So This Happened. As you can imagine, I was not amused. Several other writers (like Zoe York, far more prominent than I am) were not amused either. Then in a business proposal I saw this as a list of genres:

• Mystery
• Thriller
• Crime
• Speculative
• Literary
• Horror
• Paranormal
• Historical
• Trashy Romance

Trashy romance. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that phrase. Or sappy romance. Or just a romance. Stupid, silly, cheap romance too. I expect to hear those phrases from people outside the romance world. But I also hear them – as in this case – from writers of romance.

“Here’s a stupid romance, and it’s perfect for you,” said no romance writer ever. Except when they do.