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| By Susan May Warren |
Hey, Friends! This week will probably be a little quiet with so many of my blogging buddies taking a Fourth of July bloggy-break, so I thought I would keep my post short and sweet! On my Facebook page last week I asked this question:
"I'm currently working my way through Kiss & Tell, How to Write a Romance by Author Susan May Warren. My question for you: What is the best love story you've ever read and why?"
I had a couple people respond that the Bible is their favorite love story ~ that was the best answer and I couldn't agree more! ~ but I was actually looking for fiction titles. I should have been more specific!
I enjoyed reading the varied answers, but I thought I would take the question a step deeper and ask this: What do you like about love stories (okay, I'll call them what they are: romance novels ~ I hate the connotation that the title "romance novel" infers) and what don't you like about them? Do you think they depict "real life" or do you think they give us an unrealistic idea of love? Why do you feel the way you do about your answer?
For me, I love reading a good historical novel with a strong romance woven in. I will only read a romance story if I know it's been published by a Christian Publishing House because I believe the current Christian Fiction Market strives to keep romances realistic and God centered. I almost always walk away with a better perspective on my faith and my marriage and I don't believe an author has achieved what she or he has set out to achieve unless their reader feels the same. Readers today have more expectations for their time and money and they won't settle for anything less.
Thanks for participating today! Please feel free to be honest and open with me, even if you don't agree with what I just wrote! I hope to gain a better understanding of romance novels and why people read them or why they don't. Thanks, guys!
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Congratulations to debut author Keli Gwyn for
her release of A Bride Opens Shop in Eldorado, California
on July 1st! I'm looking forward to
being a guest blogger on her website July 11th!
