Product Description

Romance novels account for over 40% of all fiction sold--over 20 million women read them. The reasons behind these astonishing statistics are uncovered and explored in George Paul Csicsery’s fascinating documentary WHERE THE HEART ROAMS, a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the subculture of romance novelists and fans. The film follows Chelley Kitzmiller, a die-hard fan of romance novels, who organizes the Love Train for readers. She books a train from California to New York so that fans and authors can mingle on their way to the big Romantic Booklovers Conference. Once there, aspiring writers hope that romance will be their ticket to success, while established authors and editors debate what makes a good heroine and how much sex is too much. A special appearance by best-selling romance writer Barbara Cartland—in her trademark pink—highlights the festivities.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #155996 in DVD
• Brand: FACETS HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2006-11-28
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 83 minutes

Features

• An inside look into the world of romance writers--their heroes, their heroines, and their 20 million American fans. A cross-country trip in search of the perfect romance novel with the people who create them. Best-selling authors Janet Dailey and Barbara Cartland are among the featured subjects. "The sight of so many people devoting themselves so earnestly to such easily parodied wish-fulfillment

Amazon.com
Put some famous romance writers (Barbara Cartland, Janet Dailey), some not-so-famous romance writers, and some would-be romance writers on a train and what do you get? The Love Train. Organized by novel d'amour fan Chelley Kitzmiller, this train ride took romance fans from Los Angeles to New York for a late-1980s Romantic Book Lover's Conference. As they travel cross country, the women--and a couple of husbands--discuss the business of romance novels (how explicit should the sex be? should they wait until they're married?), while Hunter S. Thompson biographer (and Playgirl writer) E. Jean Carroll grills them about what men and women want from each other. This 80-minute documentary spotlights Kitzmiller's angst at not having written the book of her dreams and her growing confidence from organizing this public relations coup for the romance industry. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Customer Reviews

Worth seeing
I can't believe I am doing a review of this documentary, but, well, here I am. I was initially forced by my (at the time) main squeeze, more or less at gunpoint, to see this. However, I found that it really grew on me. If you have any writerly aspirations in any genre, romance or otherwise, the interviews in here, with writers at various stages of their careers, are quite useful. You get insight into the creative process at many levels, and it is kind of nice to see that the authors behind these wildly, floridly designed books that we see in drugstores, are really just plain folks like anyone. (Except Barbara Cortland, who comes across like the Queen of England... well, heck, she's earned the right).

As a guy, I felt the strongest connection to the businessman (I can't remember his name offhand, I might come back and post it later, if anyone's interested) who was some kind of V.I.P. in the publishing world. In his interview, it was intriguing to see him talk about these books from a business point of view -- he really sees these stories as PRODUCTS, to be produced, edited and marketed in a businesslike fashion. I have a lot of that sensibility in me as well -- at the same time, however, it's important to remember that these are Dreams that he's selling, and as such they go into people's minds, so it's best to be careful what you write. Dreams are potent brews, and if anyone else picks up this video for writing tips, please be cautious about what dreams you put down on the printed page...

Anyway, in short, this is a very well done documentary, and it's a lot of fun to watch. Worth checking out.