The Death of Romance

Is romance dead? With divorces happening every day and people discussing how humans were never meant to be with just one person, it's easy to get depressed. If you're a hopeless romantic, like me, you might bury yourself in romance novels to shut out those voices.

I used to daydream even as a little girl about falling in love. My barbies had tangled relationships with one another where they fell in love and were heartbroken over and over again. I started reading seriously at the age of twelve. Most of the books were Sweet Valley High novels, but I also got my hands on several adult romances, that I probably shouldn't have been reading at the time.

It's why, as a writer, I always include a romance in any novel I write, regardless of what genre it otherwise fits into. I like to explore love and what complications it could face in different settings.

Most romance readers love romance novels because of the happily ever after. They like knowing that the couple they are rooting for will wind up together in the end. This is often not how things happens in real life, so its reassuring to see those joyful endings in books. At least there's happiness somewhere.

The problem is, I decided to write a romance series based on Greek myths. What is one thing the Greeks are famous for? Their tragedies. I want to keep the stories true to their roots, but it came with a cost.

Not all tragic romances are horrible. After all, Romeo and Juliet is a classic. Most of us remember going to see Titanic in theaters and bringing tissues with us as we watched it. The Notebook is sad, but enjoyed by many people.

But I wanted to warn readers anyway, just in case it wasn't their thing. I needed a name for my book series, so I wanted something that showed the amount of romance and passion in each story, while at the same time explaining that there wouldn't always be a happily ever after.

All the ideas I came up with were horrible:

"Greek Lovers" - Sounds like I'm talking about modern Greece and the people who happen to love that country. It shows nothing of the tragedy, romance, or mythology that it's supposed to.

"Tragedies of Greece" - This illustrates none of the romance and it's too generic.

"Myth and Romance" - Again, too generic. Not dark enough.

I came up with many more and was banging my head against the desk because I hated all of them.

I asked my boyfriend for help and expected him not to give me any good ideas (most of the time when I ask him or my family with help on these issues, they have no idea what to tell me.)

But instead he came up with this amazing idea . . . . .

"The Death of Eros Series"

He was a genius! Eros, if you don't know, is one of the Greek gods of love. In America, we more commonly know him by his other name: Cupid. It shows both the romance of my series and the mythology. And the death shows how dark and tragic the series can be as well.

So when my novel, Medusa's Desire, comes out (hopefully at the end of this year *fingers crossed*) and you see the words "Book #1 in the Death of Eros Series" you'll know what it means and why I came up with it!

The book is filled with swoon-worthy and sexy scenes. but I can't promise that everything works out for Perseus and Medusa in the end. After all, Perseus kills Medusa in the original story to save his mother, but in my book, things are a little more complicated than that . . . . .

Hopefully, you'll read it and find out!