Romance and Young Readers

I was recently asked what age I thought was too young for reading romance novels. My first inclination was to say at least 16. But then I got to thinking, what was the first romance novel I read and how old was I? I started reading romance when I was 13 but really, it was probably earlier.

I distinctly remember buying my first romance novel and knowing it was romance. That was in 1981 when I was 16; the book was Highland Velvet by Jude Deveraux. I was an early reader though and thought romances were adventure stories. I can't remember titles or authors prior to Deveraux, but I do remember being captivated by tales set on the high seas, wagons crossing the prairie, or epics taking place in far off places. I was a young woman on the brink of adulthood and where I'd previously ignored the intimate scenes of the characters, I was now intrigued by them.

The question of how old a girl should be before being allowed to read romances has long been asked. Friends who started reading romance at a young age say, "The sex? I just turned the pages until the next action scene started." Secretly, we read the mushy stuff because we were all growing up. Sex was something we didn't understand. We read romances to see how the whole boy-girl thing worked. Sex Ed classes were basic and focused on the physical rather than emotional. What romance did for young girls was introduce us to the emotional. We craved the knowledge of a real loving relationship. We giggled over the purple prose, but we were growing up, and we wanted boyfriends!

The publishing industry recognized this need in the market and started publishing books like Ann Brashares's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley High, Judy Blume, Jenny O'Connell . . . even V.C. Andrews. And more recently, Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. These authors focus on relationships and emotional attachments of love while giving us great adventure.

So what age is too young for romance? Only a parent can answer that question, especially romance with graphic sex. But if you ask me, given a choice of books about love or war, the adventure of life over quests filled with horror, I'll pick love and adventure every time.

And secretly, I still giggle over the purple prose — even when I'm writing them!

Writing is a Team Sport by Addison Brae

You never know who you'll meet at a writers' event. Henry Winkler! Do you write alone? While most writers prefer to create in solitude, total isolation reflects in your writing. The world you’ve built reads exactly as you picture it in your imagination. You completely relate to your characters. You know what they want and how they’ll get it. The plot makes perfect sense to you. Will readers see things the way you do? Involving others in your writing process can expand your point of view. When you are more connected, you can become a better writer and also cheer others on along their journeys. Here are three ways to expand your point of view and find your team: 1. Create in your story’s environment to expand your perspective. Locate places that inspire you and write there. Much of my first two romantic suspense novels take place in pubs. I wrote many scenes sitting at bars to collect stories and observe to soak up the vibe. If you have a tough sce...

Adverbs or No Adverbs?

Welcome romance writer, Paula Martin, to Hearticles. She's guest posting about adverbs in our stories. Take it away, Paula. • • • ‘The road to hell is paved with adverbs.' - Stephen King In one sense, I agree with him. Adverbs can often indicate lazy writing. Recently I read a novel (by a best-selling author) which was littered with adverbs, especially after dialogue tags. On one Kindle page alone, there was: said truculently, said coldly, retorted sarcastically, said wearily, reiterated sullenly, said dourly - and when I got to 'she ejaculated hoarsely’ I nearly splurted my coffee in the middle of Starbucks! Yes, there are times when we should avoid adverbs, especially when they are redundant e.g. she whispered quietly or when the adverb can be replaced by a stronger verb, e.g he raced down the street instead of he walked quickly . Of course, you could tell your readers: The rain came down heavily, and the wind blew strongly against the side of the car ...

Etymology - Cupboard

Etymology Simply put, etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. Etymology is an early 14th century word derived from Greek word etumologíā -- from étumon , meaning 'true sense', and logía , meaning 'study'. Effectively, etymology is a study of the true sense of words. Etymology is pronounced et-uh-mol-uh-jee . In this new series, I'm looking at some common, everyday words and discuss their etymology . . . where they came from, their development, and how they're used today. This exercise is an effort to help you learn about the words we take for granted today, and how using the proper word will help enhance your writing, as well as your reading. Today's word is CUPBOARD -- The term cupboard comes from the original cup board -- literally a board for storing cups. This term goes back to the 12th century as cuppebord when cups and mugs were stored on boards, often stacked on top of ea...

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