Posted by ML, an aspiring author on April 15, 2002 at 22:18:30:
In Reply to: An article about Robin Lee Hatcher that may surprise you posted by LLB on April 11, 2002 at 13:25:16:
I'm very surprised that no one has mentioned Robin's involvement in supporting Inspirational romance writing. Formerly a draught area in the Christian market, romance is booming--primarily because of high-quality "cross-over" authors such as Robin Lee Hatcher, Francine Rivers, Lori Copeland, Terri Blackstock, and others who have raised the level of writing to a better standard than ever before.
By the way, Lori Copeland was never comfortable writing explicit sex scenes either, which is why she kept them fairly tame and sought to cross over into the CBA market. Please remember that editors are the gateway between authors and readers, and readers don't see anything on the page without the *editor's* permission. Also, both Lori and Robin wrote Americana historicals. I read secular fiction, and I don't know of any historical romance lines that don't require a sex scene or two to meet their writer's guidelines. It's a matter of reader expectation. Now, if either of those ladies wrote contemporaries or regencies, then the sex scene requirement would not have necessarily been in the guidelines. As an aspiring writer, I know that you don't choose regency, contemporary, or historical willy-nilly. You write the era that you understand best.
Robin has not left her romance roots behind. She is not ashamed of romance novels. A few years ago, she founded the Inspirational Romance Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. She hosts the chapter's website on her own .com site, which I assume means at her own expense. She is the moderator for at least two of the chapter's on-line groups, where she encourages approx. 200 aspiring and published authors in their writerly pursuits. As a member of this RWA sub-chapter, I have witnessed her devotion to promoting romance and personally assisting those who write it--whether they are writing sexy secular novels or sweet inspirationals.
She also re-published at least three of her most popular secular Americana romance historicals for the CBA market, and currently has plans to write a brand new romance for the same market in the near future.
In my experience, she has ever been kind, generous, and supportive of romance writers and readers. Therefore, I believe her comments were taken out of context and misquoted. The attitude the reporter presented in the article is irreconcilable with the day-to-day Robin Lee Hatcher I have been acquainted with via a very active romance chapter.
Sincerely,
ML
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