I vividly remember reading my first Harlequin Romance novel. It was at summer camp in 1972. The title and the author escape me now, but it was a Christmas story, set in a big old house, where the hero was stranded by a snow storm with the heroine’s family. At twelve years old, I thought it was the greatest story I’d ever read. You can imagine my delight when I found out there were more!

For nearly a decade, I delved into the genre, reading short books, long books, contemporaries, getting caught up in the heyday of historicals when Kathleen Woodiwiss set her readership on fire. I remember an early Loveswept by a new author named Iris Johansen. It was called TEMPEST AT SEA, Loveswept #17. With a stowaway heroine, a trip to Mexico, a cockfight and an original hard-assed hero, Ms. Johansen was clearly ahead of her time.

It wasn’t until I went to college that I found out I wasn’t suppose to like “those books.” I dutifully switched to other genres, both popular fiction and literary. But something was always missing. Maybe it was just me, but the other novels read just like romance novels, but without the romance.

I switched back, happily discovering such authors as Susan Elizabeth Phillips, LaVyrle Spencer and Elizabeth Lowell. I discovered I was right. Romance novels are exactly like other novels, but they have a great romance story to go along with the regular plot. Anybody out there read THE DIAMOND TIGER? I think I read it three times–mystery, intrigue, betrayal and action across three continents. Kudos to Elizabeth Lowell.

Excited and enthusiastic, I started writing my own romance stories. But after a few years, and a few manuscripts, I’d pretty much given up on being able to sell. But then I picked up a book called ANNIE’S WILD RIDE by Alina Adams. What a wild ride it was! The dialogue, the raw conflicts, the danger, the emotion. This was exactly what I wanted to write.

I quite literally finished the last page, put down the book and crossed the room to my word processor. There I wrote the first line of the first page of chapter one of a story called AFTER THE KISS. It won the Golden Heart and started what would turn out to be my own professional writing career.

So, a big thank you to romance authors past and present for the joy and inspiration you’ve given me and so many others. Many years after summer camp, I still adore the genre. I now looked forward to releases from such great contemporary authors as Jennifer Crusie, Janet Evanovich and, as always, Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Barbara