tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32864421.post5150718868174867594..comments2023-09-22T01:48:35.651-06:00Comments on alphabetgame.blogspot.com: Sexist Me (Still not the mammoth post)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461864441036590820noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32864421.post-20636602494995367092011-01-08T03:09:24.582-07:002011-01-08T03:09:24.582-07:00Hi,
I begin on internet with a directoryHi, <br /> <br /> I begin on internet with a directoryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32864421.post-91041374865678004702008-12-05T03:18:00.000-07:002008-12-05T03:18:00.000-07:00I was very sorry to read that you look down on wom...I was very sorry to read that you look down on women who read and enjoy romance novels and therefore mosre than likely women who wrtie them (NB Because you referenced my book Taken by the Viking, I ended up finding your blog on my google alert. Given the problems with piracy these days, they are necessary for all authors.) <BR/>Yes, Taken by the Viking is escapist literature written for a mainly female audience, but there is nothing wrong with that. Why shouldn't you have fun when you are reading a history book for pleasure? I hate the idea that somehow leisure time reading should be worthy. Or that the only escapist book worth reading must be male focussed.<BR/> The whole point of the romance novel is escaping into a good story. Somehow it seems very puritanical and condescending to imply this is wrong.<BR/>The Romance novel genre is mainly run by women for women. It is the largest genre of publishing in the US with $1.375 billion in sales in 2007 compared to religion ($819 million)or sci fi/fantasy ($700 million) -- source Simba Information. In the UK where I am based, Mills & Boon (the UK arm of Harlequin) sell the equivalent of one book every three seconds and is celebrating its centenary this year. On the publishing side, the female publisher of Harlequin Enterprises is one of the most powerful businesswomen in North America. The editor who worked on Taken has a phd from Oxford and chose to go into women's fiction publishing rather than staying in the rarified world of academia. <BR/> Romance novels are enjoyed by university lecturers and housewives, entrepreneurs and shopworkers -- studies have shown that women who read romance novels tend to read more of everything else as well. Benezir Bhutto was a fan of romance novels. <BR/>They are women's way of escaping and taking contol of the type of fantasy they enjoy. They are written for today's women, rather than the women of a bygone era -- even the historical romance hold a dark mirror up to today's society. Ultimately they are all about enpowering women to make choices, rather than accepting the status quo. The heroines are aspirational...including Viking set romances. And although they are easy to read and hopefully a page turner, they are quite complicated and complex to write.<BR/>Personally I prefer the romance genre to the male dominated and domineering world of the traditional sci fi/fantasy novel but that is me. Perhaps because the romance genre is so wide, you have not discovered an author that you like. If you contact me via my website, www.michellestyles.co.uk, maybe I could suggest some romance authors who would be better suited to your taste. <BR/>FWIW<BR/>Michelle StylesMichelle Styleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03400990189443593076noreply@blogger.com