Lucynka

I actually have yet to read a Johanna Lindsey! Mostly because I get the feeling they won't be for me in MULTIPLE ways, but part of me still wants to try, just for the genre literacy. Don't know if this is the one to tempt me, though. 😂

I have to confess it's just a pseudonym, but I chose it because I liked the sound and the look (and I'm of Polish descent). But it's neat that the name reminded you of an old friend. Here's hoping everything went well for her, even if you two lost contact. 🙂

In case you missed it earlier—click through to read the (tentative) cover copy! #pulp #romance #romancelandia

The front cover (the 1988 release). A shirtless, ostensibly Middle Eastern man (lies; he's actually a Secret White™) leans sexily over a scantily-clad young white woman whose long white hair cascades over a pillow. It's all very Orientalist, yet also gloriously royal blue, purple, and magenta.

The back cover. The cover copy reads: SILVER ANGEL Kidnapped and sold into slavery, Chantelle Burke was led into the Pasha's scented chambers swearing she'd never surrender to this ruthless master. But she was stunned by the magnificently handsome man who awaited her amid the silk and splendor. His piercing emerald eyes held her in their power; his muscular embrace made her weak with desire even as she defied him. She was his to do with as he would. Yet this mysterious stranger—whose eastern garb concealed his true identity—touched her only with tenderness, driving her wild with new sensation, his scorching kisses igniting the fires of her very soul…and sweeping her beyond the harem walls into a palace of love's eternal dream. EVERYONE LOVES A LINDSEY! After sixteen national bestselling romantic novels, Johanna Lindsey has written her most compelling yet—the breathtakingly beautiful love story of a proud young Englishwoman who finds soul-searing love in a forbidden paradise.

There was also a Maysie Greig and a Faith Baldwin I may go back for, but in the meantime enjoy this copy of Johanna Lindsey's SILVER ANGEL, which was on the 50¢ rack. Gorgeous art by Elaine Duillo, but a yikes-tactic cover copy. 🙃 #romance #romancelandia #secretwhite @collectingromance.bsky.social

The front cover of the paperback (artist unknown). It shows a scantily-clad white woman seemingly encased in a large cut gem. The tagline reads, "The great diamond flashed with the brilliance of hellfire—many had died to own it—all who owned it had died. Now it was hers…"

The back cover. It reads: The legendary diamond was bigger than a lover's heart, more dazzling than the fires of hell… Through the centuries men had sold their souls for it, women had given their bodies for it… For the man who stole it it meant freedom—a terrible, final freedom. For the girl in the shadow of the guillotine it was a dream of love and marriage—and the price she must pay for living. For the belle of New Orleans it was an insult to Southern womanhood, a threat to virtue no gentleman could fail to avenge. For the spy it was a gift of love—to the woman he meant to kill. And for all who possessed it it was fate, irresistible and evil. CORNELL WOOLRICH, whose suspense classics (The Bride Wore Black, The Phantom Lady, and many others) have held millions breathless through countless printings, is the acknowledged master of sudden terror. His recently published Beyond the Night (Avon) was hailed as "an original collection of six short truly gripping thrillers in the unexcelled Cornell Woolrich-William Irish manner" (Clark Kinnaird, in his syndicated Parade of Books column.) The Doom Stone, published here for the first time, is Woolrich at his hair-raising best.

The first page teaser. It reads: INDIA, 1757 From the great doors of the sacred temple, a man dashes into the torchlit night. In one hand he grasps a bloody dagger, in the other the fabulous diamond that will buy his freedom. Terror drives him into the jungle as the torches close in behind him—and ahead… PARIS, 1792 In the foul, dark dungeons of the Bastille, a beautiful young countess clutches the great gem that is her last, useless treasure and dreams of lost love. Tonight she must choose: her head to La Guillotine or her body to the coarse hands of Citizen Dunot. She rises, beckons the guard… NEW ORLEANS, 1871 Diamond Davey, with the city in his pocket, sends a jewel to a lady whose family he has ruined; a present, with strings attached, that is to come back to him wrapped in nightmares… TOKYO, 1941 East meets West in a tragic lovers' tryst, while a world gone mad mocks their passion. And in the great diamond the fires of hell flash brighter, as the curse claims two more lives…

