5 Confessions of a Romance Reader and Wannabe Romance Author

     So I've been a bit chatty with my blog today, but I figure these first few post are like first dates--we're slowly getting to know each other, eager to see if we have anything in common and we're both watching the exits. I'm a bit chatty in person as well so I'm not surprised that it's bled over into my blog. That all being said, I realized today that I've somehow managed to leave out something vital from my previous "introduction" posts--I never stated what type of author I want to be! Obviously I want to be a successful author, but I never stated what genre I wanted to write for.

     

     I could technically go back and just edit my first post but that would be cheating. Don't get me wrong, I'm not adverse to going back and correcting a typo or two, but this omission is so glaring obvious it deserves its own post. That being said I, Laurel Cremant, want to be a (drum roll please)...Romance Author. Just putting this on record (nothing is a secret on the internet) gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. 

     

     Why a romance writer? Well first of all, why the hell not? Action, adventure, heaving bosoms and throbbing members--that's what I call a good read. Don't get me wrong I'm a fan of all genres but when I'm in the book store looking for a book to get lost in, 9 times out of 10 its a romance novel and I want to write something that will offer the same escape to new readers. So that leads me to the title of my post--"5 Confessions of a Romance Reader and Wanna be Romance Author". Please be gentle.

Confession #1

Heaving bosoms and quivering members are oh so exciting...not! Contrary to popular opinion, the sex scenes aren't what make a romance novel. It's somehow getting the reader to care whether or not two people end up together in the first place. I can have characters perform every position in the Kama Sutra but if I don't convey any real feeling to the acts and get the reader to root for each moment, then in my opinion its a waste of a scene. I'm currently terrified of writing my first sex/love scene. Aside from it proving to my mother that I'm not pure as snow, there's the fact that a bad love scene can really ruin a good book. If only there was a custom scene generator for this stuff...

Confession #2

Heaving bosoms and quivering members can be super hot! I know this sounds like a contradiction to #1 but who am I kidding? A hot scene is oh so nice to read. There's a reason why the new Old Spice commercials are so popular...that being said I worry about what could be considered too racy or even too tame for readers in today's market.

Confession #3

Sometimes it really is just sex. Too many people still insist on calling sex scenes love scenes. People assume that romance novels must have a staple "love" scene. Seriously people, sometimes a duck is just a duck (yup word association here totally intended). I actually have no fear associated with this confession. All my ducks will be ducks if that's what I'm aiming for. 

Confession #4

Mr. Alpha Male loves Miss Plain Jane...I almost didn't even want to add this confession to the list. Okay yes, I will admit that I love a good Plain Jane romance. It pulls at all those residual high school crush heart strings still strung up somewhere in my psyche. I personally blame every 80's teen movie ever made for this (especially the ones with Molly Ringwald). Despite the fact that the Alpha/Jane storyline gets used a lot, there a lot of authors that have found new and more plausible ways of portraying it (Jennifer Cruise's Bet Me is a good example). I really think that as a writer I shouldn't limit myself on a storyline just because the skeleton of it falls in line with a cliche. One of my biggest fears is to not write a story that I think will be great just because I'm afraid of what others may say. Just because the skeleton has been used before doesn't mean that I can't create a storyline that's new, fun and engaging. Whenever I worry about this I just remember my fiancée's assessment of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (the film not the book)--"It was really sad when the Jesus Allegory Lion died"...enough said.

Confession #5

Mr. Alpha Male has to be an alpha male. Okay this one is going to be hard for some people to take, but not every male lead in a romance novel has to be rich, sexy, arrogant and aggressive. First of all in real life men like these are usually arrested for assault. Second of all with the exception of the sexy part I just described Donald Trump. I don't know about most women but when I'm imagining my romantic heroes Donald Trump is not the first example to spring to mind. As a romance reader and writer I want my romantic heroes to have depth and substance. There has to be more than just surface attraction there to justify my heroine falling in love with him. As a wanna be author I often fear that I won't be able to create not just a believable male hero but a believable heroine as well. I worry about creating a hero both my heroine and readers can fall in love with and creating a heroine my readers can relate to who they believe my hero deserves.


They say confession is good for the soul. I'm hoping they're also good for writing. Feel free to share your reading or writing confessions and fears. I feel better already, and happily enough, in the mood to write a scene or too.


Write to you soon,
Laurel