Themes In Romance by Fiona Jayde

I've been an avid reader since my parents stopped half way through the Wizard Of Oz and told me to finish it myself. (Evil and brilliant)

 When I was about twelve I discovered romance novels (and Nora Roberts!), and romance is still my preferred genre today. And while I don't necessarily love Romance movies, I love movies with a strong romantic sub-plots where sexual tension just sizzles on screen.

My favorite romantic themes usually involve the hero and heroine absolutely hating each other (at least verbally) while being wildly attracted to each other. (Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa pop immediately to mind.)

As I mentioned in a previous post, I love the idea of a hero having to betray or "kill" his heroine (whether literally or figuratively - such as destroy her career or discredit her, etc) only to fall in love with her instead. I used a reversal of that theme in my sci-fi romance Cold Victory, where my heroine struggles with having to destroy the hero and his ship.

Similarly, I love the theme of a hero absolutely hating the heroine (or vice versa) but being honor bound or duty bound to save her - and end up falling for her.

I also love sports themes in contemporary romances - big tough athletes/ wounded warriors who need help seeing themselves as something more then statistics and scores. (I recently read Rachel Gibson's Nothing But Trouble and while it had no explosions or car chases or guns, I couldn't put it down. The sexual tension between the characters kept me riveted!)

Vengeance themes are another favorite - right up there with the hero and heroine hating each other. I think it was Silhouette romances which often had the hero forcing the heroine to marry him out of revenge, and the tension between them just sizzled.

Maybe it sounds really simplistic when I sum it up - but it seems that my favorite romance novels are very dramatic in the mutual dislike overlaid with attraction between the hero and heroine - regardless of the genre of the story.


To the readers - what are some of your favorite themes and storylines in romance novels or movies with romantic subplots?

Contest now closed to entries. 
Fiona Recently published an excellent story "Pas de Deux" with Samhain Publishing. Check out Fi's amazing trailer which I think captures the essence of the story perfectly.

One wrong move, and she could be dancing on her grave…

Two years after an injury put her dancing career on hold, Lynnrina Kovaleva is determined to reclaim her place on the stage. On the eve of her comeback production, she takes the edge off her nerves with a one-night stand in the strong arms of celebrity bodyguard Mateo Rivera.

Ex-cop Mateo is celebrating one hell of an anniversary: eight months since he was declared unfit for duty. When a delicate beauty boldly propositions him in a bar, he chooses to lose himself in her body rather than lose his mind to alcohol. This choice comes back to haunt him when he’s hired to protect a prima ballerina who’s been receiving threats.

Despite her shock at seeing him again, Lynn must not allow their intense attraction—or any creepy fan letters—to undermine her performance. Mateo can’t reconcile this coldly focused dancer with the passionate woman who seduced him. Yet he sees fire under the ice, pain hidden by the smooth mask of perfection.

The vivid memory of their entwined bodies wars with the job at hand, but he must keep Lynn safe—regardless of the cost. The most difficult challenge, however, will be keeping his hands to himself.

Warning: Contains jetés, pliés, a chilling touch of danger, and the boiling heat of an unwanted attraction that combusts into passionate sex.

Excerpt and Ordering Information

A big thank you again to Fiona Jayde (and her pirate) for being such an awesome and generous guest on the island.

Fiona Jayde is a space pilot, a ninth degree black belt in three styles of martial arts, a computer hacker, a mountain climber, a jazz singer, a weight lifter, a superspy with a talent for languages, and an evil genius.
All in her own head.

In life, she is an author of kickass, action packed, steamy romances, possesses a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do and blue belt in Aikido, a web developer, scared to death of heights, loves jazz piano, can bench-press about 20 pounds — with effort, was taught English by Nora Roberts and Growing Pains, and when not plotting murder and mayhem enjoys steamy romance novels, sexy spy thrillers, murky mysteries and movies where things frequently blow up.

She can be contacted by emailing her at fiona [at] fionajayde [dot][com]