Never Been Romanced

I want to write a romance book. Nothing erotica, I mean, eww. Just a girl meets boy and falls in love. Someone tries to come between them and succeeds for awhile, which frustrates the reader. If Jane would only tell John the terrible secret that's keeping them apart, John would understand. The reader knows this, but Jane is witless.

I don’t know, maybe a jealous woman who wants John to herself threatens to tell John, Jane’s dirty little secret if she doesn’t leave town and never come back.

John tries to find her, of course, and he’s heartbroken, but after years with no Jane and the rantings from his wealthy family to marry, finally, send him up the wall, he marries the other woman. She, after long-suffering, gets the prize.

Then John and Jane have a chance meeting,(seriously, who would have guessed?) Jane didn’t marry because there could never be anyone for her except John. If she couldn’t have John, no way she was going to settle for less.

Wait a minute, I think I’ve just written the first draft of my blurb. Until this moment the story hadn’t even formulated in my mind. But that’s how it happens, isn’t it?

First there’s the idea, then the desire, and no matter how hard you try to reason it out in your mind, or write it out in an extensive outline, the first step is to start writing it. Get the direction it wants to go, then do the outline if you must. That's me. I have nothing against outliners.

Here's my problem. I’ve never read a romance novel. How am I going to write one? I guess I'd better read one, huh? I want one with a sexy cover that has two, physically, perfect lovers doing the wild thing.

I’m flying out of town for a week. I have my Ipod loaded with podcast books and audiobooks, but I need something to read during the worse part of the flight for me--the take off and the landing. Anyone have any ideas?