Romance is a very popular genre with a large readership base eagerly on the look out for new books, both by established and new authors. In addition, romance often forms a sub-plot for very many stories regardless of their genre.

Romance is popular because almost every teenage girl is hormonally tuned in to the themes of love, seduction, courtship, partnership, and marriage, and also the opposing experiences of betrayal, heartbreak, and loss. Many women, and some men, remain fond of stories containing these elements, as the popularity of soap opera and drama TV characters falling in and out of love, and losing and finding each other demonstrates.

Why not have some fun and spin a romantic yarn this Valentine's Day?

Medical romance

The tense and high pressure environment of a hospital offers many romantic opportunities. Saving lives or losing a patient can bring carers closer to each other, to family members, or to their patients. Critical illness or injury can also instigate the need for a character to express their feelings for another.

Chick Lit

Chick Lit is characterised by a woman wrestling her need for independence and a successful career with her desire to be swept off her feet in a whirlwind romance, hopefully leading to a loving relationship. There’s often a lot of tongue-in-cheek humour included, which has raised this sub-genre out of the impending cliché of some other romance – the heroine is not always beautiful, and she doesn’t always get the same guy she’s after. But her story is usually inspiring and enjoyable, and readers of this type of book look for characters they can identify with.

Contemporary romance

Contemporary romance is similar to Chick Lit in its modern setting and portrayal of independent women, but any awkwardness on the part of the protagonist is played down in favour of more traditional attractiveness.

Glamour romance

Another very popular sub-genre is the glamour field, where the reader escapes into an unattainable world of socialites and celebrities. Some common themes in these stories are the rags-to-riches treatment, a Hollywood star or prince/princess meeting and falling for an ordinary “mortal”, or a wealthy heiress having to work hard to make a success of the empire she has inherited.

Adventure romance

Boys like romance too – just look at the popularity of Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, where Bond has become almost as notorious for his conquests of women as he has for saving the world from the latest supervillain. Suspense, spy, and mystery stories often have some romance to lead the reader astray, and family secrets, curses, and scandals have plenty of angst to add to the mix.

Period/Historical romance

Period romance has been a huge part of this genre for a long time. Something about the past awakens a sense of innocent and sometimes unobtainable romance. Readers of period fiction like to lose themselves in the romance of a past era.

Be aware that “historical fiction” places an emphasis on capturing an historical event with some degree of accuracy, whereas “period fiction” allows for artistic licence in capturing the feel of the time, without necessarily placing it firmly in an historical setting.

Paranormal/Horror/Gothic romance

There’s nothing like a little terror to drive one character into the arms of another. Some readers love their romance to be between a human and an immortal, super- or un-natural, or otherworldly being, such as a vampire, ghost, or alien. Stories set in an earlier era with a trend for the dark, desolate romance made popular during the 18th and 19th Century are usually termed “Gothic romance”.

Erotica and Bodice-rippers

At the far end of the scale is the profitable erotica romance sub-genre. Even within this section, stories can vary from slightly titillating to violent or pornagraphic. The past is also a very popular setting for some erotica stories.

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If you'd like to try your hand at writing romance, you may find these books helpful:

The Romance Writer's Handbook : How to Write Romantic Fiction & Get it Published by Rebecca Vinyard

Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Your Romance Published by Julie Beard