During a recent exercise in finding writing topics, I was challenged to type “Desperate for…” into my Google browser. You want to know what I discovered? People are desperate for attention, approval, and affluence (usually they call that last one “money” or “a loan.”) Women are desperate for a miracle, a man, a baby, or…
Part of the dynamics of a good story focuses on a desire. Sometimes it’s a physical plot goal, sometimes it’s more of an emotional yearning. The romance shelf, of course, features the longing for love. But the not-so-odd paradox remains that 99% of the books you read—whatever their genre: mystery, fantasy, thriller—have a love thread…
Good sport that he is, my husband cheerfully endures watching the occasional chick flick or romantic comedy with me. But as Lord Byron said: “Man’s love is of man’s life a thing apart, ’Tis woman’s whole existence.” There’s a reason why love stories creep into (or take over) most of what I write–and why Romance continues…
Today I’m sharing the second of a miniseries on romantic misconceptions—our misunderstandings in the realm of romance and romantic fiction. Who wants romance? Uh…almost everybody, if the dozens of twists on the romance genre offer any indication. A romance sub-genre pops up under practically every fiction category in existence. For example, take romantic suspense (admittedly,…
What’s wrong with romance? Branded by detractors as impossibly idealistic fantasy-fulfillment, romantic fiction is still the world’s most popular genre, according to most marketing pundits today. Though one constant in stories across the ages, romance as well as romantic fiction have provoked many misconceptions (more than 5, I’m sure!) and garnered some bad press in…
