I have nothing impressive to say but I must let you know that "I would say, “Give this man a journal” but that would be asking too much of him. Avon no longer pays for his ghostwriter" GAGGED ME while I was reading, 10/10
I’ve read books with Fabio covers but wasn’t there to experience the height of his fame in the 80s and 90s! Really enjoyed this deep dive on his career and personal background, and I’m really looking forward to those podcasts too. Your work has become such a wonderful historical source on romance novels and the people that produce them, and I really appreciate all that I’ve learned from your writing and videos.
Thank you for such a kind comment, Natalie! I'm glad you're enjoying it. It's fun to go down the rabbit hole but not as fun when I can't bring other people with me!
Great article! I was a child when he was at the height of his popularity, but I remember hearing his name on TV, usually on talkshows. His persona and the romance fiction literary world was usually talked about by the mainstream media with a certain level of mockery. While, I didn’t fully understand his role in pop culture it always stuck with me how the media loved to make fun of the stereotype of the sad, pathetic women who read romance novels with him on the cover.
It actually kept me from reading romance novels for a very long time because I simply believed that that this genre of fiction was low brow, and not something any a self-respecting woman would read. I’m so glad I broke away from that type of misogynistic thinking. While I’ve never read a romance novel with him on the cover, I’ve read a lot of romance novels that were really well written.
I think it’s so frustrating that the media cannot understand that women can enjoy a romance novel without assuming that she must be miserable or delusional enough to believe that she could marry the guy on the cover.
Well, I didn’t fully understand his role in pop culture I that always stuck with me.
Yeah, I know what you mean! Anytime romance is talked about by people who don't read the genre it tends to get flattened, and the appeal is attributed to individual sexual desire or wish fulfilment. This is not how I read, not how a lot of people read!
Fabio is particularly frustrating, as his fame is dependent on being ~ the lover ~, the man on the romance covers, but nobody else in romance was in on the joke. I didn't get into it here too much (but will definitely talk about it on the podcast where I have more time/space) but Fabio loves to name drop famous high fashion photographers he worked with in the early 80s, but when it comes to the artists that worked in romance that *actually* made him famous-- Elaine Duillo and Robert Osonitsch-- well, he never mentions them at all.
Oh! and re, Fabio covers: If you're a histrom reader, Fabio is on the cover of my favorite romance novel, Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale.
I have nothing impressive to say but I must let you know that "I would say, “Give this man a journal” but that would be asking too much of him. Avon no longer pays for his ghostwriter" GAGGED ME while I was reading, 10/10
😎
JUSTICE FOR BRENDA
giver her her flowers!!
I’ve read books with Fabio covers but wasn’t there to experience the height of his fame in the 80s and 90s! Really enjoyed this deep dive on his career and personal background, and I’m really looking forward to those podcasts too. Your work has become such a wonderful historical source on romance novels and the people that produce them, and I really appreciate all that I’ve learned from your writing and videos.
Thank you for such a kind comment, Natalie! I'm glad you're enjoying it. It's fun to go down the rabbit hole but not as fun when I can't bring other people with me!
Great article! I was a child when he was at the height of his popularity, but I remember hearing his name on TV, usually on talkshows. His persona and the romance fiction literary world was usually talked about by the mainstream media with a certain level of mockery. While, I didn’t fully understand his role in pop culture it always stuck with me how the media loved to make fun of the stereotype of the sad, pathetic women who read romance novels with him on the cover.
It actually kept me from reading romance novels for a very long time because I simply believed that that this genre of fiction was low brow, and not something any a self-respecting woman would read. I’m so glad I broke away from that type of misogynistic thinking. While I’ve never read a romance novel with him on the cover, I’ve read a lot of romance novels that were really well written.
I think it’s so frustrating that the media cannot understand that women can enjoy a romance novel without assuming that she must be miserable or delusional enough to believe that she could marry the guy on the cover.
Well, I didn’t fully understand his role in pop culture I that always stuck with me.
Yeah, I know what you mean! Anytime romance is talked about by people who don't read the genre it tends to get flattened, and the appeal is attributed to individual sexual desire or wish fulfilment. This is not how I read, not how a lot of people read!
Fabio is particularly frustrating, as his fame is dependent on being ~ the lover ~, the man on the romance covers, but nobody else in romance was in on the joke. I didn't get into it here too much (but will definitely talk about it on the podcast where I have more time/space) but Fabio loves to name drop famous high fashion photographers he worked with in the early 80s, but when it comes to the artists that worked in romance that *actually* made him famous-- Elaine Duillo and Robert Osonitsch-- well, he never mentions them at all.
Oh! and re, Fabio covers: If you're a histrom reader, Fabio is on the cover of my favorite romance novel, Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale.