Romance, It’s Worth the Read

I close the pages of yet another novel and try to squeeze it into a spot on the romance shelf of my bookcase; there’s not much room anymore. I wonder about all the things I would say to the author if I ever got to meet them, and luckily for me I do.

During September I had the privilege of attending one of Australia’s first large-scale author-signings: Fictionally Yours Melbourne (FYM). Run over two days, 16 and 17 September, FYM brought hundreds of readers together to join an abundance of incredible romance authors at the Crown Convention Centre. FYM was a safe, exciting and judgement-free zone; there you were among readers who appreciated the genre just like you.

Walking through the doors into the venue I was greeted with the loud rumble of voices, eager to line up and get their books signed and have a chat with the authors who had brought them so much happiness. This year’s line-up had authors both self- and traditionally published, well known and emerging, from all around Australia and internationally. I was able to talk to some of my favourite authors — Chantal Fernando, Rachel Brooks and Kylie Scott — and was introduced to many authors I’d never read before.

Romance writing is often criticised more than other genres. It’s said that romance books are all the same. They’re porn for women, full of clichés and bad writing, and often unrealistic. Yes, romance has its conventions — like every other genre. Yes, it follows two people falling in love and overcoming some sort of conflict to reach the happy ending — just as a crime novel follows the detective looking for clues and solving the crime to uncover the murderer at the end. However, just like other genres, romance has a wide range of content, from novels filled with sex to ones that have none. Not all romances are ‘bodice rippers’, but even if they were they’d still be valid.

It is the story that makes each book unique, even if the conventions are the same. Of course some are filled with clichés but please, try and find a book that doesn’t have at least one cliché.

FYM is run by Melbourne writers Penny Rudge and Tina Gephart, who began making their dream a reality in 2013. These two are a couple of powerhouses who worked ridiculously hard to make FYM 2017 a standout. Rudge and Gephart have created an event so fulfilling it makes readers proud to read romance. There is such a huge market for romance in Australia that readers travelled from all states to come to the event.

‘We watched as the Fangirls passes sold instantly, so fast that we thought there was a glitch. ​There wasn’t. Five hours later, all of the tickets were sold,’ Rudge said.

I was surprised myself when they sold out, and felt lucky that I was able to nab two tickets. ‘I cried on the phone to Tina because we had just achieved something never done in Australia before,’ Rudge revealed.

I’ve often received funny, judgemental looks and comments from people who don’t read romance. Though it’s never bothered me, attending FYM made me feel validated in my reading. Being surrounded for two days by like-minded readers and authors who share my passion for romance novels puts into perspective how important and influential these books are. It’s a wonderful experience to be waiting in line at an author’s table and talking to people you’ve never met before, bonding over your love for an author or novel and feeling like they’re not a stranger. Some readers have even met their best friend in those same lines. ‘Seeing those readers lining up out the front was the most incredible feeling. Knowing that ​we were responsible for everyone being there was humbling. We love seeing the smiles and stacks of books,’ says Rudge.

It’s a wonderful feeling when you take your book up to be signed, talking to the author on a really passionate level — nothing compares to it. It gave me a chance to pick their brains and ask for advice about writing and the industry, and every one of them were excited to share with me their experiences and advice. Though it can also get quite overwhelming, being in a room surrounded by women I admire and who are where I want to be, sometimes I didn’t know what to say.

Walking through the venue there was such a variety among the attendees. There were women and men of all ages, people from Melbourne and interstate, bundled up babies, and even a few husbands tagged along to lug around the back-breaking bags of books their partners had brought. I decided to put a poll up on the FYM Facebook group to see what were people’s favourite parts of the weekend: 75% said meeting the authors, 16% said being around other readers, 6% said discovering new authors, 2% said going to the after-party and 1% said getting their books signed.

Rudge and Gephart used their platform not only to bring readers and writers together but to shine a light on a good cause. FYM teamed up with the Melbourne Period Project (MPP), which aims to support women experiencing homelessness by providing them with sanitary products. Through FYM and the generosity of the attendees they managed to donate enough products for the MPP to put together a thousand Period Packs, which will go to help a thousand homeless women. Not only were sanitary products donated, but FYM also raised $3000, and authors donated their signed books to be auctioned off, at a later date.

‘We feel we made some great choices regarding FYM and choosing the MPP as our charity would have to be one of the best. It was such a rewarding feeling seeing Donna’s face when she was given the hundreds of donations and thousands of dollars we raised,’ Rudge said. She put it down to ‘women supporting women’.

Something that has always confused me about the stigma surrounding romance is that it is such a natural thing in our everyday life, and how many people would say that sex plays no role in our relationships? Romance, particularly contemporary romance, may be the genre that is most like our real lives.

You meet someone you like, you date, you have sex, you build the relationship, and there is often a conflict — life isn’t perfect and neither are relationships — and if you’re lucky like a romance novel you’ll get your happy ending.

I hope that there will be a time where the stigma will wear off and more people will appreciate what is so wonderful about the genre and its writers. People sometimes assume that writing romance is easy, but from my own experience, it’s not.

Romance novels have now been such an influential part of my life, and have brought me so much more than I ever expected. They have introduced me to a whole community I never knew existed but can now connect with. I have built relationships with authors who I can call friends and I have learned that there are so many types of romance novels, and that each one appeals to a different part of me — and it reassures me that wanting to write romance is valid and important.

To the people who snub the genre and think these ‘mommy porn’ novels are trashy, here are some to prove to you how great romance novels are.

· Dragons Lair — Chantal Fernando

· Wallbanger — Alice Clayton

· Crossfire — Sylvia Day

· Beautiful Bastard — Christina Lauren

· One True Loves — Taylor Jenkins Reid

· Ugly Love — Colleen Hoover

I always recommend these novels to my friends, even if I know romance is not their preferred genre. I recommend them because they are the ones I love. Like anyone who loves reading, when you find a book you really love you want to share and talk about it with anyone who will listen to you. I will recommend one of these to anyone who I think will get something out of it, whether it be my best friend, sister-in-law or even my mum (even if it’s a raunchy one). One of the great things about romance is there is usually one book that you can relate to your own life. It can be really easy to put yourself in the book and relate to the character, the setting or the conflict, and it can teach you a lot about yourself and your feelings around love and life.

This is a genre you shouldn’t be brushed off because of the stigma — you might get more out of it than you ever expected, and you might be like me and be introduced into a whole community you didn’t even know about.