I
really love discussing popular romance tropes with readers and other
authors. Trends come and go over the
years, but there are at least a dozen or two that never seem to go out of
style, and it is always interesting to see how authors take these timeless
favorites and put a fresh spin on them.
If
you list some of your favorite tropes in the comment portion or in our readers
and writer’s group I’ll share them in a future blog, just for fun.
One
trope that never seems to fall out of favor is the ‘Second Chance’. This is where the hero and heroine had a
relationship years ago that didn’t work out for various reasons. When they meet again tension and conflicts
escalate due to their past, rife with hurt, distrust and betrayal.
Throwing in a child one or the other didn’t
know about always ups the stakes. I'll never forget one book where it was the mother who didn’t know about the
child and returned to town when he was a teen. Did I ever admire that particular
author’s skill in pulling that one off.
There
are no secret babies in any of the books in my upcoming historical series, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, but
Brody’s Bride does open with the hero and heroine meeting again for the first
time in ten years.
To
whet your appetite for the series and introduce you to the main players I have
penned a short story called Before the Brides. This story won’t be offered for sale but is
available for free download to anyone who signs up for my monthly Reader News
where I tell you about special fan pricing, free books and other good
stuff.
And
if you haven’t already enjoyed Callie’s Honor, today is the last day of the St. Patrick's Day weekend .99 sale. Grab yours here. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JIJ3EPM\
HAPPY ST. PADDY'S!!!
And
don’t forget our Luck O The Irish contest,
on all month. Enter as many times as you
like. Share the luck with our Tell A
Friend contest. https://romancegems.blogspot.com/2019/03/luck-o-irish-march-giveaway-by.htm
I love a second chance romance!! What's great about it is the characters already know each other and have had feelings for each other. The story is more about them forgiving and moving back to earlier feelings.
ReplyDeleteI also love best friend's older brother/younger sister stories. When they finally realize what they've always wanted was right in front of their eyes.
Kari, thanks for mentioning another great trope.
ReplyDeleteharperyn [at] outlook [dot] com writes:
ReplyDeleteSecond chance romances are so bitter-sweet! It's just a little sad that so many years have passed before they found their way to each other again.
Also, Happy St. Patty's Day! I tried to get one of those Shamrock Shakes at McD's and the person said that it was over! Like wut?! Today is the day of, how could you not have it! I think that location was just a crappy one lol.
Bummer about the shake, Lavender. What flavor are they?
ReplyDeleteIt was just spearmint with green food dye. But it was the principal of it! I went to two locations and nada. I ended up with a vanilla chai frap which was good too. ^^
DeleteKathleen, congrats on your #1 Amazon Best Seller ranking!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteI was going to comment that Second Chance was my favorite trope, then you started to comment about it! Probably because we personally wonder "what if things went different?" with some Mr. Right candidates in our lives.
Honestly, books are about execution too - so the trope doesn't have to be one of my favorites for me to love it.
adissidente [at] gmail [dot] com
I love enemies to lovers. So much fun to read
ReplyDeletedebby236 at hotmail dot com
Second Chance stories are always fun. Marriage of convenience stories are a great favorite of mine.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
My favorites are suspense, paranormal and most definitely the ones with time travel!
ReplyDeleteMsredk at AOL dot com
Great post, Kathleen, and it really made me think... How would I categorize my books as they're time travel? And is time travel the trope? I'd say Destined to Be Together, maybe? I'm personally a sucker for Trapped in the Same Place tropes when I read for pleasure. They get me all the time. :)
ReplyDeleteSecond chance romance is one of my favorite tropes. Love the cover of your freebie. All your hard work is paying off, Kathleen. I'm excited and delighted for you.
ReplyDelete