Why do some romance authors, once they are "saved" by religion, turn around and denounce their previous books and even their former readers in shockingly intolerant terms? Like "trash", "sinners", et cetera?

I mean, if they want to change their lives, so be it, but it does seem like really bad manners to condemn the very people that helped them come that far in their career as sinners or readers of "trash", "porn", and such. At least Anne Rice did it right by focusing her writing on Jesus but never condemning fans of her vampire books. Some saved romance authors could learn something from her. What's the point in alienating people who were once fans of them?

Of course, it isn't just saved authors who are guilty of this. Some authors, once they become big-time "respectable" mystery/crime authors, reacted vehemently to any mention of their past, to the point of even reissuing old romance novels with all romantic elements in them ruthless excised to make them more "respectable". Why do they even write romance if they are so embarrassed by the taint of the genre? And these authors don't even have Jesus has an excuse for their behavior. Weird.

No, instead Anne Rice went on a rampage on Amazon.com when people didn't like how her new direction affected Blood Canticle. Her tl;dr can basically be summed up as "You're all stupid idiot haters".

So actually, she does qualify as a saved author who managed to alienate a whole lot of fans as once.

Yeah, Anne Rice had a rather ugly public tantrum in Amazon. None of her fans will ever forget it.

Which has nothing to do with my point at all...

I don't think Rice ever recanted on her vampire books though, she dismissed them as "I was in my rebel phase" which is a lot different than Mrs. G's point about authors going back and rewriting, or distancing themselves from a genre they now find distasteful. As far as I know, Rice has never really done that - she's "changed genres" but she isn't rewriting the Vampire Chronicles to burnish her credenzas.

Hm. This piques my interest. I'm not aware of any romance authors having done a 180-degree turn like that. Of course, it bothers me when anybody in any walk of life suddenly reforms and goes "evangelical." Even former smokers. ;-)

I think they're more embarrassed by the exposed taint IN their books, rather than the taint of the genre. *gigglesnort*

If you’re talking about Ann Rice, then I don’t blame you…or her. You have to realize the power of religion…that one belief that when we die, we go to a better place. I’m saying this even though I’m a staunch atheist myself. Ann Rice was in a shitty place after her LOVED husband died. To her, I guess, to think that he went into nothingness was just too much. The thought that he went to a better place with rainbows and unicorns is definitely much more comforting. Almost enough to turn her beliefs and think of her other beliefs and the fruits it bore as sins. The same thing happens to terminally ill people who are just cannot be treated. The thought that they are going to a better place is much, MUCH more comforting and so, they turn more and more religious. It happens.
I have seen this happening on people who were mostly, violently against religion; like the previous Ann Rice and the other anti-Christ’s or so. Never with cool headed atheists who thinks thoroughly and examines every angle before they leap, though. Its like all those “anti-Christ’s”, they’re so mad all the time with god that they use up all their energy, and pretty soon they are just blank slates, waiting to embrace god again. I’ve seen this born-again-whatever (place your pick of religion) to people who were first of that religion, then began to violently hate it because the priest/shaman etc molested them and they thought where was god all those time and why did he let it happen. Of course, its not always about molestation; sudden death of a loved one, violent things happening to them; etcetra, etcetra. Then during their old age, they go “okay, enough with this foolishness…time to worship god again, yadda, yadda!”

@KZ Snow: Iris Johansen. She wrote out the romance in Reap the Wind when it was re-released after she made it big as a mainstream author.

Ironically, a lot of mainstream readers think there are too many romance tropes in her current books and romance readers think there's no romance at all...yet she still hits the best-seller lists. I gave up on her after the ninth or tenth mainstream suspense/thriller. I picked up The Treasure last year (?) because that was marketed as her big return to historical romance, but her publisher lied.