HAPPILY EVER AFTER

The Difference Between Urban Fantasy And Paranormal Romance

Happily Ever After – the three words that separate Urban Fantasy from Paranormal Romance. The three words that define what a romance novel is, period.

I don’t get it. I’m sorry, I don’t.

In addition to a Central Love Story, the Romance Writers of America stipulate that a true romance also needs:

An Emotionally Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love.

Driving a book romance to an emotionally satisfying ending is something I strive for fervently. Yet my emotionally satisfying ending often doesn’t mesh with other people’s ideas. If the lead character in a book is not ready to commit to a relationship she knows will stifle her, and instead leaves town with the cool guy who charms the pants off her, how is that not emotionally satisfying?

Give it a couple of years, and she might change her mind. Until then, the pants-charmer treats her well, looks out for her, and makes her laugh. I find this uplifting and highly satisfying.

Romance plays an integral part in one of my books, yet I was assured it was not romance.

So why did two of my beta readers feel that way? Because “emotionally satisfying” means “happily ever after,” and my book did not represent that.

Initially I thought “HEA” was a flippant hyperbole. Alas, I was wrong. It was a concept that is to be interpreted literally.

Do readers prefer heroines to walk off with commitment-philes who want nothing more than to keep them safe? Perhaps. Because it sure seems to me that the “happy for now” concept simply isn’t enough. When the curtain falls, our couples need to walk off to their world of daffodils and moon beams.

Which begs the question. Is simply disagreeing with who is best suited for the heroine a strong enough reason to deny it the genre category “romance”?

Oh, and what is this obsession with a fairytale HEA anyway?

Psychologists have warned for years about the HEA and Prince Charming fallacies, insisting they set you and your relationships up for failure. Makes sense. Who can compete with the perfect man? Certainly no real man. Not the ones I know, in any event. In fact, if real men were perfect, they’d be quite dull.

I want conflict, in life and in fiction. I need conflict. The idea that conflicts between two people end with a final kiss frightens me. If the last few pages of a book don’t at least hint at more conflict to come, I no longer believe. Wasn’t this the argument made in The Matrix? To quote Agent Smith:

“Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. […]I believe that, as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from.”

Back in the non-Hollywood world, the end of conflict would spell the end of the relationship. Making a HEA a paradox. The very thing that brings about the HEA destroys the HEA.

My dominant genre is Urban Fantasy. However, I have dabbled in Paranormal Romance before and am straying close to it again. When the book is done and read, who really cares what genre it was? But that’s not even the point. The question is, is HEA a viable genre-defining concept in the 21st century? Do you even agree that the RWA’s guidelines demand a HEA, or have they been misinterpreted? Please post your comments using the “Comments” link above. I really want to hear from you.