Why Romance?
Hello everyone,
My name is LaQuette and I am a
romance author. First, I’d like to thank
Apryl for allowing me the opportunity to visit with you all today. Usually when I tell people that I am an
author and that I have published a few books they get this really excited look
of astonishment and wonder in their eyes.
Next, with the same level of enthusiasm, they ask me what genre I
write. Whenever I’m asked this I proudly
answer, “Romance,” with a huge, toothy grin.
The response to this statement is almost always the same (unless I’m
speaking with someone who is a reader of romance literature). Their brows crease in question and their
smiles transform in to a nose-lifting scowl—as if they’ve just encountered
something that smells putrid—while they ask, “Why romance?”
Romance literature is often
considered the bastard child of literary work.
It is the dirty little secret that many who consider themselves
connoisseurs of quality literature do not wish to acknowledge. In essence, romance literature has been
cloaked in the same negative connotation as pornographic film. Many critics suggest that romance/erotic
literature is crass and superficial, adding no benefit to the intellectual
wealth of the reader.
Authors of such literature are often
considered talentless in this genre; they choose to write romance because they
have no ability to write anything else.
My response to this is, has, and always will be, “You can kiss me where
the sun doesn’t shine.”
After working as a healthcare professional
for many years, I went back to school to earn an undergraduate and graduate
degree in creative writing. My goal was
to learn how to improve my descriptive writing skills. Why? That’s simple, because I wanted to be a
better, more skilled writer. I chose romance. I chose it because it engaged my brain while
reading; it sparked ideas about how I would fashion a story of my own. I chose it because it’s enjoyable to read and
it often addresses the slight subtleties that rest between loving and hating someone. It is not easy to craft a story that
colorfully lays bare the ups and downs of complicated human interaction while
maintaining reader interest. This takes
skill, this takes imagination, this takes research, and it also takes
unbelievable passion. For those of you
who dismiss the merits of romantic fiction, please inform me who made you the god
of literature that you may deign that only canonical literature is quality
writing and only its creators should be praised? If romance/erotic fiction is so horrible, then
why is it one of the highest grossing forms of literature there is? In order for this to be true, someone has to
be reading it.
I proudly announce my love for
romantic fiction. It provides me an
escape from my everyday life. It keeps my
creative juices flowing, and I’m not ashamed to admit that it makes me feel all
warm and fuzzy inside when the characters I’m reading or writing about get
their happily-ever-after or more likely, their happy-for-now.
Romance suffers from a bad reputation
because someone decided that it is inconsequential and therefore doesn’t matter
in the grand scheme of all things literature.
Not all romance is saccharine fluff.
Many of us who take this genre seriously work so hard to make our work
believable and engaging. To do that we
pepper it with pieces of real life so that our readers may connect with the
characters and situations we develop inside of our stories.
For instance, My Queens of Kings series
falls into the interracial erotic romantic suspense category. It is about a tough female cop, Heart
MacKenzie, who spends so much time dedicating herself to the job she loves and
the community she serves that she’s left no room for the brilliance of love’s
light to shine in her life. Well, until
she meets her match in Kenneth Searlington, then she slowly but surely
recognizes what she’s been missing. If
that ain’t real life, then I don’t know what is, because I know way too many
people who have relegated romance and companionship into the “not necessary”
category of their lives. However, the truth is as human beings we need
companionship to thrive, and to live, and to not merely exist.
My final thought is this, if you
can’t appreciate romance fiction or if it’s not your cup of tea, just put it
down and move on. Don’t criticize it
without understanding what it takes to create and comprehend this type of
literary work. Don’t discount its impact
on the intellectual stores of its creators and consumers. Ultimately, don’t attempt to dismiss its
credibility as actual literature.
Thanks,
LaQuette J
P.S.
Take a peek at an excerpt from my latest
release, Divided Heart: Queens of Kings Book 2 in order to see why I love
romance fiction so much.
This is an awesome defense of romance literature. A must share article.
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