A few days ago, I was talking about My Fugitive’s genre. On that topic, one inquiry I’ve gotten a few times regarding the story is, “Is it a romance novel?”
If you consider the answer to be a spoiler, and you haven’t reached the end of the book, you’ll want to stop reading this post. I’m putting the rest after the ‘read more’ break, just in case.
If you consider the answer to be a spoiler, and you haven’t reached the end of the book, you’ll want to stop reading this post. I’m putting the rest after the ‘read more’ break, just in case.
I thought that was an interesting question. There seems to be a bit of an assumption in fiction that if two characters are (1) the most important people in a story, and (2) different genders, they will either be a couple or be well on their way to becoming one by the end. Especially if they verbally snipe at each other most of the time, except for occasional moments when one of them rescues the other, at which point sexual tension hovers in the air until one of them delivers another jab and/or dives screaming into denial.
I suppose the Beachwalker and the Fugitive kind of lend themselves to said assumption; they’re both single and young, their story is told in a florid writing style, and fate/the plot throws them together in a way that would probably lead to romance in most books.
...Which, as it happens, is part of the reason why I decided not to have it play out that way. It would have been far too cliché, and not at all in keeping with the way people of their personalities would act under their circumstances.
They do develop intense feelings for each other, but having them become a couple at the end would, in my opinion, have added nothing to the book, while simultaneously dumping it in the already large-enough pile of “Florence Nightingale syndrome = romance” stories.
There’s also the fact that I dislike the idea of writing a romance novel on principle, but that’s a topic for another post.
I suppose, like many things about My Fugitive, it’s somewhat open to interpretation. Is it still a romance novel if the characters feel deeply for each other, but are neither a couple nor leaning toward becoming one by the end?
I’ll leave it to you to decide.
I suppose the Beachwalker and the Fugitive kind of lend themselves to said assumption; they’re both single and young, their story is told in a florid writing style, and fate/the plot throws them together in a way that would probably lead to romance in most books.
...Which, as it happens, is part of the reason why I decided not to have it play out that way. It would have been far too cliché, and not at all in keeping with the way people of their personalities would act under their circumstances.
They do develop intense feelings for each other, but having them become a couple at the end would, in my opinion, have added nothing to the book, while simultaneously dumping it in the already large-enough pile of “Florence Nightingale syndrome = romance” stories.
There’s also the fact that I dislike the idea of writing a romance novel on principle, but that’s a topic for another post.
I suppose, like many things about My Fugitive, it’s somewhat open to interpretation. Is it still a romance novel if the characters feel deeply for each other, but are neither a couple nor leaning toward becoming one by the end?
I’ll leave it to you to decide.
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