posted on June 30, 2015 by Bronwen Evans

Readers Make Writing Romance Awesome…

by Bronwen Evans

A Touch of PassionWaving from a very cold and wet New Zealand.  It’s winter here and we have had what we call an unusual cold snap with loads of snow in the South Island. Definitely the kind of weather to stay tucked up inside writing! Or reading!

Last week I braved the elements to be interviewed by a local regional TV station. They contacted me with the line ‘we interview interesting local characters’.  I had to laugh, as I’m not sure I’m that interesting or I’m a character.

I was nervous at first because I was to be interviewed by a woman who introduced herself as a journalist who was a ‘literary writer who had won lots of awards but made no money’. I naturally assumed she’d be derogatory about romance. To my surprise she wasn’t. She was fascinated by how strong the genre was, particularly how loyal the romance readers are.

I had to admit she was right. She wanted to know about the ‘romance community’. She’d heard they were ferocious readers, they loved to talk about the genre, and they were vocal in Facebook communities and places like Goodreads etc.

She asked if romance writers take this support for granted.

I told her no, we are humbled by it. It’s a privilege that readers like my books so much they want to engage with me. For instance, I have a Disgraced Lords Facebook Page (my latest Regency Romance series). The Regency romance six book series has an overarching villain and readers are frantic to work out ‘who dun it?’ They can ask each other questions about the series, get snippets of future stories in the series and find other readers who like the same books.

She asked me why romance readers were so loyal?

I did some research. According to Romance Writers of America (RWA), 64% of fans read more than one romance per month, and romance novels comprise 13% of adult fiction sales. Historical or contemporary, spicy or chaste, romance novels appeal to a broad, devoted base of readers.

I suggested readers were loyal because love is such a strong emotion.  The fact that you know you will get a Happy Ever After ending is a draw card. There is so much Yuk in this world; it’s nice to escape sometimes. They fall in love with our characters and that is why series romance works so well. You enter another world with people you like, even love and you want to share time with.

Romance is ‘pleasure’ reading and it’s addictive. I for one love reading romance and I’m proud to say I’m a romance writer.

Are you a loyal reader? Do you have authors who are auto-buys? Do you “glom” when you discover a wonderful new author?

My latest Disgraced Lords book is A TOUCH OF PASSION #3. If you like a bit of suspense in your historical romance check out the series.

A TOUCH OF PASSION can be purchased in eBook format for/from:

and also from: Amazon Canada / Amazon UK / Amazon Australia / Amazon Germany

Bron_300x421-2USA Today Bestselling author, Bronwen Evans (Bron), loves story-telling – gobbling up movies, reading books and attending the theater. Her head is always filled with characters and stories, particularly lovers in angst. Is it any wonder she’s a proud romance writer.

It was while living and working in London she discovered the offices of Mills & Boon and the germ of an idea to embark on a romance writing career was born.

Bron’s first contemporary, The Reluctant Wife, also won the RomCon Readers Crown, Best Short Contemporary 2013. Her first book in her Disgraced Lords series hit the USA Today bestsellers list and she has hit it several times since.

She lives in New Zealand in sunny Hawkes Bay with her Cavoodle named Brandy.

Bronwen Evans

Bronwen Evans

USA Today bestselling author, Bronwen Evans grew up loving books. She writes both historical and contemporary sexy romances for the modern woman who likes intelligent, spirited heroines, and compassionate alpha heroes. Evans is a three-time winner of the RomCon Readers' Crown and has been nominated for an RT Reviewers' Choice Award. She lives in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand with her dogs Brandy and Duke. You can keep up with Bronwen's news by visiting her website www.bronwenevans.com

https://www.bronwenevans.com

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