How do you feel about the derision the romance genre is subject to, even from the often-put-upon-themselves SF/F/H fans? CF: This has never really happened to me, but it makes me feel sorry for people who are so narrow-minded. Few people will enjoy a movie without some semblance of romance and even the brilliant sci-fi and fantasy and horror writers often include romance. I love books, nearly any kind of book. If you …showed first 75 words of 1127 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1127 total…center of the story. However, a certain amount of world building is necessary to create that "other world" scenario, and it should be well thought out and consistent throughout the story. I do spend a fair amount of time on world building, and enjoy creating societies that are different from ours, yet have universal needs and emotions with which we can identify. But I definitely focus more on the relationships between characters than the worlds.