View Message

I seldom read novels, so I can't speak from experience. But I do recall a conversation years ago with a Canadian woman who had applied, in the 1980s I think, to write romance fiction for Mills and Boon/Harlequin. They sent her some guidelines, the most important being 'If you don't enjoy reading them, don't try writing them', and there was also a list of names suitable for certain characters. Mothers-in-law, expecially nasty ones, needed 1940s names like Barbara: these were not to be used for a young heroine. I don't remember any more, and I have no idea if this advice is still given. Perhaps the genre has changed? But it seems likely that there might well be a list, recommended by publishers, of Names For Heroes; not a failure of imagination by authors, therefore, but publishers trying to read the minds of possible readers.