 For Kleypas, though, the defining moment was the after the flood, when she and her mother (whose home had also flooded), made a quick trip to the store to purchase toothbrushes, clean clothes, and other necessities.Separately, each of them had also chosen a romance novel, a necessity to them in helping them escape the stress they were currently under.To Kleypas, this realization validated her decision to write romance novels instead of more literary works.