Hello! It’s been a while, but I’m still here. I’m bursting with the need to talk about one of my favorite romance authors. And then maybe next post I’ll talk about another one of my fave romance authors who isn’t that good at writing. Weird, right? It’s the truth that you can learn a lot about what not to do from other people’s mistakes. But first I want to talk about Julie Garwood. As a published romance writer (see how I subtly plugged myself there), I have realized that it’s time to de-stigmatize romance novels. They get so much crap, and for a long time, I was right there slinging arrows with the rest of society. But the fact of the matter is… romance novels are entertainment. People make fun of Rom-Com movies in a similar way, and it’s like… why? People seek emotional catharsis from their entertainment, and many genres provide that without worrying about winning Oscars or whatever. Look at the Fast and Furious series. You think people are watching that for the scintillating dialogue and believable drama? No. They’re watching it to see Vin Diesel do a flying headbutt or to see someone drive a car out the window of one skyscraper and into the window of another. Entertainment doesn’t always have to be believable. It doesn’t even have to be well-written. But you know what? Julie Garwood is a good writer. AND she writes romance! To prove this, I’m going to point out two scenes from my favorite series of romance novels. The first is from Killjoy (2002). This romantic thriller asks you to suspend your disbelief as you follow two characters on a death-defying journey through the mountains as they evade a hired killer. This story belongs to the enemies-to-lovers sub-genre, so towards the beginning of the book, the narration is all about how the leads are frustrated with each other. This includes the following snippet:
…she had vowed that, if he survived, she’d kill him, just for the sheer joy of it.
The title of the book is hidden in that sentence! Isn’t that so cool? “She’d kill him, just for the sheer joy of it.” You think Julie Garwood did that by accident? Heck no. She was having some fun with this. And I appreciate that. But that’s not the kind of subtlety I want to talk about today. No, I want to talk about relationship development and showing-not-telling. So now we’re going to look at Sizzle (2009). In this book, FBI agent Sam is grilling grad student Lyra for details about her life. Someone is trying to kill her, so he’s trying to form a list of suspects. He asks about past relationships, and she says she ended her last serious relationship some time ago. He presses her for her reasons for the breakup, and the narration reveals what she truly thought about her ex.
Not to be bored to death, she thought but didn’t say. In all the time she had known John, she had never heard him laugh really hard, the kind of laugh that brought tears to your eyes and took your breath away.
That quote is from chapter twelve. Then, during a car ride in chapter twenty-six, you get this brief line:
He [Sam] burst into laughter that made tears come to his eyes.
A dozen words. A dozen (and change) chapters later. And right there, you know these two are meant for each other. Because Sam does exactly what Lyra’s ex never did: He laughs so hard that tears come to his eyes. But here’s the thing about subtlety… it’s tempting to counteract a subtle moment with a not-so-subtle lampshade. Garwood doesn’t hang a lampshade on this moment, and I respect that. She doesn’t add narration about Lyra noticing the laughter or feeling a certain way. She just moves on. This accomplishes a few things.
1. Garwood isn’t insulting her readers’ intelligence. If she’d hung a lampshade on it, it would have sent one or two messages. “You aren’t perceptive enough to pick up on this” and/or “Look how clever I am!” Neither of these messages is good.
2. It shows that the two characters are meant for each other. No telling required. The narration doesn’t need to do that heavy lifting because the characters’ actions speak for themselves.
3. It makes nerdy readers (like me) feel proud of themselves for noticing it. Yeah, I’m not afraid to admit that I felt like I’d earned a medal or a cookie for picking up on this. I should be afraid to admit it, and you should definitely feel free to make fun of me relentlessly. But the truth is out there.
As I said above, you can learn a lot from what authors do wrong, but you can also learn plenty from what authors do right. Julie Garwood writes sexy novels, but she doesn’t sacrifice anything in doing so. Her characters are well-rounded, the conflict is compelling, and the relationships feel real. I am a huge fan, and I can’t wait for her next book.
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