[A giveaway follows the post, so read on!]
We all have our comfort reads, and they serve an important need. Often the stories do the work for us, which is especially nice when we’ve had a stressful day. We know what to expect from the plots. The characters are familiar ones. The story manipulates our emotions in the safest of ways. A real win-win!
Occasionally, however, romances invite us to step outside our reading comfort zones. I’m referring to stories that create new romance conventions or challenge current ones in various ways. They include but aren’t limited to: plots off the beaten path; subverted characters; unusual/new/rare characters; and hybrid stories.
Sometimes creating new conventions means a story remains squarely in the niche slot where it was born. On the other hand, if authors spin a certain character or trope in just the right way (Hello, vampire and motorcycle heroes!), readers gain a whole new way to experience a romance story. What’s old becomes new again, but in a different guise.
Creating conventions of any kind involves risk, not just for authors but for readers. How can we trust that the romance will retain its core spirit if it looks different from the types of stories we’ve come to expect?
Plus, when we decide to take a risk on a new type of story or characters depends on where we’re at in our lives (e.g., our age and/or personal circumstances) and also the general culture in which we live. How we learn information about stories is also key. In the case of unusual characters or elements, some of us rely on recommendations from friends or trusted reviewers, while others will only consider new story frontiers if it’s being offered by known authors.
Interestingly enough, the stories themselves never change. But how we view them changes according to the lens we’re using to experience them. For example, paranormal romance was once niche, but now it’s mainstream and will be for a long time. The outlier romances of today might appear different to us in five or ten years.
In light of the above, I’d like to discuss a few stories that illustrate how authors have experimented with new romance conventions or challenged them in some way.
Nights of Fire by Nico Rosso is a western steampunk romance loaded—and I do mean loaded—with high octane action-adventure. The “Upland Ranger†hero and sheriff heroine engage in a variety of face-offs, shoot outs, and chases as they pursue the villain.
Does this mean the action sequences are once-removed from the romance development? That’s one way to look at it. Here’s another: they’re helping the couple build an emotional bond similar to the way love scenes do. Given that action-adventure elements have historically been segregated from literature aimed at female readers, it could very well be that Nico Rosso is bucking the trend by creating a new kind of romance code. In Nights of Fire, he uses action to bring the hero and heroine closer together.
Metal Reign by Nathalie Gray is an action-adventure space opera with a “sweet†heat level. Ms. Gray wrote many erotic romances, so this story is a departure for her in that regard. The story ends with a Happily For Now, one that occurs before the couple’s sexual journey.
Thirty years ago few would have given the heat level a second thought. Currently, however, it’s a risk because it’s competing for the attention of readers who are enjoying unprecedented access to erotica and erotic romance stories. But it also challenges us to think about romance as more than the sum of its sexual content.
A Gift For Boggle by P.J. Schnyder features a geeky, heavyset hero with a disability. Boggle is confined to a power chair and lives the life of a loner. Through the magic of storytelling, the author makes him attractive in the eyes of the heroine. And they also make passionate love. P.J. Shnyder didn’t pull any punches!
But wow, talk about a risky type of hero. While Boggle pushes serious romance convention boundaries, his existence hints at the possibility of more diversity in romance for readers who want it. By introducing a few new conventions, A Gift For Boggle invites us to question our assumptions about what makes heroes and heroines compelling.
And there’s more. Diane Dooley’s Blue Galaxy tells the story entirely from the hero’s point-of-view. In Meljean Brook’s Heart of Steel, the heroine, an airship pirate, is the Alpha in the relationship. J.L. Hilton’s Stellarnet Rebel features an alternate romance—one different in terms of culture and structure, not sexual orientation. Cathy Pegau’s Rulebreaker features an f/f romance.
Have you encountered stories like the above? I’d love to hear your thoughts about romances that experiment with conventions in different ways.
Giveaway time!
Now you can enter for a chance to win a copy of Iron Guns, Blazing Hearts, my new Western steampunk romance from Lyrical Press!
Winner’s choice PDF, ePub, or .mobi. Please include your email address. The deadline to enter is March 12. I’ll announce the winner right here in the comment section.
Here’s the cover and blurb:
The West just got a whole lot wilder.
