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Vivian Stephens is a reputation that each one romance novel followers ought to know, however it’s one which doesn’t come up sufficient. I’ve observed her identify popping up over the previous couple of years on romance novel podcasts, blogs, and, maybe most prominently, when RWA (Romance Writers of America) renamed their high award “The Vivian” in her honor. But even with extra folks speaking Vivian Stephens not too long ago, I nonetheless don’t suppose she will get sufficient recognition for the work she’s finished.
In her profession, Stephens redefined the romance novel style as an editor, helped create the American romance novel market that led to a significant growth within the Eighties, printed the primary recognized class romance novels by Black authors and different authors of coloration, helped to discovered RWA, and extra. So let’s speak about her. Who is Vivian Stephens? And how was she capable of have such a ridiculously impactful affect on American romance novels?
Vivian Stephens’s Early Life and Career Beginnings
Vivian Stephens was born in 1932 in Houston, Texas. Her household lived within the Fifth Ward, a thriving Black neighborhood within the metropolis. She grew up finding out artwork, ballet, debate, and music. But proper from the start, studying was considered one of her true loves. She grew up studying Little Women, Nancy Drew, and Western tales. She first began studying romance, not in romance novels, however in serialized tales that appeared in ladies’s magazines. Faith Baldwin tales have been her explicit favourite. After changing into the coed physique president and valedictorian of her highschool, Vivian Stephens went on to graduate from Texas Southern University in 1955.
After graduating faculty, she knew she wished to go away Texas. But her pathway to changing into a romance novel editor was neither fast nor straight. First, she moved to Los Angeles to attempt to work within the trend business. Next, she labored at American Airlines, after which she made the transfer to New York City. She moved from job to job till she settled right into a place as a researcher for Time-Life Books. Then, on a visit to Massachusetts, she wandered right into a used bookstore and made a purchase order that might change each her life and the romance novel market ceaselessly.
In that used bookstore, she picked up a Harlequin/Mills & Boon fashion romance novel for 10¢. The subsequent day, she went again to the identical retailer and acquired 5 extra. And as she grew to become a fan of studying romance novels, she started to desire a job engaged on them. Even if she was a secretary at a writer, she thought she’d get to learn the books earlier than anybody else did. With that purpose in thoughts, she started on the lookout for jobs in romance novel publishing in New York City.
Vivian Stephens’s quest to get a job in romance novel publishing appears like one thing out of a farce. She apparently regarded up the human sources director of the publishing firm and wrote a letter to her saying they’d a good friend in widespread (they didn’t) and asking for a job. That publishing home wasn’t hiring in the meanwhile, however they advised she take a look at Dell Publishing the place Stephens repeated the act. Along this journey, a number of folks requested why she didn’t write romance novels herself. But she felt sure that publishing and editorial have been the best place for her. Eventually, within the late Nineteen Seventies, she was referred to as in for an interview with Dell Publishing and given a place as an affiliate editor within the Candlelight Books imprint.
Candlelight Books & Candlelight Ecstasy
It’s arduous to think about, however presently no American writer was a powerhouse inside class romance novel publishing. Historical romances (usually referred to as bodice rippers) like The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss and Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers have been big hits from earlier within the Nineteen Seventies. But class romances, which have been shorter and featured modern tales, have been nonetheless fully dominated by Mills & Boon within the United Kingdom and Harlequin in Canada (who merged in 1971…however that’s a complete completely different story). These books featured youthful heroines, who have been normally 19 or 20, within the United Kingdom or on trip, and far older heroes who have been normally the cliched tall, darkish, and good-looking. They have been additionally thought-about “sweet romances” that didn’t have intercourse on the web page, not like historic romances and bodice rippers.
When Vivian started her job, Candlelight books was primarily publishing copycats of this fashion of class romances. But from her personal experiences as a lady in her 40s and speaking to different romance readers, Vivian thought American ladies have been prepared for a brand new sort of story. Tasked with modifying 5 romance novels a month, she noticed past the present tendencies in modern and historic romance and commenced to assist create a unique sort of romance story.
Vivian Stephens started to create a formulation that opened up a marketplace for American modern romances and challenged the dominance of Harlequin for the primary time. Her heroines have been American, older, impartial, and had good jobs. There have been smaller age gaps between the hero and heroine. And heroes had to achieve success and enticing to the heroine. “To the heroine” is a crucial a part of that assertion. In an interview on the Black Romance Podcast with Julie Moody-Freeman, Stephens mentioned about her fashion of romances that, “they are fantasies within the realm of possibility.” She didn’t need them set in distant locations or too fantastical.
Sex on the web page was one other large distinction within the class romances she printed, in that they featured intercourse on the web page. A Washington Post article from 1981 feedback on this, saying her books embody intercourse and (gasp!) oral intercourse in them and quotes Stephens giving recommendation to aspiring romance novelists, saying, “I want very sensuous love scenes. Kisses described in depth. I’d like to know about the warm interior of her mouth.” Stephens first examined the water for placing extra specific intercourse in class romances within the novel Morning Rose, Evening Savage by Joan Hohl writing below the pseudonym Amii Loren. When nobody complained, Stephens went on to publish Jayne Anne Krentz’s first romance novel, Gentle Pirate, written below the pen identify Jane Castle. This e book was much more sexually specific and bought much more copies.
