Write About Your Passions?

The other day, when I wondered how I would get back into writing after a five year hiatus, a friend told me to write on what I'm most passionate about. She was assuming that was spirituality. While I love all things spiritual, metaphysical and meditative, my real passion is ROMANCE NOVELS.

Okay, you can stop laughing now! Geez!

I have been a fan of romance novels since I was a teenager. I love to watch people fall in love, their journey, their discoveries, their challenges, etc. And I love sex. Sorry, but I do. In fact, if a romance novel doesn't have a good love scene I usually feel cheated. It's a part of life, baby. It's natural and beautiful. It's an important form of communication, as much as procreation.

So, do I want to be a romance writer? I'm not sure. Maybe? It wasn't what I planned for the series that's playing in my mind. Think Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but with boys. There might be romance in it, but I wouldn't classify it as romance. Young adult genre for sure.

Anyway, here are three examples of romance novels that really made me sit up and take notice. They are all completely different, yet they all use humor to deal with heavy subject matter, which I love! In backwards order of historical timeline...

All Summer Long by Susan Mallery. This book is just one in a long line of stories about a small town in northern California, called Fools Gold (best marketing site ever!). This town and its community are described so vividly, that everyone who reads these books wants to move there, including myself! This particular story is about a tough young female firefighter who had been raped in college and never learned to trust men because of it. When she is attracted to a man for the first time in several years, she asks him to help her get over her fear of intimacy. This is a book I want my daughter to read when she's old enough. It is the perfect example of how making love should be! You start out as friends, you get comfortable with each other, you TALK about what you want, and you take things SLOW. It is my favorite of the entire series.

The next novel is Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas. This is the first of her books I had ever read and I fell in love with her writing style and humor. This story is about a female novelist in 19th century England. She is about to turn 30 and wants to lose  her virginity, without having to be beholden to a husband. She contacts the proprietress of the most popular brothel in town, who has just the man for her! Mistaken identity and hilarity ensue, when the handsome man who shows up is not from the brothel. The madame was playing matchmaker. I love that the heroine is a bit overweight and older than her hero.

This last book is Transcendence by Shay Savage. I came across it on an Amazon.com recommendation page. I think it was free at the time. It had great reviews, so I figured what the heck. First of all, judging by the cover I thought it was going to be either a dark ages or mystical fairy romance. As much as I love those genres in film, I'm not necessarily a fan of these books. Then when I started reading it was in first person narrative, which I don't care for (I'm getting used to it now because several books I've read recently are all in first person). I became so engrossed in this man's tale. It was all about a caveman's daily struggle. It probably sounds silly, but it was not at all. I am going to spoil  this book right now so if you plan to read it stop here and go get it!

This is a time travel story about a young woman who accidentally gets thrown back thousands of years and is found by a lonely caveman, who is overjoyed to have finally found a mate. It's pretty funny how he internalizes why she will not let him mate with her, and the many ways he tries to make her like him so she will let him (bringing her dead animals, making her proper fur clothing, making her a comb). He is in awe of her because she teaches him about modern conveniences like pottery, slings to carry heavy items, and an easier way to make fire! Because it's in first person, I kept trying to figure out what was going on with this girl. At first I thought she was left behind by an expedition from another planet. But at the end we get her POV and find out how she got there. It was a really beautiful love story that made me laugh and cry. An unexpected gem of a story.

Sorry this turned into a book review, but I wanted to share the differences in the romance genre. There are so many possibilities. And my future novels just might fall into this category. I will keep you posted.