CLICK HERE to view the video that sparked this post.  Note that Beverly Jenkins has a cameo…but you have to pay close attention to see her…because it seems this clip was all about Nora Roberts. 

The right time for romance is anytime–at least according to the romance industry.  This past weekend, the RWA’s (Romance Writer’s Association) held their annual conference in San Francisco, Ca. Over 500 authors were in attendance.  This industry is a multi-billion dollar business ( $1.4 billion dollars for 2007) and outsells all other categories, except one.  Inspirational/religious books sells more than any other category.

I’m a romantic individual.  I love showing expressions of my love and I’m a touchy/feely individual with thosethat I’m close to…but I’ve never been a big romance genre reader.  Don’t get me wrong…some of my favorite authors began in the romance genre…Donna Hill, Rochelle Aler, Bettye Griffin, Francis Ray, Gwynne Forster…just to name a few…and I even enjoyed reading a few romance novels from new authors earlier this  year (this year’s picks included titles by Niambi Brown Davis, LaConnie Taylor-Jones, Victoria Wells, Maryam Diaab)…but romance is not my genre of choice.  For me it’s too predictable; too formulaic.  The same boy and girl who meet in the beginning will be together in the end and live happily ever after.  The end.  LOL.  So, I’m always intrigued by those who read and list this genre as one of their favorites.

I polled members of APOOO to find out why they read (or not) romance titles, and here’s a few comments from the group.

Those Who Enjoy Reading Romance

I read romance for the conflict that happens between the characters that leads to a happy ending but am not expecting that it will be happily ever after.  I consider it to be the “feel good genre”.  ~Lareeta

It’s really hard to pinpoint because I read romance for the same reasons why I read mysteries or contemporary fiction. I love a good plot with interesting characters that allow me to escape temporarily into a world the author has created.  –Shelia

I think i was eleven when it first happened…for a year i was bored with life and I wanted something to get myself into.  The only real excitement was every Sunday when I went to church I got to see my good friend and cousin. The prior week she didn’t talk much because she had a romance book. This Sunday I told her to bring me back what she was reading and let me see what was so darn distracting.  It  was Katherine Woodwiss and though there was a lot of air and smoke throughout the story there was this man with this dead seated passion for this woman who wanted to move mountain to be at her side. Always being a fast reader I was done by  the end of church. I fell in love with him and the story and by the time I closed that book, I wanted another.  Next week as promised, she bought me another one. They were always historical and these books were fueled for my thirst for knowledge and my new desire to find out about love, sex and being a woman with a man. By the third one, I was like a crack addict looking for a way to get my fix during the week. And then I found Johanna Lindsay. OMG! in the other books, the author focused on just the story or sex or conflict, but this woman – she had me from the first to the last word. She weaved all the story elements and transported me to a time I had never known where there were pirates, sheiks, long journey’s across the sea, new trips to america, wild west and most of all love. Sweet, passionate love that had won against everything that was bad in the word. To this day, my preferred romance genre has always been historical. Once I discovered Beverly Jenkins Ii knew i could do the same but I didn’t want to do historical but I wanted the same elements in a contemporary story. I wrote the stories that I had found through them  contemporary as practice until I found my own voice and style.  I know it was sooooooo wrong to read romance novels through church, but at least I can say I found God and my path to what I love there. How many can say that?–Sylvia

I enjoy romances. I started out by reading historical romances, before the Arabesque/BET/ Kimani line. My favorite stories involved the savage Indians, the Pirates ravishing young innocent women.  Once I found AA romances, I pretty much put down the ones written by non-AA authors. I really love Beverly Jenkins historical romances because they still have that historical feel with characters that looked more like me.  I still enjoy reading romances because I can escape.  They take me to places I haven’t been and remind me that there are some good, fine, romantic brothers out there.  There is still hope that you can fall in love.  Besides Beverly Jenkins, I enjoy Brenda Jackson, Francis Ray, Donna Hill and a few of the others. 
I know a lot of people don’t like them because they are formulaic, but they have really come along way.  There seems to be more romances with a suspense theme, sci-fi, and now the heroine is not always a damsel in distress.  Characters are older, and they have more diversity in jobs, class and lifestyle.  I really like when the female characters have unusual occupations or businesses. –Jnette

I have to agree with Jeanette. Although I don’t enjoy romance as much as I used to (even though romance is still the #1 selling genre, their sales have gone down from 58% of the market to 39%–we had this conversation tonight coming back from the RWA parties.) The reason—lousy writing or rather the writing has declined in many cases all around. I can’t put my finger on it but people are noticing that newer writers are getting away from the original romance themes. AdC had an article a couple of months ago from an author who basically complained that they are being pushed by the publishers to write more sex scenes and erotica. Her point was that in too many of the books, couples were jumping into bed without going through their “romance”– the courtship. Maybe it’s a sign of the times, this mode of behavior is more acceptable. There is more blatant sex in regular romance, let along erotica. Page 1 the protagonists meet; on page 5, they are going down on each other. Some readers take issue with that. Anyway, I digress. 

