On being a romance author's fan

1. Authors are people who write books they are not the character in their book. The reader is very familiar with the author’s character but remember the author is not that character. The author also doesn’t necessarily believe all the things they write. It’s called fiction for a reason.
2. Writing is work. It is the author’s business and livelihood. Remember that when you email them or comment on one of their social media sites. They are working and might not be able to get back to you promptly so be patient. Most authors love interacting with their fans but
3. You want to get to know an author but you need to respect their privacy. Some authors are an open book. Some authors reveal little about themselves or their family. Respect that and don’t pry into their personal lives.
4. Many published authors also have day jobs because for many writing won’t pay all the bills. For every Stephen King or Danielle Steele there are many authors that struggle to build their readership. If you have an author you love you can help them out by mentioning their book to your friends, writing reviews on Amazon, Good Reads, etc., and by buying their books and not looking for a free source. Pirating is illegal and is not hurting the publishing company nearly as much as you are hurting the author.
5. The single worst question I’ve heard asked of a romance author was during a book tour when a young man asked, “When are you going to write real books?” The author was very polite and didn’t go off on the young man though I think some of us in the audience wanted to for her. Authors write real books no matter the genre. They put their heart and soul into what they write and the finished book is a real book with characters that make you feel, that move you, that make you want to know more about them. What could be more real than that?