Exploring Genre: Steam Punk and Gaslight

by Alison Stegert

Historical Fantasy Sub-Genres: Gaslamp and Steampunk

Gaslamp (Gaslight) fantasy and steampunk are atmospheric sub-genres of fantasy that exploit historical features and foibles of the 19^th century, particularly in Britain and its colonies.

A Bit of Background…

The European Enlightenment of the 17^th and 18^th centuries exalted Reason above all else, a focus that both ignited scientific enquiry and spawned revolutions. At the same time, the Enlightenment calcified the imagination. Two centuries of constrictive rationality created a hankering for escape and a hunger for whimsy. In other words, at the turn of the 19th century, the world was ripe for fantasy.

The Nineteenth Century

Welcome to the Romantic Era, the age of sturm und drang—intense emotion, when fairies flitted in gardens and mad scientists cooked up monsters during electrical storms. This shift of focus to emotions and intuition, myth and magic provided fodder for creatives of all types, not least writers.

The 19^th century in England was a time of incredible social change. Starting in Great Britain, the Industrial Revolution (1780 – 1840) heralded a new urban lifestyle, featuring a working class, advances in trade and business, and the mechanical manufacturing. The power of steam was harnessed for transport, textiles, iron production.

The Royal Circus

A series of formidable monarchs ruled during the 19^th century. George III’s chronic illness and mental health issues came to a head when his youngest daughter Amelia died in 1811. His intense grieve left him unfit to rule, so his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as regent from 1811 - 1820 (aka, The Regency Period).

The Prince Regent made a right royal mess of things, running up debts, flagrantly spending, and generally behaving immorally. Upon his father’s death in 1820, he was crowned King George IV, dying ten years later after a prolonged illness.

His brother William IV took over, ruling for seven years, during which he did not produce a legitimate heir. His niece Alexandrina was next in line, ruling as Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. The British Empire grew during her long reign, and she, dour and indomitable, left an indelible mark on history.

Her son succeeded her, reigning from 1901 to 1910 as King Edward VII.

Historical Fantasy Genres

Both gaslamp/gaslight and steampunk occupy the above piece of historical real estate, Regency to Edwardian eras, but they use the space differently.

Gaslamp (or Gaslight)

Gaslamp fantasy is historical fantasy with magical possibilities. The setting is usually Regency, Victorian or Edwardian, and usually it’s placed in Britain or its (former) colonies. The name refers to the ambiance created by the gas lamps that lit the streets of the time. The nomenclature derives from the comic series Girl Genius by Kaja Foglio.

Gaslamp Hallmarks

The tropes of gaslamp differ from those of straight fantasy (e.g., Tolkien) or straight Faerie (e.g., MacDonald). Victorian times saw a spike in curiosity about the spiritual world with many people dabbling in seances and other occultic practices. These themes sometimes make their way into gaslamp fantasy. Similarly, there was a resurgence of interest in fairies and other fey creatures and folklore.

Gaslamp explores fantastical possibilities and supernatural elements, time-slip, alternative histories and parallel worlds. Its tone can range from broodingly gothic to ‘swashbucklingly’ adventurous. A librarian from the New York Public Library described gaslamp fantasy as: “Jane Austen or Charles Dickens meets Harry Potter.” It can include mystery, boarding schools, pirates, monsters, spies, and manners.

Classic Gaslamp Examples

The gaslamp classification didn’t exist at the time these works were published, but they fit. Consider:

Peter Pan and Wendy by JM Barrie – Victorian, magic, parallel worlds, magic, mythical and fey characters

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll – Victorian, magic, portal, time-slip

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – Victorian, time-slip, ghosts, eerie ambiance

Dracula by Bram Stoker Victorian, mythical character, magic, eerie ambiance

Contemporary Gaslamp Examples

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clark

The Prestige by Christopher Priest

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman (Australian author)

Steampunk

While gaslamp plays up magical possibilities, steampunk emphasises the technological possibilities afforded by 19^th-century advances in steam power. Some argue that this focus on technology pushes it more toward science-fiction than fantasy. Often the technologies are anachronistic, for example, steam-powered robots or androids; or they can be ‘retrofuturistic’, for example, a reimagining of a blimp as a family vehicle or a war machine.

