MAR/APR 2005

Selling Your Story to the Media
Improving Message Delivery
by Christopher Finley

To reach the media in the most effective manner is a goal common to all of us in the public relations industry. Join us on Thursday, April 14 as Jack Serpa, Vice President-Eastern Region, Business Development and Marketing with Bacon’s Information, presents “Selling Your Story to the Media” to the Blue Ridge Chapter Public Relations Society of America members and guests.

Serpa will discuss how we must improve our efforts to get the story out by using a scientific approach to time management, making each call more productive for both practitioners and the journalists we contact, eliminating multiple follow-ups with the same journalist, and most importantly, creating excitement among your staff to call the press and pitch the story!

As Vice President at Bacon’s New York office, Jack Serpa oversees sales, business development and industry relations in the Eastern region of the United States. A 20-year veteran in public relations and media research, Mr. Serpa has held business development positions at established companies such as Business Wire and Mediamark Research Inc.

Mr. Serpa has been a guest lecturer at UCLA, the University of Southern California, and Columbia University. He has presented to several trade associations including the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), and the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE). In June, he introduced this very seminar program for local PRSA Chapters in a luncheon presentation to the Public Relations Society of America’s Leadership Rally in New York.

Mr. Serpa began public speaking as a student lobbyist for the University of Rhode Island, where he addressed state legislators at the Rhode Island General Assembly. He also broadcasted news and commentary on WRIU-FM. He refined his speaking skills as a member of ToastMasters International, where he also served as Membership Director for the Providence Chapter. Raised as one of nine children, Jack learned very early in life the importance of being heard in a crowd.

Message from the President
Shelly Alley, APR
BRC-PRSA President

Greetings! I hope this issue of Blue Ridge Views finds you all doing well in 2005. I continue to be excited about the progress of our board and committee chairs so far this year. At the time of this writing, the Awards Committee was coordinating the judging of a new partner chapter, the PRSA chapter in Central Michigan. I appreciate everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to help with this exciting process. Also, mark your calendars now, the annual Blue Ridge Chapter Awards Gala is set for Friday, October 28th at the Hotel Roanoke. This event continues to get better every year, so you do not want to miss it!

If you have not logged on to our very own Blue Ridge PRSA website lately, then it is time to do so! (http://www.prsa-blueridge.org/) The site is constantly being updated and a couple new sections have been recently added, including a section on diversity and a section on ethics. The ethics section offers interactive case studies to test your ethics savvy. So, if you have not logged on lately, check it out.

I am also pleased to share that the Mid-Atlantic District has a new chair that has already started connecting the Presidents throughout our district. Our new chair is Felicia D.W. Blow, APR, who is the Director of Public Relations and Marketing with the Southeastern Public Service Authority in Chesapeake, Virginia. She has outlined an action plan and goals for our district, which include - improving communications within the district, establishing a district budget and building a district leadership training initiative. Felicia hopes to make a trip to visit all the chapters at either a regular meeting, professional development event or other activity. So far, I have participated in a quarterly conference call with other presidents in our district. If you have any ideas for making our district communications or activities better, please let me know. I will keep you posted on the progress of this new plan.

Lastly, I just want to remind everyone, that is not to late to get involved with any of our committees. If you see any committee that looks of interest to you, please don’t hesitate to contact myself or the committee chair or co-chair for more information. Also, if you know someone who is a prospective member, share the benefits of PRSA and our local chapter with them and encourage them to attend a luncheon meeting and see what we are all about.

There are some great promotions going on right now with PRSA national for new members. Feel free to send contact information of possible new members to our Membership Chair, Margaret Boyes, APR. I hope that we can continue to bring new members into our organization this year. We had a lot of new faces at our February luncheon and for me as your, President, that was very exciting!

See you at the April luncheon!

Busy Times for RU PRSSA
Events and Guest Speakers Ensure Full Schedule
by Mary-Hope Gangwer, RU PRSSA Public Relations Chair

This semester is full of activities, events, and guest speakers. With nominations for a new executive board right around the corner, there is a possibility of a few new positions available. I am fortunate enough to have been chosen to attend National Assembly March 10-13 in Dallas, Texas. We are eager to continue providing public relations services to local businesses in Radford after our successful college night at Screamers Sports Bar. Although this semester is flying by we still have many things to fit in.

