Writing Romance, Facts and Myths

Before I get down to telling you why I write romance, I’m going to start by answering the question, why write at all?

In my case, it was largely down to Mrs Thatcher.  No, I wasn’t inspired by her, but her policies were definitely a catalyst.  You see, only a couple of years before my daughter was due to go to university, Mrs Thatcher’s government cancelled the student grant system. And we had no idea how we were going to fund my daughter’s education. I needed a way to make a lot of money, quickly. So I thought, “I know, I’ll write a best seller.”  (As you do!)

In my defence, I’d been to university where I’d studied English literature, and I was (and still am) a voracious reader. But it wasn’t until I sat down and started to attempt to write something myself that I discovered how hard it really was.

Eventually, I managed to complete a story with a post-apocalyptic theme, stuffed full of allegories of inter-familial war, showing how a particularly nasty character weaselled his way into power. Funnily enough, publishers didn’t seem to be interested in it. No matter where I sent it, they didn’t even bother to reply.

At that point, I started to wonder if I needed a few pointers about how to get published, and I took up a correspondence course. A lot of it was of no use to me at all, but one thing that really helped me was the chapter on writing genre romance. If I was to send a manuscript into the offices of Mills & Boon, the chapter said, then not only would somebody read it, but they would get back to me.

Well, that sounded wonderful after all the ringing silence I was getting everywhere else. The chapter on writing genre romance further advised that I needed to read lots of books by Mills & Boon, to get the idea of the kind of thing they published, so that I could tailor my writing to their demands.

Until then, I had never knowingly read anything from Mills & Boon.  I had, however, heard scathing mentions from university lecturers about how they were “trashy” or “worthless”.

Imagine my surprise, then, when after dipping into my first hoard gleaned from local charity shops, to find these books were full of the kinds of stories that had been floating around in my own imagination for years. It was a real lightbulb moment for me.

Because I also realised that whatever type of story I ever read, be it science fiction, or thriller, or adventure, or historical, I was always disappointed if the hero didn’t get the girl. Or if the main characters didn’t end up in satisfying relationships. 

Not only did I want to read books with a strong romantic thread, but I also now wanted to write books where romance was the main theme.

From that moment on, I began bombarding the offices of Mills & Boon with the opening chapters of story after story, in the hopes of getting some feedback, at the very least. If they weren’t interested in publishing that particular story, I hoped I might at least get some pointers about what I was doing wrong.

Instead, after about my fifth standard rejection slip, I got a request for a view of a full manuscript, and then a request for revisions, and then a contract!

At this point, perhaps I should mention that not only my daughter, but also my son, had both graduated from university, with huge amounts of student debt, but this no longer felt like my prime reason for writing. I was just hooked on the process, and wanted, more than anything, to see my work on sale in W. H. Smiths.

Now – on to one myth about writing for Mills & Boon. There is a view that these stories have to be written to a formula. I have not found this to be the case, writing for the historical line. So long as a love story is front and centre, my characters can go on adventures featuring smugglers or spies, or get involved in crimes.

I have written one book where my heroine nurses the hero in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo. Many of my heroes are soldiers or sailors who have fought in the Napoleonic wars, which means I have touched on issues such as p.t.s.d. (although of course it wasn’t called that in Regency times)

However, you cannot really write love stories of this sort unless you truly do believe in the importance of love. That life is richer if you have that special someone to share it with.

Nowadays, I tend to write light-hearted romps, set in the ballrooms and drawing-rooms of the haut ton, because this is what readers (according to research from the marketing team) want from me.

My latest release features a girl with a shady past, whose godmother whisks her up to London with promises of restoring her reputation in society, and finding her a husband if she wants one.  My heroine doesn’t want one. In her experience men only cause trouble. And yet…

“The Scandal of the Season” is now available in the US, UK, and Australia.

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Annie Burrows has been writing light-hearted Regency romances for Mills & Boon since 2007. Her first book, “His Cinderella Bride” was the top seller in the historical line that year.

Subsequent books have gone on to win the coveted Reviewer’s Choice award from Cataromance.

Her books have charmed readers worldwide, having been translated into 19 different languages.

For more information, or to contact the author, please visit her website or Facebook page as shown

Website: www.annie-burrows.co.uk

Facebook:  AnnieBurrowsUK

Twitter:  @NovelistaAnnie

THE SCANDAL OF THE SEASON

Her name is ruined,

But her heart is untouched!

Having saved Cassandra Furnival from scandal once before, it shouldn&;t have surprised Colonel Nathaniel Fairfax that she was now attempting to lay siege to the ton&;s eligible bachelors! Determined to thwart her plans, he&;s as astounded by her defiance as by her beauty. But nothing shocks the jaded soldier more than discovering her innocence. Restoring her reputation is set to bring about the scandal of the season!

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips