Exploring Genre - Rural and Medical Romance

by Nicki Edwards

This year, the cross posts between Christian Writers Downunder and Australasian Christian Writers are focusing on genre. So far, we’ve had posts on meeting genre expectations, in Space Opera and Superheroes, Portal Fantasy and Secondary World Fantasy, Poetry, Free Verse and Verse Novels and Regency and Historical Romance . 

Today, I'm looking at the place of Rural and Medical Romance.

I like what Iola Goulton said in a previous post that book genres are like food. If we go out to our favourite restaurant and order the usual and something different is served, we are disappointed, especially if we’ve been eagerly anticipating that familiar taste.

Book genres are a bit like ice cream. I have two or three flavours I keep going back to – English Toffee, Honeycomb Crunch or Cookies and Cream.

It’s kind of funny my tastes are so narrow as I’m one of those odd people who thrive on change, but when it comes to food and books, I’m always drawn to the familiar.

For me that means romance and women’s fiction. 

So what is romance, why is it my favourite flavour and why do I write medical-rural romance?

Romance can be classified into many sub-genres - contemporary, erotic, historical, rural, paranormal, regency, young adult, medical, Christian, romantic suspense . . . you get my drift. The list is probably never-ending.

All romance novels have a central love storyline and an emotionally satisfying ending. Beyond that, they can be set in any time or place and have varying levels of sensuality from sweet to spicy.

Women’s fiction are women-centred books that focus on women’s life experiences. These books are generally marketed to woman.

My latest book, One More Song which comes out in November 2017 is being marketed as both romance and women’s fiction.

When I started writing in January 2014 I was encouraged to “write what you know” and “write what you love”.

What I know and love is medicine and nursing, and it is from this I draw my writing experiences. I also love the gorgeous rural backdrop that sits behind small town Australia. I love the people in regional and rural communities and therefore it seemed a natural fit for me to write heart-warming medical dramas set in small towns.

My books explore the realities and complexities faced by people in regional and small towns with plots involving dramatic accidents, illnesses and critical medical situations. Think McLeod’s Daughters meets A Country Practice with a touch of All Saints thrown into the mix!

People ask why the rural romance genre is popular and why my books have sold so well. I think readers have an appetite for stories set on the land and they love strong, ordinary, everyday Aussie heroes and heroines. Whether it’s the city girl finding a new life in the country, or rural characters living their lives working the land, there’s something relatable for all readers whether they live in the country or the city.

Lucky for us writers of this genre, readers can’t seem to get enough of our stories. Perhaps because there’s something romantic and almost mystical about the Australian outback. Or perhaps because many city dwellers have an escapism mentality when it comes to the idea of a tree change or ‘escape to the country’. Ironically, ask any farmer and they’ll tell you there’s nothing romantic about living in the middle of nowhere!

Obviously authenticity is crucial in rural romance as with all genres. A country person can tell a mile away if a writer is faking it. It’s the same with the medical side of my books. Anyone with a bit of medical background and Dr. Google can be my harshest critic. I have to get my facts right.

What I love about writing small town medical romance is that the story is all about the community and the people, not just my hero and heroine. The setting is as important as the story because when people in small communities are thrown together into a medical emergency or crisis situation it makes for great dramatic fiction, especially when my heroine is the medico saving the day. I love demonstrating nurses and doctors working together doing amazing things because that’s what I see every day when I’m at work.

As a medical-rural romance writer I get to tackle all kinds of interesting rural and medical issues, whether it’s the problem of depression and suicide in the bush, or the complexities of care people in small towns face such as the lack of facilities and equipment or trained medical staff. I love showing how small towns rally together and just make things happen.

Despite tough publishing markets in recent years, the romance genre continues to do well but for all its market success, it still encounters a lot of snobbery from readers. There’s a dismissive attitude towards it. Additionally, as a Christian, one thing I’ve encountered is the presumption that if I write romance it’s probably smutty. This couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s a huge range of sensuality in the romance genre and my books are at the sweet or “clean” end of the scale with closed door, fade-to-black sex scenes.

The exciting thing for me as a romance author is our readers are extremely engaged and they’re voracious readers. It’s not unusual for a romance reader to admit to reading a book a day! I’m blessed with how the romance reading community have embraced me and my books and I’m also fortunate to be part of a group of romance authors who have a website specifically set up for readers who love rural romance. You can check it out here: www.australianruralromance.com)

Nicki Edwards is a city girl with a country heart. Growing up on a small family acreage, she spent her formative years riding horses and pretending the neighbour’s farm was her own.

Nicki writes medical rural romance and when she isn’t reading, writing or dreaming about rural life and medical emergencies, she can be found working as a Critical Care Nurse in the Emergency Department or Intensive Care Unit, where many of her stories and characters are imagined.

Nicki and her husband Tim, a Pastor, live in Geelong, Victoria. With four teenage/young adult children, life is busy, fun and at times exhausting, but Nicki wouldn’t change it for anything. Visit her at www.nickiedwards.com.au to find all her other books.

Nicki’s latest book One More Song published by Pan Macmillan Australia will hit the bookshelves on November 28th, 2017 but is available to pre-order now wherever e-books are sold.

Book Launch Wrap Up (and a giveaway)

I had the most wonderful time at my book launch last Sunday so I thought I'd share some photos with you.  Apart from being uncharacteristically nervous before everyone arrived, I soon relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was difficult meeting so many new people - not easy for an introvert - and even more difficult when I didn't recognize people. Did you know that no-one looks anything like their Facebook profile photos?!  Fortified by Pepsi Max and chocolate I managed to smile and meet and greet nearly 80 people who turned out for the event. It exceeded my expectations and I was blown away by the love and support of the people in the room - some family, some friends and some strangers. One highlight (there were so many) was meeting a gorgeous woman in her 80's. She bowled up to me and announced I had looked after her in the emergency department a few months earlier. I remembered her then - she was reading a rural romance book and we had a lovely discussion about books and I told her I was an author. She told me she found out my name and asked her son to track me down. It turns out he is an avid reader and had one of my books on his Kindle which he had read and enjoyed. He heard about the book launch (no idea how) and brought his Mum along. Even better, she won a book in the door prize! I've already decided she's also 'won' a part as a minor character in my next book! (Her name is Fleur, so look out for her!) Of course the other highlight was having Andrea Grigg play such a large part in the day. I was so blessed she flew down from Queensland to share the occasion with me. I know many others were with me in spirit. After my husband welcomed everyone, Andrea asked me some questions about my book and the inspiration for my characters then hit me with twenty "off the top of my head" questions. I thought I'd share them with you. Who is your favourite female character from your books so far? Mackenzie Kennedy-Jones (Intensive Care) Favourite male character? Matt Robertson (The Peppercorn Project) Which genre do you enjoy reading apart from romance? Legal thrillers ED or ICU? Tough call - love them both - Emergency Department. Name three authors you'd love to meet. Jodi Picoult, Lee Child, John Grisham What household chore do you hate the most? ALL! Favourite take away. Fish and chips. Favourite movie. The Notebook. How did you meet Tim? At school. Was it love at first sight? Definitely not! Name 3 people from history you'd like to have dinner with. Princess Diana, Florence Nightingale, Michelle Obama What kind of music do you listen to? Worship and Classical Hobbies apart from writing. None! Tea or coffee? Neither - haven't tasted either. Sweet or Savoury? Definitely sweet. Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi Max Would you like to do more study? If so, what? Yes. Education. Worst part of your job. Not knowing how a patient is after they've left ICU or ED and hoping their recovery  went well. Would you ever get a tattoo? Definitely not!! After it was all over, although I felt like I could sleep for a week, we went out to dinner and celebrated with my gorgeous family. On Monday Andrea and I went out to search for my book on the shelves in store. Friends had already been sharing their "shelfies" including this one of my friend Cindy's daughter Ruby who apparently squealed so loudly when she saw my book that she could be heard across the other side of the store!    I don't look quite as excited as Ruby, but I assure you, I was dancing on the inside! How gorgeous does it look on the shelves at K-Mart?  Even more exciting was this photo sent to me by Jeff Townsend who found it in the Number 1 spot at Big W in Orange! But the highlight of the entire release of The Peppercorn Project was this photo sent to me by my friend Jane. This is her beautiful Mum on the eve of her 94th birthday sitting up in bed with her hair all done ready for her big day. She's already caught up in the story!  It doesn't get better than this, and that's why I write. Although I already have three books and a novella out in e-book and print on demand format, the buzz of seeing my book on the shelves is incomparable - it somehow makes it feel more 'real'. The promotion journey continues with magazine articles ('Yours' and 'Take 5') and newspaper features ('Melbourne Herald Sun' on 18th June and 'The Weekly Review') plus more guest blog posts scheduled for the next few weeks. It's a busy time. And then of course I need to do the edits for Critical Condition which comes out in September and edits for Operation Mistletoe Magic which comes out in November and then Leah needs a story of her own too. Who agrees? I'd love to give away a copy of The Peppercorn Project (paperback) to bless someone. To enter, you need to tell me who is your favourite hero and heroine from one of my books or novella! Easy! Please head to my website www.nickiedwards.com.au to sign up to my newsletter.  Purchase links to all my books can be found below: Amazon (Australia): http://bit.ly/1RhhTSX Amazon (US): http://amzn.to/1T4Tm8p Amazon (Uk): http://amzn.to/1S2jC1e iBooks: http://apple.co/1XxhQad Kobo: http://bit.ly/20e996e

Don't Worry, by Andrea Grigg

I’m taking a leap of faith. It’s been a while but I’ll be alright. No one’s going to die. It’s a first world problem.

I’m going to write for the general market, under the name of Andi Eden.

Image courtesy of marcolm 

at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Put it this way. I was a Christian and a teacher and taught in the state system. Why not be a Christian and a writer and pen stories for the general market?

I don’t fit the church mould. Haven’t for a while. I don’t go to a service on a regular basis (my husband and I are de-fragging from a bunch of church politics) although I attend a women’s Bible study on a Thursday. But I love the body of Christ. Two different things.

Another mould smasher. I’ve acquired three tattoos. Small ones. One for my love of music, one for my love of writing, and one to show my love and thankfulness for the grace of God. The latter is on the underside of my right wrist, in Viking runes, part of my heritage. My son and I share this one. We got them together earlier this year. Mother-son bonding you might say. Or not, depending on your opinion.

This is not a midlife crisis. I’m too old for that, unless I live to a hundred and fourteen. (Not a personal ambition, in case you’re wondering.) It’s simply my response to my nudges from God.

Writing for the general market will be a challenge. My characters won’t be Christians. They’ll do unChristian things, have unChristian attitudes and make unChristian choices. But that’s how billions of people live and they will be my audience.

Yet God is so much part of my life. How do I not write about Him? How do I not include Him on my page? But He will be there, in my themes, in my messages. A silent but powerful presence, invisible yet visible.

Check out Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV). ‘You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.’

As my wonderfully wise husband said, ‘You’re not leaving God out of your writing – you’re taking Him with you.’

Andrea is an author and avid reader of contemporary romance. She has written two Christian romance novels: A Simple Mistake and Too Pretty.

Andrea would love to hear from you. You can find her at:

http://www.andreagrigg.com/
https://www.facebook.com/author.andreagrigg

https://twitter.com/andreagrigg