Romance books have changed a lot since I started reading them. I still remember the first one I read. Sandra Brown’s Breath of Scandal. My aunt gave it to me, knowing that I read like a fiend. At the time, my reading was pretty much confined to fantasies and science fiction. She thought I could use a “broadening of my horizons” and gave me something new. So, I read it and was hooked and I mean, hooked quick.

I moved through romance novels like I was drinking water. Sandra Brown, Linda Howard and Nora Roberts. I still read my fantasies and sci-fi’s, but now I was noticing something was lacking from the stories that I would like to see. A sweeping love story somewhere in the stories. Not even necessarily with the main characters, just somewhere. I still wanted those “otherworldly elements” too, but I wanted romance, a love story, and sex. It was rare, at that point in time (the early 90′s) for me to be able to find what I was looking for.

In today’s book market, that’s a different story. Over the past few years, books have taken being classified into a category to an organizational art form. A listmaker’s dream – or nightmare, depending on how you look at it. No longer is there just contemporary romances like those I started out reading where the Alpha male came along and swept the stubborn leading lady off her feet with little protest from her. Today, heroines fight back. They kick ass with a wide smile painted across their perfectly shaped and painted lips. Sure, those contemporary romances are still there. But now they’re cataloged on the shelf next to the likes of Jeaniene Frost, Keri Arthur, and J. R. Ward in sub-genres of romance.

No longer is romance, just a romance. There’s paranormal romance, erotic romance, sci-fi romance, fantasy romance, shape-shifter romance, etc. Historical romances aren’t just limited to ones that took place at some point in history that isn’t now. There’s Gothic romance, medieval romance, Scottish romance, Irish romance, Western romance, etc. I’ve even seen horror romance, though I’ve not personally read anything in that sub-genre. There’s even time travel romance and don’t be surprised when you see steampunk romance showing up on your shelves next year.

The basis is all the same – at the most basic, a romance novel tells a story, one with a HEA or HFN. (Happily Ever After or Happy For Now) Be it vampire, cowboy, space alien, dragon or Highland warrior all of these stories have the development of a relationship between the characters.

Of course, then there’s someone like me.

Flash of Dark, my first release, has vampires, the Tuatha Dé Danann (the Fae), humans, a mystery, loud music and rope (after you read the next line, I’ll leave you to figure out the “rope” mention… ).

So, with all of these “sub genres” of romance, is that like a sub (paranormal) sub (fantasy) sub (mystery) sub (erotic) genre romance book?