Romance as a barometer for sociopolitical shifts?

I wish she would have said what she's writing. She always seems to be on-trend. Whatever it is, it's probably not what I'm writing (dark suspense). I'm ever and always behind the curve. Maybe because I'm terrible at "bananas" ideas.

If only we had a magic ball! From what I see on Facebook, bad boy themes are hot right now. I haven't seen so much about billionaires lately so I wonder if you are right, and that is in decline. I wonder if it will be end of the world Terminator stuff? How about surviving disasters or terrorist attacks and the hero saves the day with the strong heroine at his side? i can't see the women, who read traditional romance being into that though. It will be interesting to see what does develop.

Liz Pelletier, the CEO and Publisher at Entangled, had a podcast/conference call/something a year or two ago in which she was very clear that they keep a clear eye on the economic situation as a way to anticipate demand and sales. Along the lines of "when times are rough, people want escapist fiction". Now, she followed that up with some truly wack-a-doodle predictions about the economy so I didn't completely trust her business analysis, but just in terms of popular opinion? Definitely seems like at least one person in a position to make book deals sees a connection...

Along the lines of "when times are rough, people want escapist fiction".




Yes, that’s what i’ve heard. i’m thinking something positive and full of hope. Romance that is inspiring without being Inspirational Romance or Christian Romance, if you know what I mean.
i’m not familiar with that category. Has anyone written romance that is as I said inspiring without being Inspirational Romance?

Thanks so much for posting about this twitter thread. I went digging and found it and also a link to her article in the Washington Post as well:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/ente...c48ec4cae25_story.html?utm_term=.1206d841956b

In answer to your questions, StoryofWoe, I am hoping the political situation will mark the beginning of the rise of the Beta Hero. Especially since I've created a story around a pacifist beta with series potential.

I would to like to see a rise in several genres of POC MCs.

Wow, this is a fascinating topic.

I'm with ElaineA in that I always seem to be a jot behind, trend-wise.

If we were to speculate, what do we think?

I could honestly see beta heroes making a rise in popularity, with all the strife. Could also see military-types, sort of a lone-wolf save the world thing. Think there's always a place for bad boys (at least, I hope!).

Very interesting. I think you can have an alpha male character without him being a total misogynist asshole like ... certain people who are leaders right now. I'm all for reading about beta heroes, though, if they have the right amount of intrigue to...intrigue!

When thinking about categories, what sort of hero would you class Wesley from Buffy and Angel? He starts out so piss-weak but the character growth he endures is phenomenal, and he ends up being a total (yet often understated) bad-ass. But he never turns into a full alpha hero, e.g. a jerk. He has his jerky moments but not in a romantic sense. He's trying to do the right thing.

On that note, the character of Angel himself is sort of alpha, in that he's brooding etc., but he's never a misogynist dick. He's soft-spoken and sweet and sometimes bumbly, despite being totally sexy. Thoughts?

And on one final note, I live in Australia, so I guess we're a little more removed from certain political trends going on. Though our own government has its problems too, and our leaders certainly don't speak for minorities or women. Plus, our affiliation with a certain superpower means we might get nuked sometime soon apparently Fun times...!

Wesley certainly becomes tortured later on - the shift in his character is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen on TV. But I do think even then he is more of a beta.

I do like alpha heroes, but seeing more stories with betas would definitely be cool, just because it's not something you see so much. And all this talk about Wesley has made me remember how much I love him!