I read some romances, Harlequin and such in Jr. High and High school, and later on read in adulthood the occasional Danielle Steel, but I wouldn’t say I was a romance fan  per se. My tastes ran more literary and mystery. I discovered the black romance, I think Shirley Hailstock in early 90s and was fascinated by the fact that the characters were people like me. That got me hooked and I started incorporating romance into my reading lists. However, the period from the mid-to late 90s, maybe early in the new millennium had story lines that educated, intrigued and fascinated by the range and depth of the themes and writing. I just don’t see that kind of writing that frequently anymore.

I still enjoy Beverly Jenkins because she is one of the few that is still giving good writing and educating us. Brenda Jackson for me is like eating a Godiva chocolate, pure decadence because she writes sex; her story lines leave a lot to be desired. It is always the rich magnate/tycoon/multimillionaire male who is after the reluctant heiress from a wealthy family. My ratings have been 3s, they are what they are, a temporary respite from the real world. I have said I was not feeling Francis Ray; while her books might have a little stronger themes, there has been something missing; the characterizations seem forced, it’s hard to explain but maybe it is just me. The older I get, the more my tolerance level is lower. These authors used to thrill me with their great story lines.

But back to another reason why I like/liked romance, give me the romance and hearts and flowers but give me something more substantial. The past romances educated me and nerd that I am, that is how they became more than a bite-sized snack or appetizer but rather, a full course meal, including soup and salad and entree. The books I am talking about were the ones that taught me something. One of Doris Johnson’s books explored the politics of organ transplants and the dynamics of it in the black community regarding class and socio-economics. Another of her story lines involved genealogy, another was in the dance world. These subjects interest me. Another book gave the inner workings of the art world, the buy, selling and theft of expensive art world, another explored mail fraud. A lot of the romance I read, mostly for review, stretch out 300 pages of a half-assed storyline and saturated with sex. Now, I like sex as well as the next person, but I don’t need to read it every 5- 10 pages used as a filler for what amounts to not having any depth in the storyline.

Every once in awhile, someone reaches back and delivers. Deirdre Savoy writes good romantic suspense and Leslie Esdaile still writes an good story but for the most part, authors are, either by pressure, or their own pressure, are writing to cater to the sex-oriented, sex craving audience.

Not to mention romance is being blended into so many other genres: I mentioned suspense; also fantasy, paranormal, horror, vampires. All in all, I believe romance is here to stay and is something I will keep on my reading lists and as someone said, I think it was Jennifer, after reading a particularly difficult subject matter, a romance is a nice Calgon moment as aNN says.–D 

Those Who Have No Affection for the Category

I can’t see the clip well, I am using dial-up today. If this is the same clip that was shown on the Today show about romance novels as the top sellers in all of fiction, then yes I saw it. On the Today show, they did show Jenkins reading to a group of women at what appeared to be a bookstore. Author Nora Roberts was heavily featured in the clip. I think everyone here knows that I am NOT a romance novel reader. It usually takes an exceptional review and a plot that isn’t so “ordinary” or high drama to get me to read one.

However, as a reader I do appreciate a dang good story no matter what the genre is. It has to be something that holds my interest. I get VERY bored with the formulaic damsel in distress scenario. The story must feature a plot that isn’t laced with sexual escapades every three pages, something must go on other than in the bedroom.  

I do understand why romantic fiction is all the rage. They fill a void that many other genres don’t. In romance novels the woman is usually the heroine: the one receiving all the attention, it’s her needs that are being met one way or the other. Romance novels are usually written by women so they know what emotional and erotic buttons to push. They pay homage to that fantasy of being swept off your feet by your knight in shinning armor.

 Many of the books in my opinion, are the adult versions of those fairy-tales we grew up with. Now, I must say that I do have several Nora Roberts books. I like her more so because she always has an air of suspense going on between her pages. Her books are not always the typical Cinderella plot.

I liked Dusk to Dawn by Niambi Brown Davis because I could relate to the characters; they were educated, middle-class Black folk. The sex in the novel wasn’t gratuitous. It actually followed the natural flow of the relationship. I suspect that since this segment aired on TV and stated that romantic fiction is a billion dollar money maker, the market will be flooded with a lot more of it.

Romance is soooo NOT for me for for all the reasons that Raven mentions – especially the formulaic part…which contributes to the predictability and ultimately repeatability.  I’m not into “relationship” dramas — so Lifetime movies, daytime soaps, etc don’t appeal to me — I wasn’t a fan of Sex and the City phenom either.  My brain at this point in my life just isn’t wired to be receptive to the genre — not even as as pure entertainment. –Phyllis

 There you have it…thoughts from APOOO on the romance genre.  Now it’s your turn.

DISCUSSION QUESTION

Are you a fan of romance novels?  Why or why not?

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