WHY do I do this to myself?

By: Abigail Sharpe

Giveaway Alert!

WHY do I do this to myself?

Yeah, I know.  Stop looking at the calendar.  Stop being concerned about Amazon contract negotiations.  Stop being nervous every time Google Alerts tells me my name was mentioned SOMEWHERE online.

 

But I can’t.

I can’t because I’m a romance author, and I want to share my joy of the happily ever afters.  I want to create a world where love triumphs over impossible odds, where soul mates exist and no conflict or adversity that can keep them apart.  And I want readers to have fun while experiencing it.

I’m watching the calendar for July 1.  That’s when Who Wants to Marry a Doctor? will be released, and I’ll know if I succeeded.

So why, again, am I doing this to myself?  And it’s not because of the hot guys that grace the covers of our books.

Oh, come on.  I’m not alone in this.  Haven’t you ever wondered what drives an author to write romance?  Something that we read not because we have to, but because we GET to? 

I asked.  And here’s what they had to say.

I write romance because…

I discovered that (while writing romance), I had unknowingly laid out all that I had been teaching in the classroom about heightened senses, the purpose of our lives, destiny, self-empowerment, and the act of loving ourselves and others. Only better. I have found the perfect venue for expression of the full spectrum of human emotions—and the human condition. -- Kathleen Bittner Ross (www.kathleenbittnerroth.com), author of The Seduction of Sarah Marks

In a world where unhappy endings are predominantly highlighted, I choose to focus on love and happily ever afters. -- Donnell Ann Bell (www.donnellannbell.com), author of Betrayed

I'd rather deal with situations that come out well than those that end in despair or heartbreak. -- Beppie Harrison (www.beppieharrison.com), author of The Divided Heart

I want to give readers the same thrill and empowerment of a happy ending that my favorite authors gave me when I was falling in love with romance novels! -- Lizbeth Selvig (www.lizbethselvig.com), 2014 RITA-nominated author of Rescued by a Stranger

I choose to focus on the good in the world, like love. -- Sheila Athens (www.sheilaathens.com), author of The Truth About Love (coming Fall 2014)

I've always been a romantic at heart. I truly believe in love at first sight, soul mates, and happily-ever-afters ... Writing Romance gives me joy, but it's surpassed everything I'd ever imagined. -- Jaye Garland (jayegarland.wordpress.com), author of The 25^th Hour

I want an escape from the trials and troubles of the world - to go to a place that has a happy-ever-after. -- Gina Danna (www.ginadanna.com), author of The Wicked Bargain (coming June 17)

For the guaranteed happy ending and because I got tired of destroying my wall when I threw a book across the room. -- Angi Morgan (www.angimorgan.com), author of The Renegade Rancher

I get to relive the heady rush of falling in love all over again.Ashlyn McNamara (ashlynmacnamara.net), author of What a Lady Craves (coming Aug. 12)

I write romance so I can share the magical journey of how two people meet and discover they have the kind of love that will last a lifetime. -- Selena Fulton (selenafulton.wordpress.com), author of The Crystal Slipper (coming in August)

Love and happiness.  That pretty much sums it up for me.

So now you know our secrets.  Let me in on yours.  Why do you READ romance?

GIVEAWAY  

Who Wants to Marry a Doctor is coming July 1, and what a better way to celebrate than to give something away?  Visit www.facebook.com/AbigailSharpeBooks and click the Giveaway tab to play along.