Small was considered an erotic romance writer before the genre existed, and, despite her occasionally controversial plot choices, she remained a beloved and celebrated figure in the romance community, giving generously of her time and experience as a mentor and friend of the industry. She was fierce in her love of romance, and completely unapologetic about her bold sexual storytelling; authors across the globe are tweeting and posting Facebook tributes to Small, but I found this one from Teresa Medeiros especially poignant and illuminating.
"I had the pleasure of knowing Bertrice personally and I'm proud to say she was a true 'broad' in the very best tradition of the term," Medeiros writes. "She had a 'take-no-prisoners' attitude toward publishing and writing and a lusty laugh and appreciation for life that made you feel more alive whenever you were around her. Her kind will not come again."
The Romance Writers of America gave Small their highest honor in 2014, the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, and New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James presented it. You can see her introduction here, a witty and elegant overview of Small's extraordinary career.
James ended her speech with the words Bob Cratchit uses in A Christmas Carol, toasting Ebenezer Scrooge as "the founder of our feast." "Bertrice's trailblazing, sensual, historical novels blazed a trail that has helped many of us — myself included — bring home the bacon," she said. "In many, many real ways, Bertrice is the founder of our feast."
Bobbi Dumas is a freelance writer based in Madison, Wis. She writes, blogs and reviews for Kirkus Media, and celebrates romance and women's fiction on her website ReadARomanceMonth.com