Secrets of the Past by Tatiana March
Romantic novels are formulaic. They are shallow. The content is all about sex. Handsome heroes and virginal (or feisty) heroines in unreal situations, and everybody gets to be happy ever after.
Every romance writer has heard these comments a thousand times. Some try to argue against them, but many prefer to ignore the critics and put their energies into producing and selling lots of books.
But is it true? Or, do romances in fact address some of the same issues as literary novels, but in a manner which allows the reader a choice: just relax and enjoy the love story, or engage their mind with the questions raised.
Let’s take my latest release, SECRETS OF THE PAST, out from The Wild Rose Press a few days ago. Romantic suspense. Is it all about the hero and heroine meeting and having a few nail biting obstacles along the way, before they confess their love and settle down together?
No. Not to me. There are serious themes beneath, for those who wish to explore them.
Plot aspect: The heroine is the daughter of a wealthy family, and all her life she has been successful. When she sets up a business on her own, she fails. She has to accept that what she thought of as her own achievements were in fact a result of her privileged background. She must adjust her idea of herself, and learn to live with financial hardship.
Questions: Do we really know who we are? How close is our idea of our identity to that of others? How easily do we adapt when our world changes? Does learning humility make you a better person?
Plot aspect: The hero’s parents disappeared when he was a child. Rumors claim that he murdered them, but powerful family friends and the local police covered up the crime.
Questions: Do we have a right to make decisions that affect others so deeply? Is hiding the truth always going to leave a festering secret which in the end destroys the people it meant to protect? How does a shared secret tie people together? Can the past ever be left behind?
Plot aspect: The reclusive hero sees the heroine and sets out to take care of her, fixing up her house, keeping an eye on her.
Questions: What is the difference between a stalker and a guardian angel? Is there any real difference between the two in intent and action? Or is it all in the mind of the recipient, whether the attention is welcome or not, how the recipient feels about the perpetrator?
Plot aspect: The heroine falls in love with the hero at first sight, and then finds out that he may be a murderer.
Questions: Is there love at first sight? And if such love does exist, can it be renounced if the object proves undeserving? Does love ever depend on a deserving object? Or is love so blind that it simply exists, unconnected to the qualities of the person to whom the love is directed? Is love inspired by deeds and qualities, or a random gift of fate?
Back to the opening argument: Are romantic novels trash or literature?
You read. You decide. And let us know.
Buy SECRETS OF THE PAST from The Wild Rose Press!
PS – Romance writers do admit to the happy-ever-after aspect.
It’s true, when writing there will always be critics. But if you love it enough you take the good with the bad. (Though admittedly we hope for more good than bad.)
Also, a happy-ever-after is key to a romance. I wouldn’t enjoy it if it was all lose and heartache. Life isn’t meant to be lived that way either.
Great post Tatiana!
R.M.Gilbert(Quote) (Reply)
Sounds like your book has a meaty storyline to me!
JEnnifer Shirk(Quote) (Reply)
Excellent post, Tatianna! I love the questions you posed.
Jenn(Quote) (Reply)
Hi Tatiana,
Boy, that’s a lot to think about! Romances are more literary than some may believe because of all those questions you’ve raised. Are romance books not taken seriously because of the happily ever after ending? Good post Tatiana!
Kit Donner(Quote) (Reply)