Mini-Muse Monday #Respect Romance
The theme today isn’t new, respecting romance, but my local Romance Writers of America™ Chapter, Rose City Romance Writers is hosting an event the weekend of February 20-21st, and on Sunday, we’re showing a documentary, Love Between the Covers.
No, it’s not a porn movie but rather a film about the lives and careers of five romance authors over a span of five years.
Why? Because until now, no filmmaker has ever respected the romance community enough to take on the venture, despite romance novels outselling mystery, sci-fi, and fantasy combined.
For years, romance novels have overwhelmingly led the fiction industry in generating sales, yet amongst many literature circles still, eyebrows raise and noses lift haughtily when an author reveals they write romance.
There is a perception that romance authors are less talented, for surely if they had real ability, they wouldn’t choose to write romance. No author with a gift for penning words wants to write shallow, trite stories with unoriginal plots and tales where readers can predict the ending, right?
The romance industry has begun to fight back, demanding respect for its authors and their craft.
I’m friends with several authors who used to write other genres (many non-fiction) and turned their noses up at romance novels until they read one. Or two. Or a dozen. Now they are some of the strongest advocates for the much beleaguered genre.
Today’s mini muse addresses the lack of respect for romanced writers and the romance community as a whole.
What are your thoughts about the romance industry and its authors? Do they deserve the same respect as other writers and classifications of literature?
If you live in Portland, Oregon area and are interested in seeing the film. you can find ticket information here: LOVE BETWEEN THE COVERS
There is also a Cocktail Hour where you have a chance to meet several of our authors. All the details are on the website! I hope I see some of you there.
I’ve always read romance. I respect the genre. I hate when people make one feel like it’s less than other genres of fiction. Ignorance is not bliss.
Denise
Romance readers do respect the genre, and as I heard a great author say once, “If you don’t read romance, you don’t get a vote.”
Romance, the books, the authors and the readers, are definitely worthy of respect, far more than they get at present. Isn’t it interesting that the greatest critics of romance novels usually haven’t read widely (if at all) in the genre. When they have, they’ll often pick one book that is popular but not representative to base their criticism on. Or older books that were cutting edge for their time but are now out-of-date from a fashion and/or philosophical perspective (think any book with a Fabio cover). Unless you are reading what’s new and current, you should be careful what you say.
So true, Laura.
I was one of those authors that disrespected romance novels. An avid reader, I was a literary junkie for classics, historical, fantasy, paranormal, memoirs, biographies, etc. the list goes on-and-on. However, somewhere, along the way, I realized that most if not all of these books contained the element of love, its effect on a life, the struggle to find love, to hold on to love, to escape from love, to live and love. It didn’t matter whether it was Les Miserables or Shakespeare, Gone With the Wind or Jackson Pollack (I love biographies about artists) love is inextricably woven into every life whether fiction or non-fiction. They say one should embrace their darker side, what a joy to read romance, to write romance, to believe in romance.
Thank you,
Tema Merback
Writing as Belle Ami
The One (The Only One) #1
The One & More (The Only One) #2
Coming 2016 – One More Time is Not Enough (The Only One) #3
http://bookshow.me/TheOne
http://bookshow.me/TheOneAndMore
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Well said!!!