Friday, September 25, 2020

My Favorite Tropes by Cheryl Bolen

My readers would be the first to tell you my favorite romance trope is the "marriage of convenience" story. Seven of my first nine published books followed this trope, including my first, A Duke Decieved, which was a finalist for Best First Book (Holt Medallion) and won the Notable New Author distinction back in 1999.




 My 2005 One Golden Ring won the Holt Medallion as Best Historical, and it too was a marriage-of-convenience story. That book has been rewritten and published as The Wedding Bargain.



 I do believe readers must like MOCs  as much as I. 




 In November I will be publishing one of my favorite MOCs, A Proposal of Marriage. In this one, I turn the tables and have the girl do the proposal in this entry into my Brazen Brides series.

 Another of my favorite tropes in a romance novel is the "ugly duckling" story. I used this in my To Take This Lord (Brides of Bath 4), The Earl, the Vow and the Plain Jane (Lords of Eton 2), and in my novella "Home for Christmas" which appears in my Christmas anthology Christmas Brides. I also used it in my novel My Lord Wicked, which won Best Historical in the International Digital Awards in 2011, and in With His Lady's Assistance (Regent Mysteries 1).

 Many of us can identify with those ugly ducklings!



 Another of my favorite tropes is the fish-out-of-water story. My October release, Once Upon aTime in Bath, is one such story. It will be the seventh of my Brides of Bath series. The fifth in the same series, Love in the Library, is also a fish-out-of-water story featuring one hot nerd hero. You don't find a lot of nerd heroes, but I don't think anything's sexier than tapping into their still waters. I hope you agree. 


 Tell us what are your favorite tropes?

16 comments:

  1. I think fans love this trope too. I'm not good at writing it, but there's always hope. I remember watching a soap years ago where there was a marriage of convenience and it was my favorite storyline!! I was sorry when the couple admitted their love and then over a few more episodes as was usual in a soap broke up.

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    1. Why is it romance is most fun during the "chase" and when they're finally hooked up, it gets dull?

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  2. I love MOC stories! I think my favorite trope is "second chance romance". I think. I don't know. I just really love them all!

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    1. I guess that's why they're tropes, Kara, because a lot of us love them all.

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  3. My first Storm book is a MOC which isn't as easy to do in a contemporary. But I love this trope also!! It really pushes the characters to be together more than they typically would. Yummy!

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    1. MOCs sure can be sexy! Congrats on figuring out how to make it work in a contemporary, Kari.

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  4. I love MOC, especially when a contemporary author can make it work! Friends to lovers and second chance (or marriage resurrected) are other favorites.

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  5. I enjoy fish out of water for the humour. It adds a bit of fun. I think today that MOC is being called "fake" now and often shows up in titles. Nice post!

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    1. I do love anything that amps up the humor in a story, Bonnie.

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  6. I like fish out of the water and I also enjoy enemies to lovers.
    debby236 at hotmail dot com

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  7. Yep, MOC stories are in my top 5 list. Love the cover for A PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE.

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    1. Thanks, Joan. Gerry Bartlett came up with title for me, and Killon did the cover.

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  8. MOC's are a def fave, easier to do in historical than contemporary. I enjoyed writing them because it seemed a natural way to heat up the sexual tension. Opposites attract is fun.



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    1. Totally agree, Kathleen. For me, since my historical heroines do not hop into bed with someone with whom they're not married, it most certainly heats things up!

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