Romance Tropes

Friday Favorites is in Love

Friday Favorites is a brand new blog hop from Somethingofthebook. Come hop around your favorites with us! All bookworms are welcome. February 8th Favorites: Fictional Couples This week’s topic speaks to me on a deep, personal level. I read all around the genre spectrum. From horror to sci-fi to fantasy to romance, with a short detour in middle grade and a light stop at young adult. Set me loose in a bookstore and I’m hopping between shelves like a monkey on banana-based…

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The Basics of Romance, for Your Author Toolbox

*Sings* Do you want to write a romance? If you do, you’re in good company. Millions of books published every year. Thousands of authors. HUGE part of the market share. But, where to start? How is a romance different from any other fiction novel? What defines “romance”? At the basic level: A romance novel tells the story of the romantic relationship evolving between people. That’s all. That’s it. When you get right down to the nitty-gritty center of it, this…

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The Insecure Writer’s Group Asks the Real Questions

Happy Holidays/Solstice/Yule, blessed be, and Happy New Year! You all should be in a nice vacation-induced stupor by today. Perfect time to get some Insecure Writer’s group in. I hope 2019 has started off nice and gently for you and you’re enjoying your time, wherever you are! The Co-hosts this month are Patricia Lynne, Lisa Buie-Collard, Kim Lajevardi and Fundy Blue. Don’t forget to stop by and show them the love. And the question for January 2 – What are your favorite and least favorite…

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Frequently Used Words in Romance: Top Ten Tuesday Post

Yay for finding new gems in the blogging world! Thanks to signing up for new mailing lists I found out about the Top Ten Tuesday blog posts. They looked like so much fun, I couldn’t resist. A place to let my inner booknerd shine? A way to geek out over obscure bookish things? AND an excuse to make listicles about books? Yes, please. If you’re interested in joining in, the link and explanation of how it works is here on That Artsy…

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Learn to Write Well by . . . Watching Movies?

Wait, what? Did I seriously just tell you to sit down and waste time watching a form of media that has nothing to do with meeting your word count goals? . . . yes. With some caveats. I don’t mean “watch a movie every day” or “ignore your writing to watch your favorite film” or “binge that Netflix show ’cause some random writing advice on the Internet said to”. Don’t do that. Media responsibly, and etc. etc. No, what I…

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Write All The Tropes

I spend a lot of time over at Books Rock My World bashing on tropes. And yes, they do deserve a bashing. Overused or done with a heavy hand, tropes smother and choke a story. Poking holes in them doesn’t mean that I dislike tropes, however! They are classic for a reason. Having that feeling of familiarity is comforting, and helps me invest with the characters as they go through their story. To me, tropes are both the foundation of…

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Feminism, and Romance?

I’ve noticed a trend on several Bookstagram accounts I follow lately. It’s a good trend, and I am all for it. At the root, it’s all about making sure female authors have the same opportunity male authors do to be on your bookshelves and receive awards when it’s time for those literary trophies to be handed out. Equality=good. One specific part of this growing movement stuck out to me, and I’m going to give you my thoughts on it. For…

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Why I Love Writing Romance

As a romance author, February tends to be a pressurized month for me. It’s the time of year when you can’t move outside your house for fear of being slapped in the face by ferociously pink plastic hearts. I feel like I’m supposed to enjoy that sensation, or, you know, at least market with it. I do acknowledge the silliness behind memorializing, in gilt and silk flowers, the church gloss-over of a pagan fertility ceremony. Or, alternate option, celebrating the…

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