This country may have been founded on the principles of democracy, but Americans haven't lost their taste for snobbery. This holds true in every facet of society, and reading/writing tastes are no exception.
When someone makes a snotty comment to me about, say, writing trash, I'm always so flabbergasted (amazed, really, since without exception the perpetrator has never bothered to read one of my books), I have a tough time thinking of what to say. When accosted recently -- and publicly -- for her reading tastes, however, aspiring romance author Dana Belfry suffered no such loss for words.
Rudely upbraided by a stranger for reading a Silhouette Desire category romance in a checkout line, setting back the cause of women's rights fifty years, and generally contributing to the decline of Western civ, here's how she responded:
“You know,” I said, “you have an excellent point. Romance novels are horrific. I’m ashamed of myself. When I think of those kids in school who get hopped up reading romance novels and decide to go shoot people I could cry. And when I think of all those terrorists who read romance novels before going out and blowing themselves up on a crowded bus the shame almost paralyzes me.” By now MadameCrankyPants realizes she has picked the wrong person to publicly berate and her weasly eyes begin to dart around in search of backup. She had none.
“You know,” I continued, “It’s people like you that I feel sorry for. Either you’ve never read a romance novel because you’ve been told they’re trash. Or you don’t read at all. Or you read heavy, painful literature, that describes in intricate detail the pain and suffering of the human condition.” I gestured to my book.
“These books are fun. They make me smile because no matter what the plot, love always prevails. I think if more people remembered that love should prevail there would be a lot less pain and suffering to read about. Feel free to prove me wrong, though.”
All I can say is bravo, Ms. Belfry. And if your books are as quick-witted as your blog posts, you won't just be an aspiring novelist for long.
Read Dana Belfry's full post here.
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TJB