The punk aspect of steampunk refers to the tone of the genre, which can be irreverent, brash and disaffected. There’s a vague or overt sense of dissatisfaction with the state of affairs, often an anachronistic callousness, and sometimes a lack of optimism about the future.

Steampunk is not only a literary genre, it’s also an aesthetic. Costumes and settings are Victorian but amped up, for example, women wearing corsets as daywear or men donning thick goggles as eyewear. Clockwork and steam engines of all sizes and descriptions abound.

Variations on a Theme

Some steampunk incorporates supernatural elements such as vampires, werewolves, and witches. Although usually set in Victorian times and generally in Britain (or its colonies), a strong off-shoot of steampunk is ‘weird west,’ usually a wild west setting with gadgets and horror elements. More recent additions to the steampunk canon include non-British settings and POC protagonists.

Image Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1889_Verne_poster.jpg   

Classic Steampunk Examples

Consider the following works as forerunners to the steampunk genre. Again, the classification of steampunk didn’t exist at the time of these authors, but their works nonetheless fit:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Time Machine by HG Wells

Twenty-thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Contemporary Examples of Steampunk

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore

Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

The Tremblers by Raquel Byrnes (Christian steampunk)

Maiden of Iron: A Steampunk Fable by Edie Melson (Christian steampunk)

 Other images: Upslpash

Bio

Ali Stegert writes gaslamp fantasy adventure for children. The Temple of Lost Time, book one of The Whitherworld Chronicles trilogy, is currently in submission. Set in London’s theatre district in an alternative 19^th century, cheeky theatre child Toby Fitzroy must find his long-lost father or end up in a notorious Workhouse for Wayward Children. But his search intersects with the dying, magic-addled king’s quest for the time elixirs of the mythical Temple of Lost Time and sends him to another world…

Writing gaslamp fantasy gives Alison a playground in which to indulge in her passion for Victoriana, fairy tales, and history. A former school counsellor, Alison now cares for her elderly father-in-law and writes books for children. She lives near the beach in Australia with her husband and two naughty dogs. Find out more on her blog, Spilling Ink.

Book Review: Sensible Shoes: A Story about the Spiritual Journey by Sharon Garlough Brown

By Ian Acheson  @achesonian

BLURB

A 2013 Midwest Publishing Awards Show Honorable Mention Sharon Garlough Brown tells the moving story of four strangers as they embark together on a journey of spiritual formation: Hannah, a pastor who doesn't realize how exhausted she is. Meg, a widow and recent empty-nester who is haunted by her past. Mara, a woman who has experienced a lifetime of rejection and is now trying to navigate a difficult marriage. Charissa, a hard-working graduate student who wants to get things right. You’re invited to join these four women as they reluctantly arrive at a retreat center and find themselves drawn out of their separate stories of isolation and struggle and into a collective journey of spiritual practice, mutual support and personal revelation. Along the way, readers will be taken into a new understanding of key spiritual practices and find tangible support for the deeper life with God. If you want to travel this journey with others, you will find a group study guide and book club resources at www.sensibleshoesclub.com.

REVIEW

This is quite a unique story, part instructional non-fiction, built around the fictional account of four women from different backgrounds who meet at a Scared Journey retreat. It's compelling reading as we get into the detail of each of these women's lives and their journey towards God's heart. Even though I'm a man I was able to relate to all four of them at various stages of their journeys. Whether it was Charissa's perfectionism, arrogance and thirst for information, to Hannah's being lost in her calling, to Mara's struggle with a non-believing spouse and Meg's struggle with the loss of her parents and fiancé, I found a bit of myself in all of them.

I particularly enjoyed how Brown combines the heart journey and desire for intimacy with God with the telling of the ladies lives. It's a tremendous practical demonstration of how we can pursue the heart of God while going about our lives incorporating various spiritual disciplines plus the importance of community (ie, each other) and guidance from a mentor (in this story it was the leader of the retreat: Katherine).

The novel is filled with spiritual insight plus instructional guidelines as to how to incorporate various spiritual disciplines and provides a wonderful insight into a scared journey with the Lord.

I'm excited to read the next one in the series.

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard was recognised with the 2014 Selah Award for Speculative Fiction.You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

Genre Trends

by Jeanette O'Hagan

Over the last year (2017), our CWD/ACW posts have explored different genres. We have just scratched the surface and will be looking at more genres in the coming months.  However, last year Ian Acheson suggested we look at current genre trends for 2017.

