How about something that has nothing to do with Judaism [for a change], but is a big topic of discussion in women's historical fiction? What is the difference [assuming there is one] between historical romance, historical fiction with a romance plot, and historical fiction with romantic elements? Surely all have the basic plot: girl meets boy, girl gets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy. So what makes one novel a 'bodice-ripper' and another literary fiction? Is it the writing or merely the publisher? That is, does Harlequin sell the former and Penguin the latter? Is it hard cover vs. trade paperback vs. mass-market paperback? Is it marketed towards women readers? And who decides?
According to Wikipedia [who knew there was such a trove of information on the subject?] a historical romance takes place before WWII, has a plot whose primary focus is the relationship and romantic love between two people, and concludes with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. I guess that leaves out 'Romeo and Juliet', as well as 'Gone with the Wind.' Yet under this definition, each volume of my RASHI'S DAUGHTERS trilogy probably qualifies, as does everything written by Jane Austen and many of Zane Grey's westerns. Anyone who denies that Zane Grey writes romantic novels hasn't read 'Riders of the Purple Sage.'
There lies perhaps the critical distinction. A historical romance is first and foremost a romance. Nothing intrudes on the relationship - not the heroine's profession, her relationship with her family, nor historical events. Secondary characters exist purely to help or hinder the love relationship. Critics complain that historical romances are formulaic, and this may be due to lack of subplots and interesting secondary characters. In historical fiction with a romance plot, historical events loom large, and the love relationship is one of many influences on the heroine and hero's lives. Historical family sagas often have romantic elements, but there may be several heroes and heroines in different generations and locations [James Michener's novels come to mind].
So who decides? Apparently the bookseller. Go into any bookstore and the romances are shelved together, while my new novel, RASHI'S DAUGHTER: BOOK III - RACHEL, sits in another section altogether, along with all sorts of disparate novels. Or perhaps my book is filed with Judaica. Yet in 2007, when it came time for Bookscan to decide in what category to rank the sales for BOOK II - MIRIAM, they put it under Romance, where it spent 18 weeks on Bookscan's bestseller list. Imagine how long it might have stayed there if they'd labeled it Judaica.
Finally I'm home from my Florida book tour, which I consider a success despite some good news and some bad news. Good news: my programs at Jewish venues drew large audiences of over 100 attendees. Bad news: except for "Books & Books" in Miami, none of my independent bookstore events drew even half a minyan. Good news: Jewish venues often sold out of Books I and II, which means lots of readers are new to RASHI'S DAUGHTERS. Bad news: if they don't get a signed copy when I'm speaking, are they really going to go out and buy one elsewhere? And I really would rather that readers don't start with Book III - RACHEL.
Of course BOOK I - JOHEVED stands alone, but the biggest change the editors at Plume had me make for BOOK II - MIRIAM was to have that volume stand alone as well. They convinced me that some, perhaps many, readers would find only MIRIAM for sale, and that I should make it easy for these folks to join the ongoing story. So I opened with a big mealtime scene with all the characters from JOHEVED at the table, and generally brought new readers up to speed in chapter one. I hoped they'd like MIRIAM enough to go back and read JOHEVED later.
With RACHEL, I again attempted to make the book independent of the other volumes, despite my doubts that anyone [other than a reviewer] would read a novel that clearly says "Book III" without having read either Book I or Book II. But that is exactly what is happening - either because their book group is reading RACHEL and they missed reading the earlier volumes, or because the bookseller doesn't have the others in stock.
This distresses me because I consider the three volumes one long book [like "Lord of the Rings"] and I have many subplots that wind through the earlier volumes to conclude in RACHEL. For example, I want the reader to share Joheved's satisfaction when Brunetta finally divorces Shemayah or when Rivka finally forgives Joheved for studying Talmud, and to appreciate the parchment maker's family dying of hoof-and-mouth disease. In JOHEVED and MIRIAM, I carefully situated secondary characters in various German towns [Aunt Sarah's son in Speyer, Elisha in Worms, Catharina and Samson in Mayence, Daniel in Cologne] so that my readers would share these characters' experiences when the marauders attacked the Jews in those cities. If the reader hadn't become attached to them in Books I and II, would she care so much what happened to them? Lastly, I saved the most difficult Talmud passages for Book III, assuming that readers would already have some familiarity with how I explain Gemara.
So if anyone asks if they can read RASHI'S DAUGHTERS out of order, tell them that it's best not to do that. The story progresses in chronological order, and that's how I intended that they should be read.
An author friend sent me this link to New York article about book marketing in the new 'downsized' publishing world - it's a hoot [unfortunately]. But it will give you an idea of how much time I spend these days promoting BOOK III - RACHEL, and why I've barely started research for my next historical novel.
