I’m occasionally asked (by people who don’t read romance and have never read romance) if I will ever write books in another genre. What they really want to know is if I’ll write books in a genre that gets more respect. I never have to think about my answer. It’s always no. I just don’t ever see that happening. I am first and foremost a reader, and I truly love the romance genre. And like all romance readers, when I open a book, I want to feel intense emotion, strong attraction, and I want to fall in love.
When I look back at my life, I see that I have always preferred romantic books and movies. I might not have known that Sleeping Beauty was a romantic tale. I just knew that I preferred it over Hansel and Gretel. In the seventies when I sat glued to Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, I didn’t know it was a romance, only that when Cinderella and Prince Charming locked eyes and sang “Ten Minutes ago†my young heart squeezed a little. And when Stuart Damon traveled the kingdom, glass slipper in hand, searching for Leslie Ann Warren and her delicate white foot, I fell in love.
When I got older and began to read more adult fiction, I preferred Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice to Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary. I preferred books that left a good feeling in my soul rather than the weight of depression. Unlike Anna who threw herself under a train and Emma Bovary who ate arsenic, neither Jane Eyre nor Elizabeth Bennett were punished for being strong women who used their heads and followed their hearts. Instead, they were rewarded in the end and lived happily ever after.
It’s true that the romance genre does not get the respect it deserves, but that’s okay. I don’t need the respect of those outside the genre to know the worth of my books. I know what I write, and I know the importance of my books in the world. I know the value of escaping into a good book–no matter the genre. I know that there is hardly anything better than turning off the nightly news and escaping into a fantasy world of Regency dukes, vampires, or hot hunky cowboys.
I also know that the romance genre flourishes and will always flourish because it fulfills a basic need in all of us to feel the power of love. And long after I am gone, long after we are all gone, the strong tradition of romantic storytelling will thrive because it has always thrived. There will always be a basic human need to escape and to be reassured that good really does triumph over evil and that love conquers all.
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Nicely said!
I’ve been thinking a lot about our endless quest for respect and have begun to feel a little like Dorothy at the end of the Wizard of Oz. All that time she wanted to go home and looked outside herself to others to get her there. Then the Good Witch informs her that she had the power all along. I’m tired of worrying about the lack of respect from non-romance readers. There are so many people in the world who love romance novels, read voraciously and tell each other about our books. (Ourselves included!) There’s plenty of respect already. If the rest of the world wants to remain clueless, it’s their loss.
Respect, like love, usually follows when we respect (or love) ourselves.
If we feel a little ‘eeewey’ telling people we write romance, they are going to feel our shame.
I write romance! Shout it from the rooftops and be proud. It might just pique a few readers’ interest!
It’s always so easy to spot a non romance reader by their blunt and misguided questions like that. Glad you are sticking to your guns.
[...] That’s what happens when I read a book that pulls me in, no matter the genre. In her post today “Why Romance?” over at Romancing the Blog, Rachel Gibson writes: It’s true that the romance genre does not get the respect it deserves, but that’s okay. I don’t need the respect of those outside the genre to know the worth of my books. I know what I write, and I know the importance of my books in the world. I know the value of escaping into a good book–no matter the genre. I know that there is hardly anything better than turning off the nightly news and escaping into a fantasy world of Regency dukes, vampires, or hot hunky cowboys. This isn’t escaping from the world because we can’t face the events (we’re news junkies at my house), but because sometimes we need to turn away to refresh and regroup so we’re prepared to face the world again. A book we enjoy, that we finish with a smile on our face, makes the day better. I also know that the romance genre flourishes and will always flourish because it fulfills a basic need in all of us to feel the power of love. And long after I am gone, long after we are all gone, the strong tradition of romantic storytelling will thrive because it has always thrived. There will always be a basic human need to escape and to be reassured that good really does triumph over evil and that love conquers all. [...]
SO well put! I don’t think I could have said it any better.
Rachel, excellent post. I’ve always maintained we need to take ownership of what we do. If we don’t respect ourselves, and our writing, then how could we possibly expect anyone else to. I’ve found that often people tend to try to diminish or ridicule that which makes them anxious or uncomfortable, and if romance and love makes them anxious or uncomfortable then I can only feel regret that they’re missing out on so much that life and love have to offer.
Great post, Rachel. Thanks!
Amen, Mary Stella! Screw what other people think! The only respect I’m interested in as a writer is the respect people show with their bucks at the bookshop (or with their library card, for the less well-endowed with spondoolicks). I want people to enjoy my stories but if they are too up themselves to even try them, more fool them. It is only the insecure who feel it necessary to belittle others’ choices.
Three cheers for the romance fans – happy, secure and doubtless (unlike some of their detractors, perhaps? is that what it’s really about?) getting some!
Cheers, Imelda
I absolutely needed to read that today…
Bravo, Rachel! Exactly right. I guess it’s cool to be snarky and unsentimental these days, but I believe that deep down, everybody wants to believe in love — and romances are part of that. What a great post.
Lisa
Well…an almost Ph.D. isn’t respectable as a Ph.D. — but I did ace my Ph.D. exams in literature. I basically started reading romance at age 46 last fall. All I can say is that someone who scorns romance as a genre probably just doesn’t trust their judgement or they have not read enough romance to see how well the great romance authors write.
Now, I did specialize in Medieval Literature and in particular Arthurian Romance and though very different there are some similarities between it and Romance today that I find intriguing.
Basically, I think a it’s not a matter of the Romance genre but the reader. If you are a good reader, you will read well no matter what the genre.