On the Phil Donahue show in early December 1981, Janet Dailey, the most successful romance writer in America today, explained, in answer to a question, why actual parents are usually absent in romance fiction. The form is short, it places a premium on excitement – and parents are not “interesting.” For a moment, Ms. Dailey almost lost her largely middle-aged audience. No one present thought to remind Janet Dailey that a contemporary genre of popular “thrillers” (which, by definition, aim to excite the reader) centers on parenthood. “Thriller” authors include Ira Levin, Peter Blatty, Stephen King, Lawrence Sanders, Mary Higgins Clark, Lawrence Block, V. C. Andrews, John Saul, and hundreds of lesser-known and -talented figures. It is logical, in fact, that no one mentioned in Dailey's presence what I call “family horror.” Romances and family thrillers are widely dissimilar, yet closely connected; the proverbial opposite sides of the same coin.
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