In the fifties and sixties, romance was mostly soap operas and the romance magazines. They were usually covered by the reader so their friends, neighbors and relatives didn't see what they were reading.
If you wrote it, you set it in your desk, under everything so no one knew you wrote it.
Why?
Because romance was shunned as trash. Sorry, but that is the truth. Still, there were writers willing to risk their reputations on writing it, and I certainly give them credit for it.
Romance, in the writing industry has been through it all, suffered from critics, walked on by fellow writers and publishers, but still a strong survivor after all these years.
When people find out I'm a romance writer now, they smile and start asking questions. But that was not so years ago. Years ago it was considered writing sleeze. Today, sleeze is in, I'm happy to say.
Romance has taken on a new face, a bold face and it no longer hides in secret drawers, and under beds, and top of the closets. Thanks to many good writers romance has evolved into itself. Now Romance can go almost anywhere—Fanasy, historical, paranormal, contemporary. It can take on heroes that are vampires, heroes that are shapeshifters. Heroines work, and sometimes outdo the men in the romances. They can be very realistic, or very fanciful.
But as I tried so hard to explain to my mother once, "Romance is love, and what is so wrong with bringing more love to the world." In a word I romanticized romance. That is how I view it. There is no greater emotion in this world than love, nothing more powerful, and nothing more worthwhile than spreading love. It's how we see love in our life that can make a difference in attitude, morals, and life itself. However, the bible said it beautifully.
"And God so loved the world…."
So the next time you have to defend your "Romance" writing to someone, think about the above statement. The most profound statement in all the world. Love is important, it is vital, it is necessary to all living things. Even in the animal kingdom love rules supreme.
So be proud of being a Romance writer. And spread a little love.
In Ask No Tomorrows, Sam Tanner knows he shouldn't get tangled with Riley Morgan. He understands it could eventually mean his life. But he also knows that what is growing between him and Riley is not something he can stop. He befriends her, takes care of her, and love blooms through impossible odds. Check it out.
Rita
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Redameter
http://www.ritaphestand.com
http://www.rhestand.com
http://www.twitter.com/ritahestand
No comments:
Post a Comment