Question for anyone who wants to answer...

I thought the replies you got from people you'd previously questioned were interesting. 

Why I read romances is really very simple.  I like a good story.  And since I read so many different lines (including the sweeter Harl Romances), it's definitely not just for the sex.  I'm not very into the extremely hardcore porn stories.  I like 'love' to be the most integral part.  However, I do enjoy books of ALL kinds of nature - suspense, mysteries, intrigue, medical, and even a little bit of horror (if I'm in the mood). 

There are lots of women who read romances because they crave a little bit more love and excitement in their lives.  And there's nothing in the world wrong with reading them for this reason.  We females need to hear and read about love in it's many different forms.  That incredible human emotion is an important part of us.  But, speaking personally, I happen to be lucky and married to a wonderful man who is pretty romantic.  So, that's why I'm saying I read romances because they're usually very good stories.  And I know I'm joined in my opinion by many, many other women. 

Now, why I write romances is a little more complicated.  The stories come from some deep part of me and simply have to be told.  There's not any way for me to really dissect this.  The stories are there, the characters are real to me.  They (my characters) dictate their stories to me and not the other way around.  I write from the heart and unless I'm satisfied with the end results it will never be seen by another pair of human eyes.  I wish I could put into words the feelings that burble up in me as I write, but it's impossible really.  It's just ME. 

a good book.  It can be short and sweet without any sex or a hot book with a lot of it.  As long as the story is good I am not worried about the sex part. 

I enjoy reading a lot of different kinds of books but always come back to romance because I enjoy knowing there will be a happy ending.  You  see so much now that is not happy in any way so it is nice to go somewhere that you know will end good.

1.  What is romance?  Romance is the process in which a couple  takes to fall in love.

2.  What is it that we like to read about this genre? 

I'm a hopeless romantic married a red-neck. A sweet, considerate redneck, but as he tells me "I don't need to be romantic, you got books for that"...lol

3.  Do we read romance to be titillated and excited? 

I read romance because I love it. A good book can make me angry, cry and laugh, and fall hopelessly in love with the Hero, sympathize with the heroine for all his faults. Some times it's exciting and thrilling, and whets ones appetites and other times a tender sweet story. I like them all, as long as the story is good.

4.  Do we read it because it's just an enjoyable story? It's more than a story. My 9yo can tell me a story. As I said above, a good book lets me feel a whole range of emotion. Sometimes this is a wonderful outlet for all the pentup ones I hold back in real life. Then if I'm crying my husband will see the book in hand, roll his eyes and go back in the garage and not fret. A gal needs a good cry some days. 

5.  Do we read it because we're invariably voyeurs into a world that has sex? Sometimes, I'll be truthful. A nice hot sex scene livens up things at home ;) he doesn't care where I get my appetite as long as I eat at home.  But if it were just that, I wouldn't read nearly as much as i do. I'm gone for a week shortly and wondering if 20 books are enough, will I have the book that'll suit my mood? There is sooo much more to romance novels, than sex. Some are hot and spicy, sure, but without the story it would dull very quickly.