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Dec. 28, 2004 (The author has penned five published romances — under female pseudonyms; three of which were Harlequin SuperRomances). I heard it again: bewailing and beating of breasts. Thump! Thump! “Romances get no respect!” Thump! Thump! This time from (1) a major romance writer, whose name you probably would recognize, and (2) a reader of romance novels, whose name you wouldn’t know but who avidly reads twenty or more romance novels every month. Of course, their mutual complaint has merit. How many columns, besides this one, are devoted to the genre? How many newspaper and/or book sections regularly write up romance books or romance authors? How many bookstores schedule romance writers to read romance excerpts? My local bookstore, with regularly scheduled readings, has a manager who told me, in no uncertain terms, that ALL romances are disqualified — “none up to” his minimum literary standards. He’s more likely to highlight some obscure author’s equally obscure tome that’s destined to be read by the obscure few, even though romance novels account for fifty percent of U.S. book sales, his included. How delighted my editor at Harlequin was when my first book for her was written up by “Publishers Weekly,” that “usually paid too little attention to our genre.” I’ve heard every excuse for such oversights, including: "The Devil made me do it!" "Women writers, women editors, women stories, women readers, can never result in great or even all- that-good literature." "Happy-ever-after isn’t reality!" "Don’t housewives write that pap, between dishes and diapers?" One major obstacle to the desired recognition of romance novels is the simple assumption that QUALITY never has been, and probably never can be, equated to QUANTITY. Did any of you blink when I mentioned the reader who bought and read twenty or more romance novels a month? Probably you didn’t. If you write romance novels, or if you read them, you know Harlequin or Silhouette can each be counted upon, monthly, to provide at least twenty new romance novels to the market. That’s not counting other romance publishers, like Avalon, Leisure, Love Spell…. On the other hand, who says a book has to be great literature and/or be respected to be enjoyed? Do you or I want to read the romantic equivalent of WAR AND PEACE every time we hope to escape the doldrums of our day-to-day existence? Or, are we more content with a couple hours of purely romantic fantasy that, while not probing the darkness of the human psyche, or providing a solution to world hunger, does transport us to places we’ve never been, to meet with people the likes of whom we’ll probably never really know? This isn’t to say there aren’t a few romance books that deserve more than they get from publishers, bookstores, and critics. Fans of romance can only hope those special few will eventually float to the top to be seen for the crème de la crème they are. Unfortunately, the chances of that happening are very slim, indeed, especially if the romance is an original in paperback. ------------ About the author William J. Lambert III: Take a look at his books: Email: the.lambert.iii.laager@worldnet.att.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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