A tour of the genresAmerican, western, historical, contemporary, time travel, reincarna-
tion, futuristic, fantasy, paranormal, and vampire.
Vampire? How can one possibly keep track of all the different
romance incarnations? Amazingly, romance readers and retailers
do, and have strong opinions about what works and what does not.
Writers also need to stay abreast of the trends. However, trend-
chasing is not a surefire path to success.
Many editors in the field say that they do not publish different
types of romance simply to fill subcategory slots. They maintain
that for them quality of writing is the most important factor. While
"quality" is not a word one always associates with romance writing,
the underlying point is well taken. Readers are brand-loyal, mean-
ing they repeat with favorite authors because those authors consis-
tently deliver satisfying stories.
The moral, then, is that it pays handsomely to give readers what
they want: romantic tension and plenty of it. Having said that, let us
look at some of the field's megatrends.
Romances long ago lost their virginity. Indeed, that was a key
innovation of the great historical romance writers of the seventies:
Rosemary Rogers, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Johanna Lindsey, and oth-
ers. Sex—sometimes with serial partners—reflected reality in that
liberated decade. That rape was a key means of seduction in
Woodiwiss-style "bodice-rippers" is hard to explain, but neverthe-
less, sex is now a fixture in romance novels.
In fact, in the nineties romances have moved a step beyond pre-
marital sex: they are pregnant. Or at least their heroines can be, and
their men are actually happy about it. Bizarre plot devices may be
needed to maintain conflict with this premise, but the point is that
once again romances reflect both the realities (the Baby Boom
echo) and the desires (men who care enough to do prenatal class)
of contemporary women.
Today's more unusual twists on the romance formula may also
reflect cultural changes. Take the Native American historicals: the
fantasy of capture and seduction is eternal, but the Native American
lover is an innovation. Has multicultural awareness made Native
Americans sexy? Obviously so, since it is likely that twenty years ago
this formula would not have worked.