What’s Romance Got To Do With It?

Romance is the wide brushstroke under which a colorful palette of subgenres lie. Suspense, Paranormal, Historical, Inspirational, Chick-Lit—that’s some of the rainbow. Considering the flexibility of the genre, it’s not surprising that Harlequin’s North American retail group had their strongest year according to Publisher’s Weekly, despite the economy and the news of other publishers biting the dust. It appears that readers want to escape and fall in love. Romance is addicting. Look at all the sequels these authors pump out. Prolific doesn’t begin to describe some of the bestselling authors in this issue. The thing is, most of them don’t even consider themselves “romance writers.”

So what’s romance got to do with it? That’s what we’re going to explore. And it’s not only fiction, we take a look at true confessions, love letters, and memoir. We also ask a variety of authors to share their views on the romance marketplace in our Viewpoint Slam. So get ready to paint the page red, and fall in love with your writing!

A big, warm, thank you goes out to our freelancers and staff members:

A big thank you goes to WOW! columnist Chynna Laird for her truly inspiring interview with Deanna Raybourn! Chynna always seems to ask the questions we all want to know. Find out about blogging, author promotion, and writing historical romance in this fascinating interview!

We welcome back freelancer Suzanne Pitner and delight as she dishes romantic suspense with bestselling author Allison Brennan. Discover how Stephen King helped influence her writing career, and heed her sound writing advice for women.

Another big thank you goes to WOW! columnist Margo L. Dill for bringing us a motivating interview with #1 NY Times Bestselling author Debbie Macomber. Debbie has got to be one of the most prolific authors ever to grace WOW! and we can all learn a great deal from her sound writing advice.

We welcome back freelancer Beth Daniels (a.k.a. Beth Henderson) and thank her for interviewing 13 successful romance authors about the marketplace. These authors tell tales of the long road to becoming published and share their best-kept writing secrets in her article Romancing the Genres (Viewpoint Slam).

And let’s not forget Christian Romance! We welcome freelancer Dana Mentink to the WOW! family and thank her for debunking many of the myths behind the genre in her article, The Secret Life of a Christian Writer.

We also welcome freelancer Christie L. Smith to the WOW! family and thank her for catching up with paranormal romance author Candace Havens. Candy shares some magical tips for staying disciplined, and reveals her biggest misconception about becoming an author!

A big thank you goes to WOW! columnist LuAnn Schindler for reintroducing us to the art of love letters. In this digital age, it’s nice to slow down and enjoy a beautiful handwritten note. LuAnn also chats with author Samara O’Shea who shares her best tips for penning a heartfelt letter.

We welcome freelancer “Susan Rose” and delight in her savory How2. If you’ve ever wondered how true “The Trues” are, or how to break into this market, you’ll love learning How To Sell Your Most Personal Stories. Welcome to the WOW! family, Susan!

A WOW! favorite freelancer, Susan Johnston, brings us an inspirational interview this month with talented memoirist Trish Ryan. If you ever wanted to know how much of your life story to leave in and how much to omit, including names, this interview is for you. Thanks, Susan, for turning this around so quickly! You’re the best.

I’d also like to thank Amy Robertson—our wonderful graphic art intern. She created some of the wonderful headers you’ll see in this issue.

And of course, a big thank you goes to Senior Editor Annette Fix for her attention to detail and expert editing skills.

If you are looking for a freelance editor to polish your manuscript, website content, query letter, or book proposal, Annette now offers editing and development services. You can find out more by visiting www.annettefix.com/editing. She is offering a 10% discount for WOW! subscribers now through the month of April. Just mention WOW! Women On Writing to receive your discount!

Now, on to the issue...enjoy!