It was a dark and stormy night when disaster fell on one of the most popular literary genres in America — romance novels.
In the unforgiving light of Christmas Eve, the bodice-ripping writers of consumable libido fuel are now having to pass the ever-changing test of the politically correct.
A former board member of the Romance Writers of America was suspended from the organization this month after she referred, in a bitter, raw voice, to a rival romance novelist’s work as “a fu#*ing racist mess” on Twitter.
Courtney Milan, the pen name for Heidi Bond, is a prolific writer of historical romance such as The Duchess War (The Brothers Sinister series).
And she is an advocate for tackling racism in the romance writing industry.
But as sure as the black flames lick the night sky, Milan’s complaint about Kathryn Lynn Davis’ 1999 novel, “Somewhere Lies the Moon,” led to Davis and author Suzan Tisdale filing a formal complaint with the Romance Writers of America — and to Milan being suspended by unanimous decision of the board.
Milan, who is Chinese-American, has a loyal following on Twitter. On Christmas Eve, the phrase #IStandwithCourtneyMilan was trending in popularity, often peppered by vulgarities condemning the Romance Writers of America.
The supporters of the writers organization remained silent. After all, Twitter wars can lead to one being “cancelled” in today’s “cancel culture.”
In other words, Milan, with her shapely, supple body and wholesome good looks, barely concealed her savage distain of her rival author, all the while longing for the loving Tweets of her admirers, as she lightly fingered the loose tendrils of hair that courted her warm and inviting neck.
(Must Read Alaska invites comments written with a nod to the genre, which you can do by stringing together phrases from The Romance Writer’s Phrasebook, which can be scoured at this link. Just remember, you might get cancelled by the “cancel culture,” and so we advise a pen name. That’s what the pros use.)
