Action/Adventure: more akin to action-adventure films than to traditional romantic suspense, strong heroines and strong heroes, fast-moving plots
BDSM: bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism; characters give and experience pain and power to create sexual tension, pleasure and release
Chick-Lit: often humorous romantic adventures that focus on young women entering the adult, professional world; geared toward single working women in their twenties and thirties
Contemporary: modern characters and current day settings, usually set after 1945
D/s: dominance and submission; one or more characters are controlling and the other is submissive
Erotic: about the development of a romantic relationship through sexual interaction, sex is a big part of the story, the character growth, and relationship development
Erotica: focuses heavily on the sexual relationships between the characters, pushes the boundaries including multiple partners and sometimes kinky situations, graphic language, sometimes sexual fantasies
Fantasy: the setting may be our own Earth or some imaginary real, characters can do magical things
Ghosts: possession by ghosts, demons or poltergeists, or a ghost plays a character in the storyline
GLBT: involve gay, lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgendered characters
Gothic/Horror: combines elements of both horror and romance, emotional extremes, dark themes
Historical: takes place in a recognizable historical period not set in contemporary times; Medieval (938-1485 AD), Georgian (1714-1811), Regency (1811-1820, usually covers the period of 1795-1837), Victorian (1837-1901)
Inspirational: involves characters having Christian values that play a major part of the romantic relationship
Interracial/Multicultural: characters of different races or different cultures, often focus on African-American experience but can also include other countries and ethnic groups
Ménage a trios: a relationship in which three people have sexual relations
Older Heroine: heroine age 40+
Paranormal: involves some sort of supernatural element, ranging from science fiction/fantasy to time travel, monsters or psychic abilities
Pirate: usually swash-buckling pirate captains and feisty heroines interested in the bad-boy of the sea
Romantic Comedy: focused on humor, from screwball antics to witty interplay
Rubenesque/BBW: heroine is plump, voluptuous; big, beautiful women
Sci-Fi/Futuristic: the science is potentially real, believability is a key factor; futuristic is set in the future
Shapeshifter: transform from man to any beast
Steampunk: a specific type of alternate history in which characters in Victorian England have access to 20th century technology
Suspense/Mystery/Thriller: storyline contains romance and elements of danger to the hero or heroine, often have graphic sexual situations
Time Travel: characters travel from one time period to another
Urban Fantasy: magical powers and characters appear in an otherwise normal modern context, often in a fantasy world with elements of magic, werewolves, fairies, vampires or witches
Vampire: usually involves the current trend of linking sexuality and vampires
Werewolves: characters shapeshift into werewovlves
Western: usually take place between 1800 and 1890
© 2010 Starla Kaye
