female – romance fans love a good story…as long as it’s got a happy ending of course!
“Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings?” has been broadcast in Canada on Bravo! many times since it premiered in 2007. Our executive producer is GAPC Entertainment – a respected Canadian production company. Our international distributor is APT World Wide - known for distributing many fine PBS documentaries. We are thrilled to bits about the Australian premiere tonight! I hope the Aussies let us know what you think!
Here's a Question that Christine Wells - one of the moderators of the fabulous Romance Bandits blog (and one of our wonderful contributors as well) put to her readers at the end of this article when it first appeared in Romance Bandits back in March. So I hope you'll let us know what you think! Cheers!
Are you a proud reader of romance, or still firmly in the closet when it comes to your own circle of acquaintances? What do you say when someone asks you why you read romance?
I'm so pleased to announce that my documentary WHO'S AFRAID OF HAPPY ENDINGS? - a witty and revealing film about the world of romance novels premieres in Australia tonight at 7:30 pm on the Ovation Channel. It already premiered on Bravo! Canada and will hopefully hit a TV set near you in the coming months!
So I thought I'd re-post this article that first appeared in March of this year on the wonderful ROMANCE BANDITS blog. The Bandits are a group of award winning romance writers (one of whom includes Christine Wells who also writes for popculturedivas - yay for us). Christine Wells asked me to write a guest blog posting for the Bandits so I chose to write about my experience making my documentary about romance novels and what inspired me to make it. Ain't Karma wonderful sometimes. Christine is also Australian. Christine was also the person who alerted me to the premiere (I knew it was coming but didn't know the exact date.) So it pays to have friends in high places. Or in this case. Down Under!
Who's Afraid of Happy Endings?
Over 60 million women in North America do it at least once a week – read romance novels, that is!
That's the tag line from the promotional material for my documentary “Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings?”.
“Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings?” chronicles three Canadian romance writers: Kelly Boyce, an aspiring writer hungry to sell her first book at a major industry conference; Kayla Perrin, a contemporary romance author eager to break out of the smaller African-American market and into the mainstream with her first erotica novel; and Kathryn Smith, an historical romance author, embraces her fascination with vampires and makes the leap to paranormal romance as a way to stand out in a competitive market.
Featuring interviews with some of the brightest stars of the romance world, including Jo Beverley, Jennifer Crusie, Eloisa James, Debbie Macomber and Nora Roberts, as well as Susan Pezzack, editor at Harlequin, Toronto, “Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings?” explores the history of romance novels, its many sub-genres and what it takes to make it in the business.I co-directed “Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings” with my friend Christine Alexiou (a writer based in Toronto, Canada). We began our journey in 2004/05 - spent about a year researching and raising the money for the film and then another year shooting and editing. No nefarious criminals were uncovered. No deadly secrets were revealed. No civil wrongs were righted. No scandals were created (well at least beyond the edit suite ;) But I think this film accomplished something good.
When we began our research - neither Christine nor I could find any other documentaries that that had anything positive to say about romance novels. Well, we had something positive to say and we wanted to share it with the world. Yes - romance fiction is fantasy. It can be fun, entertaining, sexy, even (dare I say) tawdry. But it's also feminist. Yikes! How can I make that claim? Well, let's see. It's written BY WOMEN, ABOUT WOMEN, and mostly FOR WOMEN. The woman - the heroine - always overcomes. She always wins. In the words of Jennifer Crusie (whom we interviewed for the film - lucky us!) "It's a female fantasy quest". So – yes, it is a fantasy. But it’s also a quest. Which means that the hero-ine undergoes a transformation in each and every story. Okay, she falls in love with the hero. But it also means she falls in love with herself as she overcomes both internal and external conflicts. She changes. She grows. She conquers. She loves. Certainly, there's a lot more to romance fiction than that but it's one of the reasons why I love it…why I have always loved romance fiction and what prompted me to make this documentary in the first place.
From the time I started reading romance (way back when I was about 14-15 years old and I discovered “The Flame and the Flower” and “The Wolf and the Dove” by the late, great Kathleen Woodiwiss – in my high school library no less!) I knew inside that romance was empowering. Even when I studied journalism and film theory and kinda hid the fact that I read romance from my friends (silly me) - I always loved it. And I figured out (like all romance fans do) that Jane Austen wrote romance! Ah yes, redemption! After I got older – and wiser I no longer cared who knew that I loved romance fiction. After I finished my documentary in 2007 I launched a romance fiction group on facebook called “A Love of Romance Novels”. The group has grown to more than 1,800 members including both authors and readers alike. From teenagers to senior citizens - both male and female – romance fans love a good story…as long as it’s got a happy ending of course!
“Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings?” has been broadcast in Canada on Bravo! many times since it premiered in 2007. Our executive producer is GAPC Entertainment – a respected Canadian production company. Our international distributor is APT World Wide - known for distributing many fine PBS documentaries. We are thrilled to bits about the Australian premiere tonight! I hope the Aussies let us know what you think!Here's a Question that Christine Wells - one of the moderators of the fabulous Romance Bandits blog (and one of our wonderful contributors as well) put to her readers at the end of this article when it first appeared in Romance Bandits back in March. So I hope you'll let us know what you think! Cheers!
Are you a proud reader of romance, or still firmly in the closet when it comes to your own circle of acquaintances? What do you say when someone asks you why you read romance?
Wonderful documentary, Jojo! So many clever insights into the romance publishing industry. And didn't our Kayla, Kathryn and Kelly do a fantastic job, too? Brava, ladies!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Christine! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D
ReplyDeleteGo Joanna! Hope it's a big hit in Oz! And I hope someday it'll come to the US!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you posted about this, a topic very near and dear to my heart as a defender of "happily ever afters" in literature. Please let us know if there is a way to view it in the US!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this!
