Thinking About Romance and Other Things

"You find me a woman who isn't interested in romance, and I will show you somebody who isn't alive."
~Nancy Berland

First off, a big thanks to Marianne, who nominated me for "The Best of the Best" Blog Entries, and to everyone who voted for "Why I Harbor Hope"...I ended up winning!

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Just a reminder: today, May 1, kicks off Brenda Novak's 3rd Annual Online Auction to Benefit Diabetes Research. Stop by and check out all the wonderful items she has for you to bid on!

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Finally, a quick look inside the May Romance Writers Report:

First Sales Column: Oh, good! Of the 12 authors listed here, only one claims that she was writing for a mere 18 months before selling her first manuscript. The other range from 5 to 12 years. Women after my own heart!

This one sounds like a winner already: The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren, by Wendy Toliver, published by Simon and Schuster is about "the adventures of a band geek who, on the eve of her 16th birthday, magically transforms into a beautiful Siren...she's irresistable--and deadly-to men everywhere." Ooh la la!

Market Update: NEW RECOGNIZED PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing! Hooray (that's my publisher for One Night in Boston, just in case I hadn't trumpeted it enough here...)!!

Feature Article: "Look Who's Writing Romance": Terrific article highlighting the growing number of professional/college-educated women who are entering the romance-writing world, including Shakespeare professors, developmental psychologists, and Air Force pilots (yes, really!).

Among other observations: that academics know how to do research and stick to a disciplined schedule, making them effective writers, and that the growing numbers of sub-genres in romance demands people with highly specialized areas of expertise, including forensics, high-tech biz, and history.

Maybe there's hope for romance to be taken seriously in the literary world after all. Do you think so?