A woman on a mission… Scientific achievement isn’t enough for Violet Whitcomb. Life working alongside her renowned scientist father is filled with intellectual challenges, but what she truly craves is love and adventure. She’s resigned to a fate of academic pursuits…until a fateful trip across the American frontier changes everything. A rogue inventor known as the Iron Scorpion kidnaps Violet’s father and she alone is left to plan his rescue.
A man with a secret… Logan McCoy knows firsthand going up against the Iron Scorpion is suicide, but he can’t let Violet waltz into the villain’s lair alone. She may be a stranger, but she’s also the most compelling woman he’s ever known.
A perilous quest… Their attraction is undeniable, but their alliance turns contentious when Violet insists on including a third partner on their mission: her father’s latest invention and the world’s most advanced automaton, Arthur. The reason for Logan’s resistance isn’t clear until Violet comes face-to-face with the Iron Scorpion’s diabolical devices, and by then, it’s far too late.
(P.S.- Iron Guns, Blazing Hearts has a “sweet†heat level, lots of action-adventure, and an automaton gunslinger!)
About the author
Heather Massey is a lifelong fan of science fiction romance. She searches for sci-fi romance adventures aboard her blog, The Galaxy Express. She’s also an author in the subgenre. To learn more about her published work, visit heathermassey.com.
You always find something interesting to make me think about. Enjoyed the post very much. (I had not thought of no sex as risk taking. I’ve been doing that since I started. LOL But times change.)
Hi Pauline and thanks for reading! Times do change and it’s fascinating to witness the impact of various cultural changes on our entertainment. Some things will cycle up and down while others break out of that to become more permanent. An interesting process, to say the least.
All of these are definitely out of my current reading stream, but interesting. I’ve never read anything in the Steampunk genre. But it used to be beyond the pale to give the heroine of a romance a brain, but brain and sass are my favorite parts. So now I like to explore things outside my norm.
I’m not an erotica reader, so it’s been a real challenge for me to find SFR that’s not all about the sex. I’m very glad to see it finally opening up a bit and more traditional “sweet” leaning/somewhat sensual romance making inroads. That’s what I like to read, and that’s what I write.
Romance, IMO, should *always* be approached as more than the sum of its sexual parts. It’s no coincidence that the fastest growing romance segment in the market is inspirational, where a steamy kiss described with emotional layering, or a hand sliding inside a shirt is as hot as it gets. I’m not the only reader out there fed up with sex becoming more and more graphic and being the focal point of the story. Sex is one layer of building a relationship and being intimate with the one you love. If the other layers aren’t there, doesn’t matter how hot the sex is, the romance is going nowhere in the long run.
A well written “turn the lights off just before we get going” is more satisfying for me than pages of description of the actual act. My favorite “bedroom scene” ever is from an inspirational military romantic suspense, Wolfsbane by Ronie Kendig. The lights go out as he’s sliding his hand under her nightgown and oh. My. Goodness. It’s the most satisfying thing I’ve ever read, and shoots the tension and conflict between them off the charts. She also gets hate mail about it, considering her main readership. (it also doesn’t hurt that these two characters are modeled on Crichton and Aeryn from Farscape)
@Lizzy R I salute your interest in exploring new horizons! I once had little interest in martial arts films until a trusted source introduced me at the right time, with the right film. Sometimes it helps to have the stars aligned when we make a jump into new entertainment territory.
@Rachel Thanks for coming by to share your thoughts!
Other SFRs on the sweet/sweeter side include, as noted above, the SFRs by Pauline Baird Jones (THE KEY, GIRL GONE NOVA, TANGLED IN TIME, STEAMROLLED, KICKING ASHE); Theresa Meyer’s THE INVENTOR (steampunk); Veronica Scott’s WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM (space opera); Lisa Paitz Spindler’s THE SPIRAL PATH (space opera); Jeanette Grey’s UNACCEPTABLE RISK (cyberpunk); Sharon Lynn Fisher’s GHOST PLANET.
I also think the work of Melisse Aires (REFUGEES ON URLOON)falls on the mild erotic side.
And for PNR fans, today I read about Gena Showalter’s BEAUTY AWAKENED which according to an AAR review (http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=9403) has a much sweeter heat level than her previous books in the series–so much so that she’s getting a bit of flack for it. Difficult to say whether she chose an inopportune time or readers missed the clues in order to adjust their expectations. Probably a bit of both IMHO.
Thanks so much for entering the contest, ladies! I picked two winners and they are…
Lizzy R
Rachel
I sent you both an email. Cheers!