For Readers | My Essays

 

Every now and again I muse (or rant) on whatever has caught my attention. Here are a few examples.

Why Would a Mensan Write Romance?

I’ve been asked that question, along with a few variations: “Why don’t you write “real books?”; “Why would an intelligent woman want to read, let alone write, romance?”

Well, for thirteen years, I labored within a vilified profession. I was a lawyer, and spent far too much time responding to attacks on a field with many important achievements (can you say “desegregation?”). So, being tired of arguing during working hours anyway, I decided to work my way into a more respected profession.

So now I can say, Hi, I am Tami C., and I am a romance writer.

Okay, the truth is, I make most of my living as a professor at DU law school. But I really am a romance writer, too. And I do aspire to drop the professor bit in the long term.

Between academia and Mensa, I’ve received more than my share of raised eyebrows. There are, of course, people who look down on any sort of genre fiction, but somehow, I don’t think I’d get the same reaction if I were writing mystery or, say, a legal thriller. I’ve certainly never been asked, “Why do women read mysteries?”

Yet, romance has a lot of bright writers. I am not the only lawyer I know writing romance. I even know of a judge who writes romance. Nor am I the only professor writing romance. And I also know doctors, engineers, accountants and, yes, even a rocket scientist who writes romance.

So why do these intelligent, well educated women write romance?

The real question is, why not?

Why not write in the most popular genre?

Romance sells better than any other type of fiction. Way better. Romance makes up more than 35% of all fiction bought. Its closest rival is mystery/thriller, which makes up less than 27% of fiction bought. Some Mensans might be disappointed to hear that science fiction makes up less than 7%. “Mainstream” fiction? A mere 17%. (Sort of makes you wonder exactly what is mainstream about it!)

Romance is a $1.5 billion market. There are 51.1 million romance readers in North America, and they are a well educated market. More than 60% of romance readers are college educated, with 10% having graduate degrees.

Women (and men – 1 out 10 men read romances) read romances for the same reason they read any type of fiction. They enjoy it. Each reader may enjoy romances for different reasons – entertainment, inspiration, relaxation, excitement, - whatever. Romance offers all of this and more.

Why not write in a genre that offers so many possibilities?

Romance has subgenres that include virtually every type of fiction conceivable. When many people hear “romance,” they think of “Harlequin” romances. I read romance for some thirty years before I ever read a Harlequin, but this subsidiary of Torstar, the largest fiction publishing house in the world, does continue to offer romances. While their reputation was built on “sweet” romances, wherein a pink collar worker meets the wealthy man of her dreams, with little or no sex, Harlequin also publishes a line of romances where sex is a major part of the story, and a number of lines with everything in between. And heroines today, whether with Harlequin or any of the many other romance publishers, can be from any walk of life, from stay at home mom, up to and including CEOs of their own companies.

“Historical romance” is most frequently set in England or the American West, but I’ve also read romances set in Egypt, the Ottoman and Roman Empires, Roman, and in France, Austria, Russia, India, and China. Times periods range from prehistoric to World War II, with medieval and Napoleonic eras the most popular. For anyone who loves history, historical romance offers a glimpse into the social patterns from days gone by. And romance readers know their stuff. Any author who gets a fact wrong will surely hear about it, assuming she makes it past the editor. The books of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, authors known for their romances set in the Regency period of England, are often included in the reading for college history classes for that time period.

Romance also offers “romantic suspense,” for mystery and thriller lovers. The broad category of “paranormal” includes futuristic romances with the same sort of world building commonly found in science fiction, time-travels which take a modern hero or heroine and set them in days gone by, and assorted borrowings from the horror genre, such as ghosts, vampires and other things that go bump in the night. “Romantic comedy,” my own love, is rapidly growing to become a major player in romance, with several houses adding lines devoted to making readers laugh. “Multicultural” romance offers stories with protagonists who reflect our diverse society. And for “mainstream” lovers, romance also offers books that explore contemporary life in all its facets.

Why not write in genre friendly to women?

Woman make up the majority of readers, writers, and editors in this field. Of course, the fact that women control this genre is actually the heart behind much of the criticism of romance. But the domination of women also leads to a cooperation that is unparalleled in other the other genres. I can’t count the number of science fiction and mystery writers who have joined romance writing groups to take advantage of the writing craft and publishing advice offered by the successful romance writers to those just beginning their writing efforts.

Why not write stories that offer a “feel good” ending?

A romance novel has two basic elements: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. The surprise hit in the movie world last year was My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a romantic comedy whose income has exceeded its production costs by tenfold or more. Its success demonstrates that audiences like feeling good. I write romance because I like making them feel that way.

And you know what? So did Shakespeare.

I wonder if anyone ever asked him why he wrote romance.[1]

[1] If you don’t think Shakespeare wrote romance, go read his comedies.

Romance Novels Soften the Bumpy Road to Love

Apathy? Give me a Break!

Romance Novels Soften the Bumpy Road to Love

(First published in The Denver Post, November 25, 2001)

Ah, love.