The annual Banquet is quickly approaching! The location, guest speaker and menu are in the final planning stages. There are several national awards the current executive board is in the process of applying for. Recently, our chapter sponsored a college night at Screamers Sports Bar in Radford, which turned out to be a great success. Tina Doody filled the position of campaign director, a newly created position, to lead this event. The executive board is currently tossing the idea of creating a few more new executive positions along with the recent campaign director position. Banquet chair and a nationals chair are the two main executive positions we want filled for fall semester. Banquet chair would be responsible for all the plans for banquet. Nationals chair would take care of all communication and deadlines needed to be met between our chapter and nationals.

In a few weeks I will be venturing to Dallas, Texas to take part in the PRSSA National Assembly. I am honored to have been nominated and hope to bring back lots of ideas for Radford’s Chapter. While in Texas I will be voting on a new national executive board, attending professional development meetings, listening to several intriguing speakers and of course networking! I will be following up on my trip in the next Blue Ridge PRSA newsletter.

This semester we have strived for more attendance and activities. All the members have done a great job with their attendance and performance. We look forward to having Todd Burns speak at our next meeting on the public service project he leads. Thank you to all the Blue Ridge PRSA members who support and advice our chapter. We appreciate everything!

Virginia Tech PRSSA On the Move
Activities, Workshops and T-shirt Sales
by Zoe Mathias, PRSSA President

Another semester has begun in Blacksburg and our PRSSA chapter has a full calendar of events. This semester’s meetings are being dominated by workshops. We have already had a graduate school panel this month where our members learned about grad school, its advantages, and the process to get in to a school. Upcoming workshops will cover the topics of media kits, mock interviews, and desktop publishing.

We are trying a new activity this semester as well. We will contact other student organizations on campus and write press releases for any events they may have. Our members will be assigned an organization and they will submit a press release to the Collegiate Times. The goal of this activity is to give our members more experience writing press releases and working with “clients.”

Relay for Life is our big community service event in the spring. This year in April, we will participate in Virginia

Tech’s Relay on the outdoor track on campus. We hope to have at least two teams from PRSSA take part in this year’s event. In the upcoming weeks, we will start collecting donations, which will all be donated to the American Cancer Society for cancer research. The Virginia Tech Relay committee is waiting for a website to be finished so that all donations can be made online.
 

In March, one of our members, Ashley Hess, will be attending the PRSSA National Assembly in Dallas, Texas. She will be flying with the delegate from Radford and will spend four days in the Lonestar State. While she is there, she will attend workshops and participate in the voting process for the national committee members.
 

We are still selling our Virginia Tech communication department T-shirts again. The maroon short sleeve and long sleeve shirts list a “Top 10 Reasons to be a Comm Major.” Short sleeve shirts are $10 for sizes S, M, L, XL and $12 for XXL. Long sleeve shirts are $15 for sizes S, M, L, XL and $17 for XXL. Buying a shirt is a great way to support our organization because the money is used for our Communication Connections conference each fall. If anyone is interested in a shirt, they can contact me at zmathias@vt.edu.

New Officers For 2005-2006

Finally, spring semester always means holding elections to find new executive committee members for our PRSSA. We held our officer elections at our meeting on Feb. 21. Our hope is that the new members will have enough time to shadow the member in their upcoming position so they feel confident taking over next year. The new committee members will take over the meetings in the last few weeks of the semester.

It is going to be an exciting semester for Tech’s PRSSA. We have planned several events and workshops and hope to meet with Radford more. We also look forward to working with the PRSA through the meetings and workshops.
 

College Night at Screamers
The Sweet Cry of Success
By Tina Doody, RU PRSSA Campaign Director

Radford PRSSA announced February 25, 2005 the results of a joint project between the organization and the new restaurant Screamers. Tina Doody, the newly elected Campaign Manager for PRSSA and a committee of eight other members worked directly with the management of Screamers to design and promote “College Night” at the new Radford restaurant.

The idea behind the event was to allow Radford students to socialize in a relaxed atmosphere while promoting the good food and service at the restaurant. Tina Doody said: “The manager at Screamers was extremely enthusiastic about our ideas that we finalized over a series of meetings. It was up to us to promote the event with the student body and to create the “buzz” on campus that would make the event a success.”

