Today I got thinking about why we love romance novels.

Actually, life had been challenging and I was thinking about Happily Ever Afters. And that led me to realize that the Happily Ever After is probably one of the biggest reasons we love romance novels - we're promised a Happily Ever After.

It's the one non-negotiable "rule" of writing a romance novel. Break all the other rules you want, but don't mess with the Happily Ever After. Readers expect it.

If you don't have a Happily Ever After (or at least a Happily at the End of the Book), what you have is more likely a love story. Or something else. But it's not a romance novel.

Life is hard. The road is often bumpy. Sometimes we're lonely. Sometimes what we thought would be a Happily Ever After turns out...not so much the way we expected.

Books have always been one of my favorite places to seek refuge when life gets painful. I can do that by reading...or writing. And that may be the best way to make lemonade (or, you know, books) out of lemons.

Why do you love romance novels?

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