Why Worry about Genre Trends?

What difference does this make? Some genres tend to be more popular. Romance is generally big, and also thrillers, mystery and crime as well as science fiction and fantasy and children’s picture books. In non-fiction, cookbooks, self-help, biographies might be popular. In recent years, there have growing trends for Young Adult and Graphic Novels. On the other hand, literary fiction may have a more limited, perhaps refined audience whereas poetry – once the Queen of literature – is often hard to sell.

And different sub-genres – Amish or paranormal romance or dystopias or Nordic noir or solar punk - may be all the rage -- often on the back of a popular block buster (Twilight, Hunger Games, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) or ongoing trend (like Amish). Or, perhaps the once favourite genre is already passé.

Of course, trending could mean either what readers buying/reading OR what agents and publishers looking for/accepting. It stands to reason that what readers want and what agents and publishers are looking for are the same thing – but not always. For instance, publishers may choose more literary titles or have particular biases and interests. And there are often big differences between what sells from the big publishing houses compared to the big sellers for Indie authors.

 Knowing which genres are trending may help in choosing or refining our target audience and the genre we write in.  Writing to a popular genre or sub-genre can make a difference to how many readers and royalties we garner. If you have more than one potential project, knowing the trends may help choose which to write next. Or maybe we can tweak what we are already writing to appeal to a specific audience. 

Even so, there is often a niche audience for most sub-genres, even obscure ones. Besides, a trend may be on its way out of a saturated market by the time it takes to write our book and get it published. And predictions are just that – predictions – at best educated guesses based on current trends, at worst just plain wrong.

Besides, there may be good reasons why you don’t want to write a particular genre or sub-genre, no matter how hot it currently is. It’s better to write what you are passionate about, than to slog out a book in a genre you hate because it sells (readers will notice). 

So, what are the trends?

In General

In A D Hurley’s 2017 report on Amazon sells, Romance took 66% of books, with 87% of the top 100 selling slots. Other top-selling genres go to Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Non-Fiction, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Children’s, and Literary Fiction, respectively. Whereas, for the Big 5 publishers literary fiction heads the list, then 2. Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, 3. Children’s, 4. Non-Fiction, 5. Science Fiction/Fantasy and 6. Romance.  Small press publishers might have their own preferences and specialities.

Within the broader categories, some subgenres are trending.  Hurley reports (2017) ‘LGBT books have seen a 200% increase, comic books and graphic novels — an 119% bump, and Teen and YA novels are on a 63% rise.’ 

Dena of Batch of Books suggests that YA & Children’s books with diversity (people of colour, disability, woman and LGBT), unique or strong woman characters, humour and ‘love, hope and dreams’ will do well in 2018  Other pundits suggest an increase in mystery books. While some suggest, in contrast to the pessimistic dystopian books, the optimist Solar Punk is making its mark.

Other areas that is growing, according to Lauren Wise, are novellas, anthologies, and co-authoring and book bundles. In part as marketing strategies for authors, but also because shorter fiction is easier to publish as an e-book, and readers often have less time and appreciate shorter reads.

Some of these trends provides a challenge for Christian authors, but also an opportunity.

Christian Books

Non-fiction (Bibles, devotionals, Christian living and biographies) probably dominate the Christian market. How do genre trends translate into Christian Fiction?

USA

Traditionally, in the USA, Christian fiction has been driven by romance, historical and biblical fiction – with a strong emphasis on Amish and bonnet fiction. 

For 2018, Publisher Weekly reports that some suggest Amish is waning, while others feel it is still going strong and that there may be a trend toward romantic suspense. Speculative fiction and mystery have struggled with CBA though there has been a trend for cross-over and edgier fiction with small press – such as Gilead’s acquisition of Enclave and expansive publishing model -- and a move to more realistic fiction that addresses difficult issues with some publishers.  (See also this.)

Australasia

The Australian and New Zealand markets are much smaller, especially in Christian fiction and non-fiction with limited publication opportunities and difficulty competing with big titles from across the Pacific.

