A Romantic at Heart
Dear Maggie,
Aren’t you a science fiction writer? Why did you decide to write romance novels?
Sincerely,
A Romantic in Red Oak
Dear Romantic,
If we’re being honest, I bet we all remember sneaking off with our mom’s bodice ripper romance novels and dog earring ‘those scenes’ to read over and over again, or maybe that’s just me? Sexy scenes are fun to read, and they’re really fun to write. My husband sure appreciates it when I ask him to proof a particularly steamy scene I’ve written!
Sexy stuff aside, there are a few reasons I ventured into writing romance…
When Covid hit, like the rest of the world, I was thrown into a tailspin. I knew I could either allow fear to cripple my creativity and derail my career, or I could use my voice and my words to stay emotionally afloat and connected with my community. My personal blog became a place of reflection, and I used the unexpected ‘down’ time to finish an urban fantasy I’d been outlining for years. I also decided to shift my focus to writing something lighter, and my alter ego, Maggie Clare, was born. During the Covid years, I published four romantic suspense novels under this pen name, and created a fun, playful platform for Maggie.
A big reason I’m drawn to romance is the heavy character driven nature of the stories. As a reader, I want to feel a deep connection to the characters I’m reading about. I want to watch them struggle, and suffer, and grow. I want to fall in love with them and root for them and follow them on a journey. Because romance novels are centered around a romantic relationship of some sort, I get all this in spades. As a writer, I take great satisfaction in developing my characters, and especially watching them find love.
Finally, I love writing romance for the happily-ever-after endings. I admit it, I’m a sucker for a happy ending, and in romance writing, that’s an unbreakable rule. No matter what the main characters have suffered through, they get to ride off into the sunset together. I love to really put my characters through the ringer. It makes for great dramatic tension, and watching their behavior under stress is one of my favorite ways to bare their souls to readers. But after all I put them through, I want them to find happiness together. Call me an optimist, I guess!
Coming from a science fiction writing background, I enjoy plot-driven action scenes, and I found the best of both worlds in the romantic suspense genre, where the relationship between the main characters takes center stage, but their story is set amidst a backdrop of suspense and action. At some point, I may venture out of this sub-genre, but I’ve got a couple more books in the TSI series on the way first, so stay tuned!
If you have a question for me, send it to maggie@msmaggieclare.com and I’ll answer it here on the blog!
