There weren't that many Black romance novels at the time, and I had this overwhelming sense that I had to read this one. So at the tender age of nine, I snuck off with the book and read it from the privacy of my room. (If you're wondering, the book was Night Song by Beverly Jenkins. I highly recommend it!)

Fast forward over two decades later... I've read countless Black romance novels, and I don't see myself stopping now. I just love experiencing what the characters are feeling.

Their confusion the more they try to understand love.

Their suffering when they try to fight it.

Their agony when they let old habits push their love away.

Their feeling that all is lost.

And I love, love, love when they dust themselves off and resolve to fight for their love. This is when the characters prove themselves not only to each other but to me, the reader. This is when I truly believe they are meant for each other.

Only when the hero and heroine fight for their love, instead of against it, do they reap any rewards.

That they will get together is a foregone conclusion. People who don't read romances often wonder why so many of us do so even while knowing how they will end. For me, it's not the destination but the journey, and the ups and downs experienced along the way—not unlike real life. It's why I have lost myself in the lives of countless fictional couples.

Romances are escapism at its best, which is what I aim for each and every time I sit down to write: an emotional experience you can get lost in.