Adult Reading Round Table Genre Boot Camp  •  Romance

Romance DEFINITION:  Romances appeal to the emotions of their readers who are drawn into the love story with its inevitable happy ending. Storylines feature misunderstandings between hero and heroine or outside circumstances that force them apart. In the end, all difficulties are overcome and the lovers are united. Both male and female characters are portrayed as strong and independent, and the ultimate fulfillment of their relationships is the focus. Settings may be historical, contemporary, or futuristic. Relationships may be portrayed gently, sensually, or even erotically. Romance series published by Silhouette and Harlequin are still important to the genre and popular with readers. Many series authors also write for other publishers, as well.  See also: African-American Fiction—Romance and Women’s Fiction

Classic Authors: Jane Austen, Faith Baldwin, Marion Chesney, Georgette Heyer, Grace Livingston Hill, Johanna Lindsey, Kathleen Woodiwiss

CHARACTERISTICS: 
Resolution of story includes declaration of love, marriage, or decision to marry.
Main characters are strong and independent or through the course of the book learn to be so.
Even the anti-heroes in romances have some redeeming feature—usually their love for the heroine.
Plots are fairly simple and easy to follow.

APPEAL:  The emotional force of the story. The reader follows the hero/heroine’s ups and downs, then has catharsis. with their eventual declarations of love.
Certain happy endings—this can be a comfort read for readers looking for an upbeat book.

READERS:  Mainly women, wide age range.

SUBGENRES:
Contemporary—books set at the time they are written.
Erotic—very frank sexual words and descriptions. Characters tend to be darker and there is a possibility of more violence, both general and sexual.
Historical and Regency—Historicals are books set at least fifty years before the present day. The emphasis on historical detail varies, with the majority of today’s writers sacrificing some degree of detail to create strong characters or more creative plots; Regency books are set during the period of English history
1811-1820 that George IV acted as Prince Regent for his father, George III. Their emphasis is on witty repartee of the characters and feature the higher stratus of English society.
Paranormal—plots and characters have a supernatural element--vampire, werewolf, ghosts etc.; or characters with special or psychic powers.
Romantic Suspense—books have a psychological element; the characters are often paired up to solve a mystery or stop a crime.

TOP AUTHORS: Elizabeth Lowell, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Amanda Quick (aka Jayne Ann Krentz), Nora Roberts. 

TRENDS:  As in a great many other genres, genre-blending is very popular with readers. The paranormal romance has seen a huge boom in the last few years with vampires, demons, and telepathic heroes coming out of the woodwork. There has also been some genre blending for science fiction. Contemporary romances remain extremely popular, with some of the top selling writers in this subgenre as well as in Romantic Suspense. The traditional Regency seems to have faded somewhat in popularity, although Cerridwen Pess, an imprint of Ellora’s Cave is starting to print new titles and a few reprints of Regencies. As a trade-off, many historicals have been set in the Regency period.

WEB SITES:
www.romantictimes.com
www.theromancereader.com
www.paranormalromance.org
www.romrevtoday.com

REFERENCE BOOKS:
Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests. Diana Tixier Herald and Wayne A. Wiegand. Libraries Unlimited, 2005. 6th edition.
Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre. Kristin Ramsdell, . Libraries Unlimited, 1999.
100 Most Popular Genre Fiction Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies. Drew, Bernard A.  Libraries Unlimited, 2005.

PUBLISHERS:  There are a vast number of publishers of romance, many are imprints—Leisure, Lovespell, Avon Romance, Indigo, Zebra, and Kensington are some of the main ones. For a more extensive list, including electronic publishers, check out the web sites.

MAGAZINES:  Romantic Times has a print version. All the major reviewers—Library Journal, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly also carry reviews.

ORGANIZATIONS:  Romance Writers of America www.rwanational.org; Romance Divas www.romancedivas.com

AWARDS: Rita & Golden Heart  from the Romance Writers of America

Prepared by Joanna Hazelden
September 2007

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