Kind eReader,

If  you’re like me, you use the amazing online encyclopedia Wikipedia at least three times a day.  That thing rules.  Meanwhile, there are “wikis”–websites of ever-growing data contributed by volunteers–on all kinds of subjects from TV shows to hobbies.  And clueless me, I didn’t realize until a few weeks ago that there is…wait for it…a RomanceWiki!

In fact, there has been since Valentine’s Day 2006.  www.romancewiki.com is the brainchild of aspiring author and romance lover Kassia Krozser and her husband.  Since then a team of contributors has been working hard to expand the site, assisted by all kinds of readers and authors, for anyone who sets up an account can contribute.  Says RomanceWiki’s history page, “Never before has there been a single resource to combine the various elements of the genre: authors, books, publishers, awards, reviews, influences, and connections. In addition to building the history of romance novels, RomanceWiki provides resources for journalists, authors, and readers.”

As of this writing the site contains over 15,000 pages.  RomanceWiki has passed the 1.5 million page view mark.  In other words, it’s a fantastic place for information on the romance genre to be shared by those who love it most.

And why will you love visiting RomanceWiki?  Well, the wiki format is just so fantastic for learning.  You can, of course, do a simple search to find what you’re looking for.  Or you can browse by topic, which is great for finding new books or authors in subgenres you enjoy…kind of like a cyberlibrary where things are arranged by subject.  Or by author, at all at the same time!

The wiki format also includes a lot of interlinking, making it easy to explore.  For example, were you to visit my own page at www.romancewiki.com/Diana_Laurence, and be intrigued by the mention of my free ebooks, you could click via the hot link on LBR Press READ FREE Project to the page that tells all about those books in detail.  And from there you could click on the category link at the bottom for Free Fiction to find what other authors are offering in free reads.  You get the picture.

To my mind, the subject category feature is especially awesome.  If you really get into a particular kind of romance, maybe vampires or hypnotists or soldiers, it’s easy to find titles out there to try.  Then you can click through to individual book pages, read a synopsis and reviews, click through to an excerpt, even click through to the buy page on Amazon.  Talk about easy shopping–it’s way better than a bookstore!

Mad props to Kassia and company for conceiving RomanceWiki, and for all their hard work to create and maintain it.  It’s not easy figuring out a good way to organize so much information, but they’ve made RW logical and easy to use, both for visitors and contributors.

And why not be a part of the project?  Make sure your favorite author and books are included and if not, considering signing up to post information.  Together romance fans can make RomanceWiki an ever-growing, ever-improving, wonderful hangout for the lovers of this genre.

Makes me consider creating an Erotica with Soul Wiki.  Just kidding!  My books have found the perfect home already on RomanceWiki.  I’m just glad I discovered it and wanted to make sure you knew about it too.

eRead on,

Diana

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

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