Current Project: Leg Shaving Leads to Trouble
Status: Rewrites
On Saturday I attended the annual Reader's Luncheon hosted by the Rose City Romance Writers, Portland RWA chapter. I attended once a few years ago and was very inspired by a speech by Sherrilyn Kenyon, the keynote. That happened again this year. Lucy Monroe was the keynote speaker and she was fantastic.
She talked about how romance novels impact our lives. She told stories of how readers have written her to thank her for writing about sensitive topics that most people won't discuss or shed light on. She shared how reading and writing romance has kept her marriage strong. How someone going through a hard time in a relationship can read a romance and learn to appreciate what they have.
I found the talk inspiring just to hear what an impact our work can have on people. And on such a large scale that we don't think about. Yeah, we've all heard the numbers on how big romance sales are. But to hear the individual stories of how one novel, one character can impact a life, change a perspective? Well, it makes you want to keep on trucking. Right?
Do you have a story of how either, as a reader a book impacted you, or as an author how your story helped someone else?
4 comments:
No specific story, but I echo what you said. Lucy was very inspring, and the luncheon was a huge hit. It was my first one, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I liked the stats on how male readership of romance novels is increasing. Yay to those men who read romance!!!
I do have a story!
I received a letter a few years ago from a woman who had just gone through a messy divorce. She had just read Trouble in a White Dress, my Kensington release about a bride who walks away on her wedding day when she discovers her husband-to-be is unfaithful.
This reader told me stayed up all night reading the book, that it made her laugh and cry and acted as a sort of catharsis for the heartbreak she'd been trying to hide and that when the new love in the heroine's life acted like a jerk, she just wanted to wring his neck. She loved the happy ending, she said she would never forget the book and I have never forgotten her beautiful letter.
sigh...
Another vote with Lisa about the Readers' Luncheon--Lucy was wonderful and very inspiring! I've been to quite a few of the luncheons and always enjoy myself.
What a cool story, Alice! Those kind of letters from readers really stay with you.
I got an e-mail from a woman thanking me for having the courage to write FEATHERS ON THE FLOOR, in which the heroine deals with the effects of domestic violence not just for herself but for her children and those close to her. Although the reader didn't say specifically, I definitely got the impression that abuse had impacted her life.
As Lucy said, our stories do impact the lives of others. Very touching and humbling.
So far no one has said one of my books changed their life or helped them deal with something.
Alice and Genene, those are both tributes to how well you handled the stories.
The luncheon was good and Lucy did a great job of speaking!
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