Two weeks prior to the event the group began to promote “College Night.” They produced more than 200 flyers and passed them around to various apartment complexes. They also stapled them to bulletin boards in all of the dorms and several other buildings around campus. In addition, an information table was set up in Heth circle. The table went up two days before the actual event, with volunteers helping in hour long shifts. The volunteers passed out additional flyers along with coupons that could be used during “College Night” only. Ms. Doody said, “It was very beneficial being able to actually explain to the students one-on-one what “College Night” was all about. In my experience, word of mouth is a very effective form of promotion and advertisement on a college campus.”

The event began at 9:00 p.m. and by 9:30 there wasn’t a seat available in the restaurant. The manager did not expect the spirited response as she had to call in additional servers to handle the crowd. The group was delighted to see how the hard work and planning had paid off as well as how much the students enjoyed themselves. The biggest hit of the night was the promotion “eat 10 Screamers hot wings in 10 minutes, and get a free T-shirt. Three of Radford’s finest male students came in and rose to the challenge and came away triumphantly with the T-shirts. “This was definitely a great learning experience for PRSSA,” said Ashley Mezyk, RU PRSSA President. “I’m glad we had the opportunity to do this because I think we gained a lot from it, and I’m quite sure Screamers did as well.

A Look Back
New Members Recruited in 2004
By Allison Moore

In 2004, PRSA National’s membership office launched a year chock-full of membership promotions to increase membership acquisition for the national organization and affiliated chapters nationwide. The “Member-Get-AMember”, “Taste of PRSA”, “Fall Into A Golden Opportunity” and other membership drives offered new members waived initiation fees and PRSA vouchers, waived first year section dues and waived first year dues for professional interest sections.

The Blue Ridge Chapter supported this membership growth initiative with promotion of the aforementioned national campaigns; maintenance of an up-to-date prospect list through which all members worked to contact prospects of business relation; and provision of high-quality professional development courses and enlightening luncheon speakers.

Through these efforts, the Blue Ridge Chapter is pleased to have welcomed the following western Virginia public relations professionals into its membership ranks in 2004:

Ellen Agee, Marketing & Communication Specialist, Carilion Health System
Ray Atkinson, Manager of Corporate Communications, Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation
Molly Bell, Marketing Services Manager, The Roanoke Times
Ann Brown, News Bureau Writer, Radford University
Larry Brown, Public Information Officer, City of Roanoke
Erin Hildreth, Director of Community Services, Children’s Miracle Network
Deborah Huff, Assistant Professor, Liberty University
Beth Kolnok, Marketing Director, Vistar Eye Center
Steve McClintic, Senior Manager, Marketing & Communication, Lewis-Gale Clinic, L.L.C.

To join or refer prospects to the Blue Ridge Chapter of PRSA, please contact Margaret Boyes, membership committee chair, at 540-725-4355 or via email at margaret@theboyes.com. Chapter membership is dependent upon membership with PRSA National. To join PRSA National, please call (212) 460-1400, e-mail membership@prsa.org or visit www.prsa.org and click on “membership.”

Roanoke and Adult Literacy
BR PRSA Team Efforts Earn National Attention
By Todd Burns

Great things are happening with adult literacy in Roanoke, and it’s due in large part to the relationship between Blue Ridge PRSA public service volunteers and Literacy Volunteers Roanoke Valley. “PRSA volunteers have done a wonderful job in arming our organization with materials to help us spread the word about adult literacy in Roanoke,” said Annette Loschert, executive director – Literacy Volunteers Roanoke Valley. “In addition, the relationship is drawing national attention on our chapter.”

BRPRSA public service volunteers last year developed designs for a poster, a bookmark, a slide show, and a brochure. In December, BRPRSA public service volunteers were instrumental in getting Marsha Tait, senior vice president Pro Literacy Worldwide, to Roanoke to speak to the chapter’s membership, and raise awareness for adult literacy in the Valley. As part of the visit, Tait met with a combined group of board members from BR PRSA and Literacy Volunteers Roanoke Valley, held a press conference recognizing learners and tutors of the year as well as BRPRSA, and cut two public service announcements. Since then, two Roanoke Valley Television broadcasts focusing on adult literacy have aired. One featured BRPRSA’s own Larry Brown, public information officer for the City of Roanoke

During her visit, Marsha Tait told us that she was unaware of anywhere else in the country where PRSA chapters have buddied-up with local literacy organizations. “That surprised me,” said Todd Burns, BR PRSA public service chair. “There’s a logical connection between communicating and literacy. If people can’t understand what we’re telling them as PR professionals, our jobs are that much more difficult.”

