Now available in
paperback at CafePress
The romance market is
the most interesting, lucrative field in publishing today. New windows of opportunity
have opened to talented writers with persistence and determination. Prolific
authors consider themselves storytellers, rather than literary greats with an
inclination to change the world, and resent the analysis of a commercial
endeavor. Romance novelists are entertainers. Scholars who decipher their words
usually fail. The message of the romance novel is not a complicated one. It is
above all else a love story. Complications set in when a critic examines
various types of romance, categories, and subgenres.
The literary criticism
of romance has led to numerous scholarly books, some of which cast a gray sheen
on the business through a dark filter. Just like an uplifting rose-colored
glass, these negative distortions do not give an accurate picture of reality.
Reality to the millions who enjoy romance novels is the pleasure derived from
reading and the feeling of contentment that lingers afterwards. Reality to the
published author is an advance and quarterly royalty statements. Accomplishment
and creative achievement are deeper motives for pursuing this spectacular
profession, a glamour job with awards and acclaim.
This book explores
romance writing from its literary roots to its commercial categories today, a
guide for aspiring beginners and established professionals. (Cover Art: Leta Nolan Childers and
Jim Farris)