The R-Word

[hedda62]

Finally got to the post I've been meaning to write for ages on how and why my books are and are not romance novels, and what that means to me, at great length. I am not going to sit here longer and recode it to post here, so you'll have to read it on my blog. Comments welcome here as well as there.

Comments

[philomytha]

I think if I was in charge of shelving your books at my local Waterstones, they'd be going with the general/'literary' fiction rather than in any particular genre. I'm not completely sure of the reasoning behind this decision, it's a gut instinct based on theme and feel and language, and of course it's only based on the two I've read. I don't think they'd belong in the romance novels section at all. Which is not the same thing as saying they're not romances: that's about structure and focus and expectations rather than whether or not a romance is right in the middle of the story.

[mmegaera]

You and me and Diana Gabaldon, Erica [g]. She spent *years* insisting that her books weren't romance, until she found out how well romance sells, then said, sure, call it what you want.

And I don't consider my Time in Yellowstone books to be romance. Yes, each of the three books has a romance in it, but that's not the primary story. Still, when I added romance to my Amazon categories I think it increased my sales. Slightly (not that my sales aren't miniscule to begin with).

You might also want to consider the RWA Rita award category of "books with romantic elements." That may be where your books belong. That's sort of where I think my TiY books fit.