Life is definitely getting harder. The news is more terrible everyday: children are killing children, Mother Nature is angry and more and more people are suffering. Sometimes just getting through the day is difficult.

What helps? Respite. A break. Something better to aim for. And that’s what romance books give us. The victory over conflict, the answer to uncertainties, the happily ever after.

Maybe they don’t convey world-changing ideas or cure disease, but they give us hope. And, as Emily Dickinson said so poignantly:

““Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –”

And what are the stories romance writers write? Magical stories of good triumphing over evil, true love conquering all and yes — happily ever after.

In times like these, we need to believe there is hope, […]