Romance is all in the words

Lisa Billings/Chesterfield Observer Romance author Kit Wilkinson is putting the final touches on her first published novel and has two more in the works.

Lace hearts, chocolate candy, red roses, maybe even a little something from Victoria's Secret. Ah, the details of romance that define Valentine's Day.

But for some, romance is all in the words. They're writing romance novels, and a few ladies in the county represent the genre well.

Kit Wilkinson recently sold her first novel to Steeple Hill. "Protector's Honor" will be released in September. The Midlothian High School graduate is busy working with her editor to put the finishing touches on that book, and she's working on two more, which aren't yet contracted to be published.

"I started the story two years ago," Wilkinson said. "I entered it into some contests for feedback and ended up a [Romance Writers of America (RWA)] Golden Heart finalist. I went to the RWA conference in San Francisco last summer, and I won the contest." (RWA is a national organization to help educate and promote writers of romance.)

Stenzel

After that, Steeple Hill requested her manuscript and offered her a contract.

If it sounds easy, it doesn't seem to be so. Wilkinson admits to having a couple of manuscripts that she's put away and won't pull out again. "They were learning experiences," she said.

And each new book is it's own to sell. Having already made a sale may get your foot in the door, but it's no guarantee of a second or subsequent sale.

Natale Stenzel knows the satisfaction of selling the second book. In fact, she's just seen the release of her seventh novel, "Between a Rock and a Heart Place," published by Dorchester Publishing for its Love Spell line. It's the third in a series, preceded by "Pandora's Box" and "The Druid Made Me Do It."

"I've been writing romances for a little over a decade," Stenzel said. "I sold my first book in 2002."

It was her fifth finished manuscript. The first four are somewhere collecting dust bunnies, she said, and she plans to leave them to it. But, like Wilkinson, she values the lessons she learned in penning them.

So, who exactly is reading the words these ladies and other romance authors write? Do you conjure an image of an older spinster at home alone with only her chocolates, cats and love stories to keep her company? Think again. According to surveys conducted for RWA, most romance readers are ages 25-54, half of them are married and 78 percent of them are female.

Dillon

That's right - almost a quarter of romance readers are men.

Readers of romance fiction tend to be well-educated, with 42 percent having earned bachelor's degrees.

A number of subgenres have popped up in romance literature, but mystery/thriller/action plots are preferred by almost half of romance readers.

In 2007, romance accounted for a 12.9 percent share of the fiction market, and was expected to grow to 13.3 percent in 2008. Also in 2007, romance fiction accounted for almost $1.4 billion in sales with slightly more than 8,000 romance titles released that year.

Wilkinson and Stenzel have both been writing since they were very young. So has fellow author Lori Dillon, who is in an earlier stage of her writing journey.

Dillon has been writing "off and on" for about 10 years. She had an agent with her second book, but couldn't find a home for the World War II-era paranormal romance. She's set that one aside for the moment, but hasn't quit.

"I don't think I'll ever give up," Dillon said. "Once I get a story in my head, I can't help but write it."

She speaks about a friend who wrote 10 novels before she sold one. Now, Dillon says, she sells them back-to-back.

While Dillon said an agent is helpful because many publishing houses won't consider unagented work, the contests conducted by the national RWA organization and its many  local chapters,  such as Virginia Romance Writers, can help new authors break in. That's because contest finalists are usually judged by publishing house editors. That's the method that worked well for Wilkinson.

These ladies prove that writing is hard and thought-filled work. So, gentlemen, and ladies too, forget the chocolates and leave the roses at the florist. Salute the ones creating the stories by reading to each other. Share a romance novel for Valentine's Day.

Who knows what could happen?

For more information

Romance Writers of America www.rwanational.org Virginia Romance Writers www.virginiaromancewriters.com Contact the authors www.kitwilkinson.com www.NataleStenzel.com www.loridillon.net