My husband and Susan Elizabeth Phillips, part one

If you had to give a man one romance novel to show why you love the genre, which one would it be?

My husband is a PhD candidate studying American literature. He hates romance novels. Or, at least, he’s convinced he would if he ever read one.

The other day he came up with a deal: I’d have to read one of the novels he’s studying for his thesis, and he’d read a romance novel of my choice.

Yesterday he gave me Don Delillo’s White Noise. No hardship there, as I studied DeLillo a bit in college.

I gave him a choice between two Susan Elizabeth Phillips novels – This Heart of Mine and Natural Born Charmer. After some grumbling and a muttered “What’s the deal with football players?” he chose Charmer.

He started reading last night, and he’s not impressed so far. I’ve been talking to him quite a bit about romance writing (since I’m writing my first manuscript), so he knows some of the genre’s elements. One thing he said that I found interesting was, “What most people would consider hook are, to me, reasons to stop reading.”

He does like some of the dialogue, though.

I’ll keep you posted, but in the meantime, what book would you give out to convert the skeptics?