Picked up a cheap copy of Cornell Woolrich's THE DOOM STONE today! Published in 1960 (so one of his later novels), it was an expansion/rewrite of his 1939 three-part serial, "The Eye of Doom" (as published in ARGOSY). I have yet to read either. #pulp

Attention fans of romance novel history! The first 10 issues of ROMANTIC TIMES magazine (back when it was a newspaper format) from 1981-82 have recently been listed on eBay. RT #8 & 9 actually sold a couple days ago, but the others all have bids on them. I'd bid on them myself, but they're pricey!

In case you missed it earlier—click through to read the (tentative) cover copy! #pulp #romance #romancelandia

😁

The cover of "Fire! (Turn the Hose On Me)" a "novelty fox trot song (with ukulele accompaniment)" by Byron Gay and Richard A. Whiting, published in 1926. The illustration is by John V. Ranck, showing a young white woman and a young white man, holding hands and about to kiss passionately, while surrounded by flames.

Most of the time I try to take them from the original magazine(s) or books when possible, but this one came from the cover of the 1926 sheet music "Fire! (Turn the Hose On Me)." The artist, John V. Ranck, also did a lot of pulp illustrations, so it seemed extra fitting! 😉

“Marriage built on flame ends in ashes…” New Orleans debutante Jean Townsend grows up best friends with the Courtland brothers—older, austere John and younger, passionate Carlos. Both men fall deeply in love with her, but it’s Carlos who makes his feelings known and wins her heart. However, a disaster on the day of their wedding guarantees scandal, and rather than shamefully be left at the altar, Jean begs John to marry her, instead—a decision that has far-reaching repercussions for the both of them, as jealousy flares, tragedy strikes, and Jean ends up on the run with Carlos, fleeing first to Havana, and then eventually down to Rio de Janeiro. But even the beauty of Brazil can’t dispel the specter of John that continues to hover between the two fugitives. And as the flaws in Carlos’s personality become too glaring to ignore, Jean must grapple with the reality of just which brother she truly loves. FIRES OF YOUTH is a vintage American romance novel by popular pulp author Beulah Poynter, back in print for the first time since 1929.

Tentative cover copy. I'm hoping this telegraphs (to some extent, at least) 1.) the serious tone of the book, 2.) the travelogue aspect of it, and 3.) all the soul-searching that Jean does, particularly in the back half.

The cover of my upcoming rerelease of Beulah Poynter's FIRES OF YOUTH, a romance novel from 1929. In an illustration by John V. Ranck (originally for a 1926 sheet music cover), a young white woman and a young white man are facing each other, holding hands and about to passionately kiss, while flames surround them. The color scheme is black, white (well, ivory), red, and grey.

FIRES OF YOUTH front cover finished! (Subject to tweaks, as always.)

I have some final little edits to make to the cover copy, and then there's no getting around it—I'll have to hunker down and write the intro. 😅 #pulp #romance #romancelandia

Aww, this is really cute! ❤️ #romance

Really glad my big foray into digital graphics/design didn't come until AFTER I had some formal typography and layout skills under my belt, for precisely this reason. 😂

Agreed! "Crimson Flare" is the name, as noted elsewhere.

Maybe I'll cobble together a cover with one of them, just as a joke. 😂 (It's what Beulah Poynter would have wanted???)

The title "Fires of Youth" and the name "Beulah Poynter" repeated four times, in four different fiery fonts.

