Kind eReader,

Romance writing was a little different back in 1850, and things were certainly different for romance fiction fans.  This point was brought home to me this past week in a most remarkable way.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered one of the earliest writers of romance fiction.  You may not have read his famous novel The Scarlet Letter, but you’re probably familiar enough with the plot to understand why it qualifies as romance even by the way we define that genre today.  However, in 1850 there was no popular conception of the genre “romance fiction,” no one who called herself a “romance reader.” There was no Harlequin, no Romantic Times BOOKclub, no big box bookstores with romance aisles, certainly no inkling of a future that would include Amazon, ebook readers, and eCataromance.

And what 19th century fan of authors like Austen, Bronte, Hawthorne and Poe could have possibly imagined what transpired this week?

So, what transpired this week?  Let me tell you.  It seems Mr. Hawthorne and I have more in common than the fact that his most popular work is titled The Scarlet Letter and mine is titled The Scarlet Shackle.  More in common at least in the mind of one person….

Recently a young man studying for his Masters degree at the University of Texas was given the assignment to write a research paper on the evolution of romance fiction.  He planned to compare an early work of romance, “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, with my story “The Dark Prince,” and trace the development of the genre from one work to the other.

Having earned a bachelors degree in English, I was overcome with amazement that someone was thus treating my story as worthy of literary analysis.  Well, it seems the young man’s wife is a big fan of mine and recommended it to him, bless her. 

So he set out to work on his research, and as part of that process, visited my website, read my background and philosophy, and obtained my email address.  He emailed me with questions for his paper.  I replied a few hours later at some length (there is danger in asking an author to discuss her writing style!). 

This fellow was very surprised and pleased to hear from me so soon.  From my perspective it was no big deal; I always answer reader mail within a day if I possibly can.  But I can understand why he reacted as he did.  I’m no Hawthorne, but I’m still a published author, and it’s quite amazing that technology puts [in my case Z-List] celebrities literally at our fingertips.

I remember writing a paper on the children’s author Maurice Sendak in 1976.  He was a big hero of mine.  What a boon it would have been if Sendak had had something called a “website” back then where I might have learned more about him; or if there had been that nifty tool called Wikipedia.  And imagine if I had been able to ask the man some questions for my project!  But in 1976 it was nearly impossible to find a way to reach an author, even by snail mail, much less something so efficient as email.  And the time required for a celebrity to respond to such inquiries made it understandably prohibitive.

But not so for my grad student friend.  How wonderful too for me that I could contribute directly to the discourse analyzing my writing style as well as share my reflections on the Romantic movement throughout history.

In 1850 authors were utterly out of reach to most of their fans, but today we are all as close as the nearest keyboard.  How fantastic it is that the exchange of ideas and the love of writing and reading can occur so easily.  I picture myself trying to explain to Nathaniel Hawthorne how I wrote my novel Bloodchained with the help of readers across the U.S. and around the world.  I can see the poor fellow squinting in incomprehension.

Imagine what he might think of The Scarlet Shackle, a novella that is published “online” and available to be read by anyone anywhere with a computer, anytime of day or night! 

Well, things have changed, and I for one love being a romance author in 2008.

eRead on,

Diana

Diana Laurence“>Diana Laurence is the author of the Soulful Sex anthologies of erotic romance fiction, and released her latest book Bloodchained in September 2007. Diana’s works are published by Living Beyond Reality Press. Visit her at www.dianalaurence.com or enjoy her blog at www.eroticawithsoul.blogspot.com.

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