“Since the spotlight shown on Roanoke’s collaborative effort to combat adult literacy, Pro Literacy Worldwide is now thinking of us when they have an opportunity,” Burns said. “There’s been talk about having representatives at the Pro Literacy annual conference, a May feature in Pro Literacy’s newsletter will feature our work, and at least one national media opportunity has been passed to Literacy Volunteers Roanoke Valley.”

To join the BR PRSA Public Service Team contact Todd Burns, Appalachian Power corporate communications manager, at tfburns@aep.com, or call at 540-985-2912.

Get a Taste of PRSA
Join in March 2005
by Margaret Boyes, APR

Join PRSA, save $$$ and get a taste! If you join as a new PRSA member in March 2005, you will not only save, but you will receive a complimentary taste of what PRSA has to offer as well. During this special promotion we will waive the $65 initiation fee for you AND you, as a new member, will also receive a $20 voucher that can be applied towards PRSA's professional development programs or books and gift items offered through the PRSA Store.

This offer is valid for those joining as Full Members at $225 annual dues (sorry, Associate Members are not eligible) including new members or reinstating PRSA members who have been inactive for a least one year. Chapter and/or Professional Interest Section and Affinity Group dues are additional. Join today, and experience the VALUE that membership provides.

Special membership applications are available:
♦ PDF application
♦ Through your local PRSA Chapter
♦ From PRSA Member Services at membership@prsa.org or 212-460-1400 Applicants may also apply online; be sure to mention code TASTE 2005 on your application to receive this special offer.

Diversity and PRSA
2005 Goals
by Larry Brown

It is my pleasure to present to all PRSA members the 2005 goals for the Diversity Committee. In addition to what’s listed below, we are always looking for new ideas and other ways we can have a more diverse membership as well as address diversity-related issues. If you have suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Goals and Objectives 2005

• To continue to foundation set this past year and continue to expand the role and mission for the committee
• To actively recruit potential members of “diverse” races and ethnicities in the region to join PRSA
• To move “diversity” beyond simply awareness and one-day training sessions, to be more incorporated in the framework of our organization.
• To expand the definition of diversity within PRSA from more than black-white; but other races and ethnicities, as well as male-female and other pertinent topics
• To identify the specific number of diversity-related activities we can feasibly accomplish in 2005 (including guest speakers) – including possibly hosting a seminar on marketing to the Hispanic/Latino audience
• To partner with our student-chapters to include more diversity in their membership
• To follow the objectives and actions of the national PRSA for their findings, suggestions and activities and then incorporate them into the BR PRSA – specifically by using the Diversity Tool Kit provided by PRSA

If you’re interested in joining the Diversity Committee, please contact Larry Brown at 853-6357 or by email, larry.brown@roanokeva.gov.

Luncheon RSVPs Notes
Don’t Miss the Great 2005 Luncheon Programs
by Lu Sadler, Hospitality Chair

Our first luncheon for 2005 has come and gone. Vicki Gardner, Executive Director of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber, was a terrific speaker. We have five more entertaining and educational speakers scheduled this year.

We had 55 people attend the luncheon: 38 members, 19 guests, one intern, and one student. We had 26 reservations made via email, 17 members were prepaid, ten reservations were made via the web site, one made by mail, one made by phone, and one walk-in. The most interesting statistics from the February luncheon are these: Eight people made their luncheon reservations anywhere from 9 to 37 days prior to the event. 18 members prepaid by the January 31 deadline. 31 people (53%) made their reservation within one week of the luncheon. 17 people (29%) made their reservations past the deadline!

Our luncheon guarantee is due to The Hotel Roanoke no later than noon on the Monday preceding our Thursday luncheon. See the deadlines on this page and please mark those dates on your calendars. If you cancel your reservation before the guarantee deadline, you will not be charged. However, if you cancel your reservation after the guarantee deadline or you are a no-show the day of the luncheon, you will be invoiced. This same rule applies to your guest(s). PRSSA advisors: please make sure your students are aware of these policies, too.

