ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, January 4, 1997              TAG: 9701070040
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 10   EDITION: METRO 

ALL ABOUT ROMANCE READERS

Some facts about the $1 billion romance fiction industry from Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., which does extensive research:

* More than 50 million women in North America read romance novels.

* Their average age is 42.

* 70 percent have attended or graduated from college.

* 57 percent are employed.

* Romance fiction makes up 46 percent of mass-marketed paperbacks.

LENGTH: Short :   20 lines