Why Romance?

Last Monday a gal at work who had just learned that I write asked me why I write romance. She didn’t sound uppity or holier-than-thou, but was genuinely curious. Usually when someone says “Why do you read romance?” they obviously think their choice of reading material is infinitely more classy than your trashy romance. I didn’t get that vibe from her.  She said didn’t care for the romance genre. She found it a bit shallow and predictable, but she knew a lot of people who loved reading romance and wondered why. I stammered and said I liked it.

Brilliant answer, right?

Well, I think I know why now. Last Thursday and Friday I listened on CD to Jaycee Lee Dugard’s memoir, A Stolen Life.  Miss Dugard was 11 years old when she was kidnapped and held captive for 18 years. It was painful to listen to her horrible experiences at the hands of her mentally disturbed captors. Today I watched a special about Jonestown, where over 900 people commited suicide and were murdered because of a mentally disturbed eogmaniac.  After three days in a row of hearing and seeing such painful things I was feeling depressed. And then it came to me why I love romance.

Because there are happily ever afters. Because love heals all wounds. Because a romance story ends on a high note. Hope is realized in a romance story.

How about you? Why do you read romance?