Readers are loving Claire and Noel, and that is so gratifying to an author! The feedback has confirmed what I suspected, that this story is "better" than the first book in the Farm Fresh Romance series, Raspberries and Vinegar. By better, I mean that Claire is a sweeter person than Jo, and readers find it easier to root for her.
A question I often get asked is why I write stories set in Idaho when I live in Canada. There are levels to the answer.
One is that if Green Acres Farm were a real place, I could drive to it in twenty minutes if border traffic was light. Yes, my home in southeastern BC is that close to Idaho. The landscape and climate are the same as home, which is very helpful to me being as I write about farming and gardening.
Another answer is that when the Farm Fresh Romance stories began to form in my mind several years ago, Americans, who form the largest market share of English-speaking readers, often passed up foreign-set books in preference for the more familiar. This is, in fact, one of the reasons the International Christian Fiction Writers blog was formed: to help spread the news that authors from other lands might offer great stories set in other places, and weren't something to be feared or avoided!
To make my series the most appealing to a wide readership (which included agents and editors), I chose to set my stories in the USA. Ultimately I signed a contract with a small new American publishing house, Choose Now Publishing, who might've been open to a Canadian setting. As well, the doors to foreign settings have started to crack open. I chose not to submit the two completed novels in the series to an international overhaul but to stick with the way they'd been written in the first place.
In an exchange with Janice Dick, a fellow Canadian author who writes historical fiction, she said she had to choose "royalty over loyalty." The phrase stuck with me. I'd done the same. In an effort to have the best chance to actually sell my novels, I'd chosen that as more important than loyalty to a Canadian setting.
I make other choices for the "royalty" reason as well. I make sure my contemporary romances are written in both the heroine's and hero's point-of-views. I write to a standard romance formula, finding it doesn't strangle my stories at all. I make sure there's a happily-ever-after, which I prefer anyway. I make sure the word count is within the acceptable range for my genre.
God didn't give me "Canadian" stories. He gave me stories with universal topics and themes. The hope, the sense of belonging, the joy of being sought by God, the wonder of human love…these are all things that everyone can relate to. They're far more important to me than the little spot on the checklist that says where the story is set.
Sure, I have ideas for novels set in Canada. A couple are even written and waiting their turn for revision. Meanwhile, I have more contracted stories to write in the Farm Fresh Romance series…both because I want the royalties and because I want to reward the loyalties of my increasing fan base.
What about you? Do you find the setting as important to you as the themes, genre, and story line in a novel?
Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance and farm lit. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local food movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters. Visit her website and blog to glimpse inside her world.The second novel in Valerie's Farm Fresh Romance series, Wild Mint Tea, released March 1, 2014.
Val, great post! I think we'll all have different answers to your loyalty vs. royalty question, and there's no right or wrong answer. I've always wanted to write contemporary romances set in Australia. One day I may decide to write stories set in the US, but they would require significant research to get all the little details right. Genre and universal themes are reasons why readers can relate to stories that are set all around the world.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Val, and something I've thought of a lot. When I first started writing I was really interested in international settings, but my first Africa book never found a home. I decided to write to the market (royalty) BUT always insuring there was something in the story line that really made it mine. In other words, I had to learn to write to the audience while being loyal to myself.
ReplyDeleteMy fourth book that is set in Africa released last month, but those books were harder to sell and (we'll see about this latest one) but the numbers weren't as good as my US set books.
You do have to look at audience as at least part of the equation, but I also hope that more and more people will begin to seek out books set outside the US and enjoying visiting a place they might not otherwise get to visit.
Narelle, I loved reading your Australian setting! And I think if I were starting the Farm Fresh Romance series from scratch today, I'd be far more tempted to make the books Canadian. For one thing, Idaho food/farm laws and practices are different than BC, so there's been a lot more research with an occasional bit of guessing thrown in when I couldn't find an answer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for weighing in, Lisa! I do think there's more interest in foreign settings than there was five years ago. But also, indie publishing is busting everything wide open. I'm very interested to see where that all leads to for international authors. I hope your African-set book does well!
I suppose you can't blame folks for choosing books that make them feel secure, but I sure am glad people (Americans) are starting to venture out of their comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteDitto!!
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ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting point of view. I would love to write more 'Jackson Jones' books, for the simple reasons that they are so much fun to write and I love the delight in my little friends. But due to being owned by a publisher, and them not wanting any more, there isn't much I can do. Perhaps I should just create a new character! Your farm-fresh romance is lovely...kudos to getting more contracts, baby!
