August is Romance Awareness Month and here at Mills & Boon we love all things romance. So, we asked a few of our authors to tell us their favourite things about romance, what inspired them to write for the genre and why we should celebrate romance!
In a world where so many bad, sad things happen, it’s vital to remember that good, happy things also happen – and that’s what reading romance does for us. The Romance Genre is a perpetual affirmation that life can be happy, and shines an essential light into a world that can appear all too dark. The Romance Genre brings comfort at times in our lives when stress and difficulty are all around, and it brings celebration when our lives are going well. So read romance when you are sad – and when you are happy! 🙂
I can still remember the summer I fell in love with love — I was a young teenager, and my mother (an antique dealer), had bought a box of old paperbacks from a second-hand dealer. I gravitated towards the Mills & Boons – I can’t even say why – and discovered a pleasure I couldn’t have ever imagined! The exotic locations, sophisticated banter, and the sizzle of a clearly-destined-to-be-together couple became my new addiction. I was hooked! From that summer, all my spare pocket money was diverted to my new habit: I devoured as many Mills & Boons as I could, curling up late into the night turning the pages, desperate to know how the story would resolve. Although life has taken me on many twists and turns, the love of a good romance story has never ebbed, and falling into the pages of a new Mills & Boon (and in love with the hero in its pages!) is still one of my absolute favourite ways to spend an evening.
I love reading and writing romance because I know that the roller-coaster of emotions experienced by the hero and heroine – and by me – will always resolve in a happy and uplifting ending guaranteed to make me smile for the rest of the day.
“I read voraciously. And though I love thrillers, I’m always disappointed if the hero doesn’t get the girl. I am far happier if the main characters, of whatever genre I read, end up in a satisfying relationship. And so as a writer, those are the stories I love to write – ones with a happy ending that involves all the main characters finding someone who will match them in a very special way.”
I feel special when I am romanced. When my husband and I were dating and poor college students, he splurged and cooked me a dinner. The menu consisted of quail, potatoes, green beans and rolls. I felt loved because of the time and energy he’d put into romancing me. Today, after 36 years of marriage we still talk about our “little birds” meal.
Thanks to all the authors for getting involved and reminding us all yet again why romance is so important!
