It was 1983--the first Golden Age for Dungeons & Dragons, when this cultural phenomenon was sweeping across the land. TSR, the publishing company behind this new type of game, was capitalizing on the success of its primary product. Already it was selling licensed fantasy novels. Now it tried something new: romance novels set in Dungeons & Dragons worlds.
These novels are:
Librarian Rebecca Baumann has photos of all four novels in a Twitter thread. That thread caught the attention of Winston E. Black, who replied that his mother wrote Ring of the Ruby Dragon and hated that TSR required her to change her nom de plume.
I'm a librarian, too, so you can imagine how I responded: I immediately filed an interlibrary loan request for one of these books. Specifically, I requested the title in the photo above. A couple weeks later, Secret Sorceress by Linda Lowery arrived.
I discovered that this wasn't just a romance novel. It was a "choose your own adventure" type romance novel!
This is Dungeons & Dragons, so a talking bird is an everyday event. The quest is quite conventional, so it can be summarized in the first page of this 157-page book.
Make choices. Some outcomes are alluringly romantic, especially if you enjoy having your chin cupped.
Others are more tragic for affairs of the heart. But fear not for Mialie. She will love again and at least she comes home from this failed romance with experience points to guide her in the next one.
-via Super Punch