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What defines Romance as a genre?: Authors Insights 14

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I’m going to be perfectly honest; romance is not my thing. At least I never felt like it was, but I could be wrong. I have found that what I perceive as traditional romances, whether in books or films, don’t really appeal to me with a few specific exceptions. However, when reviewing my list of go-to chick-flick romances with some friends, I learned that some of my choices aren’t very traditional. Don’t worry, I’ll be sharing that topic on another day.

When it comes to my writing I realized that most stories need some element of romance, love, or relationship issues (not always romance) to keep the story well-rounded. It was then that I also realized that I do like romance when it’s combined with another genre, when it’s not the driving force but an interesting subplot or catalyst. I even conducted a poll last month to see how people felt about genre, to which I’ll be posting my results in my newsletter tomorrow.

Anyway, back to romance. I’ve been told that my Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel is non-traditional romance within the whole paranormal romance genre. In all honestly, that may have something to do with the fact that I tried not to focus too much on the romance, but it is a major driving force in the story. I feel that maybe the idea of writing romance intimidates me so I try to avoid it or reduce encounters with it. Unfortunately, that tactic has never worked for me.

So that’s when I decided to write a romance of my own with no paranormal twist, no fantasy or sci undertone, or any time of violence or political intrigue. I decided that I wanted to tell the story of characters who could be real people who I might meet and form relationships with. But of course this raised another question. “Am I truly writing a romance or just general fiction with a romance in it?” This is where the whole idea of “read what you write” would have greatly helped me. In any case, I’m so close to finishing this story and can’t wait to share it.

In the meantime, I’d love to know your thoughts on romance, whether you’re a fan or not.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Poll

Make-shift Polls: Author Insights 13

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It’s been a while since I’ve shared any thoughts that weren’t directly related to me blogging or a book I’m working on; not that it’s a bad thing. You may not be interested in my other thoughts, but since you’re here, I figured I’d share.

Some people love polls and some hate them, but I think most people are in the middle. As long people aren’t asked to do a poll daily or weekly, I think most people will give them a try. I’m going to start posting a poll once a month just to see if I get any takers. The poll will appear in the side panel of this blog throughout the month, but I’ll also create a post like this announcing it.

Now here’s where things get a little kooky. I could have gone with one of the more popular Poll apps or services, but what can I say, I’m a control freak and like to do things a certain way. My polls will pretty much be Google forms so I can easily manipulate them and keep records of them. I’ve had a poll posted for a while now that hasn’t gotten much attention, but that’s okay. I’ll be posting a new poll in the next week or two. For now you can check out my current poll.

Some people love Paranormal but hate Romance, while some have found comfort in Paranormal Romance. So what do you think; does genre matter? Share your thoughts and see what others think too.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords