Celebrating Romance!
Thanks for having us here at Muse Interrupted! Today marks the release of our second historical romance, ALL HE DESIRES. One of the themes of the book is the healing power of love—how love can transform us and give us hope no matter what lies in our past. We are glad to be writing in a genre that honors connection, love, and the willingness to overcome obstacles that keep us apart. So today as we celebrate the release of our book, here are some thoughts celebrating Romance.
Romance affirms the power of the emotions, and the power of love.
Too much emotion is frowned on in our culture, especially where men are concerned. And love? Maybe because love is the most powerful emotion of all, it’s scary. Too capable of changing the world, changing who we are. It’s easier to shove love in a container, laugh at it or dismiss it as unrealistic. But romance is important. It moves us, gives us hope, lightens the load of our day-to-day lives where we have to deal with so many things that are sad, hard, and worrying.
Romance shows a positive and frank expression of female sexuality.
Not only are we talking about the big scary power of love, we’re letting it spill over into and inform physical desire. Modern romances are not afraid to describe the physical side of a relationship in a way that honors and celebrates feminine power. Despite the fact that we’re constantly bombarded by sexualized images, sex-plus-love and especially sex-plus-lasting-committed-relationship, doesn’t get shown a lot in popular media. Sex In The City was over when everyone hooked up with a mate. Do we really need the illusion that only those who aren’t in a ‘real’ relationship get to have hot hot lovin’? And how is that message going to play out after marriage? Romance novels in any subgenre show strong, loving relationships that will endure for years—and don’t shy away from the physical aspect of the relationship. Maybe that’s why, according to a study reported in Psychology Today*, romance readers make love 74% more often than those who don’t read romance. That’s a pretty persuasive reason to read romance!
Romance speaks to the heroine inside us all.
Romance novels acknowledge how hard it can be to get to that happy ending—we all know there’s going to be lots of conflict, trouble, and hardship along the way. But the heroines (and heroes) persevere. They stumble forward. They embrace the good times. And they win. They give us the heart and courage to keep going, even when things are looking their bleakest. Romances hold out hope, and they remind us that love and connection to other people is not weakness, but the best kind of strength.
So embrace your love of reading romance, celebrate the people in your life who are important to you, and honor that spark of hope and joy. All you need is love—and a good book.
*Harold Leitenberg and Kris Henning, “Sexual Fantasy,” Psychological Bulletin 117
WIN A BOOK! WIN TWO!
To celebrate our release day, we’re giving away a signed copy of ALL HE DESIRES, plus a copy of our first book, RITA-nominated PASSIONATE. A second winner will receive a copy of ALL HE DESIRES. Leave a comment below for a chance to win, and please tell us: How has reading Romance made a difference in your life?
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To read Anthea’s bio and the back cover copy of ALL HE DESIRES, visit yesterday’s post. To learn more about Anthea and her/his/their books, please visit their website!