Last week I blogged about a collection of romance stories about Navy SEALs called “SEAL of my Dreams” and gave the entire concept in general a hard time. While not a romance novel reader myself (yes, I have read at least part of one before), I found the concept and, in particular, the promo video made to advertise the book highly cheesy. And so I poked fun at it.
What I did not expect was a steady stream of comments from some of the book’s 18 authors. Most of the comments were gracious, some of them gave me a hard time in return -- but all of them made a good point: if romance novels are your thing, and they are for a lot of people, why not read this one?
Since the aim of my first post was to comment on the outcome of the SEAL craze sparked by the bin Laden raid (although I do know there were some SEAL novels before that), I left out of the post things I didn’t think were relevant, including where the money for the book goes and the fact that plenty of people think romance novels are awesome.
But the commenters did think they were relevant. I am not an all-knowing, infallible blogger -- just the regular kind. And while I do stand by my opinion on the subject, the authors are the subject matter experts, and they deserve the floor too. And just in case you only read my post and didn’t scroll through the comments the last time, here is your chance to hear some of what they had to say. You can see the rest here.
One of the things I left out of the post (and I did have my reasons for doing so) is that all proceeds from “SEAL of my Dreams” are benefiting Veterans Research Corps., a nonprofit organization for wounded vets. Here’s what Roxanne St. Claire said in her comment about that.
I was so honored and delighted to be asked to participate in SEAL of My Dreams because every single dime of the proceeds will go the Veterans Research Corporation to help support medical research for veterans. My nephew, an Army Ranger who spent 15 months in Baghdad, returned home with a host of medical issues that, as you can imagine, will be with him for the rest of his life. I was thrilled that my time and talent could not only help him in some small way, but also the many veterans who sacrifice so much for our freedom.If thousands of women get to escape into the arms of a fantasy SEAL (so many of us don't get to do that in real life, like you do!), then all the better. I hope you and your fellow military spouses get a chance to read SEAL of My Dreams because I think these stories of heartache, hope, and lifelong love will not make you gag, but beam with pride.
A second author, Cindy Gerard, used the bulk of her comments to defend the value of romance novels. Since they are not my thing, I can’t really speak confirm any of what she says. But it certainly deserves to be heard.
Contemporary romance novels today are about strong women, pertinent and relevant issues and all about empowerment. They replenish, not deplete and speak to core values - like, say, a group of authors banding together for a common cause. And yeah, they have hunky guys in them. They also have wounded guys - physically and emotionally - and our stories explore how they set about salvaging their lives and their relationships.
Bottom line: I may not be a romance novel fan, but a lot of women are. If this is your cup of tea, this book may be worth a look. And here’s one thing we can definitely agree on: proceeds from the book support a cause we can all get behind -- the care of wounded warriors.