Christian readers downunder often favour more realistic, maybe edgier, fiction than the America market. Once again, romance is a major player, though Rhiza Press publishes a range of genres, and Stone Table Books is actively looking for speculative fiction. Perhaps mystery and (non-romantic) thrillers are underrepresented.

The Future

Whatever the trends, God holds the future. And while it’s in some ways harder than it was a few decades ago, there are different opportunities as well. Part of our challenge is to respond the heart cries of the world with the grace and hope of the gospel - whether explicitly or implicitly. 

So over to you – What trends would you predict for 2018? What’s your favourite genre or sub-genre to write or to read? And what’s the strangest genre you’ve come across?

ACW/CWD Cross post.

***

Jeanette started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic users. She has published numerous short stories, poems, two novellas and her debut novel, Akrad's Children. Find her on Facebook or at her webpages Jeanette O'Hagan Writes or Jenny's Thread.

My Top Ten Reads for 2017

By Iola Goulton

I do this every year. 

I sign up to write a Top Ten post, then find it impossible to keep myself to just ten books. So this year I'm cheating ...

I'm sharing my Top Ten Contemporary Christian Romance novels.

This gives me a fighting chance of keeping myself to ten books, although it also means I miss some of the excellent historical fiction I've read this year (e.g. The Dishonorable Miss Delancey by Carolyn Miller and Where We Belong by Lynn Austin), as well as the outstanding Long Way Gone by Charles Martin. The list also excludes some excellent general market romances, and some not-quite-contemporary-romance novels like Grace in Strange Disguise by Christine Dillon. And it excludes the dozens of books on my to-read pile, and all the books I've been told I must read by other CCR fans ...

The neverending trials of a book reviewer. So here goes my 2017 Top Ten list, in no particular order ...

The Last Summer by Brandy Bruce

The Last Summer is a beautiful but bittersweet romance that's actually more coming of age or women's fiction with a romance subplot. It's written entirely from the point of view of the main character, and starts when the best friend she's secretly in love with starts dating one of their mutual friends. No matter which way this goes, someone is going to get hurt ...

I bought The Last Summer after Narelle Atkins reviewed it here on Australasian Christian Writers. Click here to read her review.

The Carpenter's Daughter by Jennifer Rodewald

I loved The Carpenter's Daughter because of the excellence of the writing, the depth of the emotion, and the way it showed a non-believer's journey to Jesus, and the sacrificial love of the hero. There were so many great lines in this novel, I know it's going to be one I read and reread.

I haven't reviewed The Carpenter's Daughter, but Rel at Relz Reviews has. Click here to read her review.

Just Look Up by Courtney Walsh

This was also bittersweet, but in a different way than The Last Summer. It was bittersweet because of the way the heroine was so trapped by her quest to create the perfect life and earn her family's love that she never looked up and saw she already had everything she ever wanted. It's a much-needed reminder in our busy modern world.

Click here to read my review.

The Space Between Words by Michele Phoenix

This is a dual timeline story set in France and England. The modern story isn't overtly Christian, but shows a woman struggling to recover from a life-changing event. The historical story is outstanding—it starts with a punch and never lets up. How's this for an engaging first line?

Click here to read my review.

The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck by Bethany Turner

The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck breaks a lot of the "rules" of modern writing. It's told in first person. The narrator occasionally talks directly to the reader. It's about a writer (a plot device I often find awkward and contrived). But it works. It feels real, even though I know it isn't.

Click here to read my review.

Then There Was You by Kara Isaac

I will admit to an element of bias in this choice—Kara Isaac is a fellow Kiwi, and I edited Then There Was You. But I'd love this even if I hadn't edited it. I love Kara's writing, her characters, and her humour. And the ending ... Loved it.

I haven't reviewed Then There Was You, but Fiction Aficionado has. Click here to read her review.

The Long Highway Home by Elizabeth Musser

The Long Highway Home is a unique combination of fact and fiction. Elizabeth Musser draws on her own missionary experiences working with refugees to deliver a story that hits home in terms of the trials refugees find in pursuing safety.

Click here to read my review.

True to You by Becky Wade

A heroine who's a bookworm? What's not to love? The plot was excellent, with the perfect (!) combination of predictable and surprising. The characters were excellent—intelligent, funny, and quirky. Basically, this was everything I want in a romance novel.

Click here to read my review.