I know I said I was going to work on the intro to FIRES OF YOUTH, but actually I need a visual break from text, so I'm tooling around with cover design instead, and there's a stupid, kitschy part of my brain that DESPERATELY wants to use a novelty fire font (I am resisting, rest assured). 😂

I drew the three stooges for my friend

Yeah, the third one is definitely the best of the bunch. (Called "Crimson Flare," for anyone who's curious, and it's free for personal use!)

The title "Fires of Youth" and the name "Beulah Poynter" repeated four times, in four different fiery fonts.

I know I said I was going to work on the intro to FIRES OF YOUTH, but actually I need a visual break from text, so I'm tooling around with cover design instead, and there's a stupid, kitschy part of my brain that DESPERATELY wants to use a novelty fire font (I am resisting, rest assured). 😂

Can already tell you it isn't that, sorry. 😂 The romance pulps were straight contemporaries (no fantastical/paranormal elements), and "cave-man" was then-common slang, basically the precursor to your modern "alpha" hero—a rugged, macho guy who will proverbially drag you around by your hair.

The table of contents for THRILLING LOVE (January 1939). Dorothy Sands is listed as editor.

The opening splash to "Cinderella Siren" by Helen Ahern, by Clinton Spooner. A white man admires a white woman as she stands in an evening gown with a fur stole/coat over her shoulders.

…1.) the price was right, 2.) I wanted to get a better handle on the magazine, and 3.) the Helen Ahern story. (Ahern was a favorite from my ALL-STORY LOVE anthology, and I've since learned she was romantically involved with fellow pulp author Roger Torrey until his death.)

The table of contents for ROMANTIC LOVE SECRETS (October 1938). Lois Allen is listed as editor.

The opening splash for "Plaster Saint" by Earl Wilson, showing a middle-aged waiter confronting a young woman, while a young man sits in the background.

The opening splash of "Room In Her Heart" by Vera Brown, showing a young woman at a bus stop, holding a couple packages while she gives a scruffy unemployed young man some change.

…is that it was one of the "saucier" female-aimed romance pulps, but we'll see.

There seems to be only one illustrator for the whole magazine, and it kind of looks like Lorene Lane's work? Don't quote me on that, though.

The THRILLING LOVE I picked up because…

The front covers. The ROMANTIC LOVE SECRETS has a glamour shot of a white blonde woman on a painter's palette, and the THRILLING LOVE has a red-haired white woman leaning over a dark-haired white man's shoulder and fixing his bowtie. He's winking at the viewer.

Latest #pulp acquisitions! A rare ROMANTIC LOVE SECRETS (Oct 1938) and a THRILLING LOVE (Jan 1939). #romance #romancelandia

I've seen some tables of contents for ROMANTIC LOVE SECRETS, courtesy of my Jane Littell collection, but this is the first full issue I've gotten my hands on. My impression…

Color me curious about the novelization now, because that sounds AMAZINGLY weird. 😂

I feel obligated to share anything that mentions Jean Ferris' INTO THE WIND trilogy (😂), but also that's lowkey one of the things I really like about it? The heroine learns her mom was (disowned) nobility, and she's like, "Big fucking deal; my life wouldn't have been any different had I known?"

Oh, how cool! Thanks for the info and link!

I have to ask: Your favorite because it's genuinely good, or because it's so-bad-it's-good? 😂

We had (probably still HAVE, somewhere) the novelizations of Parts II and III, but I don't think we ever had it for the original, sadly. But agreed, would love to have a copy!

It's basically a live-blog commentary of the book, so very long, but very funny.

Ooh, thanks for the blog links—I'll def check them out!

And re: contents, you can email Phil from Galactic Central directly—he's always happy to get index info, especially from rare/neglected mags. A little how-to on submissions can be found here: www.philsp.com/docs/fm_user...

Yes, SERENADE impressed me so much (despite its numerous flaws) that I'm definitely curious to read another Hogue! But also I am a sucker for the "oh no, I'm a dead-ringer for this celebrity, and am dragged into DRAMA because of it!" plot (an apparently very common one in the pulps 😂).