The much-awaited Issue #2 of Paranormal Community's NECROCITY TIMES MAGAZINE in association with @ParanormalLovers exclusively for this Valentine's season!
Want top advice on how to write paranormal romance and learn more about its entities?
Want th...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Hello all and welcome to our first installment of "Lovelines". The phones are ringing off the hook with your questions, but let's start with the most obvious:
"Why do you think people enjoy romance? What is its appeal, and how can people write romance that readers are invested in?"
We have with us today a Professor of cunning Linguistics, Kitty Eaton. Ms. Eaton, what are your thoughts?
Thank you for having me!
Well, that's always a popular question, isn't it? Even if people don't necessarily realize they're asking it! People who don't read romance have some... ideas about romance novels and romance readers. Ideas they're more than happy to share as soon as you mention you're a fan of the genre:
"Oh, you write romance? *wink wink* I bet you enjoy researching those spicy scenes, huh?"
"Ew, romance? They're all gross bodice-rippers. Ugh. I don't understand why women like this stuff."
"Romance novels are totally formulaic. Why do you want to read the same thing over and over again?"
Thanks for your unsolicited opinion on my reading habits, random stranger!
It would take many (many many many) pages of text to truly answer the question of why romance readers enjoy romance. If you're truly interested in an excellent, in-depth, funny look at the genre and its history, I recommend Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan, or their review and discussion blog, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.
But I'll try and boil down the most important points.
Point the first: romance readers are one of the largest demographics of readers in the world. Full stop. According to the RWA (Romance Writers of America), the total sales value of romance in the US in 2013 was over one billion dollars. 13% of all adult fiction sold that year was romance, and I'd be willing to bet that a good portion of all adult fiction books purchased in 2013 contained at least mild romantic elements.
