by Megan Lorius, Community Investment Manager

I have the best job at Harlequin. Some days I envy the art directors their time with the hot cover models, but mostly I love what I do. I am the Community Investment Manager at Harlequin, and every day I get to work with the most amazing women in North America through the Harlequin More Than Words program.

The program was established 7 years ago and to-date we’ve honored 32 ordinary women for their extraordinary commitment to their communities, and donated over $300,000 to assist the charities they dedicate their lives to. The women we have honored are hard-working, can-do people, with boundless energy.  And the charitable organizations they contribute their time and energy to, are dedicated to making the world a better place for all of us.

But wait… there’s more! Harlequin More Than Words also provides authors with an opportunity to get involved, and this is what sets the program apart from most corporate giving initiatives. With the help of some our most acclaimed authors, the stories of our award recipients are shared with readers through fiction. In a story inspired by the award recipient, each author – who donates her time and creativity to the program – expresses the ideals of the charity and artfully incorporates the real-life heroine and her charity into the fictional story.

The authors and award recipients from More Than Words, Volume 4 celebrate together.

For over 18 months – from the time a woman and her charity are announced as an award recipient to the release of the book in which she’s honored – I work with the award recipients on a regular basis. I get to hear about their daily triumphs and struggles, their supportive families, and the wonderful people they work with. And often the regular reports keep coming long after the book is out. There are a number of women we’ve honored that I keep in close touch with. Hearing how the charity is evolving and thriving – or these days, unfortunately, I’m hearing how tough it is to raise the essential funds they need to do their work – makes my work life so rewarding. I know that Harlequin’s funding is so appreciated, and the award recipients and their whole network are honored to be highlighted in a book.

I realized while reading the National Women’s Month blog posts, that every day is Women’s Day in my office. As Olga says in her intro to the Women’s Month posts, “we in the romance world celebrate the achievements made by strong, empowered women,” and we don’t just do it in the month of March. Each of us, in our area of the romance world are encouraging, supporting, and contributing to a community of strong, empowered women, each and every day.

I encourage you to take a look at the Harlequin More Than Words Web site, learn about the women we’ve honored and how you might get involved in their charities, and perhaps pick up a copy of More Than Words, Volume 6, or a previous volume.

For my part, I am going to celebrate by committing to a regular blog post. The time for being selfish is over; I have the best job at Harlequin and it’s time to make everyone jealous!  I’m going to share with you the touching anecdotes, heartwarming connections and uplifting achievements of our Harlequin More Than Words award recipients and the fabulous authors that so beautifully bring their stories to life.

To celebrate the release of More Than Words, Volume 6, which features some of Harlequin’s bestselling authors writing short stories inspired by these real-life heroines, I’d like to give away a FREE copy to three randomly chosen commenters on the blog. To win a copy of More Than Words, Volume 6 leave a comment on the blog telling us which charities you like to donate your time or money to from now until 12:00 A.M. Monday, April 5th EST. Contest only open to residents of the US and Canada. Full contest details here.

Editor’s Note: this month is National Women’s Month and starting March 8th, International Women’s Day, we are featuring writers who have shared with us their thoughts on reading romance. Today we’ve asked our editors in New York City (woo, the Big Apple!) to write something. Click here for more blog posts on the subject!

by Mary-Theresa Hussey, Executive Editor, Silhouette

The editor promptly exited the train after snapping this photo.

I read romance on the subway. The subway isn’t the greatest for reading manuscript pages, so it’s with delight I seize on the excuse to read our published books on the subway. I don’t hide the covers and I’m happy when people do an occasional double-take. And if I finish on the subway, I leave the book behind so someone else can enjoy it.

Sometimes you get the people who think I’ve forgotten it (as if!) and try to give it back.

And when I explain I’ve enjoyed it and want someone else to enjoy it, they take a second look at the book. Sometimes I’ve moved to the other end of the car to see if someone will pick it up. I’ll spot guys looking at the cover, moving it around a bit, and then dropping it back. Or women who read the back and then look around, obviously debating about taking it while I quietly, secretly root for them to keep it.

But the people I love—the ones I do this for—are the ones who spot it and grab for the book immediately, smiling. Those moments of instant gratification, that smile, that lightening of spirit, that sheer enjoyment, is why I think romance—and our romance titles—are a strong, empowering, binding force in the lives of women today. They celebrate commitment, reward pain and suffering, and though there might not always be the guarantee of a happy ending, at least there’s hope for it. And these days, that’s something I do wish for everyone.

