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How would you describe the German romance scene and your part in it? How does it differ from the US scene? [Page 1]
What is done to promote the romance genre in Germany? What more is needed and wanted? [MD] My readers are the best women there are! Maybe they are brain surgeons, maybe they are full-time mothers or working at an assembly line, but all of them intelligent, funny, smart, charming. They are laughing and crying and dealing splendidly with the ups and down of life. I just wish they would stop hiding what they are reading and I wish they would stop telling me stories like: "But when I buy this book my bookseller looks at me very scornfully" (To tell you the truth: my booksellers a warm funny, smart and charming, too). My readers do not get scared by critical looks of booksellers, family, husbands etc. - come out and show me that your not a quivering little heap, and quicker than anything else I will support you with my books. [IW] I think a big step was done in recent times, when within days of Diana Gabaldon's fifth release, it made the number one spot of the Spiegel magazine. (Germany's equivalent of the New York Times bestseller list!) Suddenly even that magazine (in many ways like America's Time Magazine) was forced to write about the book and its phenomenon. My website and the reviews many volunteers and I write is helping, too. A friend of mine owns the second romance website and does her part. Ute-Christine now also works as romance novel translator and is the editor of a special collection of romance novels. With that collection you also receive a small romance magazine that she writes. The most important thing this year though, is Germany's first Booklover Conference, taking place this May in Bad Homburg, near Frankfurt. It's the first time that all German readers, authors and publishers can come together and celebrate. In attendance will be many American authors. More about the event you can find out at www.booklover.de
Many readers over here are looking forward to meeting some of their long-time favorite authors, like Heather Graham or Kat Martin, for the first time in person! [UCG] Until only recently the whole genre was kept quiet - it was treated like an embarrassing aunt that shames the whole family. However with the growth of the Internet, and thanks to Isolde Wehr's and my websites, the public slowly recognizes romance novels and fans have a place where they can come together and share stories and ideas. The big event for German romance fans though, is this year's Booklover Conference taking place in Bad Homburg in May. It will be the happening for the whole industry, and hopefully it will turn out new ideas leading the romance industry in the right direction. [MC] Many of the German romance authors have the same dream: One day an American agent will come, fall in love with their book, helps them to publish it in the US and then - they will become a best-selling author in Germany. It's only a dream, I know. But there is another way: Look, there are a lot of exiting German romance writers, who deserve a fair chance. Together with my German author friends, I founded "DeLiA", an organization of German-speaking romance authors. Our current members are: Patricia Alge (Switzerland), Sophia Farago (Austria), Friederike Costa, Eva Völler, Ulrike Dietmann, Rebecca Michéle, Susan Hastings, Petra Last, Marie Cordonnier/Valerie Lord, Michelle Raven, Elaine Winter and I, Marte Cormann. Our organization is certain to grow very quickly, because many of us are looking for our special identity as German Romance Authors.
To celebrate the creation of "DeLiA" our first meeting and party will take place on May 3, 2003, at the German Booklover Conference in Bad Homburg.
We would love to see you there.
I'm curious, what themes, sub genres and authors are popular with German readers? [MD] Do you really expect me to tell my trade secrets? [IW] It's historical's that are the most popular. Recently it is the contemporaries with authors like Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Rachel Gibson, Susan Andersen and Millie Criswell that are getting bigger. Time travels are liked; though the selection is not very big yet. Less popular are romantic suspense novels, although authors like Iris Johansen and Tami Hoag, who have switched to the mystery genre, find their readers. Paranormals are still the exception, regencies are hardly ever published anymore and inspirational's, only with small publishing houses and hardly known. Futuristics, audio books and military romances are also hard to find in Germany. Once in a while, romance anthologies are tested, but haven't been able to establish themselves in the German romance market. Very new are erotic romances, Robin Schone started the trend over here and Cora who works closely together with Harlequin started its German translations of the Blaze titles.
[UCG] They should be the same as in the US: Novels set during the Regency timeframe, medieval Scotland, Ireland and England. There is no doubt that German readers would love to read romance novels set in Germany, but with the lack of German authors they are very hard to find. American settings like the Wild West and the Civil War are less likely to attract German readers.
Why should Germany's romance market be of interest to the rest of the world?
[MD] Strange question. Why not? As I said, we are funny, and smart, and charming (and human, therefore fallible, unfriendly and stupid). It's fun to deal with us (most of the time).
[IW] Why shouldn't it be? :) Romance novels are read around the globe; I know of fan sites in France and Russia. Everywhere readers try to rid themselves of the chains of prejudice, those that are still associated with romance novels.
[AW] Because the German romance market is one of the biggest! Heather Graham told me that Germany is her best market right after the US-market. I am sure that many other US-authors can agree to that. [UCG] The German market might not be as big as the American, but at least within Europe it is of importance. Every author who wants to sell their books worldwide needs to be informed of other markets' likes and dislikes. So why shouldn't Germany's romance market be of interest to the rest of the world? [MC] You ask, why Germany's romance market should be of interest to the rest of the world? Because there is a new sign for quality: "Romance made in Germany."
Submitted by Kris Alice, February 2003
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[AW] The first "Booklover Conference" in Germany is taking place from May 2nd to 4th (www.booklover.de). This conference could become a big break-through and could also increase the interest in romance books and the romance book authors. Right now names like Heather Graham or Kat Martin are simply names on a book cover. Little is known about them, their photos on the German covers are at least 10 years old. This conference could help to change things/views over here and by knowing an author in person, having a face to a name, you start reading or seeing a book from a different angle.
