Like fashion and just about everything else in life, the
publishing industry is constantly changing. But one thing about romance novels
that has not changed is a classic romance.
To diverge for a moment here, when I first joined Romance
Writers of America in 1993, we were told every publisher was eagerly seeking
time-travel romances. This was on the heels of Diana Gabaldon’s mega bestselling debut
romance, Outlander. Within three or
four years, the market was glutted with time-travels, and most publishers quit publishing
them.
I’ve seen the publishing market’s pendulum swing
frenetically over the past three decades. Everyone wanted those slender little
traditional Regencies; then all the lines closed. Publishers couldn’t get
enough vampires; now authors can’t sell them. Romantic suspense was everywhere;
publishers have now pulled back on acquiring them. And who remembers the short-lived publishing frenzy to acquire chick lit after the 1990s success of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones Diary?
Classic Romance Never Goes Out of Style
No matter what the genre within our romance genre, though, a
classic romance will never go out of style. What are the elements of a classic
romance? It’s very simple. Two people falling in love. The reader needs to have
a sense that of all the people in the world, these two were made for each other
and have been waiting their whole lives for one another. They just don’t know
it until we, the authors, bring them together on the pages of our books.
Of course there have to be obstacles standing in the way of
their happily ever after. The tougher the obstacles, the more satisfying the
reader’s reward.
After chapters and chapters of building this
once-in-a-lifetime love story, our hero and heroine fall into each others’ arms
and vow undying love forever and ever. And the reader closes the book (or turns
off her reading device) with a smile on her face.
I hope I can bring such a smile to my readers with my two
brand new Christmas novellas, One Room at the Inn (Lords of Eton series), which is in the Winter Wishes anthology,
and His Lady Deceived (the Deceived
Series).—Cheryl Bolen is the NY Times,
USA Today bestselling author of 41 romances. When she’s not traveling to
England or watching her alma mater University of Texas playing football or basketball, she can be
found reading about dead English women. Visit her at:
Comment below for a chance to win a digital copy of my The Portrait of Lady Wycliff (Book 1, Lords of Eton).
To win Amazon gift cards, go to our giveaway page here.
