Pronunciation Guide

Sunday, January 24, 2016

“R” is for…

“R” is for…

Romance and Relationships (and apparently a rant)

For years, I’ve resisted calling myself a romance writer. Honestly, I don’t want to associate myself with the genre. I’m sure there are some amazing romance books out there. I have friends who primarily write romance. It’s not my preference, and I’m not the target audience for that.

Here are my biggest issues with them:

~Authors pumping out book after book of recycled characters and recycled plots. (Get an original idea. Gosh.)

~Blurbs that end in questions like, “Will they be able to overcome _____ and find love?” (Cue sarcasm, and cue me moving on. To be fair, I don’t like questions in blurbs period. For me, they undermine their purpose. They tell me what will happen in the story.)

~Constant, heart-pounding attraction that makes girls want to have sex with a stranger just because he’s hot, unrealistic expectations, and male love interests who are perfect or flawed in a perfect way. (As in, his flaws are actually good traits in disguise, not actual flaws. And please, no god-like physiques. At least not without a reason. No one is born looking like that.)

~Books that present themselves a certain way when they’re actually just about sex. (I now hesitate to start reading any book that looks interesting unless I know something about the author’s genre. Thanks for that, Sherrilyn Kenyon.)

~Books about sex that call themselves “romance.” (Nope. Just nope.)

~Written porn disguised as romance. (Noooope.)

~Love triangles – especially ones that are purely there to add conflict and angst for no reason other than to add conflict and angst. (Here’s an idea: if your story can’t stand without a love triangle, maybe you need to figure out a different plot.)

~The author’s fantasies masquerading as a book. (Ew. I do not want to be in your head as you write a thinly veiled version of yourself making out with a ______ *insert paranormal creature or god-like god*. Sorry not sorry.)


I do write romance. (She admits it! Murderer! …Wait…) But I will NOT lower myself or my writing to what I mentioned above.

My characters are deeply flawed. I’m going for realism in every aspect. My girls aren’t perfect without knowing they’re perfect; they’re way screwed up. My guys… Ha. Just ha. They are so messed up and broken, I am honestly still amazed anyone besides me actually likes them, let alone loves them.

My guys might be in good shape, but it’s not gushed about every two sentences. And there’s a reason for it: they’re soldiers. If they aren’t in top physical shape, they’re probably dead. :P

I hope my books offer good surprises, not ones that make people feel deceived and dirty.

I delve deeply into relationships. Characters drive my story. Relationships drive the characters. Some of those relationships turn romantic. But beyond the romantic love, it’s still about relationships.

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