Daughter of Romance

Hi Word Wenches and Wenchlings! 

I'm Susie Felber, Edith Layton's daughter.  I'm a comedian and I write a buncha stuff, including this Dumb Blog for truTV.  CNN links to it and I hope you'll read our newsy dumb entertainment early and often.  Speaking of reading, my mom has a new historical novel coming out 11/25 entitled A BRIDE FOR HIS CONVENIENCE.  You should order it now, one for each eye.   Yes, I got my writing talent from my mother.  But that "one for each eye" jazz?  I totally stole that from her outright.

Shameless promo out of the way, I'm thrilled to be here.  I wasn't pressed into service -- I wanted to get share-y about what it has been like being a romance author's daughter and display some rare Layton photos plucked from the Felber archives -- like this one back from when she still smoked and I was a natural blond -- but you'll need to click on the links to see all the vintage snaps. And so I don't risk boring you, I'm going to make this a "to be continued" post. 

I'm immensely proud of my mother and all she's accomplished.  I think she's a killer role model and a great writer.  But while she was always my mother, she wasn't always a romance author, a designation that comes with plenty of perks and bushels of baggage.

You may have heard how she intended to be a playwright.  How she freelanced for everything from the El Crappo Gazette to the New York Times and once even got a telegram from Barbara Cartland after writing an article about reluctantly discovering the delights of the Dame after a back injury.  How she wrote three different books in three different genres before one got published and received enough rejection letters to, in her words, paper a small bathroom.  But since this is about ME, let's skip ahead to her first published novel which came out in 1983.

The family was very excited.  So excited that we hightailed it to the local mall and each got ourselves T-shirts with felt iron-on letters spelling out THE DUKES WAGER.  Wearing our custom Woolworth getups with pride, we threw her a book party complete with balloons and a banner, produced on the home computer, back when computers had to be painstakingly programed with GOTO commands and the printer paper still had those annoying perforated side bits you had to carefully peel off.  (Private to Hollywood: I'm still 18)

But during the party (pic at left) something happened, which was a foreshadowing of things to come.

In our kitchen and milling about the living room, some were tittering about "hot" novels and finding the whole idea of her being a romance author uproarious.  They weren't industry or society types, they were just friends from suburban Long Island.  They were just having fun, and maybe a little too much wine.

Oh how my hackles went up!  I was pissed on her behalf.  She was triumphing after years of struggle, and they hadn't even read the book, or any like it.  That's when I realized it would take more than felt-lettered shirts to convince people how cool she was.

Soon after, I brought the book to show off to Mr. Bimberg, the elementary school librarian.  I came armed with the information that this was a Regency novel, and therefore very much above the fray.  He glanced at the cover, laughed and said, "Oh, your mother writes dirty books! HA HA HA!"

I told him it wasn't dirty and then I was rendered speechless. 

Not because I was shocked, mind you, but because I realized that my impulse to tell him the truth -- that if he wanted to see a really dirty book he'd have to check out the armfuls of fantastic free historical smut that I'd picked up at the Romantic Times conference and then had quickly hidden under my bed -- might get me sent to the school therapist, STAT.  As in, "So tell us Susie, how long have you been dabbling in throbbing manhoods and frothing caverns?"*

And although I was always her staunchest defender, and knew what she wrote, how good she was and how hard she worked, the embarrassment soon descended on me like a fog. 

In the early years, with every release, we'd make a bee line between B. Dalton and Walden Books to see if her books were there, and if so, how many.  Mortified by the Romance section with its pink and purple covers festooned with acres of man boobs, I'd hide out in the nearby Mystery or Fantasy sections. 

She'd say, "Oh look, they have five copies, come take a look!" And I'd be cringing an aisle or three away in front of the dragon books, thumbing a Niven and saying, "Yeah that's great.  I can see fine from here, really!"  Remember: This is long before there were in-your-face unabashedly girly intelligent feminists like "Smart Bitches" to champion the genre.

Anywho, she'd inevitably press me to really look, and hating myself for being such a lousy daughter and a wimp, I'd sulkily come by and take a peek before scampering as fast as possible to the safety of the magazines, hoping no boys had seen me lingering in the land of paperback longing and love.

Of course, once mom had left, I'd sneak back to do what she never had the promotional sense or guts to do  -- quickly rearrange the shelves, positioning the Layton line attractively in face-out position.

So, I was always an in-your-face girly feminist and champion of historical fiction.  It's just that until I grew up, I worked mostly as a covert agent.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Next time: The joy of Romantic Times conferences, one too many research trips to England and throwing mom her second-ever book party -- thirty novels later.

PS Feel free to leave a comment and say howdy!

* By the way, I can't make this stuff up -- "frothing cavern" was burned in my memory from a particularly bad Zebra I read in the 80's.  No, I wasn't traumatized, I thought it was hilarious even then.

  

Comments

[Maya M.]

'the land of paperback love and longing' ha ha!

i wonder what my sons will think of my books, should i ever have the luck to get published?

