Being in this industry, the word romance is tossed around so much it tends to lose its meaning. Romance, just like many things in life is rather subjective. A husband who brings home flowers for no reason might be perceived as being romantic, while another thinks to fill his wife’s car up with gas so she doesn’t have to get out in the rain. Perhaps these are just mundane elements of life, but then, perhaps they are not.

While working on my most recent book, it hit me that romance was what I wanted to focus on. Not in the marketing/genre meaning of the word, but in the swooning, sigh-inducing way. I wanted this book to just be utterly romantic; the kind of book that readers are sad to see end, the kind that makes them pull the book close to their heart and then lovingly place on their keeper shelf. Lofty goal, I realize. It seems that we’ve lost a bit of that recently, not only in the world, but also in our genre as a whole. With all the new subgenres and niche markets, it’s easy to put your focus on the interesting tidbits and ignore the basic drive of a romance reader – to be romanced.

This got me thinking…what exactly is romantic? Or rather what do I think is romantic? There was a brilliant example of this recently on one of my new favorite shows, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It was the closing episode before the holidays and for those of you who don’t watch it, you should give it a chance, I think it’s the smartest show on television, but in any case it’s face-paced and non-stop dialogue (that’s another great reason to watch it for those of you aspiring authors who struggle with dialogue, this show is brilliant at it!). It’s a rather large ensemble cast and so the budding romance between two characters has been extremely subtle, but being the astute romance novelist that I am, I spotted it in the first episode (as I’m sure most of you did too!). In any case, we have Jordan, who has recently announced that she’s pregnant from an ex-boyfriend and we have Danny, who is a bit high-strung and a recovering drug addict. Through the entire episode Danny’s best friend is trying to convince him that he’s falling for Jordan and that Danny needs to just tell her, but Danny adamantly denies. (I realize I’m not making this sound terribly romantic, but it’s coming, I promise). So in one of the final scenes we have Jordan who is scarfing down a sandwich and Danny approaches her and says, “I’ve been married twice before and I’m a recovering cocaine addict. And I know that’s no woman’s dream of a man. Or of a father. Nonetheless, I believe I’m falling in love with you. If you want to run, I understand, but you better get a good head start, because I’m coming for you, Jordan.”

I nearly swooned. I looked at The Professor and said, “Now that was sexy and so romantic.” It gave me chills and it just worked for me on so many levels. To others, perhaps it is not romantic, but for me, there is nothing more appealing than a man who can fall in love with a woman when she’s carrying another man’s child. It wasn’t just that though, it was the way he made his confession, acknowledging his failures, but making a commitment to pursue her (but not in a creepy stalking sort of way). *sigh*

So as I said, I began thinking about all of these types of things that I find romantic, those things that make my heart race and make me feel all gooey on the inside. This episode was at the top of my memory, but I found other things too. Men pursuing the woman who least expects to be pursued was near the top of my list and a theme often found in the books I write. Those men who seem to be tough and world-weary, who can be harsh and hard when necessary, but who can’t seem to do wrong by the heroine no matter how they try.

So what about you? What do you find romantic? Do you think romance is still alive in romance novels or have you found it lacking as the focus shifts to more action-driven stories?

And check out Margo’s thoughts on research below.