It’s ‘Christmas in July’ in the Southern Hemisphere and what better occasion than today to shout about the fun project I’ve been working on in collaboration with 12 other Australian authors! Yaaassss! I’m super excited. What do you think of the Christmas book cover I’ve designed? I’d love to hear.
Right now, I’m sitting in Heathrow airport writing this in more than my usual rush because (seeing as it was my idea in the first place, and I’m also compiling and editing the anthology), I didn’t want to be like lost luggage and the very last to share the news. All things considered, I’m in a bit of a flap to get this done, glugging my cocktail, inhaling my very healthy supper and typing at warp speed because I don’t want to miss my flight. If I do, it’s your fault entirely!
So, yes, my BIG news I’m dying to share is that I’ve been working with 12 amazing authors to produce a Christmas romcom anthology around the theme of tropes. For those who aren’t sure what the heck a trope is, in commercial fiction, a trope is a well-established and recognizable theme, motif, plot device, archetypal character or story element. Love or disdain tropes, for readers and writers of genre fiction, tropes help us describe in a nutshell a novel, novella, novelette or short story to others. You’ve only got to watch a few Booktoks or Bookstagrams to appreciate the value of tropes when talking about a fictional book. And it’s not just romance fiction that uses tropes — each different genre of fiction employs tropes, from the the hard-nosed detective of crime fiction to the broken down car (always at night) in vampire novels, to the backdrop of war in historical fiction, or the magical or powerful artifacts in fantasy fiction. I our Christmas anthology we’re unashamedly and unabashedly celebrating some of our favourite romance tropes.
Here’s how we got started:
I have to admit, the idea was inspired when the Romance Writers of Australia announced the theme - Tropes, actually! - for their next conference coming up in August. The idea kept sloshing around in the back of my brain until I just had to talk to someone about it. Those someones happened to be a handful of fellow romance writers at an RWA gathering in Victoria. Well, they loved the concept. What can I say, the idea was up and running with 12 keen bean authors before you could even clad it in lycra. We each chose a different trope to write a Christmassy romance story around, and every author approached it in a different and unique way.
Meanwhile, I got on with designing a cover and set up a Facebook group. We’ve worked collaboratively to help one another with the stories (beta reading and giving feedback) and my little trope seed has blossomed. I’m itching to share more with you!
But I’d better tell you more about it when I come back down to earth in Oz (literally). In the meantime, Christmas has come early and you can preorder it now from this link:
For a dozen romance stories, I reckon it’s an absolute cracking deal, but I could be a wee bit biased.
Safe travels, even if it’s from your armchair. I need to fill you in on my fleeting trip to England. So much to say, so little time.
Be merry and bright!
Cheers,
Anna
x
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Amazing idea, Anna, and I can't wait to read it!!
Looks great! Will there be a print edition? What a great project