Writer Kennedy Ryan uses romance novels as a vehicle for discourse

This election season you can streamline your news intake with up first. Our team of reporters and editors works overnight so you can start every morning with three stories you need to know in short episodes, 12-14 minutes long, to save you time and your sanity. Follow up first on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Fresh Air, I'm Tanya Mosley. Say the words romance novel and watch what happens.

Some people light up, others roll their eyes, almost nobody is neutral. It's the best-selling fiction in the world, outselling mysteries and thrillers, and yet it's still the genre people feel they have to defend or apologize for. I've always wanted to know what makes a writer choose a genre that has historically been shunned by critics in mainstream publishing. My guest today, Kennedy Ryan, is one of those writers, and in some ways her path is typical of the field. For one, Kennedy Ryan isn't her real name.

Many romance writers use pen names, She didn't get her first publishing deal until forty, which is also common. Forty five is the average age of the genre's most successful writers. Kennedy Ryan's love for romance began in middle school when she'd snaked the books past her mom, who was a preacher. She came back to it after building a career in journalism and autism advocacy.

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