Editor’s Note: this month is National Women’s Month and starting March 8th, International Women’s Day, we are featuring writers who have shared with us their thoughts on reading romance. Today we’ve asked our editors in New York City (woo, the Big Apple!) to write something. Click here for more blog posts on the subject!

by Stacy Boyd, Editor, Feature & Custom Publishing

Reading romance made me the person I am today.

Just ask my mother.

The other day, she gave my sister, a mother of three, some words of wisdom that were both warning and advice: Monitor your children’s books, because you never know what reading can lead to.

Books, and romance novels, are powerful like that. They can make you see the world in a different way.

Robyn Carr’s medieval romances inspired me to infiltrate the adult section of the library before I was nine. Scarlett and Gone With the Wind made me believe that if I spoke my mind and everyone disagreed with me, it would somehow turn out okay in the end. Reading the Caitlin series gave me a yearning to see New York City, where I now live, and taste cappuccino in a real café, way back before Starbucks. And Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale showed me that loving a man for who he is, instead of accepting who family and neighbors believe him to be, can create the foundation for a 16-years-and-going-strong marriage.

I am thankful every day that my mom taught me to read, took me to the library and let me loose in the stacks. And I’m also thankful she didn’t complain too much when she caught me sneaking around with those clinch covers, letting romance novels have their way with me.

Editor’s Note: this month is National Women’s Month and starting March 8th, International Women’s Day, we are featuring writers who have shared with us their thoughts on reading romance. Today we’ve asked our editors in New York City (woo, the Big Apple!) to write something. Click here for more blog posts on the subject!

by Keyren Gerlach, Associate Editor, Romantic Suspense

Seems like it’s always open season for trashing “trashy” novels. They’ve been called every name in the book: dirty, bawdy, glorified pornography, traditionalistic, irrelevant, silly, predictable and formulaic, etc., etc. ad nauseum. I say the naysayers are completely missing the point—not to mention that they clearly haven’t picked up a romance novel (or perhaps any other book for that matter) in the last 25 years.

Invariably when I meet someone new, the conversation goes like this:

New Person: “So what do you do?”

Me: “I’m a romance novel editor at Harlequin.”

New Person (chuckles smugly): “Have you met Fabio?”

Me: “Um, actually, I think he posed for like two of our covers, so no.”

And that, my friends, is one frustrating stereotype.

What’s being missed here is the work that goes into these books. The pressure on authors and editors to keep them fresh and relevant. Not to mention, THE TALENT. We have incredible authors who write with ferocious wit, humor and pathos. This is not mindless smut, ladies and gentlemen, oh no. It’s entertainment with a head and a heart that feeds the soul.

And therein lies the true value.

Case in point: As a member of a ladies-only book club who happens to be an editor, I’m often called upon to suggest books for our meetings. I happily oblige by recommending Harlequin romance titles, of course, because it’s my chance to use my own little grassroots campaign to win over new readers.  And let me tell you, these discussions are the most spirited (it’s not just the wine, I swear), the most lively, the most uninhibited. We talk about boys (drool over heroes, more like) and sex, love and relationships. It’s cathartic. It’s freeing. And I’ll be damned if it’s not empowering. There, I said it.

Reading a romance novel isn’t just a distraction for distraction’s sake. It’s an experience that can be at once, heartening, inspiring, belly-laugh inducing, hanky drenching, titillating, and yes, when the characters aren’t doing what you want them to, even irritating.

Bestselling author Nora Roberts perhaps sums it up best:

“The books are about the celebration of falling in love and emotion and commitment, and all of those things we really want.”

And if that doesn’t say Girl Power, heck, I don’t know what does.

Editor’s Note: this month is National Women’s Month and starting March 8th, International Women’s Day, we are featuring writers who have shared with us their thoughts on reading romance. Today we’ve asked SB Sarah from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books to share her thoughts. Click here for more blog posts on the subject!

By SB Sarah, blogger for Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and author of Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches Guide to Romance Novels

5. There is no “Only if.”

In the “real world,” which is not always as pleasant as the world of romance novels, there are a slew of conditions attached to any decision a woman makes. But in the world of romance novels, there’s never a condition to your happiness. You can date that amazing man, you can run your own business, you can have children, you can achieve happiness… whenever and however you want. No conditions.

4. Orgasms are important.

Only in romance is women’s sexual satisfaction and fulfillment a requirement to a happily ever after.

3. No guilt. Ever.

Do romance heroines feel endlessly guilty for going after the man they want, for having desire and ambition, for gleefully buying shoes or for deciding that their own happiness is essential? Nope. Neither should we.

