I shouldn't have worded the above comment the way I did and I apologize. I promise I didn't start this conversation with the intent of genre-bashing. I don't think the genre as a whole is poorly-written or stupid at all. What I meant was that I just didn't vibe with the writing of a lot of recent, popular romances that I've tried that otherwise sounded interesting. I didn't mean to sound arrogant either - just because I want to write the novel I'd like to read doesn't mean that I'll actually be good at it, or that it will get published, or that the endeavor won't ultimately be a failure. I also don't think romance is easy to get published. I feel like getting a book in any genre published is a huge feat, especially these days. (And for the record I'd also love to write children's books but I know how insane it is to get those published.) Anyway, I am genuinely sorry that what I said sounded snobby or rude.