Guest Post Re-Post: Originally posted 3/24/2014 on LOVE. WITHOUT YOU as a guest post. Part of my Andromeda’s Fall blog tour organized by Masquerade Crew.
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My love affair with romance has stayed strong and developed over decades. It started, of course, with Disney princesses. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty. I loved watching them find their princes (still do). Even better… as I’ve grown up, the princesses have too. The prince now has to earn his princess’s love and trust – not just ride in on a white horse. And sometimes, it’s a sister’s love that saves the day, not a man’s.
When I hit about twelve or so, I realized that the stacks of books in my mother’s bookshelf were all romances – mostly historical… Georgette Hyer, Jane Smith, Marion Chesney. Mom wrote – on the inside cover of each book – the age at which I was allowed to read it based on the content. Now, in those days, the racier content still wasn’t all that racy. Things have changed a bit. Lol. I went through all of my mom’s books pretty fast and wanted more.Then I bought a stack of old romances from a used book store and fell in love with contemporary romance. Still the older stuff, mostly from the 70s – Betty Neels, Kerry Allyne, Dorothy Cork, Sheila Douglas. The stories then were sweeter, more innocent. I still love those authors, and buy their books from used bookstores whenever I find them. Just recently, I was thrilled to find that Kerry Allyne’s books are now digital on Amazon. Good thing too, because I’m on my 4th copy of Summer Rainfall. I keep rereading it until the pages fall out of the binding.
The older contemporaries led to the new contemporaries starting when I was in High School – Penny Jordan, Sandra Marton, Miranda Lee, Emma Darcy, Katherine Spencer. I read some of their first books, and many of those authors are still writing today. The women got more independent, and the men changed from domineering to commanding. (Yes there’s a difference.) I still read contemps regularly. These days, the love scenes are more explicit. (Not that I mind. Haha.)
It’s only in the last five years or so that I’ve added the paranormal romance category to my relationship with romance. When I’d looked for this type of book in the past, the stories were cheesy or mostly about the paranormal or science fiction plot line. But these days, more and more authors are writing these interesting worlds with wonderful romance added in. Does it get any better?
It’s been 25 years or so and I’m still reading great books and authors. Who doesn’t love to just escape into a story with strong heroines, alpha males, sassy exchanges, a growing connection, and, eventually, a happy ending. I think I’ll be 95 and still in love with romance.
What got you started?
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