1) Happily Ever After – Readers know when they pick up
a romance that the ending will me happy, the couple that struggled to be
together throughout the book will have a Happily Ever After. We all want that
for ourselves and sometimes reading it in a story that may have a bit of
similarity to our own life, it gives us hope we could have the same type of
ending.
2) Stories for Everyone – The romance genre has a
subgenre for any reader. Just in the historical category alone you have 7 or 8
subcategories of any time period you prefer to read. I like historical because I
know most authors do research to incorporate facts into the stories. I spend as much or more time researching than I do actually writing a book. There is contemporary,
sports, westerns, sci-fi, paranormal of all kinds. Anyone can find a genre they
like in a romance story.
3) Emotional Roller Coaster – We read romance to go on
that tumultuous journey with the hero and heroine. We want to root for both
characters and feel their emotions. The
highs, the lows, the laughs, and the tears. If a book doesn’t have emotion it’s
not a good read in my opinion.
4) Strong Heroines – Readers these days love heroines
who know who they are or are strong enough to discover who they are and what
they want. They could survive without the hero, but they are smart enough to
know having him around is a whole lot better. I write strong heroines. I’m an independent
individual and my characters are the same.
5) Hunky Heroes – They don’t have to be an Adonis.
Women these days see a man less as a provider and more as an equal. Someone who will share the good times and the bad. A man isn’t less of a man if he can
understand the needs of the woman he loves. In fact, it makes him more of a man
to be able to understand what she needs and help her gain either her inner
strength or her outer goals.
6) I’m throwing in one more, only because I think a
lot can be shown about a character or a couple during or after a sex/love
scene. Another reason smart girls like romance,
especially steamy books, is to see the full evolution and completion of a
relationship. A touch, a whispered endearment, or a relinquish of power during
a sex scene can switch the feelings of the characters and deepen the
relationship.
That is my list of why smart girls read romance. Do
you have other thoughts to add to this list?
My newest book in the Letters of Fate series
will release on July 16th. You can pre-order, Brody: Letters of Fate, now
at a discounted price of $2.99!
Brody: Letters of Fate
Historical
western filled with steamy romance and the rawness of a growing country.
A letter from a grandfather he’s
never met has Brody Yates escorted across the country to work on a ranch rather
than entering prison. But his arrival in Oregon proves prison may have been the
lesser of two evils. A revenge driven criminal, the high desert, and his
grandfather’s beautiful ward may prove more dangerous than anything he’d faced
on the New York docks
.
Lilah Wells is committed to helping
others: the judge who’d taken her in years ago, the neighboring children, and
the ranch residents, which now includes the judge’s handsome wayward grandson.
And it all gets more complicated when her heart starts ruling her actions
.
You can find an Author Note about
the book and the buy links here.
Paty Jager is an
award-winning author of 25+ novels and over a dozen novellas and short stories
of murder mystery, western historical romance, and action adventure. She has a
RomCon Reader’s Choice Award for her Action Adventure and received the EPPIE
Award for Best Contemporary Romance.
This is what reviewers says about her Letters of Fate Series: “What a refreshing
and well written love story of fate and hope! Very well written but sometimes
sizzling love scenes!”
All her work has Western
or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging
characters. Paty and her
husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling
rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.
couples photo purchased from <!-- HTML Credit Code for Can Stock Photo-->
<a href="http://www.canstockphoto.com">(c) Can Stock Photo</a>
<a href="http://www.canstockphoto.com">(c) Can Stock Photo</a>
Great list, Paty. Personally, I love knowing the book will end with a happily-ever-after. I find romances and romantic suspense uplifting.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Caroline! I agree, seeing two people overcome obstacles and find happiness is fun to read. Thanks for stopping in and commenting.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great list, Paty.
ReplyDeleteI like your list, Paty, and agree with each item. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah and Joan! I figured the same things that make me want to read romance had to be the same for others. Thanks for commenting!
ReplyDelete