According to the Romance Writers of America’s definition, a book must have a love story as the central plot and have a happily-ever-after ending to fit into the romance genre. And that guaranteed happy ending can provide readers with a space for radical joy. In romance novels, characters have the space to be flawed and complex, with the promise of acceptance in the end.
For New York Times bestselling romance novelist Jasmine Guillory, that guarantee of happiness means that her heroines get to showcase vulnerability, love and radical acceptance in ways that are seldom available to Black women across popular culture.
Guillory sat down with The Takeaway to talk all about the power of a good love story, and what it can do for writers and readers alike.