I love romance, I say it loud and I say it proud, that is why I blog about it. Once upon a time, the early years, I was not as loud. I used to send my little sister in to get my books. Her instructions: get the books that have the knight or the man with the kilt. Yes, I can admit I had that phase. She was too young to know better and I kept expecting to get in trouble for buying them. My bestie clowned me for years her words exactly “you’re always reading that soft porn”. I have always had to explain to her and other non-romance readers there is infinitely more to my favorite genre (yes I claim the romp) than what they think. So I had my naysayers and the author Holley Trent who wrote Love by Premonition, the book I used to get them to take romance for a test drive answer a few questions regarding the unfair negative perception regarding romance.
Why do you think people have such a negative perception of romance?
The author Holley Trent Answers: There are a lot of factors that play into that. Part of it is some people don’t realize just how diverse romance as a genre is. Not all heroines are “too stupid too live” and waiting for rescue. Not every hero is super-wealthy and born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Lots of romances have characters that are just like your average Jane and Joe, and have the same problems as me and you.
There are plenty of romances that read just like mysteries or suspense novels or thrillers. There are lots of paranormal romances that are more “monster” than sex. People over-generalize and think romance is some big thing, but in truth, it’s a very vast category wherein you can find something to suit every taste. You just have to know what kind of book you’re looking for.
The sister who bought those books for me: I just expected them to read as the man being submissive and the women desperate for love.
The Best friend who has rated my love soft Porn: Lack of knowledge because what we classify as romance I think of as cheesy soft porn with no storyline. I think Fabio book covers no story, basically what I saw in the 80’s, like how much value could this add to my life.
The Coworker and Grandmother Anita, reader of all things other than romance: In general, I do not think that people have a negative perception of romance, I think it is more of a disbelief of romance. Most romance novels are unrealistic to actual life. Reading about a perfect romance or a perfect ending leaves one wondering what went wrong in their personal encounters. Romance novels can give false representation of what the real world has to offer, thus leaving the reader feeling disappointed in their personal relationships.
Why do you think readers from a variety of backgrounds enjoy romance so much?
The author Holley Trent: I think it’s that feeling of optimism at the end of the story. There aren’t too many genres that’ll guarantee readers a happy ending, and a lot of us see enough “real life” on a day-to-day basis that we want to indulge in a bit of fantasy when we read. We all know relationships are hard, but romance is about escapism, and to some degree: self-confidence. Everyone should feel like there’s someone out there who wants to love them from head to toe, inside and out, even if they haven’t found ’em yet. I heartily believe that.
The sister: Love is the universal language that everyone can understand even without words. Therefore you can attract readers from every nationality.
The Best friend: People want a “Happily Ever After” and that good feeling, knowing the right people end up together, even if life is crappy.
The Coworker and Grandmother: Everyone loves love. They particularly love the aspect of falling in love. Readers enjoy having an inside view of someone else’s life. It is interesting to be a part of how they feel going through the motions of getting to know someone, developing a relationship and all that occurs after.
Did the love scenes between Marcia and Nat detract or add to Love by Premonition?
The sister: I must say it added to the story, the tension between them made the anticipation build, it took me a minute to understand when you asked about love scenes you were not just talking sex.
The Best friend: Yes in the very beginning of chapter one, their flirting drew me in. I wanted to see where it would go. It was not all about sex, their relationship added suspense I did not know how they were going to end up together.
The Coworker and Grandmother Anita: The love scenes between Marcia and Nat were definitely a positive addition to the novel. The relationship added another level of suspense and excitement to the story.
In conclusion, my non romance readers loved my pick and I am even allowed to recommend other reads, they had to understand in romance there is something for everyone you just have to know your subgenre, for them it might be romantic suspense (with paranormal elements), they are not ready for the wolves yet.
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I live in North Carolina but I will always be a Texan! Romance became my favorite genre after I finished my first Harlequin, about oh so many years ago. I have since expanded my reading palate but romance remains king. My favorite genre includes so many romance subgenres I feel there would not be a point in naming them but hey that’s what you are here for. My favorite subgenres include: Sci-fi romance, paranormal, multicultural and erotic romance. I love authors and have a fondness for small press and indie.
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Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. Avid book reader, snowboard bunny, video gamer and Supernatural fan. I love all things paranormal, werewolves especially. Oh, and I’m Canadian, eh!
Wonderful post! I love the diversity of the people you interviewed for this. Your coworker/grandmother answer about being “unrealistic” kind of pushed my buttons, though. I mean, romances are ALL ABOUT CONFLICT. Many characters have far huger obstacles to overcome than most people in real life do, but there are also romances that focus on the minutae of daily life and on the struggle to maintain a relationship after many years. I think reading romances can help people consider both sides of a relationship more clearly and learn ways to make that relationship work better.
Unless they mean the heroes don’t fart and the heroines don’t sometimes skip showers because they’re too busy. In that way, I’ll concede, romances are unrealistic. 🙂
Thanks you! Anita the Grandmother view is not new to me a few women in her demographic I asked said basically the same thing. To her the HEA seemed unrealistic. She is actually interested in the genre now after reading Love By Premonition the diversity and now the knowledge of subgenres helped her pinpoint what she likes not everything is glossy perfect.
Definitely the best part is that you’re converting people! Even if they don’t continue reading romance long-term (though I hope they do!), they obviously have a new respect for it. Impressive work. 🙂
Thanks! I am trying.
Great interview! I’m glad you could get a few people to read romance books! It’s still sad that people have a misconception of romance and just think it’s soft porn. Really, you can have a romance book with very few or minimal sex scenes and it’d be still amazing.
Thanks, I hate the negative perception people have of the genre and I noticed when I was trying to get volunteers for this some of the people were reading romance and did not know it! Lol. But the soft porn kills me, I even had someone recommend a “video” that was XXXXXX becase they thought I would like it because I read romance. Go figure.
Awesome post, thank you. I have so many collegues who will not touch a romance book at all.
I know I kinda begged them, no shame but that is because I knew I would be write and they would love it. I have noticed that romance has a perception but when they give it a honest go chances are they will really enjoy it, I mean so many of us can’t be coco for the puffs.