So the super secret shadow side of being a writer is that we, meaning me, are eternally behind on our reading. Alas, it is so. By reading, I mean not just all the great books piling up on our night stands or now our e-readers, but also industry publications including the ever-popular genre fic review magazine, RT BOOK Reviews.
And so even though September is still more than a week away, my RT BOOK Reviews September issue has been in my hot little hands for three weeks now. Unread. ((Pausing to hang head in shame)).
In the spirit of “better late than never,” I just cracked open the mag and found my own self included in staffer Audrey Goodson’s wonderfully informative article on the pop culture resurgence of fairy tales, “Still Happily Ever After,” RT BOOK Reviews, pp-10-12.
Author Hope Tarr believes that fairy tales endure “because they are so wonderfully helpful.” Tarr, who says she “grew up breathing, eating and dreaming fairy tales,” is currently working on a contemporary Cinderella-themed series that will be released by Entangled, beginning with OPERATION CINDERELLA in October. “Fairy tales teach us that we cannot only improve our lives but create the lives we want,” she adds. “The protagonists in fairy tales are sometimes flawed, but they’re also bold and brave and strong. Cinderella could have skipped the ball and cowered at home, only she didn’t. When her breakout chance comes, when her fairy godmother arrives, she seizes her ‘Cinderella Moment’ and ventures into that scary, glittering larger world that the ball represents.”
While it’s always lovely to be quoted, or at least usually so, this one is super special. For years now, I’ve been signing off on blogs and literally signing my books with “Wishing you fairy tale dreams come true…”
Thanks to Audrey and to RT for decades of making HEA dreams come-true for romance readers and authors!
Hope
My personal evening’s highlight came from one lady in the audience who counseled us not to defend, explain, or apologize for the romance novels we love to read and write.  “When someone questions me about why I read romance novels, I look them in the eye and say, ‘Because I love them, and I’m probably going to buy $100 more next month.’” Huzzah!