Jennifer Estep shares some love with us…
TWELVE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THE WORLD OF ROMANCE (in no particular order)
1. The people. Romance authors, editors, reviewers, bloggers, etc. are some of the nicest folks around. I can’t tell you how many of them have helped me out this year by answering my newbie questions, offering advice, or letting me visit their blogs to get the word out about my books. Cough*Sybil*cough*cough.
2. The readers. Let’s face it, if it wasn’t for all the readers who love and talk and buy romance books, we wouldn’t be in business. And just like the folks above, they are some of the nicest, friendliest, sweetest people around.
3. The books. Romance (and genre fiction in general) sometimes gets a bad rap. But some of the best writing around is done in romance. I’ll take romance over the high-brow literary stuff any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
4. The variety. Paranormal, historical, contemporary, suspense … There’s a subgenre out there for every taste and mood, which is one of the things that makes romance so great.
5. The men. Oh, the glorious, glorious men. Those sigh-worthy heroes who populate the pages of so many books. The Bastiens and the Jakes and the Sebastians and even the Zsadists … Swoon!
6. The fantasy. Of course, there are Greek billionaires with smoldering eyes and Navy Seals with six-pack abs and even vampires with wounded souls who are just waiting to sweep us plain Janes off our feet, shower us with presents, and make sweet, sweet love to us. Forever. Didn’t you know that already?
7. Westerns. Because I like them, and there need to be more of them. Sexy sheriffs! Mail-order brides! Dangerous desperados! More, I say! More! More!
8. The women. Because a hero is only as good as the heroine he falls for. And because romance heroines are strong, smart, funny, sassy, sarcastic, tough, and beautiful inside and out—just like their real-life counterparts.
9. The villains. Because nothing is better than watching the bad guy get his comeuppance.
10. The imagination. Vampires, superheroes, werewolves, small towns, big cities, outer space … It’s endless fun.
11. The I love yous. Because people don’t say it enough to each other, especially in real life.
12. The happy endings. Because, sadly, there aren’t enough of those in real life, either. And we all deserve one—whether it’s real or imagined.
What about you? What do you love about romance? Inquiring minds want to know …
Happy reading and happy holidays!
