Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance (New Cultural Studies Series)

Product Description

Romance readers and writers will find this collection of essays by some of the most popular romance novelists writing today unique and fascinating. For the first time, these authors explain why romance is so popular, reveal why they write in this genre, explore the unheralded benefits of reading and writing romances and much more.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #93621 in Books
Published on: 1992-12-19
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
204 pages
Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Why read 'em? Why write 'em? Some of us may scoff at romance novels, yet they make up 35-40% of mass market paperbacks. They have a language and a genre all their own that non-readers don't (or won't) understand. This series of essays by popular romance novelists explores the unique qualities and purpose of romance novels.

From Publishers Weekly
In 22 essays, romance novelists address why romances are popular. These authors are convincing when they simply write what they think, as when Sandra Brown flatly asserts that romances "are fun--fun to write, fun to read, fun to dissect and discuss." Some more complex arguments, which invite closer scrutiny of their logic, don't always fare as well. For example, Linda Barlow and Jayne Ann Krentz maintain that "outsiders tend to be unable to interpret" the language, images and symbols that recur, but only a few pages later they claim that such "codes" are "universally recognized by women." When disjunctions arise from the arguments of different authors, however, they can be intriguing: Elizabeth Lowell says of romance heroes that "at core, they are decent"; Anne Stuart maintains that her heroes are men "whose sense of honor and decency is almost nonexistent." There are hints of how interesting these authors could have been, had they not been tied to the book's fairly defensive theme. Notable are Kathleen Gilles Seidel's comments on the nature of romance (prompted by her judging a Valentine's Day essay contest) and her suggestion that information theory might offer useful insights on repetitive reading of romances. Krentz is a bestselling romance novelist who also publishes under the pseudonym Amanda Quick (see Fiction Originals).
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Customer Reviews

Major Mark recommended book
I picked up this book as research for understanding the type of language women respond to. As referenced in this book, Romance Novels account for about 50% of total book sales. This means that from a mans perspective, something in this genre is resonating with with the Venus gender and if nothing else we should see what language patterns are of worth.

I definitely noticed the interesting wrapping of words in descriptions. Where a simple minded man would say "I love you", the romance novelists would say "There exists this deep yearning from the core of my being to express to you the intense warmth and tender feelings of never-ending love I have developed in this beautiful journey we have shared together." And that would be the romantic hero saying this.

I also liked the one explanation where a novelist confessed that she would love to have a romantic fling with the type of man she would never want a permanent relationship with. hmmmmmm, what age old non PC phrase would describe the winner of such attention?

From an informative stand point I did enjoy some of the insight gained from this book. It was repetitive enough to drill the point home, and as an excercise in research was worth the time and money spent.

great resource
This is by and for romance authors. Though there is some repetition, it is nice to get a published author's take on why the romance genre is so popular. Recommended for anyone who wants to know the whys, rather than the hows of the genre.

It's a start...
I enjoyed reading this collection of essays exploring the themes, types, symbols, and (most of all) the appeal of romance novels. In a time when cultural studies is turning its attention on sit-coms and daytime television, should we ignore what romance writing has to teach us about our selves and our culture? I think not. I didn't find definitave answers here--no gospel of women's fiction--but there are a plethora of perspectives. I was challenged to evaluate how and why I read to see if my experience matched up with the authors'. It is a bit of an apologetic...I guess many of the people who read and write romance novels (like myself) are well-adjusted and well-educated people, and we wonder why we're so attracted to books commonly described as "trashy." It probably won't convince any "outsiders" (as the earlier review said) of the value of romance writing, but if you love romance and you don't know why, give this book a try.