We asked these romance writers about their favorite literary romances

It doesn’t need to be February for us to fall in love with literary romances, but it doesn’t hurt! There is just something even more magical about a romantic book this time of year. Love is in the air – and on these pages! So, we asked these romance authors about their favorite literary love stories that had them swooning long after they closed the book!

Pure Fandom: What literary romance has had the biggest impact on you?

Nalini Singh (NYT Bestselling author of SILVER SILENCE):

This question took me days to answer. Days. I’ve read a lot of amazing romances over the years, so to pick one was a mission. In the end, I ended up thinking of William Shakespeare’s Othello. I know, I know, it’s a tragedy, but hear me out. Othello and Desdemona are meant to have this wonderful love, but they lose it all because of misunderstandings. Iago’s around twirling his evil mustache and being villainous, but if only Othello and Desdemona had talked to and trusted one another, we would’ve had a sigh-worthy romance and not a tragedy.

I love the language in Othello – there are some beautiful passages, but most of the time, I want to take off my shoe and throw it at the main characters in an effort to knock some sense into them. Othello taught me that love can’t survive without trust and communication, and I always have that in the back of my mind when I write my own romances – if my characters have a problem with each other, they hash it out face-to-face. Okay, sometimes it involves swords, and sometimes there’s growling, and occasionally a murderous telepath tries to interrupt, but in the end, they’re in it together. That, to me, is romance.

Christine Feehan (NYT Best Selling Author of JUDGMENT ROAD):

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen when I was quite young really had an impact on me. I realized for the first time just what emotions the choice of words could evoke in readers—and in people around me. I was enamored with the way Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy could create such emotions just by how they acted around one another. Their actions spoke louder than actual dialogue, just with the words used to create the scenes. It was then I began to realize how I could create intimacy throughout a book not through dialogue, but just by the way my characters interacted.

Leife Shallcross (Author of THE BEAST’S HEART):

Persuasion, by Jane Austen. It was the first Austen book I ever read and I still get shivers when I think about Captain Wentworth writing that letter. *swoons*

RELATED:Check out our interview with THE BEAST’S HEART Author, Leife Shallcross

Want to win some books? CLICK HERE to tweet to enter! The winner will be chosen on Feb. 15th and will receive copies of THE BEAST’S HEART (by Leife Shallcross), JUDGMENT ROAD (by Christine Feehan), and SILVER SILENCE (by Nalini Singh)! (Contest open to U.S. residents only.)

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