I can’t decide if this counts as “HFN” in Romance

It does happen in romance that a person will fall in love with someone else while still married--it used to be a staple plot of '70s gothic romances, for instance, or certain romantic suspense stories where the spouse was believed dead but was really carrying out nefarious plans in secret. The climax often featured the death of the unloved spouse, clearing the way for a HEA (the model for that being Jane Eyre, I suppose).

In your story, is there a resolution? Does the person leave his/her spouse and get together with the other? If so, I'd be more likely to call it a romance, rather than women's fiction or mainstream. I'd only count it as erotica if the sexual content was the main focus of the story, not the emotional entanglement (although admittedly, that's a hard line to draw sometimes).

Hmm, this actually sounds more like a plot-related question to me. When I think HEA/HFN I think about it in terms of specific, final scenes and the tone I'm left with at the end of the story. Where are the characters headed? What decisions have been made? Are they gettin' hitched or is it more of a, "Let's give this thing an honest-to-goodness shot," situation?

Infidelity is considered taboo in both erotica and romance (though certainly more so in the latter) but my guess is that you aren't just going to place your married protagonist in a hotel room with someone else and then write, "The End." Whether or not you have a HFN depends on how you wrap up the story. Is the protagonist going to leave his or her current partner? Does the couple end up together in some way? That's my understanding of the HEA and HFN situation, anyway.

Are you perhaps more concerned with whether or not infidelity is acceptable in romance/erotic romance? Again, it's taboo, but it depends on how you handle it. Whether or not romance readers like it as a plot device is a separate, subjective issue.

Does your character leave the unsatisfactory spouse and embark on a committed relationship with the new love interest? That sounds like a HEA, to me.

I think you'll have a harder time if you're trying to keep the original marriage intact - I'm not saying it couldn't possibly be done, but it'd be a hell of a job, I think.

Like others said, it depends on the ending. Does the unsatisfied main character start a relationship and then leaves the unhappy marriage to be with the other person at the end, or is he/she still with his/her spouse at the end?

For me, the latter could be annoying. Depends on much the relationship has progressed and what issues have been resolved. I would have to feel that the relationship is stable, and that it was time to move onto a new chapter in the relationship while leaving the old one behind.

The_Outlaw_Torn said:

I see what you're saying. Originally, the main character would still be stuck with the spouse while secretly encountering someone else and cheating. But now that it's confirmed that unfaithfulness is not really acceptable in both romance and erotica, it looks like that it's best that the main character will be divorced (or separated from a significant other before marriage) when someone else arrives.

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I don't think it's out of the question for erotica. There's no HFN/HEA requirement for that genre.

Captcha said:

I don't think it's out of the question for erotica. There's no HFN/HEA requirement for that genre.

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Captcha's right. No HEA/HFN required for erotica.

The_Outlaw_Torn said:

I see what you're saying. Originally, the main character would still be stuck with the spouse while secretly encountering someone else and cheating. But now that it's confirmed that unfaithfulness is not really acceptable in both romance and erotica, it looks like that it's best that the main character will be divorced (or separated from a significant other before marriage) when someone else arrives.

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The premise, as you've stated it, could work for an erotic novel with romantic elements. However, I have seen erotic works criticized for going the infidelity/taboo route and not providing at least a satisfying ending. Tear You Apart by Megan Hart comes to mind. I'd suggest checking out authors who have done this successfully to see how they've handled the topic.

The_Outlaw_Torn said:

I see what you're saying. Originally, the main character would still be stuck with the spouse while secretly encountering someone else and cheating. But now that it's confirmed that unfaithfulness is not really acceptable in both romance and erotica, it looks like that it's best that the main character will be divorced (or separated from a significant other before marriage) when someone else arrives.

Thanks for the help.

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I'm confused. Are you writing erotica or erotic romance? Erotica tends to be more open for non-HEA/non-HFN endings, while romances, erotic or not, definitely require HEA/HFN endings.

The_Outlaw_Torn said:

I've been writing and publishing erotica on Kindle. I was wondering if any of the stories involving loveless marriages could have been classified at least as "erotic romance" with the "HFN" ending.

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Well, hopefully, the story also includes the romantic development of the actual couple that ends up in together in some way at the end to be considered erotic romance. Erotic romance has the word romance in it, so there better be an actual romance arc for the couple you're deciding to pair up at the end.

As a casual romance reader myself, I wouldn't enjoy this premise, but it would depend on how the relationship development is written, and if the couple feel somewhat ready to be committed to each other and move on from the previous relationship at the end.