Romance Me

Love is a powerful force. Romantic love has been the topic of endless songs, poems, stories and plays for as long as mankind can remember. It’s that combination of love and romance that spurs us on our journey to achieve enduring and loving relationships.

I’m a hopeless romantic. One of my favorite films is Casablanca, but I love Romancing the Stone, When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle, and many others with a similar feel-good romance. I love romances of all genres because I like becoming invested in the character’s lives. I’m intrigued by the passion and feelings that happen to us when we’re falling for someone. Sometimes it’s a hard, breathless fall where you dive in headfirst, and other times it’s a slow burn of friendship that turns into something more. Regardless of how you move into romantic love, the start of a new romance is a celebration of many moments, including those that are tender, exciting, sexy and even endearingly awkward.

Love can be temperamental and fierce, as many of us know. But romance in its purest form, is uplifting and pleasurable—something that rescues us from the routine of everyday life and the isolation we may feel when we’re alone. Having said that, and remembering that Valentine's Day is next week, here are some things that represent the power of romance to me.

(1)  Time. When your partner gives you time—clears his/her schedule to be with you—that’s romantic. It means you matter. That is powerful.

(2)  Attention. When your partner spends that time with you. Not with a project in the garage, watching the ballgame or catching a movie with friends. Romance is when the attention is on you, the partner.

(3) Consideration. Being considerate of someone’s time and responsibilities is important in a romance. Splitting chores, helping where needed, cooking a meal together and sharing a burden (physical or emotional), is romantic in my book.

(4)  Kindness/Tenderness. Kindness/tenderness is special and romantic. A person with a kind heart is a good person. Rest assured, you, too, will be the beneficiary of this tenderness. Kindness can go a long way in changing a mood or even a life.

(5)  Respect. I respect you as a person, and I expect the same from you. When you share a romance someone and are respectful of their differences and quirks, you are reinforcing their worth and uniqueness, and reflecting it back to them. This is perhaps the most powerful element of romance.

So, what represents the power of romance to you? J

Julie Moffett is a bestselling author and writes in the genres of mystery, young adult, historical romance, and paranormal romance. She is the author of the geeky, fun Lexi Carmichael Mystery Series and the new young adult series called White Knights. Get more information about her books at www.juliemoffett.com.

Take a Chance on Urban Fantasy

I write Urban Fantasy.

Maybe you’re thinking, eh, I like cozy mysteries and I didn’t get that whole Harry Potter/Twilight thing so I’m not going to read it. Or maybe you figure it’s all about vampires and weird stuff and it’s not real fiction so you don’t want to go there. There are lots of reasons to come up with to avoid it.

Then again, maybe it’s worth taking a chance on something new.

Because Urban Fantasy is really just mystery/suspense with magic.

A few more things about the genre to consider:

1. Urban Fantasy is about breaking rules, not following them. 
We can create universes with our own beings, languages and rules. Why follow what someone else has already done?

2. Although sometimes Urban Fantasy follows rules anyway.

Because the lore exists, and not everyone wants to break all the rules all of the time.

Lucifer

3. Urban Fantasy features strong heroines. 

They may not always start out that way, but they usually do get there.

Lost Girl

4. Although even if the lead is guy, there’s usually a strong female close by.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

Lost Girl

5. Urban Fantasy isn't limited by reality. 

While the setting for urban fantasy is recognizable – in the case of my Mark of the Moon series, I set it in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a real place) – it can also be about what’s just around the corner from the normality you can see.

Grimm

6. Rescue fantasies go both ways. 

Urban Fantasy doesn’t always feature the white knight on a horse swooping in to do a swoon-worthy rescue. More likely? The white knight is a different species, easy on the eyes, and maybe he’s been enslaved for a century to a Big Bad. Enter our heroine, who sees him for what he really is, and rescues the guy herself. Because why not?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

7. Sexy fun times. 

Not a given, but it does seem to be a frequent feature of the genre. And come on, who's complaining?

The Vampire Diaries

Ready to give the urban fantasy a chance yet? Come on -- you know you want it. 😉

Beth Dranoff is the author of the Mark of the Moon series (Mark of the Moon and Betrayed by Blood) published by Carina Press/Harlequin. Shifting Loyalties, book 3, is expected out Spring 2018. Beth Dranoff lives in the Greater Toronto Area with her family, dog, and more books than she can count. Is it before noon? Then there’s probably a mug of coffee nearby. Follow her on Twitter (@randomlybibi), like her on Facebook or check out her site at bethdranoff.com for updates and news.

Escapism as a trend?

With everything going on in the world right now, I can honestly say, I have never been more grateful to live on an island in the middle of nowhere. I can’t fully escape seeing and feeling what is happening everywhere else, but I do get to walk on the beach and pretend I’m removed from it all for a few moments each day.

Home. The British Virgin Islands. 

Increasingly, people need an escape. This is reflected, in my view, in new trends in the world of romance books. We seem to be moving away from dark, angst-filled books, towards lighter romances, still with conflicts and tension but not as heavy as the sub-genres that have soared in recent years.

Another trend I have noticed is for shorts and novellas. Not necessarily as a replacement to novels but as alternative options. A fast escape from reality, whether they be enjoyed by readers lying in bed at night, during their lunch hour, or on a commuter train. See Carina Press’s call for erotic shorts and multiple anthologies, for example: http://carinapress.com/blog/submission-guidelines/ 

In terms of reading and writing, my own tastes are also reflective of the market. I am writing lighter books and dabbling in shorter books that are a little more removed from ‘real-life’ scenarios. My reading tastes are heading in the same direction. In fact, in the virtual book club I run through Facebook, my readers are choosing more fun reads and loving them. I am also listening to brighter music and watching rom-coms more often (together with eating copious amounts of chocolate but I’m not sure that’s relevant to the trend towards escapism J).

I want to make this blog interactive. So, tell me what you do to escape the realities of life, whether it be reading, writing, listening to music or something else.

I want to know whether you have noticed a shift towards less intense reads, and what you are reading of late.

Finally, I would love your suggestions for lighter books that I should read this summer and perhaps recommend in my book club.

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