Why do I write romance?

​It happened again. I was at a dinner party several days ago and the woman sitting next to me, having heard I'm a writer, asked what I write. I answered romance.

At seeing the change in her face, my husband instantly jumped to my defense, completely offended by her unchecked disdain. I love him for his noble reaction and pride in me. What I don't understand is why it would ever be necessary.

Everyone knows there are crap books out there. Hack writers abound in every form of fiction and non-fiction alike. These days, with vanity presses and self-publishing, there seem to be even more. Smart readers take the time to look at the sample of the writing provided before hitting the Buy/Add to my Cart button.

So why is romance viewed so differently? Why do romance writers tend to lose some of the cachet other writers enjoy? There seems to be an unspoken assumption that writers separate out according to ability. Like cream, if you will. We all end up where we belong, based on aptitude. 

Bull.

I enjoy writing all kinds of things, most writers do, but I made a choice to focus on romance. Why? Because, like so many other women, I was once a little girl who loved reading fairy tales. I enjoyed stories with happily-ever-afters and romantic endings. They weren't simple or stupid. They taught love, sacrifice, noble actions, risks, and sometimes even death. Who wouldn't get excited about all that?

Romance is a broad label encompassing all of these things and more—updated for grownups. These stories touch on human frailties and strengths, kindness and cruelty. Within the various genres under the heading of romance are mysteries, suspense, ghost stories, and thrillers. You'll find historicals and sci-fi. There are badass warriors and wrenching death scenes, characters with pure hearts or evil intentions. Some stories will be filled with fantasy, others grounded in reality and utterly recognizable to the reader. There may even be sex. 

So what sets romance apart from other forms of fiction? Their focus on relationships and a happily-ever-after. Love isn't shoved into a closet, downplayed, glossed over, or ignored outright. Why should it be? What are we embarrassed about? That we might possibly discover we care? That these characters might form a bond before our eyes and...oh no, pair up? Heavens! 
  
I'm making light of people's discomfort with their emotions. Why? Maybe because acknowledging and embracing them takes courage. After all, we're at our most vulnerable when we take our emotions out of our drawstring bag and let someone else play with them. But denigrating love and romance because it makes you uncomfortable is a shabby thing to do, especially if you've never read one. So give them a fair shake before casting judgment on the quality of an entire genre and the writers who've chosen to create these works.

You might be surprised.


This post was originally published on my old website on November 4, 2013