When the man sitting in the front row raised his hand, I was curious about what he would ask. There weren’t many men in the audience, mostly women who’d come into the bookstore to hear four local romance authors discuss their craft. And this fellow had arrived early. He’d parked himself belligerently in the front row, right in the middle, as if daring us to ignore him. And he’d been eyeing us ever since — rubbing his jaw, biding his time — like a predator waiting to strike.
And strike he did. Why did women read romance novels, he demanded. Was it because we were frustrated? Were we trying to escape reality? Was there something wrong with our (sex) lives?
I thought we did an admirable job of answering him. No one got excited. No one lost her temper. We took his questions seriously, answered rationally, compared reading novels to other forms of entertainment, including sports. We talked about fiction in general, romance novels in particular, told him why love stories touch our lives.
Was he convinced? Doubtful, although he stayed until the end and bought a book. Who knows if he actually read it, though. Maybe he did — and maybe he loved it. Maybe he’s now devouring romance novels and has become our biggest fan.
And maybe he only read the sex scenes. But at least we tried. So the advantage this round goes to the women. Now if we could only win the game…
Coming next from Silhouette Romantic Suspense:
The Crusaders: Chasing legends, capturing hearts
HEART OF A THIEF – Book One of The Crusaders, May 2008
TO PROTECT A PRINCESS – Book Two, November 2008
LOVE IN 60 SECONDS (SRS CONTINUITY) – Spring 2009
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