'If you write romance, you won't contribute to the world'

I got a very touching letter recently from a young woman who was inspired in part by reading Hard Evidence to take on the issue of human trafficking through her college chapter of Amnesty International. It's a huge issue, a terrible problem, and, for those tragically caught up in it, a nightmare. It means so much to me that reading one of my novels helped to inspire this.

I've tried hard to include real issues and real topics in my novels. Yes, I know that many women turn to romance novels to ...