What
is romance?
I googled this word for
others opinion of romance.
Dictionary.com
defines romance in the verb form as; “to court or woo romantically; treat with ardor or chivalrousness” But what
I found interesting was their definition of the noun form of the word, that is,
“a baseless, made-up story, usually full of exaggeration or
fanciful invention.” Is this what we romance writers do? Do we write baseless
stories full of exaggeration and fanciful inventions? As a romance writer who
spent my early adulthood reading a lot of Harlequin and Mills and Boons, I
would have to agree that those books do fall into that category. They often relate
stories of this wonderful, handsome, strong man who sweeps in to love and adore
some fragile damaged woman looking for someone to save her. They often do their
wooing in these extravagant passionate ways that leaves a girl wishing a man
can come into her life and treat her the same way. But, isn’t this part of the
reason why we read? That is, as a means of escape. Romance stories like these
give us just that, a world to escape into where romance is of the extravagant
kind, where men are of the kind we dream of and stories often have a happy
ending. Romance novels are just that, romance.
The freedictionary.com defines romance as “a love affair, especially an intense and happy but short-lived
affair involving young people” This definition, I can say, I don’t believe. For
romance doesn’t come to only the young and it certainly isn’t short lived.
Sure, once you read a romance novel it often ends when the two people have
conceded to their feelings for each other, sometimes in marriage, or sometimes
just in them coming together. But anyone who reads a romance novel that ends at
this point is left with the idea that this is just the beginning for the couple
and not the end. In one of the novels I read lately, “Happy Hour” by Michelle
Scott, the novel shows you romance in the lives of these different characters
at different parts of their life. The novel is not purely based on romance, but
it is a major factor in the novel. Romance is shown in the lives of a married
woman, a divorced woman, a widowed woman and a woman scarred by the past. It
shows romance in its early stages and romance as it is resurrected between a
couple who have been married for awhile. I believe this is romance in its true
form.
I have a friend who has a friend whose novel was turned down by
publishers for not following the normal sketch of a romance novel. I was left
asking; what is the normal sketch of a romance novel? This person’s novel is a
M/M romance novel with the following plot; the MC has lost his life partner and
is going through the grieving and healing process when he meets other love
interests. It shows him as he heals and moves past his pain to finally let
other people in, then he is left with choices and the novel revolves around
which one he will choose. I agree that the writer dealt a little too much on
the grieving process, and maybe that should be looked into, but I don’t see how
this novel strays from the normal romance sketch outside of that aspect. The
publisher’s suggestion is that the author should have the MC’s life partner
cheat or walk out on them instead of dying. I believe remaining true to one’s
story is important and these true facts would help readers to identify with
characters and their pain and loss. What do you think this author should do?
Should they change their plot at the opportunity of being published? OR should
they remain true to their story and hope someone will pick it up someday?
My lesfic contemporary romance, An Unexpected Desire, is about
romance between a young woman and a middle aged woman. It shows romance
building from friendship. It shows romance that is different from the usual Mills
and Boons or Harlequin romance.
The blurb for my story is as follows:
Fiona is a recluse, she has
given up on the search for love because no one seems to fit into her puzzling
life. She has few friends and is regarded as the ice queen.
Nyasha is a fiery spirit and
an outgoing ambitious woman with a detailed plan for her life. She dates and
enjoys her time with her women partners, but she doesn’t get emotionally
involved because the last time she did, it cost her.
The two women meet in a
workplace where situations push them together and they forge a friendship as
they both try to suppress how they actually feel about each other.
Will Fiona accept that she
has found the right peg for her puzzle and open up herself to Nyasha? Will
Nyasha trust that this woman wants more than to just satisfy her curiosity?
Will the two women suppress their feelings for each other or will they let go
of their fears and let love reign?
What sort of romance do you like to read? What sort of romance do
you write? And is there anything as a specific romance sketch that all romance
writers must follow?
Anjie Harrte: Romance with some Caribbean flavour
Anjie Harrte is a twenty nine year old mother
of one who resides in sunny Guyana, South America. Sometime between running a
small business, having a full time job and being a mother and partner she finds
time to pursue her passion for creating stories. Anjie dreams up stories
of contemporary fiction splashed with some romance, a little dose of murder or
an ounce of suspense and sometimes when no one is looking she dashes in a
little twist. When she isn’t doing any of that, she is decorating a cake,
knitting a chair back or sewing her latest design. Anjie even finds time
to lurk around and stalk people and pages on facebook and you too can stalk her
if you like at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anjie-Harrte/ or you can follow her on twitter
@anjieharrte or keep updated with her writing at http://authoranjieharrte.blogspot.com/
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