Every author's journey is different, but it's interesting how many of us have a bit of a journey to get to what we're "supposed" to write.
I always knew I wanted to write romance, and started my first one in college. Back then, we used floppy disks in the computer lab in the library, and I was always forgeting to eject mine. The lab "tech" used it when someone else's computer was messing up, and she erased everything on it. Three years' worth of homework, award-winning term papers, and my 10-page-or-so manuscript.
When I'd graduated, married, and bought a computer (100 MB hard drive, 8MB RAM!), I started again. My first book got to 50,000 words before I decided it would work better as three Silhouette Special Edition romances rather than three stories intertwined in one.
I kept trying with those contemporary romances for a while. But anyone who has read my Black Tie books or the Brook Hollow trilogy knows I can't keep them simple. Too many characters, too many plot threads, even with a focus on the basic romantic conflict.
Then I wrote Soul of the Dragon, with a spy heroine trying to end the curse of three lifetimes ago so she can be with her dragon soulmate. She battles a mage, with the help of her best spy friends, and was my first kick-ass heroine.
Her cousin, in the sequel Soulflight? Also kicks ass. And falls in love with a spy.
When Silhouette Bombshell was created, and they called it romantic adventure, I just knew. That was where I belonged. Ever since then, every book I've written has been fast paced, with high stakes, and heroines who charge ahead to save whatever needs saving, whether that's one person or a whole world.
What's the difference between romantic adventure and romantic suspense? RA is focused on excitement, while RS tends to be focused on fear. National Treasure is the go-to movie that symbolizes what romantic adventure is.
As a reader, I'm thrilled that more and more authors are writing it. Suzanne Brockmann is one of the pioneers of the genre, and Jenny Crusie/Bob Mayer's publisher categorized their books that way, too. Shannon Stacey writes non-paranormal RA, while Joss Ware does it in a post-apocalyptic world. And a lot of it can be found, to my delight, in YA. (Remember Kim Possible? Loved her!)
Do you like romantic adventure? Or do you prefer the heart-racing darkness of romantic suspense? Or none of the above?
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