And thus, Vivian Stephens launched the careers of two prolific romance novelists and went on to create a brand new line inside Candlelight: Candlelight Ecstasy. This new line was successful each when it comes to gross sales and by presenting the primary actual problem to Harlequin out there. Candlelight Ecstasy initially printed two books a month, however quickly that expanded to eight books a month. And earlier than lengthy there have been a number of different publishers making an attempt to repeat the Candlelight Ecstasy formulation for love novels.
Making Romance Novels More Diverse
In her place at Candlelight Books, Vivian Stephens printed the primary recognized romance novel that was by a Black writer that includes Black characters. This was Entwined Destinies by Elsie B. Washington, writing below the pen identify Rosalind Welles. Washington was a journalist and a good friend of Stephens from her job at Time-Life. The e book was profitable and acclaimed within the press, though it didn’t get the print run Stephens pushed for. Next, Stephens would publish romance novels that includes Native American characters, Asian American characters, and Hispanic characters. She believed these books ought to be written by authors who belonged to the identical communities or they may unintentionally create hurt. In publishing these books, Stephens was accountable for creating a complete new class of romance novels referred to as, on the time, “ethnic romances.” This variety went alongside together with her ethos that romance novels ought to replicate trendy American ladies from many various identities and walks of life. Along with ethnicity, Stephens made waves by publishing romances with disabled and divorced characters as nicely.
Founding the Romance Writers of America
Vivian Stephens helped discovered the Romance Writers Association (RWA) when she returned to her hometown in Houston, Texas, to attend a writing convention. Stephens observed that many of the aspiring romance writers felt ignored or regarded down on by different editors on the convention, and advised they type their very own skilled affiliation. In 1980, she based the RWA with 37 romance novel writers. Stephens continued to attend their conferences and advise authors and aspiring writers on what she and different editors have been on the lookout for in a romance novel. She additionally used her place at RWA to scout expertise and recruit writers for her increasing romance imprint. Stephens later had a falling out with unique RWA president Rita Clay Estrada and felt pushed out of the group. It’s inconceivable now to speak about RWA with out many reviews of racist exercise throughout the group that led to an enormous variety of authors resigning from the group. Following the scandal, RWA renamed their greatest yearly award the Vivian in an effort to present credit score to Stephens’s plain impression on their group and, maybe, additionally to diversify their picture.
Vivian Stephens Opens the USA Office of Harlequin Romance
Because of Stephens’s clear success and the menace she posed to Harlequin Romance, they have been decided to poach her from Dell publishing. Stephens was reluctant as a result of she appreciated the independence she had with Candlelight Ecstasy and didn’t need to transfer to Canada. But finally, in 1983, they made her a monetary supply she couldn’t refuse and gave her the chance to open their model new New York City workplace that might publish American books. She continued to push publishing romances written by authors of coloration, together with Adam and Eva by Sandra Kitt, thus launching one other romance legend’s profession and publishing the primary Harlequin romance to function Black characters. But then, simply when Stephens was really on high of the romance novel world in 1984, Harlequin acquired Silhouette books from Simon & Schuster and laid off Vivian Stephens within the reorganization. She labored as a romance novel editor for lower than ten years, however she fully modified the style ceaselessly.
Vivian Stephens as an Agent, Book Packager, and Author
Post-Harlequin, Vivian was reeling. She had misplaced her place with none rationalization. She tried to get new positions and create a line of simply Black romance novels, however was by no means picked up by any publishers. She continued to show writing workshops and assist Black romance novelists as an agent and e book packager. In truth, she labored with Rochelle Alers and Shirley Hailstock, who each went on to have very productive writing careers. And she was the primary agent of Beverly Jenkins and helped her get her first e book, Night Song, printed with Avon. Vivian Stephens can be the co-author of two romance novels, regardless of her earlier protests that she was meant to be an editor, not a author. The first was Final Summer, cowritten with Angela Dews under the pen name Angela Vivian in 1988. The second was Second Act, cowritten together with her sisters below the Sedema Group in 2014. With Second Act, Stephens deliberate to interrupt into the Boomer/Senior Citizen market by exhibiting love tales for characters who’re older.
After studying this, I hope you agree with me that Vivian Stephens ought to get a lot extra recognition for all she’s finished for love novels. Romance novel historical past is so essential, however it isn’t as nicely recorded or documented as many different genres of literature. I’ve actually solely scratched the floor of her fascinating life and the superb impression she had on modern romance novels. Personally, I fell in love with romance by studying the modern romance greats of the Eighties (thanks, Mom!) together with many who have been found by Vivian Stephens.
If you need to be taught extra about Stephens, I like to recommend beginning together with her interview on Black Romance Podcast, a dialogue of her affect on Fated Mates Podcast, and this superb profile on her in Texas Monthly by Mimi Swartz. For extra data on the enterprise aspect of the romance novel business I couldn’t suggest Publishing Romance: The History of an Industry, Forties to the Present by John Markert extra (chapter 5 is all about Stephens and Candlelight Ecstasy). All 4 of those sources have been invaluable researching and writing this text. And for laughs, you’ll be able to watch Ted Koppel interview Vivian Stephens about romance novels within the Eighties.
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