Hello world!

I wanted to start this particular page writing about something I’d heard from an avid reader whose love is YA romance.

The comment made was that most books out there in this genre are all the same. They meet, they have conflict, they fall in love, they live happily ever after. If this is true, and I’m not necessarily saying it is, then I have the following comments to make regarding my own observations of late when perusing the YA romance genre. My thoughts are from an author’s standpoint, and then, as a reader.  Here we go:

1.  The author who can come up with an angle that has not been thought of, will have a best seller, chances that this will happen, however, are slim to nothing. I too have found that the basic theme for this genre is about the same as described above.  Sure, many authors have found different ways to approach the same scenarios, but nonetheless, they are the same. Readers are becoming aware! Beware of the unfinished!

Tropes to Avoid:

• Instant love: “She stood in the room surrounded by so many people she didn’t recognize when suddenly, their gaze locked. Her heart fluttered and thumped nervously. He was the one! Ick!
• The Lurv Triangle: “She’s mine, no she’s mine… no she’s mine.” Ugh!
• The Forbidden Love: “He was the enemy, but they couldn’t help themselves… they were in lurv!” Blah!  Seriously? Instantly? Ick and blah!
• The Bad Boy Lova: “You can’t see him anymore! He’s a druggie, and a baddie, and his hair is long, and he has side-burns (side-burns?), and he’s ten years older than you!” and “But daddy, I lurv him!”
• The Secret Love: “She is beautiful, don’t you think?” said Sally as she glimpsed quickly in her direction. “Yes, but don’t let others hear you say that! They will hate you and bully you and make your lives horrible!” responded best friend George. Doh!
• The Submissive Love: “You will love me and do as I say because I’m the man/woman and you’re mine forever!” and “Yes, I do, I do. I will never leave you because I like how you belittle me and dominate me and tell me what to do all the time!”  Pthhhhh

As I have searched for that one book that doesn’t fall into the Trope Abyss, I find myself less focused on this genre as I once was. Perhaps, what authors out there need to do is focus less on the act of love and more on what love is about. There are more things to love and do with love than to waste it solely on humans. Perhaps, this could be a twist that a new author out there can bring to life and who knows, maybe end up with a unique best seller. Just remember, you heard it here first <wink>, <wink> and I do take certified checks!