Author Panel: Why We Write Romance

Greetings and salutations and welcome to the second annual Indie e-Con!

I apologize if things are a bit disorganized today, I managed to dehydrate myself on Saturday, and that, coupled with getting less sleep than I should lately and my dad deciding last minute yesterday that he wanted me to come in with him to work ... my brain has been a mess and I've not gotten as much done in advance as I'd wanted to. I still have to set up the voting form for the book awards, so hopefully that will be here by tonight, as well as two very special forms that YOU guys can use to earn points towards prizes. More on that in a moment.

Anywho, starting NOW, a word war begins. Everyone pull out your writing utensils, mark your place, and start writing. If you're on Facebook, watch the main event page as Faith Blum and Jenelle Schmidt will both be popping in and out with word sprints that you guys can join in on! The person who writes the most words this week will get an awesome prize.

Another person getting an awesome prize is the person who leaves the most comments through all of the blog posts posted during Indie e-Con, both on this blog and on the blogs of all of our lovely authors! So get commenting! Don't miss a post! (And, yes, this does include the Scavenger Hunt posts that went around on Saturday. It does NOT include any of Facebook Posts).

Then we have two giveaways that will be random drawing. The first will be earned by writing reviews. Any book review you post THIS WEEK for any book by an Indie e-Con author to Goodreads or to a blog is worth a point. (However, while I do encourage you to also post your review to Amazon, due to Amazon review policy, I can't bribe you into posting there. Just to Goodreads.) I will have a form for you guys by tonight to provide me links to your reviews.

The other giveaway is for sharing. Share these posts via Pinterest, twitter, FB, whatever else you can figure out, and, again, I will have a form for you to provide the permalinks to your shares. (And, to find the permalink, it's usually in the post as the time when you posted it). This one's a bit different from the rest of the giveaways. For while the others all have one prize that I already have 90% set in stone, this one is going to be how I use up all of the leftover prizes when I'm done with those. I'll draw one name at a time until I use up all of the prizes. I don't know how many how many prizes there will be, when all is said and done, but a set of all three Bookanias will be on offer. :)

Now, onto Romance!

Love is what makes the world go 'round.

So it's no wonder that Romance is possibly the most prolific genre, (mainstream, not necessarily among the army of authors that I have amassed), and even when it's not the main focus of a novel, you're almost certain to find it as a subplot.

I used to hate the genre, but then I started reading more and more awesome romances, and now ... well, is it cliche to say that I'm in love? ;) It's not my favorite genre, but I have soooooo many adorbale couples that I ship so hard.

Now, I'm turning it over to Rachel Rossano, who was the only one who provided an answer for today's panel.

Rachel Rossano:
I am fascinated with how the Lord uses marriage to reflect the relationship between Christ and the Church. God created marriage for us. It is an institution meant to benefit those involved and glorify Him in its implementation. I enjoy writing about the process of two individuals growing together and through it examining the concept of unconditional love, the different processes of romantic decision making, and our innate need to belong.

With my writing, I also hope to encourage others to healthier relationships (not just romantic ones) by demonstrating both toxic and constructive interactions through narrative. By exploring the fruits of the spirit and the virtues that please the Lord, I encourage others to strive for them. When I work with my characters through the difficulties of trials and the struggle to do right in the face of adversity, I strive to offer encouragement and hope that tribulations are worth the pain.

We are programmed by God to seek companionship and belonging. It is important to build healthy God-honoring relationships. By exploring these kinds of relationships on the page, I am hoping to glorify the Lord and encourage my readers. Oh, and I love writing romance.
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Rachel is available for questions, so ask away.

Also, what is your favorite thing about romance?