Summit Awards
Changes for 2005
By Jeanne Kennedy

Each year, more people are entering our annual Summit Awards. That’s great news, but it has prompted us to make some changes in how the increasing number of entries is considered.

At their February meeting, board members created some new categories for entries and changed a few others. Basically, we now have a separate category for magazines, interactive/audiovisual entries and special events. We’ve also revised how budgets are considered for a few other categories. Below is a rundown on all the new categories for you to keep in mind as you start thinking about your entries in the coming months. Remember, too, we’re still looking for members to help us judge the Central Michigan PRSA chapter’s annual Pace Awards. (They’re the folks who will be judging our Summit Awards.) The judging for Pace Awards will take place Thursday, March 3, through Thursday, March 10, at the Roanoke College Public Relations Office. Judging can be done any weekday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call Jeanne Kennedy at 375-2325 or email her at kennedy@roanoke.edu.
 

Member Spotlight
Kathi B. Scearce has been a PRSA member since 2000 and Publications Chair since 2001. When she’s not working for PRSA, she works as a Project Manager for Roanoke County’s Information Technology Department.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE PR AS A CAREER CHOICE?
I didn’t really choose PR. I fell into it while in college. I’d started out as an information technology major. When I ran into some problems with a couple of programming classes, I switched in midstream to Virginia Commonwealth University’s Communications curriculum. Of all the tracks, PR seemed to fit my skills set the best.

While working for Virginia’s Center for Technology, I was fortunate enough to help plan a couple of large events that spotlighted the Secretary of Technology and other notable figures. It was great preparation for my award-winning event, the Grand Opening of the Blue Ridge Visitor Center at Explore Park, which I

organized while working as Community Relations Director for Elmer Hodge.
 

Learning when to keep my mouth shut. PR takes great diplomacy, and that’s not something I possess in abundance. In fact, my diplomatic skills are pretty much nonexistent. I’m forthright and bluntly honest. Of course, that means I’m constantly at war with the need to balance forthright comments against a need to temper those comments to avoid any type of backlash in my position. It’s one of the most difficult challenges I’ve had as a professional and as an individual.
 

I’ve always been a great organizer and I am especially proud of all the wonderful events I’ve planned throughout my career. But if I had to choose, I would say that the Blue Ridge Visitor Center’s grand opening was a defining moment for me. When you’re faced with the one of the President’s cabinet members coming in for an event you’re planning and you have to provide a ton of information to the Secret Service, it can be a daunting task. Seeing it come off so smoothly was terrific.
 

I’m actually in the middle of a career change. I’ve been a writer since I was nine-years old, and I’ve got full manuscripts with two large publishers in New York, so I believe my dream of achieving print in the romantic fiction industry is close at hand. To my amusement, nothing was happening with my writing career until I

started using the pseudonym I picked out when I was nine — Monica Burns (www.monicaburns.com). Recently, I sold two of my books to an ePublisher (books are purchased on line and you read them on

your computer or eReader or you can even print them out). My first book was published

this past January and has earned rave reviews in the romance community. The second one is due out next month. I’m pretty excited about the whole shift in my career.
 

Ethics. This isn’t a philosophy I had to learn when I became a PR professional. I was raised in a strict

German household (with an Italian mother - Imagine It!), and I was taught from an early age that honesty and a strong work ethic were essential when it came to one’s character. For some reason (I’m a glutton for punishment), most of my positions have been affiliated with the political sectors both on a state and local level. This has made it especially hard for me because politics is about manipulating the facts to enhance an organization’s or politician’s image. I’ve always subscribed to the idea that if you share information openly and honestly with the public, you’ll be viewed in a respected light and earn great rewards. Unfortunately, I’ve not been diplomatic or skilled enough to convince my superiors of this fact.
 

E. St. Louis, Illinois
 

I’ve made college somewhat of a career. I attended the University of Minnesota for a semester, a year at Virginia Tech, earned my Associate’s Degree at Virginia Western Community College and my Bachelor’s at Virginia Commonwealth University.
 

My father was with the railroad we moved here when I was nine. In fact, I’d sometimes visit my father at work when he had an office in the Hotel Roanoke. I’ve left and returned several times. I’ve left and returned several times. And I’m about to leave again.
 

On top of a mountain in west Roanoke County.
 

Married for almost 19 years...doesn’t feel that long.
 

