Venture Galleries Blog for Readers and Writers

Camelot's Cousin by David Stokes

Do you read Romance novels?

September 29, 2012

 

 

 

Romance novels sell like hotcakes.  There has to be a reason for it.  I wonder what it is?

Once again, I return to Wikipedia to explore the intricacies of a genre. According to Wiki, a Romance novel is defined as:

A literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an “emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.”

The same article goes on to explain that Romance novels are the most popular fiction genre in North America.

Let’s just stop for a minute and consider the underlying premise.  Two people, probably a man and a woman, enter a romantic relationship which results in an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.

If that were the way life worked, country singers would be out of work.  But country music is booming.

Something else must be at work.

Is it lust?

Heaven forbid.  If that were so, Christian Romance novels wouldn’t exist, would they?

Okay, so it’s not truth or lust.

Maybe it is because women love romance and most book buyers are women.

Yet another example of why I can’t understand this genre.

It must be something about X and Y chromosomes.

Here are the top five finalists for Best Indie Book of 2012 in the Romance genre.  This coming Monday, Oct. 1, the Kindle Book Review will announce the winner.  Good luck to all these fine books.

 

(Stephen Woodfin, attorney and author of legal thrillers, has  X and Y chromosomes.)

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  • http://twitter.com/CalebPirtle Caleb Pirtle

    I read romance novels. I just don’t understand them.

  • http://twitter.com/jackdrsm Jack Durish

    I read Peyton Place when I was about fourteen. Does that count?

    • http://twitter.com/CalebPirtle Caleb Pirtle

      Only if it caused you to fall in love.

  • http://twitter.com/CarsonCanada Christina Carson

    Stephen, you are too funny. I got to the bottom and asked, romance? as I saw your book listed. You are treachery itself! I have never read romance novels. I prefer the real thing.

    • http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin

      I thought I would sneak that cover in while no one was looking.

  • http://twitter.com/_VictoriaAdams _VictoriaAdams

    i don’t read romance novels, I’m too busy writing them.

    • http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin

      You go, Victoria.

  • http://www.facebook.com/britblaise Brit Blaise

    I read them and write them because I love a happily-ever-after ending that makes me go. “Aaah.”

    • http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin

      Brit, that is probably the simplest and most accurate rationale for the strength of the genre. It’s hard to beat the combination of love and a happy ending, even if that circumstance is often elusive in real life. Thanks for the comment. SW

  • Robert Brumm

    I’m in the process of writing my first romance novel. I hope it indeed sells like hotcakes!

    • http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin

      You never know until you put it out there and give people a chance to find it. Good luck. When you get it ready to go, let me know and we will do an interview with you on our site. Regards, SW

  • http://twitter.com/jvonbargen Jo VonBargen

    I don’t usually, however my daughter tossed me a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey that someone had left on her plane, so I felt sort of obligated to read it since she went to the trouble to bring it to me. Amazingly, I was riveted. Mostly because both romance and BDSM are largely unknown in my experience. I probably won’t be prone to read others strictly defined as romance, however any good story or novel that has it woven in somewhere is fine as long as the writing and plot are good.

    • http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin

      Oh, so it’s that old “my daughter tossed me a copy of it so I felt sort of obligated to read it” thing? I see.

      • http://twitter.com/jvonbargen Jo VonBargen

        *grin*