In response:

I need to leave for dinner here in a few minutes but I wanted to blog this before I forgot. I came across Jessica’s question while catching up on my blogs while taking a turn at our reception desk.

Now I am the type of person who reads almost anything fiction and non-fiction alike. There was always so much information to learn. I remember reading the large biographies and histories of WWII when I was in middle school. Things didn’t change as I grew up. I don’t remember when I started reading most of the genres that I currently enjoy. But the Romance genre stands out in my memory; probably because of the 'taboo-ness' that was given to the genre. My big sister dubbed them “my trashy slut-whore novels”. No she has never read one and she probably never will. Lol! But I am okay with that. I understand where the bias comes from. But I also reserve the right to enjoy a sweet romance when I want one. Lol!

So in answer to Jessica’s question:

I would love to hear from you about how you found this genre, what led you here, and what has kept your interest for so many years.

I started reading Romance novels in High school. My neighbor had a closet full of Harlequin Historicals. She was also the Bishop’s wife. (For the non-LDS: The Bishop is the leader of the local congregation) I used the justification that if she could read them so could I. I wasn’t shy about it either, though I knew that the books were taboo. My neighbor kept hers hidden in a secret closet in her sewing room, fo heavens sake. But I was 16 and had no shame. I made a deal with my AP history teacher: I would show up to class and take the tests if he didn’t require me to pay attention to his lectures. So I sat in the back of AP history and read my historicals while listening to my headphones. (Yes I passed that class; I never had issues with history).

The happy endings are what keeps me coming back. There is something about knowing that there will always be a happy ending, Sometimes I want the good guy to get the girl, the bad guy to get punished and every one to live happily ever after. I don’t want to have to worry about it whether or not I will be depressed at the end of the book. My usual motto is that if I wanted to depress myself I would watch the news. Why spend my free time depressing myself with fiction novels. Lol! That doesn’t mean I solely read the happy stuff now but I will admit to enjoying it as much if not more then almost anything else.

When I started my own collection I did keep them under my bed. There were young impressionable minds in the house (to be honest I was out of bookshelf space. Lol!). As a adult, there are houses I have lived in where I keep the romance novels in my room instead of with the other authors in the library, out of respect for the others living in the house. Even with that, I usually don’t let the taboo-ness bother me. I read what I want, where I want. Lol! It always makes me smile when I see a woman sitting on the train reading a romance novel.