Why do I like reading and writing romance?

I write romance by day, and no night goes by that I don’t read at least one chapter of a love story. I love to read and write romance because I am basically a romantic creature. The Bible is very romantic, i.e. the account of David and Bathsheba and the Song of Solomon. Sit down some evening and read the Song of Solomon to your lover and tell me that’s not romantic!

I still read Sleeping Beauty to my granddaughter, watch my video of Cinderella, and cry at repeated performances of Beauty and the Beast at a New York theatre. Every love story we ever read or write can relate back to a fairy tale we heard as a child. We all want to be swept away by some handsome prince that will make our dreams come true. I hope all of you have one in your life, I do.

How did you start your career as a romance writer?

Most of my writing career has been writing for children, but not about children. Let me explain: I have always read romance novels but didn’t think I could write romance, since I was writing stories for children. Then one day, I realized that my stories for children were actually romantic stories. Children like romance. Think of Pocahontas, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty…these are very intense romantic stories.

So, since I write romance for children, why not for Young Adults and Adults? I realize that in our generation our teenagers are reading novels meant to be read by adults. And that’s okay. 

My historical novels for Young Adults are considered "soft love" but absolutely true to life…all the romantic emotions without all the details of finality. Why not give the teenage readers romantic novels of their own, a lifelike story, and a novel that is not condescending to them? 

Many teenagers give birth at a young age, but yet we hand them Little Woman, Jane Eyre and Anne of Green Gables to read. Do you think that’s really what they read other than on demand by the English teacher? I think not.

What does an author do to create a three-dimensional character?

To create a three-dimensional character you must show the readers her faults as well as her good points and, above all, her deepest emotions. The author must show days when she has a little "hissy fit." We all do that once in a while, right? But our beloved character always comes across as a woman to be loved and admired. After all he probably made her do it!

There is no better way to show this depth than to let the main character make her own way through life via the pages of the novel. I have often blamed, or thanked, my main character for being my muse and taking over my novel when I didn’t have a clue where it would lead. Very often this becomes magical and almost spiritual to this writer.

Her way through the novel should be difficult and almost seem as though it cannot be accomplished. But being our selective chosen character and being true to her calling, she overcomes every obstacle and attains to the goals we expected of her.

The events that create the most emotion show another dimension of the character but must evolve ever so slightly and appear on the pages so smoothly as to take the reader off guard as to what is coming.

The readers must interact with the main character. The readers must feel sympathy, pity, love or a related emotion with her. The readers must despair with each stumbling block put in front of her that would keep her from attaining her goals. And cheer and/or cry with her when those goals have been reached.

What challenges does an author face when writing series romances?

The challenge is that this fictional character must come across as loved and truly believable. Then, even if she dies, you have let her live her life on the pages of your novel in such a way that she lives on in the future of her loved ones, i.e. the sequel.

The writer must weave delicate threads though the novel that will eventually tie into the sequel. These threads are woven in such a way that the reader recognizes them as she reads the next novel and admires the writer’s ability to tie those thought into the sequel. This reader becomes one of the writer’s most dedicated fans, looking forward to the next novel in the series.