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Why Romance Is A Genre To Be Reckoned With (And Respected).
Romantic Fiction has a very old history — and a powerful legacy. It’s not going anywhere, and it’s time we gave it the respect it deserves.
This piece originally appeared on Words of a Feather — the author’s professional website and personal blog.
Romance is a topic people have been writing about since the novel became…well, since it became anything at all. It is a genre that has been as dependable as it is dynamic, changing with the times while remaining a staple of bookshelves all over the globe.
People often think of romance novels as a guilty pleasure, as light reading or “fluff” books without much substance. Those of us who write, read, and adore these stories know that this is a very inaccurate reputation. Romance novels cover everything from politics to social commentary, from questions of morality to notions of what is and isn’t worthy of being defined as love.
And as the renaissance of self-publishing continues unabated (I would dare to say it’s just getting started), romance sits at the helm of both sales and readership on every platform. So, I’m going to get into the nitty-gritty of why romance is more than just fluff.