Comments on: How Do We Define Romance?

By: Elaine C.

Elaine C. — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:49:08 +0000

Lynn,

Thank you for a thought-provokng, well-thought-out article. Leaving out SRE from the RITA’s doesn’t sound like a good decision to me. The commentary here has been very interesting. I am saddened by the change and hope it won’t hurt Deanna Raybourn and Lauren Willig (the writers with whom I’m most familiar in this category) or any other writers.

By: Christina Courtenay

Christina Courtenay — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 20:33:17 +0000

I think romantic fiction is a very “broad church” and it would be boring if all romance novels were the same or the definition too narrow. I too like Susanna Kearsley’s definition and I have to say that her novel ‘The Winter Sea’ was one of the most romantic stories I’ve read in years! Even though there were a lot of other things happening, for me, it was the love story that stayed in my mind long after I put the book down. So how is that not romantic?

By: The 2012 Hugo Awards and remembering Dr. Sommer | Cora Buhlert

The 2012 Hugo Awards and remembering Dr. Sommer | Cora Buhlert — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 02:35:36 +0000

[...] the romance genre is having an uproar of its own, for the Romance Writers of America have changed the rules for the Rita awards (the romance genre’s …. The most controversial change is the elimination of the Rita category “novel with strong [...]

By: Erika

Erika — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 02:11:46 +0000

I actually like what the RWA did. I’ve read Vince Flynn’s spy thrillers and in a few books there is a SRE however his books are spy thrillers not romances. There are women’s fiction books which have SRE like Iris Johansen but aren’t romances. Defining the genre more narrowly helps the reader. I wouldnt want Johansen recent books being confused with her clearly romances older books.

By: Renee

Renee — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 02:03:41 +0000

I, totally, agree. Unfortunately, the RWA’s thinking does play into the hands of those who want to marginalize “romance” fiction instead of encouraging a greater appreciation of the genre.

By: Becky

Becky — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 21:59:45 +0000

My RWA membership history is patchy. But the last time I remember the “definition of romance” issue coming up, it was about limiting romance to 1 man, 1 woman. It seems like LGBTQ romance has been gaining ground lately, with that article in RT a couple months ago and motivated, active leadership in the Rainbow Romance Writers chapter. It makes me uncomfortable to see a call for a definition popping up now, just as momentum is building.

Not that I’m happy to see a lack of definition allowing others to be excluded. In my opinion, SRE belongs in the RITAs, and those who write it should be welcome in RWA. But I do think, if we’re going to try to create a definition of romance, that it needs to be as broad and inclusive as possible. I wouldn’t want to fix the problem for one group, only to cause problems for others.

By: LeeAnn

LeeAnn — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 16:10:15 +0000

I agree with bungluna. ….and Leslie. Ditto!

By: Leslie

Leslie — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:00:11 +0000

Of the same opinion.

By: AAR Lynn

AAR Lynn — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:59:41 +0000

I think that’s a good point. A lot of the authors considered SRE actually write books that would completely fall apart if the love story wasn’t there. Linda Howard’s recent books are a good case in point. And then there are authors like Susan Carroll whose books are published in trade and sold with general fiction, but I consider them historical romance just as I would consider Laura Kinsale or Roberta Gellis historical romance. It’s meatier than a wallpaper historical, but definitely focused on a love story with an HEA ending.

By: bungluna

bungluna — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 15:04:53 +0000

I’ve been an avid romancer reader for 30 years and I have never paid attention to the RITAs or to the RWA. Every time I see an article about them they seem more rigid and irrelevant to my reading life. I pay more attention to this site for guidance as to what’s good out there, and I have discovered some wonderful books with romantic elements that truly satisfy me. It sounds to me like they are backing themselves into a corner for marketing reasons and will end up alienating their memebership into the bargain.