Absolutely! Create a new character, and go for it!
DeleteThanks for this post Valerie. Royalty vrs Loyalty is a catchy phrase, but it's a tough one for those of us who don't have a "loyalty" base! There is virtually no possibility of publishing novels in S.Africa except if you self-publish. As you say, the market is starting to open up now and looks promising, especially with the newly emerging small publishers. Personally, I don't mind where the story is set provided the writing is good and the story gripping. I would rather read a well-written book based in America (or Australia) than a South African book which hasn't been properly researched.
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean just loyalty to a reader base, Shirl, but loyalty to a setting or a concept. I am definitely LOYAL to my farm fresh book ideas, but I can't be loyal to that AND everything else. Ya kinda have to pick!
DeleteYes, I knew what you meant. When I said we don't haven't a "loyalty base" I didn't mean "poor us" but rather, we live in S.Africa and would love to write about our own country but that puts a double whammy on our heads - coupled with no publishers. :-) Strength Renewed was written in S.Africa but had to be published in the States. I think ICFW has a great part to play in making folk more aware of other countries.
DeleteLove this thinking. I too would rather read a well-written book no matter who publishes it, or the setting. There are some great books out there from small presses. Sadly some terrible ones too. But the same can be said for big publishers---I've started a few and after a few pages of big names, just put it aside as the same old thing.
ReplyDeleteGreat work Valerie on such a fresh approach. LOVE YOUR BOOKS
Thanks, Christine! Like everything else, it's a balance. We make choices all the time in our writing. My point is we can only rock the boat on a few "differences" per book and hope to find an audience. I choose not to rock the POV issues, for instance, or the "formula." I figure I'm rocking it enough with the farm fresh content!
DeleteHi Valerie,
ReplyDeleteHaving just read the book, I enjoyed the interesting insight into why the girls chose to set up in Idaho. It certainly sounds like a beautiful setting in the story. Like Narelle, I'd be nervous not to set my stories in Australia at this time, having never visited the USA at all. (I've just finished writing a review of 'Wild Mint Tea' Looking forward to the third book)
Thanks so much for the review! And yes, living so close does help give me confidence in setting my books in the USA!
DeleteI too have struggled with this for some time. My first book, One Smooth Stone, was originally set completely in Canada but the publisher asked me to change it to the US. So it starts off in the Yukon (which many Americans think is the US.;) and then moves to Seattle which is as close to the original setting of Vancouver as I could get. His reasoning was that same old line - it won't sell down south. So I changed it. Then the company did no marketing down there so the sales didn't happen anyway, other than what I could muster myself. When I self published the second book I kept it all in Canada. I'm now looking for a publisher for a series that will be set in the US. I truly feel we need to be true to our own countries and tell our own stories, but as others have said the themes and stories should be universal.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we can't be true to both the stories AND our own country. In the case of this series, I decided the story was more important than where it was set. :)
DeleteLoved this post. Sometimes the setting is integral to the plot. I find I read a lot of stories set in Maine. Have no idea why. But when it comes to writing, Like a couple of our other Aussies, mine are firmly rooted in Australia. I don't know enough about other countries to write convincingly. It's good to see though that other countries are starting to like the Aussie setting.
ReplyDeleteThe knowledge of the other country helps immensely!
DeleteAha! I thought the title sounded familiar. Great post and thanks for the mention.
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DeleteMy first ever manuscript that I wrote was set in New Zealand. After receiving advice that if I was serious about selling it it needed to be "relocated" to the US I did a total rewrite to do so. While it was a lot of work, the New Zealand setting wasn't a critical component to the story so it was manageable.
ReplyDeleteAnother manuscript was set in Australia. It did really well, finaling in a number of contests but, almost without exception, judges' loved the story but again advised that if I was serious about selling it it needed to be "relocated" to the US. I thought about it long and hard, but for a number of reasons the Australian location was critical to the story and it wouldn't work relocated to the US. So I put the half-completed manuscript away and started a new US based story.
Then this year editors started expressing interest in looking at international settings so I picked that story back up and finished writing it. Fingers crossed someone will love it enough to take a chance on it!
So I guess I'm a cross between loyalty and royalty. If a setting is critical to the story and it happens to not be in the US, then I'll take my much reduced chances! I've also completed a US based manuscript with the express plan that that would make it far more commercial and give it a much better shot at it being picked up by a publisher with fingers crossed that once I establish a readership they might be willing to let me take them traveling :)
I would totally go traveling with you, Kara! Any time, any place.
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