Cynthia Harrison

Downtown Press is a new imprint of Pocket books. The books themselves are trade paperbacks and the stories feature single women on a journey of some sort. These aim to be sexy, edgy, novels. Happy endings and romance are not required, although they’re acceptable.

Here’s what sexy and edgy mean in publisher-speak. There is swearing. Not just by the bad guys. The heroine’s banter may include expressions like “Well, fuck it. Just give me some ice cream.” That’s the edgy part. Also, drug use, drinking and rock and roll are acceptable in these worlds. Not necessary, but options.

So with Downtown Press, we’ve got permission to include swearing, drugs, drinking, and rock music, excesses that are frowned upon if not banned in contemporary romance novels. Sure a romance novel heroine can listen to Moby and maybe be pissed off and drink wine, but she can’t get drunk, she can’t get fucked up, well, unless its an accident and she doesn’t make a habit of it. As long as she doesn’t try to date Moby or worse, be a rock musician herself.

What about sex? Everyone knows that romance novels are full of sex. What they don’t know is there are rules about sex in romance novels, too. For example, the hero and heroine should not have sex too soon. Sex partners in romance novels almost always establish a reader-tease type of relationship (where they want to have sex but keep getting interrupted) through most of the book. It doesn’t feel real because it isn’t. It’s one of romance’s more annoying constructs, imo.

Also, the heroine can only have one sexual partner in the book. The hero. She doesn’t have to be a virgin, but believe me, plenty are. Another artificial construct that’s become an irritating cliche. Some of the top authors of romance break these rules all the time. But that’s because they’re at the top. They call the shots. Someone just breaking into the business is amonished all over the place to make her characters behave themselves.

If I wrote about people who behaved themselves all the time, I’d bore myself.
Am I saying that my heroine is a promiscuous drunk who swears like a sailor and snorts coke while listening to Marilyn Manson? No. I’m just saying I don’t like romances many limitations. That’s why I’m sending three chapters and a synopsis of my novel to Downtown Press this week.