For Nicole Cliffe and Jasmine Guillory, it was love at first tweet. The Slate columnist and the romance novelist bonded over a love of the royals and similar social media sensibilities. Over time, their friendship progressed along a very 2019 trajectory—they went from Twitter DMs to text. Along with another friend, Samantha Powell, they formed…
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But just because it’s a romance novel, it doesn’t need to be sexy all the time. That’s just not life. Usually contemporary romance is about a relationship in the midst of someone’s life, with characters who work, etc. So you follow the story. If there’s bubbly flirting going on, then that’s one kind of energy.…
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Romance is a billion-dollar industry. In 2016 these novels made up 23% of the overall fiction market, and they consistently out-perform all other genres. But while we’ve reclaimed the rom-com in film, these books are still often relegated to being “guilty pleasures” or considered “mommy porn.” This week we’re discussing these overlooked, often powerfully feminist…
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What’s the most surprising place you’ve hooked up with someone? My apartment. But it was a loft, and my dad was sleeping around the corner. If you want to consider it gross, that’s fine. It also ultimately proved worthwhile—but some people would definitely find that gross. Fill in the blank: “I love when my partner…”__…
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“I stole my first romance novel from my mom. She saw me reading it and freaked out, because nobody should have to explain an orgasm to a five-year-old,” remembers Seattle-based author Olivia Waite. Decades later, her interest hasn’t faded. Waite is one of around 1,900 people in attendance at the Romance Writers of America conference…
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As far as we’re concerned, romance novels are fun to read during any season, but there’s something about summer that makes them even more appealing. Maybe it’s the hot weather, or the fact that everyone’s wearing bathing suits. Who knows? The only thing for certain is that when the temperature rises, so does our desire…
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