Tag Archives: Selena Laurence

Guest Selena Laurence: What’s In It For Me?

Hello my friends! ALBTALBS world is all off kilter. Let’s ignore that, shall we? As you see, Selena Laurence is visiting, and I’d love to hear what you have to say in response. Get a discussion going! And guess what? Her debut romance came out on April 22! Isn’t that fantastic? So let’s give this debut author a warm welcome!

What’s In It For Me?

I read a book recently (you’re shocked, I know) and in it the hero is a professional chef whose family doesn’t approve of his career. At one point, his father who is a lawyer, and his brother who is a doctor, ask him something to the effect of, “Who do you help by being a chef? What do you contribute?”

I thought to myself that the same question could be asked of writers. When you write Romance novels, what do you contribute? Who do you help? Why do I write these often denigrated books about people falling in love and doing other assorted ridiculous things?

The answers weren’t hard to come up with. All I needed to do was think about why I read Romance novels. And ultimately, the tagline on my website says it all: Escape the Everyday.

For me, Romance novels are the ultimate therapy. If I’m lonely I can read about people who I’d love to know, and I can feel like I’m part of their lives for a brief period of time. If I’m stressed after a day of wrangling kids and pets and editors, I can get involved in someone else’s problems and have mine seem minor in comparison.

As a Romance writer, my goal is really to give my readers the same things I get from reading Romance novels. If I can make someone laugh, help them feel that blush of first love again, give them a distraction from their own stresses and problems, make them feel a little less alone in the world, then I’ve done my job. It’s simple in concept, harder in practice, and maybe most people don’t consider it important, but to me it’s a highly worthwhile endeavor.

Human beings have always needed entertainers, therapists, mentors, lovers, and friends. A great Romance novel can fulfill all of these functions for a short period of time, and if I can write something that does even one of those things for someone, I consider it a job well done.

Bio: Selena Laurence loves to write romantic stuff that helps you get away. Life can be a grind, and things like jobs and kids and dirty dishes make Jill a dull girl – and Selena too. So, she writes about hot guys and smart girls and exotic locales to give us all an Escape from the Everyday.

Seems like the question is up to me. 😀 You know I love asking stuff. 😉 So – what do romance novels “mean” to you? How do you view, or treat them? Inquiring minds want to know.