The magic of Romance
I used to be a closet romance reader … now I do it out in the open! I used to be ashamed of what people might think if they knew I read ROMANCE … because after all, most of the books that are in the romance genre now a day’s are at least rated R, if not worse. But that is not what I read! AND I AM SHOUTING OUT LOUD FOR THOSE WHO FEEL LIKE I DO, that there IS quality romance! It is okay to read romance! I am writing today to give tribute to the valiant few who still write romance novels that are based on character development, true emotion, and clean relationships! Those who raise their heads up high and say I WILL NOT WRITE SMUT! THERE IS MORE TO RELATIONSHIPS THAN THE PHYSICAL STEAM THAT CAN BE CREATED BETWEEN TWO INDIVIDUALS! I salute YOU!
Don’t get me wrong, though, because these jewels are hard to find. I know that I have a 99.9% chance of picking up a book on the romance isle in the local book store that is going to be consumed by sex scenes, lack a real plot, and will leave me dissatisfied and disgruntled! The odds are that bad. I do not despair, though, for I know that even within our select group of ladies we have countless quality stories that ARE good, clean, character driven, wonderful romances!!
Why aren’t more of these stories on the bookshelves? Why are the gatekeepers (aka the publisher editors) NOT taking these stories on? Why does something have to have sex in order to sell??? Why is the stuff that is published such BAD WRITING when there are so many out there (so many in our own group) that write good, quality, clean stories?
It is because it is the Last Days!
It is! And we are on the battle fronts! Given the chance to stand up! FIGHT! And NOT give in! We must never give in! We must never despair! We are HERE, NOW, for a reason! We are compelled to write, inspired to put pen to paper, guided as to what words to use. It is real. And the battle is real. And every time we DO NOT give in, we win a small battle … no matter what the world (or the editors, or the publishers) might say.
This is OUR little war, ladies, so CONTINUE TO WRITE! Thumb your nose at those snotty editors. Do your best to BE your best and WRITE your best, and in the end, we WILL be rewarded … even if we never get published. What we must never do, though, is sacrifice our standards in hopes of finding an IN. This is a battle and WE WILL WIN IF WE ARE ON THE RIGHT SIDE! So, get ready … get pens to paper … and WRITE!!!!
Thank goodnes for Donna Hatch and Joyce DiPastena, our ANWA sisters and their lovely books!
ReplyDeleteGo for it! I totally agree.
ReplyDeleteThe whole reason I started writing romances was because I was sick of all the trash that was out there: horrible writing, smutty content and constant frustration! Now thanks to ANWA, I personally know other authors with the same commitment to quality, clean stories that I have. Hallelujah!
ReplyDeleteOh yes Shawnette I am thrilled for your call to arms. I used to read romance all the time and by the early 80s gave up because of the sex and lack of plots. You're right it was alwaya about character and it's ultimate reward of love.
ReplyDeleteYou go girl!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspiring post. It's nice to put things into perspective and remember that we strive to stay on the 'Write' side.
:-)
~Krista
I'm with you, girl!! I love romance too! (Obviously.)
ReplyDeleteAnd um, Cindy, all I can say is "Aw, shucks."
Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments! I love to know that I am not alone in this quest. It is soo easy to feel desperately OUT, when comparing yourself with so many others. This is why ANWA is such a gift to us all!!
ReplyDeleteI'm no romance book fan, but I like what you say about it. Having the gospel, we know that true romance is pure, right, and good, and when a good author knows the difference between love and lust, he/she has great potential to contribute to the field in a positive way.
ReplyDelete- Chas
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