I was sorry to hear of the death this week of Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, one of the true giants in the world of romance publishing. She is frequently credited with creating the modern romance genre and being the first author to follow the hero and heroine into the bedroom and write an explicit sex scene about their interlude.
I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I doubt if there’s a historical romance reader anywhere that doesn’t have a KEW novel on her keeper shelf. The books are long and lush, filled with larger-than-life characters of the type that burrow into your head and refuse to leave once you’ve finished the book.
My personal favorite is Ashes in the Wind, the tale of Alaina, the southern belle/suspected spy forced to masquerade as a boy, and Cole, the Union surgeon with whom she becomes entangled. Over several hundred pages, the two battle their own demons and conflicts, meddling family members of the worst sort, and each other. I first read this book in high school, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve pulled out my battered copy and reread my favorite passages. Now that I write romance myself, I’ve often wished I could create characters as passionate and compelling as hers.
She’ll be missed.