I read a lot of romances, you all know that. I didn’t used to — I was pretty much a sci-fi/fantasy fan, and when I went off that track it was usually to Robert Ludlum, Stephen King or Clive Barker. Generally, I’ll read anything, but we all go through our phases and stick to what we like. Romance was never really on my radar. I mean, I read a couple. Yes, I even confess to reading my friend’s Sweet Valley High books if there was nothing else. Still, it was never my genre of choice.
In 2007, I moved and with a lot of time on my hands, searched for free online romance reading and found Literotica. And I read, and I read and I saw lots of possibilities and other things. It was fun and I found I liked reading about people who were friends and who fell in love and who got past problems and obstacles to have their happily-ever-after (HEA) ending. So I started writing, just to see if I could.
Next I started reading romances, figuring I might as well see what else goes on. I went with Nora Roberts, her name being the one I knew best from what I think must have been some sort of pop culture hypnosis. I think the first one I read was Angel Falls. By now I’ve read probably hundreds of romances, in print and e-formats and have discovered a few things in said books..
One that hit me a few days ago was work and jobs. I often have a tough time trying to think of employment for my characters — hockey players notwithstanding. I have not had many jobs in my life. I know that’s odd to hear, especially these days when it seems like people job hop all the time (or is that just a media conspiracy? hmm? kidding!). I had summer jobs, then work-study at college, then a job in grad school, and then I found a job that I stayed at for nearly fifteen years, leaving only when I moved. I know there are tons of jobs out there, but when your experience is limited, and you want to get things right, it can be hard to do.
I find a lot of romance writers get around this mainly in two ways. One, the woman owns and/or runs her own business. Second, she’s independently wealthy, usually via inheritance or a trust fund. Of course, in the latter case. the woman rarely just sits on her but and drinks champagne. She will either have a job, or she will devote a lot of time to some sort of charity or cause. Either way the main thing is that in doing this, the woman has control of her own time. (For the record, this seems to happen just as much with the leading men.)
How real or realistic is that, though? If you run a business, I bet you’re there nearly 24/7 unless you’ve been at it for a long time and have staff you can trust. I’m not talking someone being a CEO of a big company, although there’s that, too. But I’ve lost track of the number of women in these romances who run their own shop (often lingerie), their own bar or restaurant, their own advertising or other business and for some reason have lots of spare time to spend with a guy. If they don’t have that time, then the guy convinces them to take it (and really, no one should be a workaholic).
The other side, as I said, is some kind of independent wealth. A trust fund or inheritance (allowing the woman the occasional bout of sadness or wistfulness as she misses her parents or other relative) pops up pretty frequently. Like I said, these women are still usually people of character, I guess you’d say. They don’t want anyone to think they simply sit around being taken care of, and they find constructive ways to use their time.
I’m not against either of these, by the way. Women do own businesses, and it’s refreshing to see them in these businesses and be successful. It’s also cool to see women not sitting around even though they have money and doing something constructive with their time.
I think I’ve done this once, in Game Misconduct, where Tabitha Daniels owns and runs a bar.
Most of my other heroines just have jobs. Office-type jobs. Hey, they say write what you know. Still, even then, it’s tough. I don’t want everyone to be a secretary or an accountant. Another problem is that I don’t know what a lot of jobs entail, and although I can look it up and ask people, I don’t want to get anything wrong. That’s just plan embarrassing.
Obviously another reason for this (I think) is just the fantasy of it. Who doesn’t like the idea of being in charge and calling the shots? Or being comfortable from a financial standpoints, whether it’s an inheritance or whatever? For the purposes of these stories, I find it also allows the woman — and men — freedom of movement. If you’re in charge, you can call or cancel a meeting, cancel or reschedule appointments, etc. You can make yourself available for a rendezvous with that special someone (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).
As I said, I don’t mind these devices in books, and it keeps it in the fantasy realm for me. Not sure if that’s good or bad, and it’s probably neither. It’s just outside of my experience and occasionally makes it a little harder to relate to the characters; they are just in circles that I am not. Which, I imagine is why I tend to have my characters have “regular” jobs. I know those jobs, those people, that world, and as those of you have read my stuff know, I like a certain amount of realism in my writing (and my reading, although I’ll let a lot slide there).
So I doubt I’ll have a lot of CEOs, male or female, popping up any time soon. Unless I get this idea that…
) Some other changes should, I hope, gain me some time during the week.
I’m all for escapism, and enjoy stories where opposites clash and then come together, or where people look past what’s in front of them until it whacks them in the face to get their attention. Miscommunications are common in real life and books, and can often be funny, too, when you’re looking from the outside and you know it will get resolved. On the other hand, I also like a quieter story sometimes, one that’s more “real.”
