Gemma Bruce Icon

I just got back from Barcelona. It was a lovely city. The weather was great. The architecture was heavenly. There was nothing gaudy about Antoni Gaudi’s Casa Batllo or the Segrada Familia, his famous unfinished cathedral.

But down on the streets, I was surprised and even more pleased to see romance books at every newspaper kiosk. And not just any romance. The majority were books by American authors translated into Spanish.

Several of the newsstands had wire carousels filled with Harlequin-Silhouettes. Lisa Kleypas’s new book was face forward along with the important newspapers from around the world. Nora and several others were prominently displayed.

I’m not usually a big flag waver, but in this case I sent a heart felt thank-you to all the American romance writers who are spreading love and good will and the chance of happily ever after to people everywhere.

Hooray for Romance.