ReplyDeleteGREAT article! I really can't wait to see this documentary. Hope it gets picked up soon!
ReplyDeleteAbout admitting to romance, it's funny about that. On my own blog, I wrote a post titled, Why Do Writers Write? In it I shared a tidbit about my early foray into writing. How I'd asked a good friend to be a Beta Reader. When I mentioned she'd need to read a couple of books in a similar vein to be able to see if I was on track She Shuddered.
Yikes!
So there's that. *grin*
Congrats again, Jo-Jo!!
Smiles,
Chiron
http://chironokeefe.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-do-writers-write.html
Hi Cate:
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I hope so too! And ditto for the U.S. :D that would be a dream come true :D
Lusty Reader: I couldn't agree with you more. You get tired after awhile of having to "defend" what you love. So I just say - well look at the Best Seller lists. I don't necessarily believe you have to be toiling in obscurity to be a good writer. Cheers to the popular writers! ;D
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria: Oh, I hope you get to see it too! If you're in the U.S. - my fingers, eyes, toes are crossed for a US sale soon :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Chiron! How does your friend feel about the books now? Does she like them? Bet she does! Most of the naysayers always end up being the biggest fans! LOL.
ReplyDeletehehe. . .I'm out the closet now!! I read it and write it! But I'm leery of the more questionable covers (or I should say leery of PULLING said covers out on mass transportation LOL!)
ReplyDeleteI did actually read romances in the closet. When I was in high school, I went to a strict religious boarding school. I would sit in my closet behind my (long) dresses and read romances with a flashlight. Took me a while after I grew up to grow out of that.
ReplyDeleteLoud and Proud here! Someone scoffs at my cover or where I'm standing in the bookstore? I grin and keep reading! :D Been an avid romance fan since I read my first Virginia Henley at age 12 LOL (yeah, sneaked that one from Mom.)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait until this comes out in the U.S!
Hi Dona: I understand what you mean you know even with the small publishers - the covers have gotten so good that you just want to show them off - the artwork is amazing! :D thanks for your comment :D
ReplyDeleteHi Vicki. Well, I can understand that. Kind of reminds me of a heroine from a romance novel. All we're missing is the hero **g** thanks for stopping by! ;D
ReplyDeleteHi Cheeky Wench: Wow! Virginia Henley at 12! woohoo! I didn't start the hot stuff until i was 15. You are a romance riot grrl! you know with the popularity of Twilight and the Sookie Stackhouse series I'm so proud of this big wonderful genre that continues to break boundaries and embrace originality. Thanks so much for your comment! I hope my doc will be seen in the U.S. soon as well :D
ReplyDeleteI hope this comes on the the US. I'm a loud and proud romance reader.
ReplyDeleteOh, I know you are Kwana! :D I hope it does too. If only the US broadcasters would really sit up and take notice that the romance community - is huge - in the millions! and would love to see this kind of programming on TV. Our distributor is American so that's good for us.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in grad school, I used to read a fistful of Harlequins at the end of term--sort of as a type of literary junk food to balance out all the really good literature I'd been reading. My mother and I used to laugh about it. I saw several Harlequins in a shop the other day, and reflected on how I must grab a few again soon and devour them like chips . . . .
ReplyDeleteFor years, when I asked my mom what she wanted for mother's day, her birthday, etc., it was always "a Julie Garwood book." How can you read that stuff? But, I would buy her the latest Julie Garwood historical romance book. Then, one day, I was bored with my usual reading material and said "Okay, mom, give me one of those. I want to see what you find so fascinating." I have NEVER been so happy that I was such a dutiful daughter and had purchased every single Julie Garwood book for her over the years. I simply devoured them and in short order! I can kick myself for not picking up a romance novel sooner. But, reading a book a day for many years now, I have been doing my best to catch up!
ReplyDeleteI hope Bravo here in the U.S. sees the light and telecasts what sounds like a fabulous documentary, Joanna! I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you too! ;)
Hey Kel: I know HQ categories tends to be like chips - you can't just read just one! Although they drive me nuts sometimes! I have read a couple of good HQ Presents lately! So hey - if you have a craving and nothing else will do...
ReplyDeleteHi Carolyn: Well, being a fellow Julie Garwood fan I'm glad you saw the light! And your mom is one smart cookie! I truly hope that 2009/10 will be the year that Happy Endings hits the U.S. I'd be thrilled! :D thanks so much for stopping by :D
ReplyDeleteYay! And all I can think is how cool it is to see my cover in the ad -- and how odd I look blonde. lol.
ReplyDeleteKathryn - I love your hair! and your book looks great in the TV ad! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm totally late to the party, but would like to add my two-cents-worth. I'm a proud reader of romance, but I do mention to people who don't read it that they may have picked up a genre they're just not into if they didn't like it. That's what happened to me at first, but I got steered toward darker, more edgy stories and voila! A happy romance reader.
ReplyDeleteTotally late too, but had to comment! WTG Joanna. I hope this one makes it on DVD and I can get to see it here then! It sounds like something I'd treasure.
ReplyDeleteMy first intro to romance was Austen, and then I discovered HQ, which my parents didn't really want me to read (too forward, if you know what I mean, for a 'proper' girl!) Then I came upon Barbara Cartland, and lo and behold, the comment at home was, isn't she that really big and respected British writer? So there it was, completely biased British awe and loyalty, but it gave me a wonderful world of romance to read from!
Today I proudly bring out my racy cover Blaze or other HQ book in the packed waiting rooms of the hospital when I have appointments there. I get strange looks too, but I shrug it off or if I'm in a bad mood, will stare the person down, my eyes asking, and what would your problem be?
I'm a proud romance reader and writer, and I'll tout it on every rooftop!
Hugs!