Although I’m firmly a Millennial (and an elder one at that, I must admit), there is one way in which I identify with my Gen Z friends - a certain slice of them at least. Sometimes you need to just be analogue. There are key moments in my life where the pressure to take photos and record everything weighs heavily and I’d prefer to just be present. My head is spinning enough as it is, working hard to process all the social chitchat and catch-ups with friends that are so important too me, but inevitably too short and overwhelming.
The best illustration of this is the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference, which took place last weekend. I have almost no photos. It does make me sad, but it’s the one weekend every two years, when I get to see a whole lot of people in person and I needed to live it instead of record it - even though that is FULL ON.
And the RNA conference is utterly unique, so I wanted to do my best to process everything that was going on - and shove my imposter syndrome into a corner for the duration.
What strikes me every time with the RNA is the example of a women-dominated organisation. There were some men at the conference and men are very welcome. It’s not perfect, but the organisation certainly has inclusion as a priority. We’d love to see men who love and write romance. But the reality is, that group is small enough that on more than one occasion, I was in a room without even one man in it. In what other place would this happen? Which other large organisations are entirely women-run? It always makes me notice how rare it is.
The RNA also skews slight older (which is something they’re trying to address, finding ways to make the organisation more useful for younger authors), but that’s another amazing aspect: it’s a place where middle-aged women and older are right in the centre. It’s something we see so rarely and now that I’m officially involved as a volunteer, it’s brought home to me how much of the world is held together by the skills and talents of middle-aged women - in workplaces, but particularly in charities and professional organisations like the RNA.
In turn, middle-aged women are erased from popular culture, except as wives and mothers (i.e. in relation to men) - or demonised and criticised if they step out of those roles.
I left the conference thinking that the RNA itself is a lot like our genre: human and imperfect, with differences of opinion, but with the BEST heart for readers. Although romance can and sometimes does reinforce gender roles and romanticise uncomfortable gendered politics (but thankfully this is rare in today’s stories), at its heart, romance is a powerful expression of the agency of women and people with diverse gender and sexuality.
Simply by putting a queer person or a woman at the heart of the story, giving them the starring role, romance stands up to the world order that sidelines and misunderstands women’s (and queer identities’) desires.
I could go on about this, but ultimately I’m very aware I’m not qualified. I prefer to listen to others who have studied this in more detail (shout out to Andrea at the Shelf Love podcast and the wonderful Dr Amy Burge, Associate Professor of Popular Fiction at the University of Birmingham, who was at the conference with Dr Charlotte Ireland and doing some wonderful study of romance trends in the UK).
Most of all, the RNA conference is an upside-down weekend where our genre is universally upheld as the best, the favourite, top quality, great writing, powerful stories - in opposition to the narrative portrayed in the rest of the media, of romance as second-rate literature.
Ultimately the support of more experienced women, the respect to my genre left little room for my pesky imposter syndrome. On the dance floor, there’s no difference between an aspiring author who’s just starting out and a Sunday Times bestselling author. On the dance floor at the RNA conference, age doesn’t matter - nor does ageing, something all of us deal with no matter what part of life we’ve reached - sexuality doesn’t matter, because we’re just dancing.
One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t get a photo of the denim jumpsuit I actually dared to wear - LOL. I really loved it in the store, even though I wasn’t sure it would be practical, or if I’d have the courage to put it on, but I felt great in it, so I was glad I’d dared (but sad I didn’t capture that moment). I’ll grab a photo the next time I’m game enough to put it on.
Since I didn’t get any photos of the amazing ladies at the RNA conference, here are some statues from the quad in the Founders’ Building at Royal Holloway, where we were privileged enough to eat our meals. I think they look like the three ways of enjoying books: ebooks, paperbacks and audio!
My usual writing and publishing life is ticking along. I enjoyed an ARC of the Best Ex Of My Life by Emmy Hart and I started writing a book three times - the same book. I really thought this writing thing got easier the more you did it, but this book has kicked my butt. I think I might be there now and I’m fairly certain there were just too many things from real life going around in my brain, as there has been a lot of publishing uncertainty in my life recently.
But it does appear I will be able (or even obliged) to write more books, which is an absolute privilege. I’m looking forward to tell you all more about it in time, but I need to get cracking on the words first!
The next time you hear from me, the final book in my wedding planners series, Italy and Forever, will be out! That will be a milestone to celebrate - a complete series.
I must admit I listened to the ENTIRE audiobook of Don’t Brake My Heart, simply because Penelope Rawlins and Cooper Mortlock were that good. I loved the way they captured the characters in the dialogue. It just came to life. I have one more spare audio code, if anyone would like a review copy of the audio book. Do get in touch with me!
If you’ve made it this far, you are WONDERFUL. I’ve been struggling a bit on social media recently, scared to post things, even though I know barely anyone sees my stuff anyway (and that’s another confidence hit I can do without). Long(er)-form suits me better, so I’ll natter like this in your inbox instead.
Thank you to everyone who’s picked up a book or left a rating or a review recently! You guys make it possible for me to continue bringing out these stories, so credit for everything really goes to you!
Lots of love
Leonie x
Great post, Leonie. I have no pics either, except pictures of the seminars and talks. I had too much fun! Sorry we didn't get to catch up, though. Next time! Well done on being a volonteer.