It’s the first Wednesday of the month again, time for a post for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group.

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I posted here before about my introduction to the genre of fantasy. But I have never written about my first encounter with the genre of romance. Neither genre existed in Soviet Russia before I left it in 1992. They do now, but not then.

When I came to Canada as a new immigrant, it took me a few years to learn English to the point where I was comfortable reading English language books. When it finally happened, I tried to find some reading materials that had never been translated into Russian. That was how I discovered fantasy and romance. I even read a couple of westerns, but those didn’t take.

At that time, I was in a gloomy place in my life: a single mother, with no relatives close-by, no job, no money. I was depressed. I have always been an avid reader, and I read voraciously; each new book granting me a few hours of relief from my constant worries. I frequented our local library and a used bookstore near my house.              

One day, I talked to the bookseller about my troubles. I said: do you have anything light and funny and smart to cheer me up? She said: have you tried Jennifer Crusie? No, I hadn’t. So she offered me one of Crusie’s novels. I don’t even remember which one. I read it. I loved it. I found another of her books and devoured it too. The rest was history: I became a Crusie fan.

After I had had my fix with Crusie and read (and bought) all her books published to date, I turned to other romance writers, both contemporary and historical. The genre as a whole buoyed me. It is hopeful. It has a happily-ever-after guaranteed. And the heroines always triumph in the end. It was what I needed then and still do now.

After Crusie, I discovered Georgette Heyer. And Julia Quinn. And Jayne Ann Krentz. You can guess how it went afterwards, but Jennifer Crusie remains special to me to this day: she was the first romance writer I ever read. Specifically, romantic comedy. She made me fall in love with romance.

What about you? Was there a genre you discovered as an adult? Do you like romance? Do you write romance? Have you ever read Jennifer Crusie? Tell me in the comments.