“When the Romantic Novelists' Association was founded 35 years ago (in 1960) the image was of pink fluffy bimbos. Now, the view of life through rose-coloured spectacles has gone out of the window. A realistic background and certainly a more realistic relationship between a man and a woman are the important things.”

“I created the Katie Fforde Bursary because I was a "nearly there" writer for a long time. I found it a bit of a struggle to pay my annual subscription to the Romantic Novelists' Association so when I finally became published, I wanted to give something back. That's the bursary, a year's subscription and a place at the conference. It does seem to give people a valuable boost to their confidence. People can find out more about the Romantic Novelists' Association at www.rna-uk.org”

“I tended to be more a romantic than a realist, and chose blind faith over cold logic.”

“Ah, art! Ah, life! The pendulum swinging back and forth, from complex to simple, again to complex. From romantic to realistic, back to romantic. ”

“There is no master narrative nor realist perspective to provide a background of social and historical facts.”

“I’m a realist,” I replied stubbornly, “not a romantic. Romanticsare always disappointed.”“Maybe they’re disappointed because they’re always surroundedby realists.” Simon countered.”