Sweetbriar Cottage by Denise Hunter

Sweetbriar Cottage is a reconciliation story—a couple find they aren't divorced after all, and that maybe they don't hate each other. It's a beautiful picture of grace and forgiveness, showing how to love as Jesus loved.

Click here to read my review.

Broken Like Glass by EJ McKay

A powerful novel of love and redemption. I’ve seen comparisons to The Shack in the way God is mentioned … although I’m apparently one of the few English-speaking Christians on the planet who hasn’t yet read The Shack. A must for those who are looking for Christian fiction that goes beyond the sanitised norm.

Click here to read my review.

So what do my selections have in common? They are real people, broken people, trying to navigate their way through life with the help of family, friends, and Jesus.

What about you? What were your top reads of 2017?

About Iola Goulton

Iola Goulton is a New Zealand book reviewer, freelance editor, and author, writing contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist. She is a member of the Sisterhood of Unpronounceable Names (Iola is pronounced yo-la, not eye-ola and definitely not Lola).

Iola holds a degree in marketing, has a background in human resource consulting, and currently works as a freelance editor. When she’s not working, Iola is usually reading or writing her next book review. Iola lives in the beautiful Bay of Plenty in New Zealand (not far from Hobbiton) with her husband, two teenagers and one cat. She is currently working on her first novel.

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Bookish Question: How do you define Christian Fiction?

By Iola Goulton

This is a cross-post with my own blog, Iola Goulton. Click here to add to the discussion.

I have an ulterior motive in asking this question. 

I’m presenting at the 2017 Romance Writers of New Zealand conference later this month. My topic is Christian Romance: the biggest romance genre you’ve never heard of.

I’ve been to two previous Romance Writers of New Zealand conferences, and met many authors writing all kinds of romance, from sweet to erotica. Some of these writers are Christians, who confess their worry at breaking in to the writing world when they don’t want to include sex scenes in their novels. They’ve barely heard of “clean” or sweet romance, let alone Christian romance.

That’s what prompted me to pitch the topic to the RWNZ Conference organisers last year (among others). And I guess it intrigued them as well, because this is the topic they asked me to speak on.

Here’s what I pitched to RWNZ:

Romance is one of the most popular genres in the US-driven Christian fiction market, but many New Zealand authors—even Christian authors—don’t know it exists. This session will:

• Introduce authors to the Christian fiction genre and the CBA market.
• Highlight the main Christian fiction imprints and publishers.
• Consider how Christian fiction (and especially Christian romance) differs from general market fiction.
• Discuss Christian vs. inspirational vs. crossover fiction, and the emerging trends for ‘clean reads’ and ‘edgy Christian fiction.’

Parts of the presentation will be straightforward. Who publishes Christian fiction? Easy—check the free download available from my website, www.christianediting.co.nz.

Which agents represent Christian fiction authors? Also easy, thanks to a free download compiled by Michael Hyatt, the ex-CEO of Thomas Nelson.

And where can you buy Christian fiction? At Christian book stores—like Koorong.com in Australia, or Manna Christian Books and Sonshine Books here in New Zealand. And at Amazon. Of course.

But this leaves one big question. How do we define Christian fiction?

It sounds easy, but it isn’t. I’ve written several blog posts on defining Christian fiction and Christian romance. There is no easy answer.

What do you think, either as a reader or as a writer (or both)? How do you define Christian fiction? Specifically, Christian romance?

I’d love to know what you think!

Book Review: The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green

Lucy here with a review of

The Mark of the King, by Jocelyn Green

 

Can we pause for a moment and admire the cover?? How gorgeous is that! 

Right. Onto the review. I give "The Mark of the Kin" a solid 4 stars. 

I had a love/hate relationship with this book. I had no expectations (warnings?) when I started reading and LOVED it up until about the end of the first 1/4 or 1/3. It then dawned on me that this was NOT going to be a "standard" romance. I left it sitting idly on my Kindle for a few days before swallowing hard and diving back into it.

What drew me back? 

The description.

Slate grey clouds now drifted in the sky, veiling the constellations like wraiths.