2. Reclaim Your Right To Daydream

Romances are often dismissed as fantasy cotton fluff for ignorant women. I call “Hogwash” on the latter part, and “So?” on the former. There are myriad methods for people to relax and immerse themselves in fantasy and creativity, and romances are merely one more, and no better or worse than any other. In fact, with cold reality being so annoying at times recently, escaping into daydreams is necessary and good for you.

1. We Win!

Only in romances do the heroines achieve autonomy, satisfaction, joy, peace, and happy resolution to real and painful problems, consistently and as a matter of course. In short, we win, without guilt, self-recrimination, or avarice. Romances celebrate women, and I can’t think of a more important reason to celebrate romances in return.

Editor’s Note: this month is National Women’s Month and starting March 8th, International Women’s Day, we are featuring writers who have shared with us their thoughts on reading romance. Today we’ve asked Dear Author’s Jane how National Women’s Month pertains to romance novels. Click here for more blog posts on the subject!

By Jane Litte, blogger for Dear Author

International Women’s Day was started in 1911 to celebrate and agitate for women’s equality.  Nearly 100 years later, women have achieved great freedoms: the right to vote, the right to own property, and earn a living wage.  It seems that the next great challenge, beyond getting the right to be paid the same for the same work, is the right to own our sexuality.

I often think that romance books are criticized for being about sex because there is something challenging about a woman as a fully cognizant sexual being.  Take, for example, sex and violence. 

In many mystery and suspense books, there is very graphic violence, usually toward women.  Women are captured in groups and have snakes sent up their legs to violate them.  In Brett Eason Ellis’ book, American Psycho, the protagonist sends a rat through a prostitute’s body and chases after her with a chain saw.  In Karin Slaughter’s Grant County series, Lena Adams is violently raped more than once and in more than one book.

Mysteries and suspense books are considered real literature, worthy of reviews in major newspapers and considered for major awards.   There is very little discussion about the level of violence in these books or the abuse of women that seem to be a central theme and what the readers of those books are seeking.

Yet, women that read books that praise a woman seeking out and having orgasms, seeking pleasure, deriving pleasure are held up for mockery and disdain.  Some of the more erotic romances are called one handed reads, presuming that the stories are a) read for titillation and b) that there might be something wrong with point a.

What can be wrong with a woman reading about other women getting pleasure, both physically and emotionally?  Why is that perverse or dangerous?

I know Victoria Dahl, author of Talk Me Down, gets a lot of flack for writing her “dirty” books but I enjoy the sex positive attitudes of her lead characters.

 

In the 19th Century, women were cautioned not to read, particularly pulp fiction because they were said to be susceptible to the power of fiction.  Some argue that romance readers will generate unrealistic expectations of life, relationships, or love.

I think that if there was more equality in the sexes about sexuality, romance novels would appear to be less dangerous, less provocative.

Today is International Women’s Day.  In fact, it’s National Women’s Month in America!  To celebrate, the Harlequin Blog is going to feature a month of blog posts that reflect on how we in the romance world celebrate the achievements made by strong, empowered women.

I’m kicking the day off with my own reflections, but check back throughout the month to read posts from our editors, fellow bloggers and friends!

I love my man as my fellow; but his scepter, real, or usurped, extends not to me.
—Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)

I studied Mary Wollstonecraft’s treatise on the rights of women in university.  Back then, it was just a mouldy old text written by a poet’s wife (although she did also give birth to one of my favourite writers—Mary Shelley!).  I didn’t give it much thought other than, “Wow, was she ever ahead of her time!”

Now, I see it in the context of my own life and my work.  My favourite romance novels have a touch of Mary’s wisdom in them.  Because, if there is anything I cannot abide, it is a heroine who cannot stand up for herself. You know the one—I like to call her the wet noodle because all she does is flop around!

But it didn’t take Mary’s words to get that; I think I’ve always known in my heart what sort of heroine—real or fiction—I’d relate to.  The obvious indicators came from books and television: I rooted for the Jessica Rabbits, the Elizabeth Bennets…the Bridget Jones’s!  The romantic heroines I have always admired have been fearless and tenacious. And no matter what they might look like, what obstacles are thrown in their way, even in the darkest moments, they have always stayed true to themselves. Critics may deride the message of a romance novel as fantasy, but they’re wrong. We read books that reflect our lives, our characteristics. I’m proud to say that I read romance novels.

The only difference is now I get to help sell these stories.  Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you I always have a suggestion to make if they’re looking for a book; and it often involves a really cool heroine who knows who she is and doesn’t take any guff.

I know that there are countless women’s issues in the world that still need addressing today, but I hope you’ll take a moment and reflect just a little bit on the amount of progress we’ve already made.  Harlequin romance exists because of women who read and write great stories. Without them, where would we get our happily-ever-afters?