I love
romance novels. Since the first time I picked up a Nora Roberts book when I was
about 14 or 15, I’ve been a fan of the genre. It’s really not surprising to me
that it’s a genre that doesn’t get a lot of respect. It’s a genre that is
predominantly written by women, about women, and for women, and it focuses on
love stories. I don’t think it’s surprising that people are quick to dismiss it
as “lady porn”, no matter how absurd that assertion may be. Romance novels are
not easy to write, at least not good ones. Many of the self published offerings
in the Kindle Store can attest to this fact, because there is a lot of poorly written garbage out there. A romance novel has a lot of
moving parts and they all have to work together smoothly and move at a pace
that enhances the arc of the story in order for the book to be really good.
Some authors understand these things and recognize that it all has to work
together and those are the authors that endure, that become NYT Best Sellers,
and that end up becoming recognizable just from their title font. Yes, romance
novels are often discounted, but there are a lot of intelligent, accomplished
women who would argue their merits until they run out of breath. I happen to be
one of those women.
