I’ve always had a suspicion that romance novels are actually underground feminist literature. After all, the writers are women, the readers are women – even the editors at Big Six publishers are women, as are the vast majority of e-publishers.

And romance is the 800 pound gorilla of the book market. As Marla Bustillos notes in her article at the Awl.com, “romance is by far the most popular and lucrative genre in American publishing, with over $1.35 billion in revenues estimated in 2010. That is a little less than twice the size of the mystery genre, almost exactly twice that of science fiction/fantasy, and nearly three times the size of the market for classic/literary fiction, according to Simba Information data published at the Romance Writers of America website.”

(This is a great article, by the way. She seemed to view romance the same way I always have. Which is what inspired me to write this blog.)

Yet despite the undeniable popularity of romance, everybody absolutely SNEERS at the genre. Why? That’s simple….

Read the rest of Angela’s though provoking post at her blog Knight Errant. Enjoy!

An article in Publishers Weekly titled “The Forever Clinch” started the discussion going on over at Smart Bitches. The majority of readers seem to hate them (at least the old school style clinches) but there are a few die-hards who will have their clinches pried from their cold dead hands. Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em a great alternative is to cover them up with a book cover. If you’d rather not inflict them on yourself (or others) and avoid the smirks, grab a stylish Hide-a-Book cover. Because if the publishers have anything to say about it, the clinch is here to stay baby.
Join the conversation:

Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books: Publishers Weekly on Cover Clinches

Jezebel.com: Romance Novel Readers Love the Clinch