Mudlavia and the Not-So-Romance

I love writing middle grade and young adult books about adventure, choices, friendship, family, and mystery, but romance? That's not normally my focus.

So when I found myself pitching my Mudlavia story to an agent who was very excited about it, I grew more and more excited the longer she talked to me. She explained that she loved Titanic and kept asking me about comparisons between the two stories.

Did it have this? Yes. Did it have this? Yes. Did it have romance?

Uh...

She explained that she thought a story like this really needed romance in it.

It is always wise to take advice from someone who has had a lot of experience and success in the publishing industry! Ever since then, I have been trying to work on this romance thing in my novel. When it comes to creating a novel, you don't just sit down, spit out the words, and boom, your are ready to publish! It takes a lot of edits and hard work. Every story has complications when it comes to getting something that is ready to publish, and for Mudlavia it is definitely creating a romance in it.

At Christmas time I worked on my Mudlavia Christmas chapters and it was magical. I used a peppermint scented pen, listened to Christmas music, and drank holiday inspired drinks. Editing my Christmas chapters at Christmas brought out the best in them. So as February and Valentine's Day rolled around, I was hoping the romance part would flow easily. Nope.

The more I work on it and add a character's thought or comment, the easier it gets, even if I do feel silly. I started a word bank with words like handsome, boyishly good looks, fetching, warm eyes, heart pounding, blushing, and so on, and I stare at it when I'm at a part where there should be signs of budding love.

My biggest obstacle is that I often come across young adult books where the female character sees a handsome guy, she knows she is definitely in love, and then puts herself in a bad situation or gives up everything to be with him. I want my characters to put more thought in it than that. I want a girl who uses reason, who is strong enough to say no, who realizes that relationships can move slow.

So while I am working on romance and trying to get it right in my novel, I am also trying to be true to myself and bring it out in a way that is real.