Mona Ingram

Historical Romance and Modern Love

Sex or Story?

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As a romance author, I read a lot. In between reading romance, I delve into other genres and over the past couple of years I’ve found many great new authors. New to me, that is. Among them:
Russell Blake:  Russell has exploded onto the scene in the past couple of years, garnering a legion of fans with his Jet series, his Assassin series, and his newest, featuring Artemus Black, a series he describes as ‘hard-boiled, noir detective’. I’ve read and enjoyed most of Russell’s books.
George Wier:  George’s book, Long Fall From Heaven, co-authored with Milton T. Burton, has recently been named as one of MysteryPeople’s Top 5 Texas Mysteries of 2013.
Nick Russell:  Nick’s newest, Dog’s Run is receiving rave reviews. More than a finely crafted mystery, it picks you up and sets you down in a small Ohio town in the 1950s. The language, the descriptions, the undercurrents are so powerful you feel you’re there!
   But I digress… as usual. For those of you who read romance, you can’t help but notice the trends these days. All the ‘grey’ covers, for example. Now where did that idea come from? All of the bared chests with sharply defined abs. Shirts hanging open. And billionaires. According to the current wave of romance books, in most big cities, women must be wading through waist-deep piles of billionaires!
   Am I knocking these things? Absolutely not. That’s what romance is, after all… it’s fantasy. I have plenty of fantasy in my own books, and it’s fun.
   So what’s my point? My point is that in most of the romances I’ve read lately, the story takes a back seat to the sex. Romances are becoming little more than a series of sex scenes, linked by the thinnest story line you can possibly imagine. And that bothers me.
   Give me some story with my sex. Please. Make me care about the characters. Tell me why they do what they do. I don’t care if they have sex the day they meet, or a month later, or ten years later. I personally feel that a romance needs some sex – be it implied, or explicit. But please! Give me a story as well to hold my interest. Without that, frankly, too many of the current romances out there are boring.

Predictability: Good or Bad?

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I have a confession: I think about writing all the time. For example, the other morning I pulled up at McDonald’s drive-thru window and the girl had my order ready. I laughingly asked her if I’m that predictable, and she said ‘yes’. That got me thinking…about writing.
Romance novels are, by and large, predictable. As recently as a few years ago, when authors were submitting their books to the few major publishers in the romance field, we were told how many words to write, what level of sensuality was suitable to their line and how quickly the heroine should meet her hero. These are just a few things, but they show you how restricted an author used to be.
Don’t get me wrong. Many readers want to know what to expect when they buy a romance novel. But let’s be honest; the availability of e-books has caused a seismic shift in the romance genre.
Nowadays, with the rising popularity of independent authors, the reader can expect to be delightfully surprised by the fresh new directions of romance fiction. For example, some of the main characters in my books have actually died, and the book didn’t suffer for it. As a matter of fact, readers have commented that such realistic storylines have made their reading experience richer.
And yet, predictability in a romance novel is comforting. We know that we’ll almost always get a ‘happily ever after’ ending. If we don’t, we’re usually disappointed. But what’s to stop today’s authors from stepping a little outside the box? Happily, nothing. If the readers don’t like it, they’ll let us know soon enough.
Are we authors walking a tightrope here? Not really. Thanks to the new freedoms, we’re able to break free from former restrictions thrust upon us and fly free. Yet we know not to go too far; that beyond this place there be dragons. I enjoy keeping my stories fresh by inserting interesting twists and surprises. The reader and I are usually on the same page at this point. She (or he) has an inkling that something is being held back, but we go hand in hand to the end of the book, delighted when our suspicions are proven to be true. As a bonus, we’re left with the warm, fuzzy feeling of a happy ending.
Ah, romance. Predictable or not, there’s nothing like it.

About Mona Ingram

Romance author Mona Ingram has written dozens of novels, including the Forever Series, the Gold Rush Series, and the Women of Independence Series. She lives in British Columbia, Canada.

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Email me at mona@monaingram.com.

All text copyright Mona Ingram.