When I tell people I write romance novels, I get myriad responses. By far, the ones I find most offensive are those people who ask, Do you ever want to write real books? Yeah. I do want to write real books. That’s why I write romance novels.
There is another, even more delightful element that comes along with the historical romance novels - beauty.
We spoke about the wage gap, fists in the air feminist issues last week, so let’s think a little smaller now and discuss an issue that, though subtle, though nuanced, is just as feminist and just as important. Food shaming in romance novels.
Romance has a problem with men. Make no mistake, this is a feminist issue and, like questions of diversity in age, race and sexual orientation, it needs to be addressed before romance can fully move forward as the progressive, open-minded genre it is.
I’m of the mind that feminism without intersectionality doesn’t count as feminism anymore, and romance certainly falls behind when it comes to characters of color, as well as religion, physical ability and, as I’ll outline here, body type.
There are a great many forgivable elements that show themselves time and again in the romance novel genre. For instance, based on our knowledge of history’s healthcare and abundant inbreeding, we know for certain that every duke, earl, marquis and prince was not, as our favorite novels lead us to believe, a hottie with a … Continue reading On the Shelf at 24
When it comes to asserting my own powers and going after what I want in the world, I take my cues from Jemma, Duchess of Beaumont and Lady Georgiana, better known as Chase, and the powerful owner of the most notorious gaming hell in London.