That sweet mystery of life. Muse of poets. Inspiration of troubadours. Source of revenue for the peddlers of self-help books. The book of love has been written and rewritten since humans first took up sticks and scratched symbols in the dirt. But I can honestly say that everything I learned about love, I first saw in romance novels. To wit:

Even the good guys think about breasts/legs/buns a lot.

Love can hurt. But denying love hurts more.

The roughest spot on the path to true love is dishonesty.

The “Big Man on Campus” tends to be a small man when it comes to things that matter.

To thine own self be true. (Hey, Shakespeare wrote romance! Look it up.)

A smile that doesn’t reach the eyes strikes chills in the heart.

A real hero diapers the baby. And he doesn’t make a big thing out of “helping you,” either.

The best moments together are rarely the ones that involve fancy restaurants, fast cars, or high-priced wine. They do often happen under starlit skies. Ice cream adds a nice touch.

Cowboys and CEOs both make good heroes – proving that good men are found in all walks of life.

The hero who can hail a cab in the rain is a better choice than a Fabio look-alike. Ditto the guy who can fix a flat.

Eyes are the windows to the soul.

Wicked guardians suck. (OK, not exactly an observation about love, but still true.)

Love and laughter are a good mix.

A hero treats all women with respect. Especially a woman with whom he awakens, but also the women who sell him groceries, type his letters, clean his apartment, or just walks by him on the street.

Drowning your sorrows is a good way to get a killer headache.

You don’t have to be a buxom green-eyed redhead to find love everlasting. It helps, but it is not necessary.

First impressions matter.

Misassumptions can lead to all sorts of interesting consequences. Adventures, even.

Women are strong and capable.

Lots of problems can be avoided if you’re willing to talk things over.

You can be mad at a guy and still love him to distraction.

A hero grins. A villain shows his teeth.

Love does not mean losing yourself in another person. Love does mean making room for another person’s clothes in your closet.

No mistake is too awful to be forgiven.

An unshaven jaw can be very sexy. But so can a clean-shaven one. Attitude makes all the difference.

Fairy godmothers have been pretty rare since Sleeping Beauty woke up.

Even if a fairy godmother does get you to the ball, you are on your own once you get there.

And finally, the most important lesson of the romance novel:

Happy endings don’t just happen. They take a lot of work.

Every romance hero and heroine can testify to this: you earn a happy ending through soul searching, compromise, and, finally, acceptance of yourself and the one you love - as you both are. As the author of your life story, you get to decide how things come out. Write yourselves happy endings.

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Apathy? Give me a Break!

(This article was written in response to a question posed by the editors of The Matrix, the newsletter of Denver Mensa.)

This issue is about the decline of civilization, with a focus on apathy. Why, the Mensa survey asked, are people less interested, less involved, less whatever now than they ever were before? Well, frankly, I suspect the question (and the theme) assumes facts not in evidence. Maybe people are less involved in Mensa, perhaps even less involved in other social organizations. But I don’t think people are less involved in their communities. In other words, what apathy? I don’t see it.

I’m sorry. I know it’s not fashionable, particularly among pseudo-intellectuals, to believe that people, especially Americans, are inherently good, caring, and concerned about others. But fashion be damned. It’s true.

Since September 11, we’ve seen a number of essays claiming that at least one good thing came out of this tragedy – Americans are more caring, now. These essays infuriate me. They are nonsense, and however well-meaning, insulting to each and every one of us.

Terrorists did not teach Americans compassion.

The events of September 11 did not make Americans more caring, or more compassionate, or anything of the like -- we were already that way, and responded to that tragedy with the same care, compassion, and generosity we always show.

On September 11, facing the shock and horror, I did the one tangible thing to help that occurred to me -- I went to the Belle Bonfils center to give blood. A hundred people had shown up ahead of me, and hundreds more afterwards (so many, in fact, that after three hours, I had to leave for work without having given blood – and the earliest I was able to get an appointment to give blood was two months later) . Now, if it was the terrorist acts that had awakened people out of their self-centered shells, one would think that this would be the first time giving blood for most people there. But quite the contrary – the people around me were old hands at giving blood. In fact, the person standing next to me was elated because she had just received her reminder sticker. That meant she would not be rejected, as many there that day were, for trying to give blood again too soon after the last time.

This was not surprising to me, because Americans show up at every tragedy, every natural disaster, every crisis. And we don’t just respond to the tragedies that CNN covers around the clock. In between crises, many people give of themselves. The first time I gave blood, for example, was at a drive sponsored by a Star Trek Convention – (granted, some people might consider such a convention a tragedy, but hey, it’s not quite the same thing). Local newspapers carry listings of volunteer opportunities every month. Why? Because their readership is looking for that information. The citizens of this country always have, and always do, reach out to help one another, and help others around the world. We did not start doing this September 11, we didn’t learn how to do it from terrorists, and we haven’t stopped doing it.

Quite frankly, I suspect that the only people who think there is a lot of apathy right now, are precisely the ones who are not active in their communities. Similarly, the only ones who see a decline in civilization are those who aren’t keeping up with the progress. There is a solution for both of these problems, and it is within you, not within others.

It’s a great time to be alive. Take a look around and you’ll see what I mean.

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