Nancy Werlin Quotes

I write edgy, sexy teen romances, and that's what I'll continue to do.

After about the age of 13, I was a romance addict. Still am, though I read just about every other genre as well. The only thing I really shy away from is political thrillers.

I didn't know anything about romance novels until a friend suggested that I try writing one. After I read a few, I realized that my favorite part of fiction had always been the relationship aspect.

I decided that, if I were to write a teen series, I'd want to set it in a place that was familiar to me - Manhattan, where I'd grown up - and I'd model the characters on myself and my friends.

Like so many others, I came to romance during the golden age of it - Judith McNaught, Julie Garwood, Johanna Lindsey and Jude Deveraux were at the height of their historical domination. Without those women, I wouldn't be a romance novelist.

I read 'Pushing the Limit' and 'Dare You To' by Katie McGarry. Fantastic stuff. I had never read young adult before, but now I'm a believer.

One of the things I enjoy most about writing historical romance is researching inspiring backgrounds and settings.

I did a film when I was about 30; it's a coming of age story called 'Gas Food Lodging,' and I'm so proud of that little independent film. I play this young English geologist, and he's such a simple, loving kind of guy. Doesn't talk too much. He's just a quiet guy, and he gets the girl.

By the time I was 10 or 12, I had discovered the lure of the romance genre - and the dusty copy of 'The Thorn Birds' on my parents' bookshelf.

Other genres are plot-driven, but the entire focus of a romance novel is on the characters and their arcs.

I think we worry way too much about where books should fit inside genres. In a romance, the hero and heroine are on a journey together, and no matter how awful it gets, by the end of the book they'll be in love, with the probability of a happy ending.

As a teenager, I read a lot of science-fiction, but then I read 'Catch-22' and 'The Catcher in the Rye' and started reading more literary fiction.

As a teenager, I didn't read a ton of teen fiction, and now I feel like I wish that I had.

Yes, but I don't think of the Teen Angel as of an age.

Some say it is the elements of hope and wonder in children's books that make them special. But there are many dark young adult novels these days. Adults loved Harry Potter, though it was written for the young. In the end, it is probably up to the reader of any age to decide if this book is for him or her.

Interestingly for me, modern rom coms have not always been funny - many of the iconic rom coms are more like light dramas with occasional comedic moments, often coming from secondary character.

When I first thought of the idea for 'Sweet Valley High,' I loved the idea of high school as microcosm of the real world. And what I really liked was how it moved things on from 'Sleeping Beauty'-esque romance novels where the girl had to wait for the hero. This would be girl-driven, very different, I decided - and indeed it is.

I do feel like the end of 'Mad Men' is a sort of a coming of age.

I think of my books now as suspense novels, usually with a love story incorporated. They're absolutely a lot harder to write than romances. They take more plotting and real character development.

Well, I could do it for a day, but I wouldn't want to be a teenager again. I really wouldn't.

I love historical romance, absolutely love it.

I think more people are going to continue reading YA as well as reading other books because they have learned that they can find books there which they will truly love: a teenage protagonist is close enough to adult so readers of whichever age can sympathise and empathise with them.

When I read the 'Twilight' book, I didn't see it as fantasy. I saw it as a love story.

I read 'the Hobbit' at the age when you're supposed to read it. I didn't read 'The Lord Of The Rings.' My father, who was an English teacher, advised me that once I had read 'the Hobbit,' that would be enough. I could then move on to Dostoyevsky.

My high school years were fun and frustrating, typical of the teen years. The most important accomplishment was meeting my wife, Ruth.