How I started reading Romance novels...

My relationship with romance novels began as a little girl when I would go visit my grandmother in New Hampshire. I was a light sleeper and I shared the bed with her when we went to visit, so I got up and went into the living room if I couldn't sleep.  She had a set of books covered in red leather that were romance themed books. I think they might have been Faith Baldwin, but I'm not sure.  I remember that one had a character named Mimi who was nasty to the heroine and had short black hair.  Mimi got bitten by karma in the end and the heroine got her man.  I loved that book and read it many times. I would love to be able to find those books again.

A few years later, my mother introduced  me to Georgette Heyer. Ms. Heyer to this day remains one of my favorite authors who I have read again and again with total enjoyment. About 8 years ago I went on a campaign to get as many of her books as I possibly could on audio so I could listen to them in the car. Unfortunately, most were only available on cassette so I had to get a portable player to listen. I scoured the libraries in CT and MA as well as getting involved in bidding wars on eBay, but I got almost every book. Now, most of them are available to download so it's easier to find them. A true Heyer addict, I now have my mother's older books, newer versions, the audio books, and after a big sale on Barnes & Noble, pretty much her whole catalog as e books.

On an interesting note, I always pronounced her name as "higher" and it wasn't until I started to listen to the audio books that I discovered that her last name is actually pronounced "hayer".

To me, the sign of a good author is that much like Ms. Heyers books, I can read a book over and over and enjoy it just as much every time. So, I think in between reviews I am going to post my thoughts on my favorite authors and why I love them so.