Why I Write Romance... by Linda Warren

“Why do you write romance?” I’ve been asked that question a few times lately and I thought I'd answer it here. And I needed a blog post.

I never planned on being a writer. Every since I was a little girl I wanted to be a nurse. In high school I was a member of The Future Nurse’s of America and I worked as a nurse’s aide, after school and in the summers, through the program. My goal was set and I went to college to accomplish it. I never saw my life any other way. In college my life changed dramatically. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I was too young to realize the drastic changes that were to come in the years ahead. When the pain wouldn’t go away and my joints began to swell, I sank into depression.

A friend brought me a box of Harlequin books. I was hooked. Whatever I was going through, I could open a Harlequin and lose myself in happy ever after. They saved my sanity. The books didn’t take away the pain, but they made me feel better, made me believe in love and happiness. And they were more effective than anti-depressants.

With the nursing dream gone, I regrouped, took art classes, painted for a lot of years and read my little heart out. When the oils and turpentine made my eyes red and itchy, I had to stop. Just for a while was my plan. To keep me out of that depression minefield my husband and dad encouraged me to write one of those books I was always reading. I thought they were crazy. I’d read so many books though and an idea had been buzzing in my head. I sat down and studied several books I liked. How many chapters? How many words to a chapter and so on. Then I wrote down what was happening in each chapter and saw how the story unfolded. I paid close attention to the writing, dialogue and inner thoughts.

After that, I created my own characters and plot and wrote it down in a spiral notebook. I then did my chapters and wrote in about two sentences what was going to happen in each chapter. I had sort of a road map and I started to write. I filled about ten notebooks. I had no clue what I was doing and I knew it was worthless, but I enjoyed the process. That surprised me. I worked on those notebooks, editing and polishing, for about a year, and then typed the story and sent it off. Six months later I got a big rejection letter with suggestions on how to improve the story. I rewrote it. And rewrote it. Got about five rejections on the same manuscript. I was ready to give up. But I was hooked. I kept writing. And writing. And learning the craft. I never went back to painting.

Figuring the first book was a learning step, I decided to move on with another story. But what? I saw an article in the paper about a baby who was left on someone’s doorstep. No one knew where the baby had come from or why it was left at that house. My mind went into overdrive. I had my story. Took about a year to write and get into shape to submit. The book stayed with Intrigue for about two years with many rewrites. After all the rewrites, it was too long for an Intrigue so I was asked to send it to Super Romance. Six months later Paula Eykelhof bought it. Yes!! Now that’s a good feeling. It became The Truth About Jane Doe, my first book.

So why do I write romance? To give that special feel-good gift to others who are feeling down or out of sorts with the world. It’s escapism, yes. But with hope. We all need hope in our lives. When someone reads one of my books and they close that last page, I hope they sigh and feel that moment of hope that there is real love. Some of us will find it. Some of us will not. But we all keep dreaming. That’s romance.

That first book I rewrote so many times I finally sold. It became my tenth book and first for Harlequin American, The Christmas Cradle. There’s always hope. And, yes, I had to rewrite it.

So why do you read romances? Or write them? Or aspire to write them?

Don’t forget the free online read at http://www.eharlequin.com/ near the bottom, The Cowboy Next Door. Comments here http://tinyurl.com/64kpllx

I’m giving away a copy of the duo release with Deb Salonen, Cowboy at the Crossroads, That Cowboy’s Kids.