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.
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