Though my official authorial page, where you can find info on my latest releases, etcetera, is Donna's Romance Novels, <<http://donnasromancenovels.tripod.com>> I decided there was still room for my Regency Page on the web.

Regency novels are under fire, lately, for a lack of performance in the market place. If the readers who love them want them to stay available, I'm afraid they may need to be vociferous about that fact, because my own feeling is that in a few years Tradtional Regencies will cease to exist as a clearly defined sub-genre of the romance market.

Now, don't jump all over me for facts, because I don't have any insider's information or anything like that. I have a new contract for a Zebra Regency, and that takes me well into late 2005. I just see our market share dwindling, and there seem to be more and more people saying they don't 'get' Regencies. There also seem to be a fair number of people saying they would buy Regencies if they could find them, but they can't find them on their bookstore shelves any more.

Why is this happening? My own feeling is that the growth of the traditional format has been stifled by a too-close adherence to a set of 'rules' that have not just defined the sub-genre, but hampered it. Though I have been allowed a moderate amount of leeway in my creation of characters and in plot directions, I think the publishing world's vision of the trad Regency reader as older, more conservative and less accepting of change has been a self-fulfilling prophecy in a way - inevitably that audience dwindles and is not inviting to new readers.

So what can we do? Those of you who love the traditional Regency format should make some noise, and those of you who like it but would like to see some changes should make that fact known. Ask them to be more daring in their choice of material, ask them to let their experienced authors break with tradition. Let's see what happens! Publishing is a growth industry, and stagnation is death. Change is good - a fresh wind blows out the dust.

But this site is really not about bemoaning the fate of trad Regencies in advance of any real information to suggest it's going anywhere. After all, to paraphrase someone, 'Reports of the format's death are greatly exaggerated.' This site is about the Regency period, writing in general, and some of my own fancies! (Including cats, mystery novels, etc.) 

I promise if I do ever get any solid news about Traditional Regencies - positive or negative - I'll let you know.

Until then, enjoy this re-vamped page, and send me any suggestions. Please excuse any broken links, graphics that don't work, etcetera, as I perfect this site.

Sincerely,
Donna Simpson