Local Rom-Com Authors to Talk Love and Dating at Panel Discussion with Sojourner House

Rom-Com authors that will take part in the panel discussion, “The Power of the Rom-Com,” and examples of some of their works. Courtesy of Sojourner House.

We all have our guilty pleasures. For some, it’s the late-night cupcake, or the TV show that you keep telling your friends to watch but has a forty percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But for many of us, rom-com books are the guiltiest pleasures of them all, causing us to blush while we read the “smuttiest” details on our morning commute or lunch break. 

But rom-com novels are anything but a guilty pleasure for countless fans, including myself — an avid romance novel fan since I discovered Nicholas Sparks’ vast collection of works during my middle school years. Rom-coms not only offer their readers delightful storylines and an escape from the mundane, but they can even provide a framework for the societal expectations around love and dating. 

Sojourner House, a nonprofit organization that supports victims of domestic and sexual abuse, is hosting a panel discussion, “The Power of the Rom-Com,” with local rom-com authors to examine the role these novels play in our society. 

“If people read really good romance novels, ones that show couples that openly communicate, show genuine care and consideration for one another, that respect each other’s boundaries — that is extremely powerful,” says Sojourner House Communications Manager and panel discussion moderator Shannon McDonnell. 

In addition to its work helping survivors of abuse, Sojourner House is also a resource for sex education for its members, and this panel discussion will touch upon educating others on the importance of consent and other key indicators of a healthy sexual experience. 

Tori Anne Martin, romance novelist and author of “This Spells Disaster.”

Before becoming a romance novelist, Tori Anne Martin, panel member and author of This Spells Disaster, completed her doctoral research in psychology on interpersonal power and perceptions of consent and sexual violence. She highlights consent in This Spells Disaster, a romance novel featuring a witch’s encounter with an accidental love potion. 

“[Love potions] are often treated as a joke, as kind of a light-hearted thing. But, because of my background, I couldn’t escape the thinking that if this actually existed, it would be really, really scary because of what you could do with the other person — so I wanted to explore that dynamic.” 

Martin, along with other local romance novelists Jenny L. Howe, Chelsea Curto, Riss M. Nielson and Caroline Linden, will be discussing various types of relationship themes and dynamics at the panel discussion — taking place April 25 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble in Warwick.  

And, while the event is free, the Barnes & Noble store will also be donating a percentage of all sales that day to Sojourner House.

You won’t want to miss this thought-provoking and compelling discussion, and there will even be romance-themed prizes available for attendees. You can sign up here to pre-register for the event.