The revisions on the Chocolate Book went whizzing off into the virtual desk of my lovely ed yesterday afternoon. I loved this book so fingers crossed that she enjoys it too.
Especially my lovely Max Treveleyn. DId I mention that he owns his own cocoa plantation? On St Lucia. What’s not to love? Yummy.
Of course not everyone agrees that romance fiction is a useful part of our reading experience and as a former academic [ science girls, science] I know that research projects can become all consuming to the point where you become blinkered to everything else.
Because according to this report, in the British Medical Journal of all places, Mills and Boon causes :” marital breakdown, adulterous affairs and unwanted pregnancies”
Far from being a slice of innocent escapism for millions of female readers, romantic novels are a danger to relationships and sexual health. That is the verdict of an article in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, which said women struggle to distinguish between romantic fiction and real life.
Susan Quilliam, a relationship psychologist and author of the article, said that a “huge number” of problems dealt with in family planning clinics have their roots in romance novels.”
Um. So basically the accusation is that readers of romantic fiction are so dim that they confuse fiction with their real lives.
I wonder if crime novelists [ mystery being the NEXT popular genre] are ever accused of being responsible for a huge increase in the number of serial killers in Britain? Or fantasy authors blamed for children being perverted by capes, pointy hats and witchy wands?
There may well be a problem with family planning, but to blame it on romantic fiction? Because a woman has aspirations of something better in her life and wants to achieve that?
PURLEESE. Someone hold my coat. This kind of report is so infuriating, wrong and insulting it makes me incredibly annoyed.
In fact I am so cross that I am off to the Romantic Novelists Association Conference 2011 tomorrow and I shall happily celebrate every single aspect of the romantic fiction world with my fellow authors. In style and with great gusto.
And raspberries to the rest.
And now for some chill out music. Back soon.
2 thoughts on “Mills and Boon responsible for Marital breakdown”
Quite. Well said.
I have used up my ranting energy getting prepared for the conference tomorrow where I intend to toast the good health of each and every romance novelist. Where ever they are and whatever they are writing. And of course that includes you Nell. Sorry that you could not be there! Nx
I look forward to reading Ms Quilliams academic study into this. You know, the one where she’s conducted in depth interviews with clients on their TV, reading, drinking etc and has managed to link the causality to the effects. Oh, what was that? She hasn’t done any research? She just thought this up out of the blue based on a 20 year old Mills and Boon book she bought from a charity shop whilst on a rainy caravan holiday in Whitby in 1985?
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