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One genre I haven’t written is Romance. I’ve only read two regular romance novels, the first two books in a series, but they were written by my aunt. And I read them mainly out of support for her, especially after my uncle died, though I did enjoy them. I also enjoyed the romantic comedy The Holiday with Jude Law, Camren Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jack Black. And I don’t mind a romance subplot in other stories.

For the most part, however, I find a lot of romance stories ridiculous and unrealistic, particularly romances of the Harlequin novel and Hallmark movie variety. The Hallmark movies in particular drive me crazy. So many of them have painfully similar plots, though I’m aware that familiar things can be soothing and/or comforting. This is why tropes and cliches are a thing. It’s very much a “real-life doesn’t work like that,” thought that keeps my from really suspending my disbelief.

Also, there’s a small number of folks that enjoy these stories and expect things to go that way, ignoring that these stories are fiction, unrealistic and. Including the romance novelist aunt, who was very baffled by the fact that the other big reader in the family (me) doesn’t enjoy them and how dare I not like them when she does since it’s her influence and her influence alone that means I’m a big reader (which it isn’t), forgetting that I am very much my mother’s child, which means action/adventure, mystery, the occasional disaster/apocalyptic, comedy, and especially horror stories.

That’s not to say I won’t ever write a romance, but I simply haven’t had an idea or the interest to do so. I do have a couple stories where a romance occurs, but isn't the main focus.