You guys have been great! Thank so much for all the advice.

B.E.,
Great to “see” you. Hope all is well with you. Sounds like you have a great relationship with your daughter, I hope mine comes to me so easily. How cool that she is reading the books–I’m so glad she’s enjoying them (and her mom, too!). Have fun with Duncan.

My daughter (15) pretty much has free reign on what she wants to read. Since she devours approx. a book a day, I don’t have time to read everything beforehand. I used to worry about the content of her choices, but we’ve had long discussions about the subject matter that worries me, and what makes her uncomfortable. She has no problem flipping past those scenes, or putting a book down that goes too far. And she comes to me if she has concerns or questions.

BTW, she’s been reading your Highlander series since the first one came out and she loves them. So do I. Oh, and I’m expecting your latest book to arrive any day now. Yay!

My mom dragged us to the bookstore first day of summer every year – we were allowed to purchase as many books as we could carry.

I don’t know how she afforded it. She just did. The only thing she made us promise was, that we talked about each of them, and had to finish ALL of them by the time school started again.

I learned to love reading then — and when I ran out, I hit her night table. Victoria Holt, Phyllis Whitney, Jude Devereaux, and later Sidney Sheldon, etc. and so on. My daughter has always loved thumbing through my REAL books, from my night table, to find words she knows… it’s bound to happen eventually!

Great post. nice to meet you…

~Ashley

~Ash

I haven’t seen her pick up one of my books yet in front of me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she had, they are all over the house. I have bookshelves everywhere.

I didn’t read my first romance until I was 14, but I read a lot of horror novels starting much earlier, probably 12, and before that I was really into Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine, and would sneak books from my grandparents bookshelves–The OTher Side of Midnight being one of them!! That must have been a really popular book. For some reason, I don’t really remember my parents having any books lying around.

So anyways, back to your question, I started at 14, and from what my mother says she was horrified. But you know teenagers, they’ll always find a way, even if they have to hide it. Maybe if you guys start a reading time now, like where you read together on Saturdays or something and open it up for conversation about what you’re reading you can slowly introduce it to her later one? That is probably what I’ll do.

Good luck!

Hey Ms. Karin, I think payback is part of the deal. Just think of the joy it will give you, LOL.

Jennifer,
I have a son, too, who shows absolutely zero interest in anything I write, LOL. You reminded me that I’ll also have to think about what books I have lying around. My two CPs write erotic so I have all their books in various stages. I think that lock is sounding better and better.

Thanks for chiming in everyone.

Hey Natalie, thanks for chiming in! I love hearing the perspective of the younger generation. You make some great points/observations. You are so right about maturity–I didn’t really think about the whole romance backlash, but you’re right. I’l never forget reading Forever by Judy Blume and asking my catholic school mother what a virgin was.

Hey Kris,
Another Sidney Sheldon reader, too funny. I know exactly what you mean about the “I did it and I survived” argument. Each kid is so different, what might be okay for one, could be bad for another. I love the points you make–especially about invincibility in teenagers. I was definitely like that myself. Thank you!

Vanessa,
I read Georgette Heyer, too. They are actually some of the first books I will probably hand her when she starts asking. I love the yellow tape. I was a lawyer, so I always joke about redacting pages for my parents to read, LOL.