I love romance novels. They’re my favorite type of book. It angers me that they get so little respect in the literary community and are the constant butt of jokes. Especially considering romance is the genre that makes the most money.

So how did I first fall for romances? Let’s go back in time to 1996…

I’d always been a voracious reader but by the time I was 12, I was deeply into YA/teen books. I especially loved any romance plotlines, though I always found myself a little disappointed when the characters would just kiss and sex was not mentioned.

Then, I began sixth grade and made a new friend, Kathryn. One day, she invited me over to her house, and, as usual, our discussion turned to books because we both loved to read. She told me to hold on a second and returned to her room with a small, thin white book with a red banner at the top. It was a Harlequin Presents romance novel. Apparently her mom had a bookshelf full of them. She giggled and told me these books had SEX scenes. I was scandalized but intrigued. She opened the book to a sex scene and I read it, appalled yet fascinated (what can I say, I was 12).

From that moment on, I was hooked. Kathryn let me take a couple of her mom’s books home and I read them all during the next few days. Wanting a bigger selection, I went to the library with my mom and headed straight for the romance section, a part of the library I’d never visited before. I quickly grabbed as many Harlequin Presents as my arms could hold. Soon, I moved on to “regular” romance novels, starting with classic authors like Nora Roberts and Jane Feather.

For the next 10 years, I read all romance all the time. Which is probably why I eventually grew tired of the genre. I found myself going into the library but not feeling very excited as I stepped into the romance section. When I read the plot summaries on the back of books, I didn’t want to slip them into my bag. I was over happily-ever-afters. I needed a break.

So I took one. A long one. I read non-fiction and literary fiction. But I eschewed romance novels. And I really didn’t miss them that much. Although I did notice that I’d get very into love stories in literary fiction and be pissed/sad when the sex scenes would suck and the book would end with one of the couple dying or the couple having to be apart for stupid reasons (then I would think about how that never happened in romance novels).

Finally, one day four years ago, I was at the library and a librarian had faced a romance novel cover out. This cover caught my eye and I picked it up. Read the plot summary on the back. Decided it sounded good. And I slipped the book in my bag. When I got home, I read it. And I loved it. I’ve been reading romance novels again ever since. But I also read a lot of non-fiction and other kinds of fiction so I don’t get burned out just reading romances.

I think it also helps that I write romances now, and reading them helps make me a better writer. I can’t imagine ever quitting romance novels again, especially now with so many different sub-genres out there.