Just finished a last revision of EVANGELINE, and I'm in love! Our romance has had its ups and downs, but I've always known our love was true. Ah, c'est l'amour!
Maybe I'm just a big old softie, but I love a good love story. Hell, I love a good romance, and I'm not going to nitpick about the differences. (Nicholas Sparks, you're a romance writer. Deal with it.) I can't seem to write anything that doesn't have an element of romance and at least a tiny love triangle. Because I love to write fantasy and paranormal romance, the romances often have their own unique problems:
I've never had a guy break up with me because he found out I was really a dragon.
I've never had to worry about whether or not the Egyptian god of the dead would make a good boyfriend.
I've never thought the guy I liked was alive when he was actually a ghost.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. With the glut of paranormal romance out there for adults and YA, writers have to be more original than ever when plotting love triangles and romantic sub plots. Instead of churning out the same sort of girl meets boy, boy drinks blood/howls at moon/etc., girl gets boy despite common sense and they all live HEA, writers are going to have to think outside the realm of convention if they want to write novels in such a competitive market.
Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Gena Showalter, and newcomer Gail Carriger have all done this, yet... it's always good not to go TOO far outside the reader's comfort zone. A fine line must be walked between what turns-on and what turns-off.
Read any good paranormal romances lately? Read any BAD romances lately? What was it about the love-story that interested you? Anything fun and unexpected? What turned you off? I'd love to hear it!
8 comments:
Ooo, congrats on finishing the revision--that is AWESOME! *tosses confetti* *happy dances*
Haven't had time to read much, thanks to WriteOnCon planning, but I love a good romance when I have time. Have a great weekend
Congrats on finishing your WIP. Glad you love it.
To be in love with one's own creation is most awesome. I bet Evangeline's worthy of the love, too!
I was impressed with how Sarah Rees Brennan made a demon sexy, as did Carrie Ryan with an almost-zombie. Perhaps in both those cases it's that the girl believes in something deeper inside the not-really-human boy or wishes it was there and so sees what she's hoping for.
Congrats on finishing your last revision!
It's hard to explain what works and what doesn't. I guess it has to feel natural. There are lots of set-ups where you can tell This character is going to fall for That character, and that's fine as long as they have actual chemistry. If they don't, then it just annoys me, especially since I can tell they were aimed at each other.
I'm with you, a good story has to have romance for me to like it. It doesn't have to be the main focus, but it has to be there. I recently read Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen's novel, Trapped. It had everything: romance, suspense, legend and a little touch of the old Gothic novels.
I don't read this genre really, but last year I read The Time Traveler's Wife and I cried so hard that my husband came over and said, "Sweetie, they're not real," and I almost yelled back "Yes, they are!" because they FELT so real to me. It was such an intense love story.
Whoo hoo!!!! Congrats on finishing up your revision! Does this mean it's query time? Fingers crossed!
Yea for completed revisions! Evangeline rocks! She's going to do awesome for you! Good luck!
You know I love a good paranormal romance--that's a big part of why I love E so much. I recently finished The Body Finder. While there was nothing paranormal about the romance, I still loved that aspect, because it felt so real and it was very sweet and innocent. And I love when I'm still thinking about the characters long after I've read the last page. :)
The list of ones I've been disappointed in is very, very long, so I won't get into that here. I'm sure I've told you about some of them. For me, the biggest problem is when the connection doesn't feel real or it feels forced. And there needs to be more than just You're really hot. Let's make out. Though I'm not opposed to that being part of it. ;)
And Corey, thanks for recommending The Time Traveler's Wife. That one's been on my TBR list for a while and I think it just moved up to the top. :)
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