Interview on indichina

Essay by tanyajacksonJunior High, 7th grade July 2004

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How do you feel about the derision the romance genre is subject to, even from the often-put-upon-themselves SF/F/H fans?

CF: This has never really happened to me, but it makes me feel sorry for people who are so narrow-minded. Few people will enjoy a movie without some semblance of romance and even the brilliant sci-fi and fantasy and horror writers often include romance. I love books, nearly any kind of book. If you love the characters you naturally want them to be happy. How sad that one group of people needs to feel superior over another and simply appear narrow minded.

KN: I don't worry about it. Frankly, there's not much I can do about it, except write the best book I can and keep my business dealings professional. I do think that many people who deride the genre haven't read it, or at least haven't read (without preconceived notions) the current excellent work being published.

Like any profession, there's a spectrum of quality, although few others have to deal with being judged by what the standard was 30 years ago. On a one-on-one basis, if someone has tried recent romances and doesn't like them, I simply chalk it up to different tastes. I do try to encourage people who tell me they don't like the genre based on no experience to read something current, and if they don't then its their choice. But, they are missing out on some good books.

CS: There's no doubt that romance is at the bottom of the genre ladder in terms of acceptance and respect. I believe one reason is because it's women's fiction, written for women, and written mainly by women. And it's considered formulaic, which is basically true, but then all genre fiction has formulas to a certain degree. Who...