Love Story Novels
All of my novels have a love story element and because of that, it could be tempting to select the popular romance genre with millions of readers. To an outsider, book categories can be confusing and opinions vary on where particular books fit. Well-established authors like Nicholas Sparks face the same problem. For example, Nicholas Sparks, in his own words, writes love stories, not romance novels.
One of my favorite love novels is This House of Sky, Landscapes of a Western Mind, by Ivan Doig. He tells a story that illustrates the difference between a love story and romance. Ivan Doig, published sixteen novels about the American West and was celebrated as an American Shakespeare.
When Doig appeared at book story signings his book, This House of Sky, remained the prime topic of interest among his readers. As he describes one of his book signing experiences, a young woman looked past him to a stack of, This House of Sky, books and half whispered as if thinking out loud, “I’ve got to get one of those and give to my father.” Merely making conversation, he asked, “Why”, thinking maybe her father was a rancher or from Montana?”
“No,” she unforgettably said in a voice so choked it brought Ivan’s own heart to the top of his throat. “Because, I love him.”
