The market is full of romance books –
mainstream romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, medical romance,
cowboy romance…the list goes on. So how does a romance writer attempt to stand
out from the crowd? To keep her or his precious readers interested and
anticipating their next release?
I am lucky enough to write three romance
sub-genres for two different publishers – I write Victorian romance for
eKensington/Lyrical press, mainstream romance and romantic suspense for Harlequin
Superromance. The fact that I get to alternate between the three keeps me
interested as a writer and, I hope, keeps my readers looking forward to seeing
what type of romance releases next.
As I am currently writing my twenty-second
novel, the issue of what keeps my writing fresh is a big one. I hope because I
live so close to where my Victorian books are set and that Bath is a different
city from London, I can bring a different feel and atmosphere than many other historical
romances.
For my contemporary work, I am the first
author to have books in the Harlequin Superromance line with all British
characters in a British setting. Again, I hope this makes my books different
than others on offer.
As for the stories themselves? My Victorian
romances tend to focus on the lower classes and their problems, rather than
balls, dances and upper class propriety. I like to research how the ‘real
people’ lived in the late 1800s. The problems they faced, the changing world
around them, domestic changes, moral changes, the fact that more and more women
wanted to stretch further than keeping a nice house and a happy husband. I like
that I am building a reputation for writing darker historical romances and the
feedback from readers and reviewers has given me the confidence that there is a
space in the market for me and my work.
The Harlequin Superromance line runs to 80,000
words so are the biggest of Harlequin lines. There is room outside of the
central romance to explore. I have touched on domestic abuse, money laundering
and drug abuse––issues you wouldn’t normally expect between the pages of a
romance novel!
I personally feel that romance writing has
as much scope and freedom as any mainstream novel…as long as the relationship
of the hero and heroine is always at the forefront. I hope you try one of my
books!
Rachel x
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