A Brief Reflection on Why I Write Romance

I’m waist-deep into revising my latest novel, so when I considered what I wanted to blog about this month, I thought about diving into the minutia of drafting, editing or even pitching to literary agents. And while I know that I’ll address those topics at some point, first I want to reflect on the bigger picture of art and its place in the universe.

Any day now, the Supreme Court will release its ruling on Roe v. Wade, and half of the women in the United States will likely lose access to safe, legal abortion. As if that terror wasn’t enough, we’re also reckoning with an onslaught of mass shootings, trying to protect our LGBTQ+ loved ones during Pride Month, and facing yet another brutally hot summer of drought and wildfires.

With so much doom and gloom in the news, why talk about something as "superficial" as romance novels?

When coming up with my answer, I kept returning to what I wrote during my first writers retreat. We were tasked with sharing what’s important to us as readers, writers and human beings, and I found the exercise illuminating because rarely do we dwell on why we do what we do. Why am I so passionate about writing romance, and what good do I believe it brings into this world?

So here’s my unabridged explanation. It’s a brief yet raw and honest look into what I consider to be my purpose on this planet, and I hope it resonates with you.

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Thanks for joining me on this journey. I’m glad to have you in my corner.

What’s Important to Me as a Reader, Writer & Human Being

As I was considering my responses to these three questions, I found myself unable to differentiate my identities as a reader, writer and human being, because they are inextricably intertwined. Because for me, writing is a political act.

Let me back up for just a moment. In ninth grade, my math teacher told me I was a bad Christian for not reading the bible or going to church. In twelfth grade, mean girls called me a slut even though I was still a virgin. And in college, pretentious douchebags with Bukowski fetishes looked down on me for writing romance.

These snapshots tell the origin story of a young woman who was fed up with people telling her that her life was frivolous and shameful. I’ve loved love ever since I was a kid tagging along to my mother’s nail appointments and watching “The Bold and the Beautiful” in the background of her aesthetician’s home. As I grew up, I’d sneak her Redbook magazines to read the sex tips, and I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve read more erotic fanfiction than I can count.

And now that I’ve found my passion in passion, every day I wake up with the mission of creating happily ever afters, and every day I witness the stigma against my beloved genre. Well-meaning friends asking me what my pen name is, as if I shouldn’t want to be associated with my work. Judgmental journalists referring to romance as smut, drivel, bodice-rippers, mommy porn, and entertainment for crazy cat ladies. Even the showrunners of “Bridgerton,” season 2, who stomped out all the steaminess because they called it comical!

As I’ve said before, romance novels without sex is like horror without jump-scares or action-adventure without car chases. It’s a choice, but you didn’t understand the assignment. In a world where women’s rights to their own bodies are being stripped away and most sex depicted on screen these days is rape, writing romance is a revolt. I’m deeply proud of the authors I meet in my genre, because while everyone else sees us as lesser than, I know that this community is one of the most progressive and feminist spaces I’ve been a part of.

What’s most important to me as a reader, writer and human being is that we can all be unabashedly ourselves. So if there’s anything you ought to remember about my personal brand, it’s that I am an ultra-commercial, loud and proud writer of romance who wants to make people happy and hella horny with stories of people finding the love of their lives while fucking all over the place.

And if I’ve at all inspired you to pick up your first romance novel—boy, do I have some recommendations for you!