Monday, September 14, 2015

Why I’m proud I still write romance novels






When my first child, a son, was born, I decided to stay home with my precious baby, but I soon found that I needed more than childcare and housework to thrive. So, I decided to write a book. And not just any book, a romance.

My mother-in-law advised me that I should be stimulating her precious grandbaby instead of neglecting him by writing a romance novel.

Five years later Silhouette Books published my first contemporary romance, Wild Lady (Men of the West Bk 1), which I have recently acquired the rights to and have updated for modern readers. I updated as well, The Fairy Tale Girl (Men of the West Bk 1).
                                                      Wild Lady (Men of the West Bk 1)

Why romance? Why did I spend my life spinning tales about love while my husband, a doctor, did much more serious work that included saving lives? My girlfriends told me I should write something worthwhile. I said like what? They suggested, “We have a terrible problem with obesity and diabetes in our community. Why don’t you write something that would help those people?” But I don’t have diabetes, and I’m not an expert in the field, and I had no idea how to help them.


In a world filled with all sorts of pressing problems… female oppression… immigrants fleeing lawless societies…I write love stories for adult women. Many people criticize this genre as being silly and shallow and formulaic, but I feel the hunger for love in the human heart is far from shallow. Indeed, it’s a universal need.

Love elevates one’s sense of worth. It is positive emotion that can bring out the best in human beings. Often longer lasting solutions to problems can be found through love, inspiration, negotiation, compromise, cooperation, nurture, education, and empathy rather than by the use of force. Not that individuals don’t have to stand up for what they believe when attacked. Because they do. We call that tough love.

The best romance novels are about women who solve problems and grow, about women who prove their worth to their heroes, who by the end of the books, come to see them as equal if not superior partners.

Women, who read romances, are juggling careers, marriages, elderly relatives and children. They live in a stressful, constantly changing world. What better thing to read than positive stories that recharge their souls and fill with them with courage. I am proud of what I write and the women I write for.

p.s. My mother-in-law would be proud, too, if she were alive and could see how happy and successful her grandson is despite his iffy start caged in a playpen at his mother’s feet while she penned those sexy love scenes.
  

3 comments:

  1. Your post mirrors my sentiments, and the fact that uplifting a reader, perhaps during a tough time, is a wonderful possibility. Our romances these days deal with all the problems women in the real world are facing. What we offer is hope in the face of them, and perhaps that elusive "happy ending" feeling that can offer a reader a momentary respite from their troubles. Love is the best reason we have for living. So why not celebrate it with our novels? Hear! Hear!

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  2. Yes, hear hear! The only reason romances are denigrated is because women primarily write them. I live in Texas were football is next to God.

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  3. http://youtu.be/uwABHUXofhY. This is the link to a great new documentary about the romance industry.

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