Even before The Princess Diaries made Meg Cabot romance royalty, love stories were always there for her–from making up her own when life seemed uphill to reading them voraciously. Multiple book series and millions of copies sold later, Cabot continues to see the magic of love and romance in everything she does.
But not all students in public schools across America have access to such magic. PEN America’s recent reports found that romance novels are increasingly censored for including sexual content. Popular romance fiction can be a great resource for teenagers to learn about love and desire, and spark productive, and often pivotal, conversations about boundaries and consent. With Shelf Love, an interview series with romance authors, PEN America, in collaboration with Authors Against Book Bans, is celebrating the love for writing and reading about love.
This week, we talked to Cabot, author of the Princess Diaries series, the Mediator series, the Heather Wells Mystery series, and Avalon High, about the importance and resurgence of romance, as well as what she finds the most rewarding in her phenomenal career.
What was the first romance novel you ever read? What is the last romance novel you read?
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte amd Audre and Bash Are Just Friends by Tia Williams
Why do you write romance novels? Who do you write them for?
I make up stories to entertain myself. It’s something I’ve been doing since I was a little kid. These stories almost always have a romantic element in them, because those are the kind of stories I enjoy reading.
Why do you think YA romance matters in particular? How is writing for a YA audience different?
YA romance is one of the fastest-growing categories of the romance genre today. While targeted to readers aged 12-18, and generally focusing on teen-centered subject matter and storylines, many adults read YA.
But the main difference between YA romance and adult romance isn’t only the age of its characters: It’s that some people want to censor or restrict access to YA romance in school libraries, mainly because the narratives often challenge the idea that the only happy ending is one in which the main character marries her (preferably male) love interest and has children.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the above kind of stories. But fortunately, books today reflect the reality that there are just as many different kinds of happy endings out there as there are people in the world, and that we all deserve a chance to read stories that not only empower us, but reflect our lived experiences as well as our wildest dreams.
How has it felt to see your work translated into film?
Amazing. Disney wrote the national anthem of a country I made up. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Why is it important for books to tackle sex and sexual desire?
Love is a basic human need. Without it, our species can’t survive, let alone thrive. Sex and love are such important aspects of being alive that if a story doesn’t have a romance in it somewhere, I’m not likely to find it interesting—at least not enough to finish it.
Why do you think the romance genre has seen such a resurgence in pop culture?
Romance’s popularity has never changed. It still regularly out earns every other genre by almost double digits.
What’s changed is people’s attitude towards it. Women have been shamed for enjoying romance since the invention of the novel, when men complained that “penny dreadfuls” were filling their heads with foolish dreams (such as the right to vote and manage their own money). I love that today’s readers are pushing back that kind of sexist thinking, and are proudly flaunting their reading choices on social media and beyond.
What value does romance bring to literature writ large?
Without romance, there would be no literature, because there would be no more human beings to write it.
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from your readers?
That it’s not our job as readers or writers to educate anyone who looks down on our literary choices. Disparaging someone else’s preferred reading/writing genre is not only rude, it’s now considered a relationship “red flag.” It’s OK to not want to hang out with, date, or work for people who belittle the things we value.
This advice has saved me so much time, and made my life infinitely more pleasant.
What has been the most rewarding part of being a romance writer?
I get a lot of wedding and baby announcements these days from readers who’ve grown up on my books and are now having their own romances—not to mention careers.
Many of them write to say that the romantic interests in my books gave them an archetype of characteristics to look for (and/or avoid!) in a future spouse, or that my books are what sparked their love for reading, causing them to pursue careers in education, writing, library sciences, and even law enforcement and medicine.
I’m not saying that without my books, these readers wouldn’t be as happy in their lives…but I love getting these announcements, and hope for more!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
A book without romance is like a cake without frosting. It’s still a book, but it isn’t as delicious as it could be.
Meg Cabot was born in Bloomington, Indiana during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign, but learned at an early age that a good storyteller can always give herself a happy ending. Her 80+ books for both adults and tweens/teens have included multiple #1 New York Times bestsellers, selling over twenty-five million copies worldwide. Her Princess Diaries series has been published in more than 38 countries and was made into two hit films by Disney. Meg’s numerous other award-winning books include the Mediator series, the Heather Wells mystery series, and Avalon High, the later of which was made into a film for Disney Channel. Meg Cabot (her last name rhymes with habit, as in “her books can be habit forming”) currently lives in Key West with her husband and various cats.
