Thanks for stopping by, Teresa! Yes, I agree–we’re seeing more and more romance novels with heroines who have lived life. I know that for me, older characters are more relatable and much easier to write. Thus the old adage write what you know seems appropriate here. 😉

This genre is set to explode (I think).

In my very humble opinion, writers who write about their own age group delve into real, relatable characters, situations, and reactions–and the writing is done with empathy and passion. If we can relate to them, so can the reader…

As has been said, the fiction writer is the first to meet his characters and to hear their story. Better we meet characters we understand than characters who speak and act in a way that baffles us–and quite possibly the reader too. If we don’t understand them, the reader never will. 😉

Charlotte–Granted some seasoned romance have those themes, but most are stories about women who have lived life and want more. Age isn’t so much a factor as it is simply that the characters aren’t young women, so their issues are different than the coming-of-age stories we’re used to in romantic fiction. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you’ll check out The Women of Willow Bay–I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

You bet, Jill! I’ll go check out your books–thanks so much for stopping by!

So happy you stopped by, Peter! We sure do need more books about life and love at a “certain age.” We’re still here and still in love!

I aim to try to do a couple more books in the same vein to try to raise the profile (at least in fiction) of mature people and satisfy readers who don’t want their heroes and heroines to be the same sort of age as their own children. Keep writing the good stuff, lady.

THanks, Liz! Me, too! We need more heroines our own age!