Christina Lauren, Chloe Neill, Nalini Singh, Tessa Dare, and Sylvia Day talked all things romance during Comic-Con’s “The Smitten Word: Romancing the Reader” panel. Read our roundup and see 25+ images!
By now you know that I’m a massive romance fan! If I’m reading something for fun, the more swoony/sexy times, the better. I’ve come to love romance across several sub-genres, including historical, paranormal, contemporary, urban fiction, and much more.
So, while at San Diego Comic-Con, you better believe I’d grab the opportunity to flail over some of my favorite authors!
Earlier this afternoon, Christina Lauren (The Beautiful Series), Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampires Series), Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Series), Tessa Dare (Spindle Cove Series), and Sylvia Day (Crossfire Series) came together for “The Smitten Word: Romancing the Reader” panel.
These bestselling authors shared that they enjoyed most about writing and reading romance, as well as some of their own writing processes.
For example, according to Lauren Billings (one half of Christina Lauren), she believes the biggest misconception of the romance genre is the misrepresentation of the romance reader. In her estimation, everyone could be a romance reader because who doesn’t enjoy a love story?
Similarly, Sylvia Day shared how she thinks the “bodice ripper” stereotype is outdated. Today’s female leads are more empowered, professionally and personally.
Nalini Singh discussed how she wrote romance to combine two of her favorite things about books: love stories and world-building. When asked to characterize the underlying theme of her stories, she believes her work is largely about family, either by blood or by choice.
Tessa Dare and Chloe Neill want their readers to know that every time someone picks up her books, she always feels special. She recognizes that we’re all busy and appreciates the fact that someone would set aside time to spend in her world.
In terms of upcoming projects
- Christina Lauren has the final book in the Beautiful series coming soon, along with two standalones in 2017 and a new YA Autoboyography coming next Fall.
- Sylvia Day is writing a new contemporary romance series set in NYC. She also has a historical romance novel coming soon.
- Nalini Singh has a new book coming this November and is working on the next Psy-Changeling book.
- Tessa Dare describes her next book as a “regency game of clue…who did who?” named Do You Want to Start a Scandal.
- Chloe Neill is writing the last Chicagoland Vampires book and her next novel The Site, based in New Orleans.
If you haven’t read anything from these authors, they need to be on your TBR list ASAP!
Check out 25+ images from the “Romancing the Reader” panel below and tell us in comments what you love most about reading romance!
