What elements are essential to a good romance?
Romances are character-driven, so you have to write really good characters that readers can empathize with. In addition to reflecting what goes on in society, it helps transform readers. Romances show people solving problems of all different kinds. Romances aren’t just sweetness and light. You’ve got people with diseases and marital problems. In romance, it shows people somehow working through these things. There’s a satisfying ending. It’s not a downer. Who reads your Library Journal column? It’s a review column to educate librarians on what romance fiction is and all the different authors. I only review (books) that are published the month the column comes out or after. The range would be 18 to 24 books reviewed per column. Editor’s note: Reviews each month revolve around a theme, such as westerns, romance suspense, Gothic, gay and lesbian, multicultural, and alternative reality –– which includes paranormal, time travel, and futuristic plots.
