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Harlequin Romance Writing
by Amy Bearce
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Romance novels are simultaneously loved and scorned by millions of readers. The unique language of romances, the steamy sex scenes, the near-perfect heroes… these all conspire to make certain people shake their heads, roll their eyes or even laugh out loud, as in the unforgettable scene in the TV show Friends when Rachel decides to be a romance writer, using such phrases as ”his throbbing pens” and “her heaving beasts.” But despite the mockery this genre sometimes receives, there is no denying that these books keep drawing back readers—many intelligent, thoughtful readers-- time and time again, creating huge profits. Romance novels are, at their heart, all about love and sex— a fantasy version of both -- an ideal of the perfect love.
Harlequin is one of the most well-known publishers of this genre. They have a large variety of romance series that run from Christian romance to traditional historical to more modern, sexually explicit series. Their more erotic series contain very sensual writing with full, explicit love scenes throughout. In fact, the whole book may seem, at first glance, to be an excuse to put together a multitude of highly graphic sex scenes. But make no mistake: these books are still romances, which distinguishes them from other types of erotica available. In these books, man and woman may initially only want to be sexual partners, but by the end of the story, they will eventually make some level of commitment to be full partners. It may or not may not involve a wedding or proposal, but the romance reader wants to close the book knowing that those two characters love each other and will stay together.
Writing a romance is tougher than it looks. Making a story fresh and sexy to a large number of readers—all of whom have different ideas of what is erotic--is a challenge, given the huge number of books already published in the genre. Harlequin publishes writers’ guidelines that are very detailed, with word length, topics, and setting requirements as well as a description of how explicit the love scenes should be, and what level of commitment is expected of the pair by the close of the book. Each series, or imprint, carries its own tone and audience. Because many series romance publishers accept work from writers without an agent, it is a good market to try to break into as a beginning writer. Interested in seeing if you might want to write for a series romance? Check out Harlequin’s guidelines… and then go grab one of each imprint, from the most rosy-cheeked romantic to the sultry, steamy series. Whichever one you like the best is the one you should try to write for.
eharlequin.com
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Below is an excerpt from a romance novel manuscript in progress, modeled along the more erotic, contemporary series of Harlequin. In this story, a shy teacher from Lawton, Oklahoma, longs to be a writer, but is pigeon-holed into her image at home. She gets to take a trip to Paris, France, and has determined to have a fling with a gorgeous French man so she can write a real novel about her wild adventure. Instead, she meets up with a Texan who stirs not only her blood, but her heart. What begins as a fun fling to remember turns into a love she does not want to lose. This scene is early in the story, so it is not an explicit love scene, which comes later during their day. Romance readers want anticipation and build up—no jumping in the sack in the first five minutes! It does, however, hint at things to come.
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Kelly was flustered by his proximity and provocative words. If ever there was a doubt about whether or not she’d have a fling with this man, that doubt was blown away on his breath as he had whispered in her ear, his lips ever so gently touching her earlobe as he spoke. But she felt something rising up in herself to meet his saucy smile… she knew he meant what he said and it gave her confidence. She ran her foot up his calf under the table and smiled slowly from beneath her lashes, just as she had seen in the movies. He jumped slightly in his seat and she laughed a low laugh that sounded like someone else’s…some vixen’s sultry laugh. She was surprised by the feeling of power it gave her, to know her touch would affect him like that.
Sean cleared his throat. “This place makes the best crepes, if you’d like some. I’ve taken the liberty of ordering a sampler plate for us… is that okay?”
Kelly wasn’t sure her stomach was up to food yet, but she replied, “Ummmm…that sounds delicious” and hoped it would be. The tray arrived as she spoke and it was a pleasant surprise to discover that the light crepes did not make her stomach worse. In fact, she decided as she ate another bite, this might be her own personal cure for hangovers. Some of the crepes were filled with a thin layer of strawberry preserves while others were filled with spinach and cheese, and some with sort of lemon tangy taste. One of them was even filled with chocolate. As she bit into it, her eyes closed with bliss. Sean laughed and said, ‘You look like the cat who just got into the cream.”
”You have to try a bite and see for yourself!” Kelly held out a corner of the crepe. Sean leaned forward, but didn’t hold out his hand. His eyes crinkled around the corners as he smiled and waited. It occurred to Kelly that he was waiting for him to feed it to him… in front of all these people. She looked around self-consciously, but no one seemed to be paying them any attention. She met his eyes and read in them a challenge, the same challenge to wear her sexy blouse, so she tore off one corner and then slowly traced her lips with it. He opened his mouth, perhaps in shock, and then she slowly laid the piece onto his tongue. His lips suddenly closed on her finger and she gasped as his tongue curled around her finger and he began to suck gently, lifting his hand up to hold her hand steady. He released her finger, and lightly traced his tongue around her knuckle and then lower to where her fingers joined her palm. She almost let out a startled moan, as his eyes stayed on hers as he mimicked a kiss that brought to mind another sweet junction he could be lavishing attention to. He seemed to wait until that thought had occurred to her, before he then moved his attention to her palm, laying light kisses on it, tracing a path up to her wrist. Here he inhaled and said, “I love the way you smell. It’s so light, so sweet, but so sexy,” his voice was lower than normal and his eyes had darkened into chocolate pools that were drawing her in deeper and deeper. Kelly was having a hard time drawing a breath, sitting in the bright sunlight with this beautiful man making love to her hand, of all things. She never knew her hand could be an erogenous zone, but it sure appeared it could be.
Notice that while the majority of the scene is a description of sexual innuendo, the main point of the passage is still romantic—this is the scene that demonstrates the deep level of response Kelly has to Sean. It shows that Sean is in tune to Kelly and we, the reader, can expect them to relate on many levels, not just sexually. Kelly also is beginning to embrace her power as a woman relating to a man, which is a character development issue in the story. A cut scene with even a brief sexual description or sexual suggestion can be very erotic…but for the romance reader, eroticism serves a purpose: we want to know the characters, we want to see them growing together, and ultimately, we want both the hot passion of steamy love scenes and the touching ending of a happily ever after of two characters in love. We get the best of both worlds.
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