What Do Romance Readers Really Want?

I enjoy reading romance novels, particularly those set in the Regency era. I got to thinking about why this is so and realized it was because of the societal norms portrayed in the stories. Yes, they're fantasies about what it would be like to be a Lady hotly pursued by a rakish Duke, or even an Earl, and finally be the one who tames his wild heart. But for me, it's more than that. In Regency romances, men treat women like ladies, and I find such courtesies sorely lacking in modern life.

I was raised in the 50s when men still held doors for women, so a desire for those small bits of what I consider to be masculine grace is woven into my DNA. At that point in history, members of the male sex were not as yet fearful of excoriation from some nascent feminist more determined to stake out her own boundaries than to be grateful for a simple act of courtesy. Now when I reach a door at the same time as a man, I see the poor thing looking at me with terror-stricken eyes and feel sad that society has fallen so far that men don't know when they hold a door for a woman if they'll be thanked or assaulted for doing so.

Then I got to thinking about all the romance sub-genres and wondered which types of readers are drawn to the different sub-genres and why. I know from my years as a medical reporter that individual romantic preferences are driven by something called an erotic roadmap or in modern parlance, lovemap, something that is set in very early childhood and modeled after what we see in our parents. I had a warm and loving relationship with my father and in adulthood, found myself attracted to men with dark hair and pale skin, simply because they reminded me of the man I trusted above all others. (Note to readers: this is NOT a good way to choose a life mate as my dark-haired, pale-skinned husband turned out to be something of a rotter.) Psychologists will confirm that if my relationship with my father had not been good, I would have been attracted to his physical opposite.

How then does this account for the booming genre of romances where women fall madly in love with vampires, werewolves, creatures from hell and even dinosaurs? I am not kidding. Look it up.

A few years ago a couple of college kids thought it would be hysterical to create an explicit romance series featuring women having, um..."relations" with dinosaurs, as in T-Rex dinosaurs. Of course, no editor in his or her right mind would have ever bought such a thing, but they self-published the series and laughed as the books shot to the top of the erotic romance genre. I would still be shaking my head over this but I got a crick in my neck and had to stop.

Sorry, but I just don't see how a dinosaur worked its way onto anyone's erotic road map. Yet, today, so-called "dinosaur erotica" is a top-selling sub-genre on Amazon. As I said, look it up, and also have a barf bag ready.

So why do romance fans select and read the things they do? What would possess someone to want to buy and read a novel featuring what is essentially an impossible and even terrifying physical relationship? How is that erotic? Are modern women so fed up with the antics of modern men that we'd rather turn to reading about some fictional woman having relations with a cold-blooded and, not to mention, blood-thirsty lizard than work on our own lives and romantic relationships?

What kind of romance is your favorite? Modern, historic, lonely cowboy, businessman, Prince? Let us know in the comments. One of our Blood-Red Pencil bloggers might be working on just the book for you.

Patricia B. Smith is a journalist who is the author of 11 published books, including Idiot’s Guide: Flipping Houses, Alzheimer's For Dummies and Sleep Disorders for Dummies.

Pat is also an experienced professional developmental editor who serves as an Editorial Evaluation and Developmental Coordinator for Five Star Publishing. She works with private clients as well and has helped many authors land their first publishing contracts. Many of her clients have achieved notable success, including two winners of the Missouri Writers’ Guild Show-me Best Book of the Year Award.

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