Green, Jocelyn (2017-01-03). The Mark of the King (Kindle Location 934). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

Mmm mm. I'm a sucker for description (I still vividly remember Laura Frantz's Courting Morrow Little's first page and the line about "the dust beneath her bare feet fine as flour") and wow does Jocelyn do description really well. Seriously. I felt like going to a southern bayou and finding a crayfish chimney to stand on just to feel it crunch beneath my heel as Julianne had. I could practically feel the humid slap of Spanish Moss upon my face as we traversed the muddy 18th century frontier. Could hear everything. Feel everything.

And that was part of the problem. I could visualise everything so clearly that the brutality of midwifery, greedy soldiers, backstabbing Indians (as portrayed in the book, not my personal opinion), and the lack of care from France was so, well, in my face. So raw. Refreshing, for a Christian book. But also uncomfortably so at times. 

A dilemma. 

Also...the romance. Great setup for romance, at least at the start. An arranged marriage. Between 200 men/women. Wow! Nothing like having to pick one's life partner in ten minutes or less. 

But the romance...wasn't. At least not how I've come to expect romances to be. Julianne's first marriage isn't her last (not wanting to give any of the plot away), and that second marriage is more of a thin candle than an bushfire romance. 

Still, there are gems such as this one:

“We all have scars, my beautiful one. They make us who we are, and if we let them, they bring us together.” His lips curved gently. “Now, let me show you how much I love you.”

Green, Jocelyn (2017-01-03). The Mark of the King (Kindle Locations 3258-3259). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.  

 Excellent advice.

In parting, I do recommend The Mark of the King but be prepared to sit down to a meal, not an ice-cream. Available here.

Lucy Thompson loves a good story, a hot coffee, and silence. Blessed silence. But with five children, a tool-wielding hubby, and numerous characters yammering away at her, that isn't likely to happen any time soon. :)

Come find me on Facebook. I'd love to make a new friend. :)
If, by any chance, you'd rather fancy a cowboy romance, then I have two on Amazon. Mail Order Surprise and A Cowboy's Dare. Enjoy!

  

Book Review: A Cowboy's Dare - by Lucy Thompson

Review by Andrea Grigg

It’s 1881, and Jane Montgomery of Halls Pass, Colorado, is a forward-thinking woman. Stifled by society’s conventions and attitudes toward women, and her parents’ expectations, Jane believes she was born for more. Born to learn about mechanical engineering, in fact.

But fate (or is it God?) seems to have other ideas. After attending a dance at the town hall, Jane wakes up on a sofa in Reverend Andrew’s parlour, in the arms of Tyrone Harding, a man she has known all her life, one who always rubs her up the wrong way, even if though he sometimes makes her heart beat faster.

Tyrone is just as appalled as Jane to discover they are married, something neither of them remember happening as a result of drinking too much punch, spiked by Tyrone’s meddling younger sister. (This was a bit of a stumbling block for me. If they were drunk enough not to remember anything - and there was a lot to remember, as described later in the story - then surely they would’ve been incredibly ill the next morning, rather than just have a pesky headache?) But, no matter how it happened, married they are, and to Tyrone’s horror because ‘females are nothing but trouble’, Jane is now his responsibility.

What follows is a lively, engaging story about two people whose most prized possession - their freedom - has been taken away. Jane’s plans to escape the confines of her life have been ruined, as has Tyrone’s resolve to live his life without a female in it.

As Tyrone and Jane negotiate their way around their relationship they encounter emotions neither of them expect or understand. At times, I found their attitudes toward one another a little too up and down and a tad confusing, but the banter between them was really well done and there were many laugh-out-loud moments at the way they unsettled each other. There were many poignant moments too, as the characters’ emotional wounds were poked and prodded until they were made to address them with the kind of honesty that left them open and vulnerable to one another, an honesty that tested and refined their true feelings.  

The concept of the dare referred to in the title was a clever one, and I loved the inevitable consequences. Historical romance is not my first choice in the romance genre, but I’d read Lucy’s first book, Mail Order Surprise, and I figured I’d be in for a treat. I wasn’t wrong.  

Andrea Grigg lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, and is a writer of two contemporary Christian romance novels, ‘A Simple Mistake’ and ‘Too Pretty’. Her Christmas novella, 'All is Bright', was released  in a boxset along with five other authors, entitled, 'An Aussie Summer Christmas', and is now available as a single title. You can find her books here. She would love to connect with you via Facebook, Twitter, or email: andreagrigg@live.com