I was watching a trivia show on TV last night – Millionaire Hot Seat. For the first time I can remember, the very first contestant ‘passed’ on the first – easiest – question. I was aghast. The question was:
Which of the following is not extinct?
1. Tyrannosaurus Rex
2. Dodo bird
3. Lesser Bilby
4. Romance
I wondered at the time, whether or not perhaps the contestant was a dodo! 
However, the incident made me think of an article I saw in the UK Daily Mail newspaper the other day. It was a story about Ida Pollock.
Ida is a romance writer, but what makes her so amazing, is that she is 105 years old – and still writing! She has published 123 novels under several pen names. These days, she dictates to her young 69 year old daughter, who types the stories up for her mother.
Some of the things Ida says really resonate with me. Ida said: 'A romance is never just a romance, there's adventure, mystery and movement.’ She also agrees you need a ‘grand, dramatic setting’.
I’ve been talking a lot lately about the importance of location for my stories. I like places with a bit of mystery, exotic places with lots to discover.But what I like about Ida is that she has stuck to the ‘formula’ of good romance novels and given joy to millions of people over many decades. It proves that, in a world where the reality of life can often be harsh, sad, and hurtful, the romance of true love can lift us up and transport us to a heady utopia where happiness abounds.
So, unlike the hapless bilby, dodo and T-rex, romance will live forever, thanks to romance authors everywhere, and especially to people like Ida Pollock.
EXTRACTS FROM IDA'S NOVELS
Nightingale in the Sycamore (1957)
'He moved to meet her as she moved to meet him and caught her in his arms, kissing her wildly, like a man who was starving. Her hair, eyes, cheeks, lips - he smothered them with so many kisses that before long he paused to draw breath himself. She was completely breathless, but clung to him as if never willingly would she let him go again, and for the first time for weeks she knew what it was to feel glad that she had been born. . . .'
Bay of Moonlight (1968)
'Their first kiss was unlike anything Sarah had ever expected of a kiss. It left her feeling as if a thunderbolt had come hurtling out of the sky and passed so close that it scorched her. And when his violent mood changed to one of gentleness, a tenderness that melted her bones, she knew that this was the moment for which she had been destined ... It was the very purpose of her life ...'
A Distant Drum (2005)
'She had been in bed no more than five minutes when she heard the door handle begin to turn. The movement was gentle at first. "Open this door, or I'll break it down," the Marquis ordered. When there was no immediate response his fist began pounding against the woodwork, and Fanny jumped out of bed. "I don't," his lordship told her, "wish to rouse the whole house, but if it becomes necessary I shall not hesitate to do so. Turn the key in the lock, Fanny.'
'He moved to meet her as she moved to meet him and caught her in his arms, kissing her wildly, like a man who was starving. Her hair, eyes, cheeks, lips - he smothered them with so many kisses that before long he paused to draw breath himself. She was completely breathless, but clung to him as if never willingly would she let him go again, and for the first time for weeks she knew what it was to feel glad that she had been born. . . .'
Bay of Moonlight (1968)
'Their first kiss was unlike anything Sarah had ever expected of a kiss. It left her feeling as if a thunderbolt had come hurtling out of the sky and passed so close that it scorched her. And when his violent mood changed to one of gentleness, a tenderness that melted her bones, she knew that this was the moment for which she had been destined ... It was the very purpose of her life ...'
A Distant Drum (2005)
'She had been in bed no more than five minutes when she heard the door handle begin to turn. The movement was gentle at first. "Open this door, or I'll break it down," the Marquis ordered. When there was no immediate response his fist began pounding against the woodwork, and Fanny jumped out of bed. "I don't," his lordship told her, "wish to rouse the whole house, but if it becomes necessary I shall not hesitate to do so. Turn the key in the lock, Fanny.'
***
