Continuing discussions about what's right, wrong and real in Romantic Fiction... a reader's blog comment to my last post gets highlight here for further discussion (even though I'm going to argue some points...) I just loved this quote:

Mills and Boone/Harlequin are responsible for as many failed marriages as cheating husbands. They give people a false sense of reality. Love isn't rippling muscles or multiple orgasms. It's paying the bills when you'd rather spend the money on a new car. It's watching tv when you want to go to the bar. It's swallowing when you want to spit... Quote by Meme, 2007

First, Meme, I agree--you've defined reality. Marriage. Life as it comes to be.

HOWEVER... We wives didn't get whisked away by a chubby bald guy laying on the couch burping and holding a remote controller when we first fell in love, did we? Chances are... "something" so irresistible and magical drew two together in some forceful, magnetic, and more than likely, sexually attractive way. Call it eros, call it lust...but this is nature's way of uniting man and woman. Maybe it's the Universe's sadistic trick played on us....because haven't we all learned that the lust and magic wanes over time, sadly, and we settle for burping? For many of us... this characterizes a comfortable, loving marriage living happily ever after.

I want to bring up something about what romance readers want and demand and what publishers publish and why. Face it--it's about making money. The publishers KNOW what kind of stories readers buy and that's what they will publish. An author who wants to make a living at writing will comply with the market demands for story types. Many authors (the successful ones) write FOR their audience. Alternativeily, there are those authors (ahem...like me) who write to the beat of a different drummer, so to speak, who have a few loyal readers and fans...but never make much in the way of fame or fortune. Why? Because I won't write to the "rules". I won't.

To shed some light further...Here's an example of Author Guidelines for Ellora's Cave, a huge Romance, Erotica publisher, in which they state that they want manuscripts with flawed women and perfect alpha men...

Don’t always write perfect heroines. I can’t stress this enough. The occasional "babe" is okay, but they should be more of the exception to the rule than the rule itself. Write chubby heroines, passingly pretty heroines, average heroines, etc. , but not too many drop-dead gorgeous heroines. Remember that your readers include every race, every culture, every body type, etc. Never refer to body fat in a bad way, for instance. Call it "pleasingly fleshly" or something of that nature.

Well. This, above, is representative of what most publishers seek in the way of romantic themes. The publishers say THIS is what sells.

HOWEVER....there are smaller markets--pockets of people--who don't buy into the stereotypes. I am one of those types of writers who writes love stories about non-muscular men or beautiful people. Cases in point:

1. In my 2007 novel, Arm Charm, the heroine is in her 50s and cuts her hair SHORT and sassy, has an imperfect figure, and speaks her mind--not always so nice. Her hero is an OLD HIPPIE with a long braid who is short, quirky, and even a tad obnoxious (in a most lovable way). He drives a punch buggy and is an artist--not rich.

2. In Her Backyard, 2005, Audrey, the heroine, is quite the screwy, intense, workaholic who uses the "f" word to extreme, is a tad angry, and has trouble getting in touch with her vulnerability. The man who whisks her is an ordinary guy who loves Audrey just the way she is. He doesn't play games with her... they laugh alot and the sex is playful and sweet and pure--not exactly HOT, well, except for maybe one scene.

I can tell you that the biggest publishers and agents simply don't like me or my work. Good. F 'em and the cinderella chariot they rode in on. I don't aspire to be cookie-cutter. I write what I like to read and that is the real stuff. And while I'm probably excessively romantic and corny, I do find magic in the most ordinary of things--and I think character flaws are the very nuances about people that make them unique and lovable.

Revealing weakness, to me--whether you are man or woman--is the epitome of intimacy, letting down your guard and getting to the heart. Intimacy--I can't think of a finer theme in a romantic novel and real life. There's simply not enough of it. I wish there were more of it.

I'm a romantic geek and it's unlikely I'll ever change.