My Adventures with the Contemporary American Romance

by Susan Meyer

Most of us have read one — the paperback novel with the racy cover that you are tempted to wrap in brown paper; you know the kind. Okay, that might have been truer five years ago; today’s romance novels come with a pastel cover, usually one with flowers. Personally, I remember having to hide my early romance novels from my parents; all those women being ravished on the covers would have sent them straight to the liquor cabinet.

I was precocious: Once when I was about 12 years old, I got caught with one, and my dad was really unhappy. He had high hopes for his daughter’s education and definitely objected to my choice of reading material. He couldn’t understand why the books appealed to me. (Uh… I was 12!)

Anyway, one of the great things about the contemporary American romance novel is that the reader knows what to expect and feels good at the end of the book. Indeed, the Romance Writers of America suggests these two elements as basic to the romance novel: “a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.” Works for me.

As anyone can tell you after reading just a couple of these novels, the really important element is the love story. “In a romance, the main plot concerns two people falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. The conflict in the book centers on the love story. The climax in the book resolves the love story. A writer is welcome to as many subplots as she likes as long as the relationship conflict is the main story.” Pretty simple, really… too bad real love isn’t like that.

The second element consists of an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending: “Romance novels end in a way that makes the reader feel good. Romance novels are based on the idea of an innate emotional justice — the notion that good people in the world are rewarded and evil people are punished. In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love.” Hmmm… maybe I should be living in a romance novel.

Recently I was telling a friend of mine about the romance novel over a cup of coffee. (If I were living in a romance novel, it would be a male friend, over a glass of wine… The lights would be low… Well, you get the picture.) Anyway this friend, (an elderly lady who is a friend of my mother’s, in case you thought I was kidding) asked me if I had delved into any of the “subgenres” of the romance novel.

"What? There are subgenres?"

Yes, she explained patiently, “about seven, actually.”

Sheesh. I knew this romance thing was hard.

My friend told me that there are two formats for romance fiction. The first is the series or “category romances” that are relatively short and released monthly.

Hey, I know about those. When I was 12 I used to ride my bicycle down to the Readmore to get the latest Barbara Cartland novel. I used to call first so I wouldn’t waste my energy riding the 10 blocks to the store if the book weren’t in… I always wondered why the clerk looked at me funny every month. As I said, I was precocious.

Anyway, my friend told me, Harlequin and Silhouette are popular publishers of this sort of romance novel. The second kind is the single-title romances — longer romances released individually (not as part of a numbered series) and published by any one of nearly ten New York City publishers. Karen Harper, Catherine Coulter, and Nora Roberts have all published in these formats. (I pretended I didn’t know their names, but I’ve read every last one of those authors!)

Beyond that, my friend said, romance novels can be set in any time or place, entertain any number of plot elements, or convey moods from light and humorous to dark and suspenseful. The genre of romance can be classified into various subgenres depending on their setting and plot elements.

There’s the contemporary romance — romances set after the World Wars. (My question: when does the contemporary romance become a historical romance?)

The historical romance — romances set before the World Wars.” (My question: what happens if we have another World War? Does it shift the romance back a peg? My friend thinks I’m being obtuse.)

The inspirational romance — romances containing spiritual themes. (Ten bucks there’s no bodice-clutching in these bad boys.)

The paranormal romance — romances containing "otherworldly" elements such as magic, mystic characters, or fantasy and science-fiction elements. (Well, I’ve dated a few guys that have seemed otherworldly.)

The Regency romance — romances set in England in the early 1800s (I thought there was romance in England prior to 1799… How did all those folks in 1800 end up there? My friend still thinks I’m abstruse.)

The romantic suspense — romances containing mystery and intrigue. (Okay, stop! I don’t know one person who doesn’t think that all romantic endeavors are absolutely plagued by mystery and intrigue… Haven’t you ever heard the phrase, “Men… I just don’t understand them?” You can substitute “Women… I just don’t understand them” if you are so inclined.)

Finally, there is the time-travel romance — the romance set in two different time periods, with characters shuttling between both. (Some critics would view this last subgenre as a further refinement of the paranormal subgenre. However, I’m a purist… I think the time-travel romance should be separate from the paranormal romance. Let’s face it, romance is complicated enough without having a sub-subgenre!)

I could have told my dad — even way back in 1968 — that there’s a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to romance novels. I mean, what did my dad know about romance, anyway?

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