I've got the start of a contemporary on my laptop. I know basically how it's going to start. How it's going to end.
They Meet.
They Fall In Love.
The End.
:OP
Actually, I have bit more than that sketched out. But I don't read many straight contemporaries any more. Suspense? Oh, yeah. Paranormal, uh-huh. Fantasy or sci fi? I'm as happy as can be. But not as many contemporaries hold my attention.
There's a million story lines there. I've written a couple. Her Best Friend's Lover. Girl in love with her best friend, pining away... and finally, he falls in love with. Similiar story line in Her Wildest Dreams.
Secret Baby? Well, that SORT of played into Her Best Friend's Lover. Sort of. But secret babies don't hold much appeal for me. My opinion? A man is a dad, he really should know. If he's a decent guy, he will want to know. So I'm not much interested in that.
Prince/Princess falling in love with the pauper? You know, rich person falls in love with poor person. etc etc etc...hummm... nope, this doesn't appeal to me either.
Okay, maybe I'm asking is what do you like to see... what don't you like to see... what are some good straight contemporaries you've read lately?
7 comments:
Well contemporary (as a broad genre) is my favorite genre. I've branched out some, but it's still come back to stories with contemporary settings. I always like humor and I love witty dialogue. I'm trying to think what I've read recently... I'll have to get back to you when someone stops bugging me LOL
Is mo still razzing you? geez... she can't even taunt you about tim tams. they are readily available!!!
Yep she was *G*
Even caused me to typo in my post lol. The second sentence should be "I've branched out some, but I still come back..."
So while it's quiet...
I agree with you on secret babies. I'm not mad on those stories.
Prince/Princess ~ gotta admit I like those (ie MJD'S "The Royal Treatment" - Loved it)
I haven't had much time for reading lately, but I'm getting back into it.
The best straight contemp. I've read recently is Maureen Child's "Turn My WOrld Upside Down". First I've read of hers but am about to start the previous stories. I also really liked Erin McCarthy's "Mouth To Mouth" but you could probably argue that has suspense in it.
Ok this is really hard Shi!
Where do you draw the line between what's Rom/Susp and what's a straight contemporary with suspense elements?
How about reunion of lovers torn apart by misunderstanding? Kathy Allred's Second Time Around is like that. It's a little reminiscent of Judith McNaught's Paradise, one of my all-time favourites.
The poor but spunky girl falls for the handsome rich guy works for me too. Susan Elizabeth Phillip's Match Me If You Can is on my TBB list. I thought the matchmaker-trophy wife seeking bachelor setup pretty refreshing, with a lot of potential for laughs.
SEP is *always* good for laughs! :) But I love revenge stories and betrayal stories. JAK is one of my alltime faves and she writes such great "betrayal that really isn't" stories. Though, yes, lately, everything of hers has had a suspense element. I really love it all, except the whole secret baby scenario. I like pregnant heroines, or just found out how to catch up with the "not so dead beat dad" stories though. I just really love romance though sometimes it's definitely a challenge to find a story that doesn't delve into mystery zones for the external plot. Both to write and to read. It's one of the reasons I love writing Presents. Straight romance all the time. Which brings me to the marriage of convenience plot. It's a love it or hate it plot line, but I happen to love it. When it's done well. *g*
Well, I've rambled long enough.
Hugs,
Lucy Monroe
oh man! I love betrayal stories... where the hero or heroine feels like the other one turned on them is one of my faves, though.
I really get into angst.
SEP if wonderful~my favorite book of hers is Kiss an Angel.
Right now I'm in my contemporary phase, so this is a good question.
My absolute favorite is friends who fall in love, or when the hero is in love with the heroine a long time before things start to heat up - I guess I love the idea of the guy suffering unrequited love for awhile. I just read a great Blaze by Jennifer LaBrecque where the hero is hopefully in love with his best friend's fiancee - very hot stuff.
I also like it when the h/h hate each other and all that tension turns to love. It's gotta be really passionate and the antagonism has to be realistic.
Or when they both know upfront they want each other but there's a legitimate reason to stay away from each other - warring families, competing companies, etc. Lots of sexual tension that finally explodes.
Okay, got a one-track mind, but those are my preferences.
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