Squawk Radio

I confess, I’m not someone who gets offended by people who trash romance. I figure that person a) has never read one and b) is stupid. This saves me the heartburn that other romance writers and readers suffer when someone holds up a favorite novel and reads the sex scenes out loud. I promise that laughing at their reading choices (“Yes, People is a more scintillating read than WARPRIZE!”) or their non-reading choices (“How about them Yankees?”) is more fun. But even as the press has slowly gotten more respect for romance novels (the press really respects money and romances make a lot of money) they’ve been unable to tear themselves away from their favorite term — BODICE RIPPER.

Why has the term “bodice ripper” managed to survive for more than twenty years so successfully?

Well, think about it. “Romance novel” is boring. “Bodice-ripper” is a visual, action term.

So here’s your assignment. Think up another term for “romance novel”, one that won’t offend so many readers (you’re always going to offend someone, so don’t try to please everybody), one that’s funny, descriptive, visual and makes the press want to use it. Then we’ll take it and spread it across the Internet, it will catch on and change the world as we know it!!! Bwahahahaha!

::cough:: Sorry, I lost my head for a minute. Anyway, remember — romance novel = funny, descriptive, visual term. Go for it!