Over the past few years, these books have changed, and continue to change, absorbing new themes and reflecting - at least for their readers - prevalent social values and concerns. The publishing industry cannot take sole credit for this process. While romance editors are fond of issuing their own definitions of romantic fiction, they also must frequently gauge reader opinion in order to adapt to changes in audience attitude and constituency alike. On some level, then, the romance novel is a largely unrecognized exchange between writer and reader which has significance or "meaning" only in its interactive entirety. What this "meaning" might be is something which, in this work, I have attempted to convey by letting the storytellers speak for themselves. This study explores the popular romance phenomenon from the perspective of those individuals indispensable to - and most directly responsible for - its production: the women who write romances and who constitute what may be called a distinct media subculture. In extensive interviews, these women articulate the values and goals they share as participants in the romance community. As they discuss their contributions and commitment to the genre, they provide insight into previously overlooked aspects of the process of popular culture production. Perhaps most importantly, the way in which these authors view themselves and their work attests eloquently to the significance of romance reading and writing as a unique and powerful women's communications system. (2-3)