Modern Love

Romance novels, long scrutinized for their ‘brainless, under-represented, and morally corrupt’ entertainment, have come a long way to mending that reputation with thoughtful, diverse, and imaginative stories. From ‘it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife,’ to ‘ILY bae, BRB,’ the way authors – and humans – fall in love, talk about sex and other hazards of love, and even meet in the dating world has drastically shifted since Austen’s time. Kama O’Connor, a Clatsop Community College writing instructor, writes and researches love stories and the ways they’ve changed over time. Though her romance novels end in a happily ever after like Jane Austen’s, O’Connor doesn’t have any doubt that Austen herself would get a good laugh out of modern love and the novels, songs, and poetry we write about it. Come hear more about the history of love stories and why they are the most enduring, profitable form of literature to date.

Kama O’Connor holds an MFA in Creative Writing, Fiction from Northern Arizona University. She has taught English composition, fiction, poetry, non-fiction, literary publishing, and other first-year seminar and honors courses at the university and community college level for the past 11 years. Kama is published widely in newspapers, magazines, and literary magazines such as Zone 3, O-Dark-Thirty, and others. Writing under Kristine Lynn, Kama’s 12 published and forthcoming romance novels can be found with HarperCollins, Tule, and other small presses. She lives, hikes, teaches, and writes in Oregon with her daughter and dog.