Photo of Romance Author Julie Tetel Andresen
How I Became a Romance Novelist
When I was doing my graduate work in linguistics, I attended a Linguistics Society of America summer institute. A friend I made there handed me a Georgette Heyer novel for some leisure reading. Heyer wrote what are called Regency Romances. Reading hers was a revelation. This was the kind of story I used to read before I realized that I should be reading so-called better things, such as heavy-duty French existentialism. Ugh! The breezy, clever Heyer novel also gave me permission to write down a story that had been rambling around in my head. It became My Lord Roland, a medieval romance published by Warner Books.
The Origins of Romance Fiction
I set my first romance in the Middle Ages because that’s when romance started. During that time a story written in a Romance language was called in Old French a romanz. These fantasy novels featured quests, the battle between good and evil, derring-do, and magical things like swords and talking animals. Let’s add in Freud’s notion of family romance, a complex where a child or adolescent fantasizes that they are really the children of parents of a higher social standing. And now we have Star Wars, the ultimate space romance.
Moby Dick – a pure quest narrative – also counts as a romance. My understanding of the term is large.
In the Middle Ages, a romanz distinguished itself from the Bible which was written in Latin. So, from the beginning, since the Bible was considered sacred, romances could only be profane. Oh, well. Some things never change.
Exploring Romance Subgenres
Over my writing career, I’ve ventured into many subgenres:
- Historical Romance (including Regencies)
- Contemporary Romance
- Paranormal (shapeshifters, time slips)
- Erotic Romance (BDSM, motorcycle clubs)
- Sports Romance (mixed martial arts)
I always want a mystery, something to solve or something to find. Every now and then I get to a point in a story where I say to myself, “I really need a dead body.” Works every time.
Balancing Love Stories and Mystery Plots
How I categorize a story is a question of what plot line is foregrounded and what plot line is backgrounded. If the solving of a murder is foregrounded, then you have a murder mystery (and it’s likely there’s a love interest in the background). My work tends to foreground the love story and background the mystery or the adventure or the quest. One time I set myself the challenge, “Can I make the development of the love relationship and the solving of the murder intersect at every point?” I answered this question in my murder-mystery/romance Suspicious Hearts, set in early 18th London, and first published by Harlequin.
Romance and Linguistics: A Lifelong Connection
I began writing My Lord Roland at the same time I began writing my PhD dissertation. In my life, my love of language and the language of love have always been intertwined.
What Is the Regency Period in Romance Novels?
The Regency Period (1811 – 1820) is named for George, Prince Regent, the temporary king of Great Britain, while his father, George III, was ill. Any story set in this general time is called a Regency.