[Fedora]

Hi, Susie! Thanks for the great post! You and your mom are blessed to have each other! Can't wait to read more :)

[margaret]

Hangin' out with you, Susie, has been a highlight of many a writers' conference!

What a lovely tribute to your oh, so talented mother. You each have reason to be proud of the other!

Can't wait for Part Deux.

Hugs--

[Gretchen F]

It is part of the natural order of the universe that kids should be embarrassed by their parents. I'll bet Prince Charles and Princess Anne thought, "Why can't Mom just wave like a normal person?!!" But I love that you rearranged the books to give her prime position on the shelf. Thanks for sharing, Susie.

[Helen]

What a wonderful story I love your mothers books I have read a lot of them and have some more on the TBR pile it was my Mum who introduced my to historical romance novels way back in the 70's and I have never looked back I can't get enough of them.
Have Fun
Helen

[Edith]

Hmm... I never checked under your bed. The dust bunnies and cobwebs discouraged me. What have I missed?

[Alison]

Mothers and daughters - a great combination. Thanks for sharing.

I had to laugh at your mention of 'man boobs' because my youngest son (19)refers to romances as 'those books with covers full of man nipples'. He is now fondly referred to among my writing friends as Man Nipple Boy.

[Mary Jo Putney]

GREAT post, Susie!

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting The Amazing Susie in person, she looks like she was pretty much directly cloned from her Mom, which is meant as a compliment to both. (I fondly remembering Susie roller-blading gracefully around an RWA literacy signing in a NYC hotel some years back.)

Edith was a great roll model for me,too, Susie. Still is.

Mary Jo

[LadyDoc]

Thanks for a GREAT post!

I have loved Regencies for years and not liked those that some refer to as "bodice-rippers". I don't want sex in my romances, I want ROMANCE! I chuckled over "throbbing manhood"- that may be my "ick" equivalent of your "frothing caverns".

I am so glad I found this blog and all of you- although I "found" all of you many years ago on bookstore and library shelves, much to my delight.

Thanks for years of wonderful, fun reads.

[Patricia Rice]

Wow, we always knew your mom was cool, but man, those pics are smokin' hot! When she writes of beautiful heroines, she knows whereof she speaks.

Family dynamics are always soooo entertaining! "G"

[JudiDW]

I just want to say that I enjoy hearing from the children of our charming Wenches and wouldn't mind more of the same--what an interesting perspective!

[Sherrie Holmes]

What a great post, Susie, and what great pictures of Edith! Loved the one of her on a rock with her bottle of wine and a notepad.

I've been an Edith Layton fan from early days and have most of her books, although there are still a few to hunt down. They are my comfort reads.

Re throbbing manhoods and frothy caverns (eeewww!): when my sister and her husband were living with me many years ago while waiting for their new house to be built, we used to read in the evenings after dinner. One evening we were all in the living room, each with our own novel. It was quiet. Then my sister snorted. Next, she began to giggle. Her husband and I asked what was so funny. She read a passage from her novel where the author used the term "throbbing monolith." Oh, lord. That set us off.

From that point on, whenever Lori and I were going somewhere together, if we saw a tall building or a totem pole or a tall sculpture, one of us would point and say, "Oh, look, a throbbing monolith!" Then we'd laugh like loons while everyone else would look at us like we were nuts.

Thanks for reminding me of that!

[Jennybrat]

Hi Susie, enjoyed your post!

[Edith]

Haven't seen any pulsing monoliths or foaming caverns in a loong time, Susie, and thank goodness for that. I never realized the perils of being a romance writer's daughter. Could have scarred you for life! (But I did get a postcard from Foaming Caverns once, I think.)

And Pat - I always hate photos of myself until I look at them years after and they don't look half bad compared to what is now.

But my Susie, folks, ain't she sumthin'?

[Anne Gracie]

Susie, what a fabulous post -- thanks. I loved all the pics of Edith and the stories. Am hanging out for "one too many research trips to England" -- surely, there cannot be too many research trips to England!

[Susie]

Thanks for all the amazing comments, stories and support!

And Anne, I assure you, if you're a teenager traveling to the umpteenth crypt or abandoned sheep field where something interesting is rumored to have once happened...well... I don't want to give anything away yet. :)

xoxo, to all!

Susie

[Janga]

I loved the blog, Susie. I could picture the embarrassed adolescent hiding from the pink and purple threat. LOL!

I look forward to part 2.

[Anne]

At first, I couldn't even figure out what a frothing cavern might be, (I'm such an innocent ;)) but when I did...eeeewww!
Thanks for the fun throwback pics of Mom and a very entertaining blog entry. I look forward to Part Deux.

[liz m]

Hey, I've been improving her shelf position in random stores for the same amount of time! Why don't I have thick and curly hair??

Part 2!! Part 2!!! and slip me all yer mom's unsold work. Really. You can trust me. I have a very honest font.

[Linda Banche]

Great post. And I love your mother's books. Nov. 25 for the next one? Borders says Dec. 1. I'll be at the store on the 25th.

[Arbogast]

I tried writing while sitting on a rock overlooking the sea but sailors were always gliding by and making inappropriate comments. God, seamen can be so tacky sometimes!