BBAW Guest: Kate from Ramblings on Romance + Contest Announcement

(We'll be celebrating some of the different niches in book blogging this week by having special guests write about them! Today's post is by Katie from Ramblings on Romance who I have gotten to know b/c of BBAW. She's very nice and cool. Here's why she loves romance...and a special contest announcement at the end!)
What is it about the romance genre that makes me want to blog about it in such detail? Most know by now that I am a true romance nut that if a book is considered a romance or in the romance section, I will pick it up. Why wouldn’t I express my joy for something I love with all my heart and soul?

Reading to me, is as important as breathing. When I picked up my very first romance novel at age thirteen, which happened to be Gone With the Wind, I was lost in a world of imagination and wonder. The reason I read romance is the same reason we all go to the movies or watch our favorite television shows, it enables us to escape our mundane lives and to forget all the stress and problems that surround us on a daily basis.

The reason I blog about romance novels, the authors, the characters and stories is because this on-line community allows me to belong and express my feelings and thoughts without the fear of being ridiculed or look down upon. The on-line romance community I associate with has welcomed me with open arms and have given me the confidence to post my opinions and write. I am a reader first and a writer second. My dream is to be a published author, perhaps one day of romance novels. And why not? After all I should be am an expert on romance because I have been reading them exclusively for almost twenty years.

I want to enable others who are silent to have a voice, to allow them to post their views without embarrassment or fear. Blogging allows me an output, a stress release and the joy to share my overall reading experiences. Reading and blogging about romance is not just for myself, but to help those succeed, such as the authors who write these works of art and the publisher who releases these titles. I am showing my support and hope that by doing so, these novels will be around for me, way into my golden years, and for my children and perhaps, my children’s children.

The question has arisen on why so many read romance. My reason is the escape, the true and undying love between a man and a woman that will not denied, knowing a happily ever after is a given. That for a small moment in time, I am part of story where my imagination comes alive, and no matter who I am or what another person thinks I may be, each story welcomes me and won’t turn me away. I read and blog about romance, because I feel I belong and I am special. And those who do the same and blog on a daily basis about a topic that brings me such joy, are also very special in my eyes and because of that I say THANK YOU a million times over.

Kate is running a contest for some great fresh off the press and some not yet in stores books! (romance, duh)
September books:
Killer Charms- Marianne Stillings
Heart Mate- Robin D. Owens
October books:
Power Play- Deidre Martin
Where There's Fire- Maureen McKade
Red Fire- Deidre Knight
Night Falls Darkly- Kim Lennox

Head over to her blog to see how to win them!