Let all your Florida friends know that I will be speaking everywhere in Florida from Oct 13-22: Jacksonville [10-13], Palm Coast [10-14], Sarasota [10-15 am], Tampa [10-15 pm], Dunedin [10-16], Orlando [10-18], Boca Raton [10-19], Miami [10-20 am], Bal Harbour [10-20 pm], Naples [10-21], Boynton Beach [10-22 am], and JCC at Davie [10-22 pm].
For more info, including exact times and locations, see my website schedule.
As we approach the end of Sukkot, I am reminded of the suspicion of a connection between Sukkot and Hanukah, since both festivals last 8 days. According to the Apocrypha, the Maccabees were celebrating a delayed Sukkot when they rededicated the Temple.
"They [the Jews] celebrated it for eight days with gladness like Sukkot and recalled how a little while before, during Sukkot, they had been wandering in the mountains and caverns like wild animals. So carrying lulavs [palm branches waved on Sukkot]...they offered hymns of praise (perhaps the Hallel prayer) to God who had brought to pass the purification of his own place. By public edict and decree they prescribed that the whole Jewish nation should celebrate these days every year." (II Maccabees, 10: 6-8)
Our Talmudic sages didn't want to encourage any Jews to rebel against Rome; zealots tried that twice and look where it got us. So they ignore the Maccabees in discussing why Hanukah lasts 8 days, instead telling the story of the miraculous lamp that burned for 8 days from merely one day's worth of oil. Of course Hillel and Shammai disagree over how the Hanukah lamp is lit to commemorate the miracle, with Hillel calling for a continual increase in lights, "from one to eight," while Shammai says to start with eight lights.
In RASHI'S DAUGHTERS: Book I - JOHEVED, I discuss the section from Tractate Shabbat 21b where Shammai's reason for requiring a continual decrease, "from eight candles to one" is based on the concept that kindling the Hanukah lights correspond to the bull sacrifices of the Sukkot festival. A total of 70 bulls, corresponding to the number of nations of the world, were offered on Sukkot. On the first day, 13 bulls were slaughtered, and the number decreased by one each succeeding day. Similarly, according to Shammai, we decrease the number of lights of the menorah, one each day, starting with eight and ending with one on the eighth day.
Rashi explains that the 70 bulls were slaughtered at Sukkot to invoke protection for the gentile inhabitants of the 70 nations of the world [as enumerated in Genesis 10]. The progressive diminution of the number of bulls offered would symbolize the gradual weakening of the heathen beliefs, as more nations came to accept the One God. Now isn't that a nice thought as we celebrate the final days of Sukkot?
Sukkot is also known as Z'man Simchateinu,"the season of our joy"; indeed, we are commanded to be happy during Sukkot. So the writer in me shares a list of newspaper headlines proving that proofreading is a dying art. Enjoy them all.
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says [You think so?]
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over [What a guy]
Miners Refuse to Work after Death [lazy fellows]
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant [does that works any better than a fair trial?]
War Dims Hope for Peace [it might have that effect]
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile [Really?]
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures [What a surprise]
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges [Finally something stronger than duct tape]
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group [Weren't they fat enough?]
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors [Boy, are they tall]
And the winner is...
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead [Did I read that right?]
Speaking of headlines, Publishers Weekly interviewed me about the final volume of my RASHI'S DAUGHTERS trilogy for their Sept 22 edition, which was also included in that week's Religion Bookline newsletter. Check it out.
Today I was interviewed by Ann Bocock of WXEL, the NPR station in West Palm Beach, Florida. The show, "Florida Forum," will broadcast on Sunday, Oct 4 at 11 am EST and again on Monday, Oct 5 at 7 pm EST. Those who live outside south Florida can listen live on their computer by going to either WXEL or RadioTime . Those who want to wait and can download a podcast can do so as well.
Of course the reason "Florida Foum" interviewed me is that later this month I'll be speaking at Congregation Bnai Torah in Boca Raton [7 pm, Oct 19], Bet Shira Congregation in Miami [11 am, Oct 20], Books & Books store in Bal Harbour [7:30 pm, Oct 20], Temple Shalom of Naples [11 am, Oct 21], NCJW of Boynton Beach [10 am, Oct 22], and the JCC in Davie [7:30, Oct 22]. I invite my south Florida fans to check out the speaking schedule on my website for the exact addresses.
Amazingly, in the 5 years I've been lecturing about Rashi's Daughters, this will be my first trip to Florida. You would think Florida would be close to the bullseye of my target audience of Jewish women, yet nobody there had ever invited me before. Now I'm going for 12 days, Oct 12-23, with one or two events a day excepting Shabbat. For those of you who live in Florida, or have friends in Florida, this is the chance to hear me speak in person.