The love of a good romance

I post a lot of stuff on my blog about things I think are of interest to my readers – namely, upcoming books, or sales, or things like that. I don’t want to flood your inbox with things that might be irrelevant, and I think you know that I’m pretty spare in my posting. Nothing is worse than a post a day junking up an inbox! I do that out of respect for my readers, but today I’m going to blog about something that doesn’t have to do with a book release, or a new book, or a sale.  Let’s talk about what makes a romance novel GOOD.

Now, everyone has an opinion so what makes a romance good in my opinion might be different for you. To me, it’s all about the relationship building and the HEA (that’s happily ever after).  It’s not about the sex (because I don’t have a lot of that in my books), and rarely do my characters go through misunderstandings and angst that keep them apart.  I try to make my characters as human as possible (and, yes, sometimes I model them after real people) because, to me, they ARE real. I feel like every character I create is real, like a child. I know their likes and dislikes, their characters, etc. I try not to make them ‘stupid’ (although real people are sometimes VERY stupid lol), and I try to make them rational, although that doesn’t always work. Characters don’t always have to be likable in the beginning as long as they grow to be likable. That, to me, is very satisfying.

A good romance is humor, affection, lust, love, compassion, and likability.  Although I have been known to have my characters fight on occasion, that doesn’t happen too often. I’m not fond of fighting and making up. But let’s be honest – a good romance comes in many different forms. There is no formula. But there is one key ingredient in all of them – attraction. There has to be attraction. And it’s always my goal, as a writer, to make you feel that attraction and give you butterflies in your stomach because of it.

So, on this St. Valentine’s Day, I wish you a wonderful romance of your own  – and butterflies in your stomach. 🙂

Love,

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