Being a realist sucks...

Sometimes being a realist really sucks. A few months ago my mother decided we should all buy an old hotel in the Catskills and live together, each family getting their own floor and share the kitchen and dining room. This is a fantasy my mother, sister and aunt embraced with open arms, "what a great idea." And I looked at them like they were from a different planet. They were all shocked when I started to point out the flaws in their plan. They've shelved that idea for now, but I'm sure one of them will come up with something else soon.

I've come to the conclusion that just maybe the romance reading, writing and publishing world all live on a different planet too. I've been blogging for about a month now, daily I pop from board to board to see what others are reading and thinking. And, some of the things I see leave me scratching my head.

Alpha, beta and omega heros, heroines that can or can't be related to, story lines that are or aren't "realistic", plot devices that are "predictable." Yada, yada, yada...

For crying out loud, we're reading about everything from spys to vampires, governess' becoming duchess', and people traveling through time to find "true love". The whole damn thing is fantasy.

Do any of us really relate to the spy, vampire, duchess, or time traveler?

Does any of this really matter if the quality of the writing stinks? Isn't it the writing that pulls us into or out of a book?

The writer needs to convince me that spys live next door, vampires are real, a governess can become a duchess and people really can travel through time to find true love.

We hyper analyze everything to death (myself included), but none of this matters. What matters is whether or not the author is good enough to make me believe in her vision or fantasy. And, when that happens--WOW, it's a "keeper".

I'm off my soap box.

Have a great day, happy reading.