A select few romance authors write for the older, more mature, romance reader. Let’s face it, most romances involve twenty-somethings, maybe thirty-somethings. Typically the heroine is 24-30. The hero might be older, say 28-40.
And of course NA, or New Adult Romance, is very trendy. The characters tend to be quite young - 18-24.
Two of my friends have written romance for the more mature reader - Katalina Leon and Penny Watson.
Kat is the author of, yes, the one and only BDSM book I will ever recommend, Noblesword. She wrote it a number of years ago and by today’s standards I believe the story would be considered almost puritanical. Kat’s writing is so evocative, her story so complex, the sensuality so heady- Oscar and I loved it. Well, we didn’t only love it, we sort of inhaled it.
I read a pdf copy on my computer, he read the hard copy and we had a race. There was so much to discuss about the book (and I do mean discuss) AND the characters were of an age close to ours. When you hit your forties sexuality and sensuality do not (Poof!) disappear.
Penny Watson took romance and turned it on its curly little head in her most recent book, Apples Should Be Red (I always want to write Read).
She took two older, yet far from elderly characters, put them in the same room and let the sparks fly, or maybe I should say she let the chips fall where they may. Apples Should Be Red is a laugh out loud romantic comedy. It’s bawdy but not dirty, and it’s preciously un-PC. Thank you, Ms. Watson!
Love doesn’t take a holiday just because you’re a woman pushing sixty.
Another friend of mine, a very dear friend, has written a love story, just recently published, all about second chances. Yes, there is life and love and magic and mystery after forty.
I got to know Jordyn when I judged a contest. It was years ago. Of all the entries I read, and I read many, hers stood out. Yes, the grammar, the organization, the sentence structure was all a bit rough- this was her fist attempt, but not only was her story unique, she told it beautifully. She cast a spell over me. The characters got under my skin. I remember that story to this day, and from what I gather- hint-hint- Jordyn will be releasing it soon. (No spoilers.)
What struck me about that first story was this - Jordyn took a risk and created a mature heroine, a widow just beginning to emerge from her shell and rejoin the living. All the other manuscripts I read were formulaic and forgettable. Jordyn’s story stuck with me. So I emailed her to let her know how much I loved her work and I encouraged her to keep plugging away.
She did. Now she’s released:
Becca’s Dance, by Jordyn Meryl
The journey of life is not about the path traveled, it’s about the dance.
Remember your first love? The itching in your palms to touch that person, the churning sensation of your stomach when you kiss, or the promise of forever love? A summer romance had all the possibilities for Becca and Clay. But a tragic accident killing two of their friends, sent Becca running away to build a sheltered life, protected from pain. Clay tried to drown his pain in booze and other women, but failed. Each picked mates for reasons other than love.
Twenty years later their paths cross as Becca tries to escape from the shame of a divorce, and Clay is living life as a single father to six grown boys.
In the small community of Lester Lake, love, fate and star-crossed lovers work towards rekindling a first and only true love.
Becca’s Dance meanders back and forth through time like a winding river. It’s a story of pain, loss, longing, loneliness, healing, memory and meaning. Of course it’s also about connection and true love. Becca’s Dance really tugs at the heartstrings. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Clay, of course, but the secondary characters are amazing. That’s the thing about Jordyn, everyone in her stories is fully fleshed out.
Some readers might be confused by the jumps through time. This was not an issue for me. I can follow a terrific story anywhere.
