Writing about healthy love. PLUS we have a winner!
Thanks to everyone who entered last week's giveaway š
First things first, our winner isā¦
Zandra!
Big congrats.
Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. That was so much fun to do! Iāll do it again once we release the audiobook later this year.
So stay tuned!
Iāve waded deep into the waters of the romance world these past few months, my friends, and I gotta sayā¦ Itās pretty dark.
Of course, Iām generalizing. Romance is an enormous genre with countless sub-genres. I am speaking from the perspective of an author dabbling in BookTok on TikTok and familiarizing myself with the novels these folks are obsessed with. These books are everywhere.
Here are a few that are endlessly talked about:
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Fourth Wing
Haunting Adeline
My Dark Romeo
Icebreaker
I wonāt get into the weeds here, but from what Iāve read (and Iāve read three of the above), whatās hot right now is:
fairly predictable fantasy with tall, ripped guys and weak women who gain powers
dark academia with graphic sex scenes
sports romance with douche-y but lovable (?) guys
stalker-y āloveā
Some of the writing was excellent. Some of itā¦ not my thing. But here is where Iām heading with all of thisā¦
Where is the healthy love? Is it too boring? Do we always need to escape into things that are toxic and red-flag-y?
Listen, I love a good love scene. I love themes like redemption and love at first sight. But what I love writing and reading the most these days is imperfect people bettering themselves within a love that is safe, supportive, honest & true against the backdrop of something menacing but overcomeable. This will still be messy, but itās a healthy kind of messāa mess that is genuine, that steps back when things arenāt right with a determination to make it right again.
Itās all fiction. Itās all worthy. I simply want to bring something else to the mix. Releasing Sweetwood has spurred me to really consider what I want to write. And what I want to write moving forward is suspenseful, thought-provoking stories where love is found, but itās not THE thing. Itās just thereāa goal, a soft landing place, an attraction with so much more potential underneath.
Moody, not dangerous. Emotional, not exploitative.
So, I hope youāll come along with me. Iām outlining my next full-length novel now and itās gonna be so fun to write.
Happy August, yāall!
Love D
From a friend: This is the exact reason I stopped reading two books this summer. I am happy to know Iām not the only person who feels this way! Here I thought I was overthinking a simple romance novel but I couldnāt get past some really unhealthy fictional characters and relationship dynamics.
Xoxo Love you and your writing