Ruth Glick didn't set out to conquer the world of romance novels. It just sort of happened. After all, her bachelor's degree, from George Washington University, Class of '63, was in American Thought and Civilization.
As she grew up in the Baltimore area, the daughter of an Army doctor, her mother had wanted her to major in education, but Glick was determined to "study something interesting," namely, American history and literature. Little did she know she would soon be pumping out romance novels.
On second thought, maybe Glick's studies in American culture were dead-on: Never regarded as great literature but read by millions, romance novels generate $1 billion a year in sales and account for half of all paperback fiction sold in the United States.
This 56-year-old prolific Columbia writer has more than 60 romance novels and novellas to her credit (as well as at least 12 cookbooks), including the January release of "Shattered Lullaby," her 47th full-length romance novel. As the local authority on the subject, Glick is certainly passionate about passion.
"The question on every reader's mind should be 'Will this couple be able to forge this relationship?' The good writer will make you doubt it, lead the reader to a moment where she thinks there is no way this could possibly work out. But it always does."
The most important aspect of a romance novel is the guaranteed happy ending, the establishment of a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman.
That may sound limiting, but the romance genre has 15 sub-genres, from paranormal activity, time travel, suspense and religion to graphic sex.
As the author of the only romantic suspense series set in Baltimore, Glick has created an office building at the fictitious address of 43 Light St. Each of the 17 novels in the series focuses on one of the women working there as she deals with unexpected pregnancies, being chased by "desperate killers" or discovering hidden identities. And, of course, undying love is always waiting for the heroine.
"If you move into Light Street, someone is going to come at you with a knife or a gun, and then you're going to find a great guy who is going to help you solve the problem, and then you'll end up with him," Glick explains.
How romantic!
But how does the Queen of Romance Novels' real life compare to Glick's romantic heroines'? Well, her own marriage started off on a sweet note. One night, at a GW social, Glick turned to her friends and said, "I'm going to talk to the best-looking, most interesting guy in this room." She immediately fell for Norman Glick when he sheepishly apologized for having to put on his glasses to drive her to a coffee shop after the dance. The two were married in 1963, her senior year in college.
Ruth went on to the University of Maryland to earn a master's in American Studies. While studying for that degree she had two children and, after graduation, Glick decided to be a stay-at-home mom. But after a few years, "staying at home with two little kids was making me nuts." Glick enrolled at a course at Howard Community College designed to help women select a career.
A word person
Not surprisingly, Glick discovered that her strengths lie in writing. She began writing articles for local newspapers (her first piece earned her $10) and she even free-lanced a few to The Sun and the Washington Post on topics such as travel and blackberry-picking.
Her desire to try fiction led Glick to another course where writers read their works-in- progress. Her first novel was a children's science-fiction book that was rejected by five publishers. "But Scholastic [publishing company] sent me a 'good' rejection letter; the editor wrote me two double-spaced pages about what was wrong with my story." When Glick made the suggested revisions, Scholastic bought the book. "Invasion of the Blue Lights" was published in 1982, and her career as a writer was born.
"I didn't know anything about romance novels until a friend suggested that I try writing one. After I read a few I realized that my favorite part of fiction had always been the relationship aspect."
But even after deciding to try her hand at romances, Glick's career as a romance novelist didn't begin as a solo project. In 1982, she combined efforts with friend Eileen Buckholtz, and the two created the pseudonym Rebecca York. "At first it was just a lot of sitting around and giggling," Glick remembers. Until last year the pair combined their efforts on approximately 40 books, but as her talent for writing romances grew, Glick found herself wanting to strike out on her own.
"Sharing my vision with someone else stopped being satisfying for me," Glick explains. When the pair split, Buckholtz and Glick agreed they could both continue to use the pseudonym Rebecca York, as long as the cover showed the author's actual name also.
"Nowhere Man," a romantic suspense novel about a man with no memory of his past, appeared in 1998 as Glick's first solo effort. It's also her favorite book to date. The story focuses on psychologist Kathryn Kelley, who meets Hunter, a hero with no last name. Kelley discovers that Hunter's memories have been erased, and the two must contend with a covert government operation before their love can be fully realized.
"Nowhere Man" embodies one of my favorite themes -- the hero completely out of his element. It's really near and dear to my heart," Glick says.
Glick churns out one romance novel every six or seven months, but she's not running out of ideas yet. Much of her inspiration comes from newspaper articles -- real life stories that would make great suspense plots. In fact, the idea for her 1997 novel "For Your Eyes Only," came from an article about a blind girl who survived being kidnapped and tossed into a river with her hands tied behind her back. Glick read the article more than 10 years ago.
"What stayed with me was the girl's determination. She wasn't going to let this guy kill her," Glick remembers. As a result, the blind heroine of "For Your Eyes Only" successfully outwits the villain, even after she's been hauled off a bridge.
Although she has never suffered from writer's block, Glick has seen what it can do to other writers. "I'm aware of the danger of pushing myself too much. ... If you keep taking from the well and don't put anything back, it'll dry up."
Glick combats the dreaded possibility of not being able to write by keeping busy. "I do plenty of other stuff -- I read, garden a lot, and I cook. I could spend all day watching the birds and squirrels." Her husband's love of travel means that the couple is constantly planning a trip.
Loves the research
"I'm delighted with my wife's career because we always have to research new settings," Norman Glick says. "Talons of the Falcon" [published in 1986] required a Madrid trip."
Norman, a 61-year-old computer scientist working for the U.S. Defense Department, has created his wife's Web page and serves as her personal spell-checker.
"After my husband spell-checks one of my manuscripts, my editor says, 'It's been Normanized,' " says Glick.
Now that their two children are grown, the couple can spend more time together. "I get to date my husband again," Glick says. Aside from traveling, the two enjoy going to the movies and preparing meals for each other. "We really like to eat breakfast in bed," Ruth says.
How romantic!
With publications in 17 languages, Glick estimates that 5 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide. Combine this with the fact that she has won at least a dozen writing awards, and Glick becomes somewhat of an expert on romance.
Her bottom line: "Nobody's life is as romantic as it is in fiction."
Pub Date: 3/30/99