Romance often gets a bad rap, particularly from folks who think it’s all pornography. What those denigrators don’t consider is that every genre has romance in it. Romance also encompasses every other fiction genre. For instance, when I’m selling books at an event and a prospective reader looks interested in one of the Triune Alliance Brides books, I’ll give them this pitch: If Captain James T. Kirk can have a love interest on every planet in the galaxy, then we can have a human woman with an alien lover. Fair’s fair.
Most folks get the Star Trek reference.
The difference between romance as a genre and romance as a subplot is that, in the romance genre, the story focuses on the developing (romantic) relationship between the protagonists. This development may be fraught with external obstacles (e.g., war, social mores, a vengeful ex) or internal obstacles (e.g., a character’s past trauma, a character’s feeling of unworthiness). Conquering those obstacles allows the characters to “earn” their “happily ever after,” also called the HEA. The story’s conclusion with the HEA implies a long and generally happy relationship, basically marriage.
Everyone knows that no long-term relationship is all unicorns, rainbows, sunshine, and glitter. Husbands and wives argue, they disagree, they have bad days. Beyond that, they suffer disappointments, hardships, and tragedies. Circumstances that either break relationships or help partners forge stronger relationships include adultery, unemployment, illness, and death. Marriages can and have recovered from such blows. Contrary to what the HEA might imply or what one may infer from it, staying together and building a stable, enduring relationship takes effort and commitment.
Regardless of that, I’d like to celebrate my HEA with you. On June 25, my husband and I will celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary. It’s not been all sweetness and light, but we’ve made it work. My husband is my best friend, he’s the rock who steadies me, my capable handyman, and the one who always knows how to make me laugh. In short, he brings me joy and my life is infinitely better with him than without him. He seems to like me, too.
To share in this celebration of the HEA, I am offering some of my books at discounted prices during the week of my anniversary, and some will be offered for free on my anniversary date, June 25. Don’t miss your opportunity to enjoy some fun stories.
- FREE on June 25
- 99¢ June 22-28
Although most of the above titles are books within series, remember that each book can be read as a stand-alone novel, a story complete in and of itself. Although, I do, of course, recommend reading the previously occuring books first. What author wouldn’t recommend that?
Also, if you’ve read the Twin Moons Saga, there’s one more book coming soon! The tentative release date is August 1, 2025. The manuscript is in my editor’s hands as I write this post.
In the sixth and final book of this series, Light of the Twin Moons, I bring Iselde, introduced in Champion of the Twin Moons, together with the villain, Marog (now called Koriolis), from the series’ first book, Daughter of the Twin Moons—and twist a few tropes in the process. Just for fun, of course. There’s a strong redemption arc as is in many of my books, morally gray characters, and the tug-and-pull of power between two fiercely independent and powerful fae protagonists. Well, one’s still fae; the other’s become a demon. And I bring a downgraded Indian god into the mix: Indra. Once worshiped as a builder and destroyer of worlds, he’s been relegated to being a mere rain god … and he resents it.
Enjoy!
