6 things we love about EW's spread on romance novels

Have you seen Entertainment Weekly's massive spread on romance novels in this week's edition? EW senior writer Karen Valby obviously did some pretty intense research on the genre. Here are six reasons we romance readers/authors are happy with what she's written about us:

• She doesn't take a condescending tone. How often have we gotten excited about a story about romance novels in a major publication only to have the words "bodice ripper" jump out at us almost immediately? I mean, hello? We haven't been writing bodice rippers since the early 1980s. Some of us consider that term offensive and not representative in any way, shape or form of what we do.

• She attended the RWA national conference. What a perfect way to get to know the genre and its authors! She made the trek to San Antonio, the locale of this year's conference, and not only hung out there but attended a luncheon and sat at a table of authors. You can't help but get to know your tablemates during those luncheons, if only to bond over the recurring comment, "Chicken again?"

• She talks to editors and authors we know and love. No obscure sources here. We know Angela James of Carina Press (some of us have even hung out with her at writing retreats), Sarah MacLean, RITA-winning author of A Rogue by Any Other Name, and self-publishing phenom Bella Andre. Sometimes stories like this turn up sources who speak as authorities about our genre — and many of us have never even heard of them. I'm quite comfortable with Angela, Sarah and Bella representing our interests in EW's spread.

• She uses a lot of impressive numbers. We already know our genre rocks book sales and that most other genres don't even come close to reaching the number of readers we reach. But the graphics accompanying the article prove it over and over. No one can argue with those amazing stats!

• She acknowledges that romance authors are visionaries. We've all struggled with feeling like the ugly stepchildren of the book industry at some time or another. Most of us just shrug it off and bask in the glow of our royalties, secure in the knowledge that without us, there would be no book-publishing industry. But Karen actually put it in writing that we're a pretty darn resourceful bunch.

• She acknowledges the impact of E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey but doesn't hand over ALL the credit for our success to that one author and trilogy. Sure, Fifty Shades raised the profile of the genre and has drawn tons of attention, much of it beneficial and positive, but come on, many of us were already toiling away on megaselling romances LONG before anyone heard the names Ana and Christian. Nora Roberts, anyone?

There's lots more to love about the EW spread, but these are the highlights for this author. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

HEA curator and contributor Joyce Lamb is a USA TODAY best-selling author of romantic suspense and three-time RITA finalist and has been a professional journalist for 25 years. You can reach her at jlamb@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter (@JoyceLamb). You can also follow HEA on Twitter (@HEAusatoday).