Two beautiful, headstrong daughters. Marie is our oldest at 14 and Olivia, 7, is our miracle baby as I lost our

second child to a miscarriage.
 

Gayton. Pronounced just like it’s spelled. We named her after the street we lived on when we were first married. I wanted something no one else would name their dog. It’s always been a huge joke in my

husband’s family. We’ve been asked why we just didn’t name her 95 in honor of Interstate 95 that runs through Richmond. She’s quite old now. Almost 17 years old. She was my first “baby.”
 

I’ve always been an avid camper. For years I tent camped, and after more than 15 years of marriage I finally convinced my husband that if we bought a pull trailer he’d be happy to give up hotels. He’s a definite convert now. And I love it when we go out for weekend excursions. We get to sightsee, the girls get to spend time outdoors and I get to write in the soft gentle breeze beneath our camper’s canopy. I also love reading, computing and any type of cultural outing I can attend. I love sightseeing at historical places. Makes

for great research and ideas for my writing.
 

Forthright. You always know where you stand with me. I’m not really sure how people think of me, although I’m generally surprised when I find out it’s favorable.
 

I don’t know that I can honestly say I have a favorite. If I had to choose, it would Girl Scout Mint cookies in the

spring, Friendly’s hot fudge sundaes in the summer, crisp Jonathan apples in the fall and hot vegetable beef soup in the winter.
 

I grew up in a household where my mother played classical piano and there was music playing throughout the day. I played flute from 7th grade through my senior year, and I have lots of favorite types of music but no single favorite musician. I run the gamut from The Tea Party (Canadian rock band) to the New York Metropolitan Opera. From Broadway shows to Yanni.
 

Walt Disney World has been our vacation spot of choice, but I’m hoping we’ll be flying off to London, England in 2007. My critique partner and I want to go over without the families for research then our families will join us. It’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit.
 

Writing. Nothing give me as much creative joy as writing.
 

A day where I have the house to myself and I’m able to write to my hearts content without any interruption.
 

I’m a member of Beta Sigma Phi, an international woman’s organization. We raise money for various charities. Currently, we’re supporting a sister whose husband was recently deployed to Iraq. The soldiers are still in need of so many things, and being a veteran, I try to do as much as I can. I remember what it was like to get care packages from home. They didn’t come often enough.
 

Well, since I’ve already been through a large number of past lives, I’m not sure. I’ve a picture of The Two Princes (allegedly murdered by their uncle Richard III) from medieval times. I love showing people pictures of the Princes and myself at relatively the same age. It freaks people out because the similarities are bizarre. When I do come back, I just want to find my way a lot sooner than I have in this life.
 

I was in the Glenvar High School band and we wore those wonderful kilts. We were suppose to wear black shorts underneath the kilts for those “just in case” moments. While traveling, we stopped for dinner. Several of us finished early and returned to the bus to find it locked. A window was open, and I (who was MUCH thinner then) volunteered to let a couple of the guys lift me up and I’d scramble through the window to open the bus. Needless to say it wasn’t until I got stuck in the window and heard laughter that I realized I’d forgotten to wear anything except my brilliant white underwear. I was mortified. Of course, that was the same

year I made the JV basketball team and during my first game I made the most beautiful lay up anyone has ever seen. Unfortunately, it was for the other team. Two devastations in one year. It was enough to make me realize that it didn’t matter what people thought about me as long as I tried hard.
 

I was four or five and at a family reunion. I wanted to go swimming (even though I didn’t know how) so I went and asked my mother if I could go. As is the habit of most mothers when their in the middle of a conversation, she said ok even though she really didn’t hear my question. So I proceeded to charge down to the boat dock. I was about to plunge into the water when one of my great uncles stopped me. Naturally my mother had to really stop and think when she answered me from that point forward.
 

I would have written more diligently and learned my craft earlier so that my publication wouldn’t have taken so long.
 

My romantic fiction is that of the highly sensual and erotic nature. Most people think writing romance is easy. It’s not, and sex scenes are the toughest. Writing an emotional, fulfilling love scene of four or five pages is hard because there’s only so many words to use in a sex scene. It’s hard not to make them repetitive. And when people ask me why I write romance and why I have sex scenes, I simply respond. Sex without romance is like a cookie without milk. That Ahhh! sensation is missing.