Am I writing in the wrong genre? 🧐

A mystery vs. romance showdown

Dear reader,

I’m back from a little trip to visit my parents in Napier, followed by a two-night stay in Taupō to basically de-stress (yeah—the family time can be quite draining for me 😅).

T and I had a pleasant stay at a lodge in Taupō with onsite thermal hot pools. I had a nice time relaxing in the pools, dining out, and looking around all the little shops. But mainly, I read my book. Reading during the day is a luxury I usually don’t indulge in, but on holiday I do indulge.

I have been slowly making my way through the Chief Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny and enjoying it so much.

I’ve been thinking… I often enjoy mysteries more than romance these days. Am I writing in the wrong genre?

“They” say you should read a lot of books in your genre, and I happen to struggle with this quite a bit, because very few romance books seem to suit my specific tastes.

Reflecting on this more, I’ve realised that the reason I write romance in the first place is because of my specific tastes—tastes that feel underserved in the current romance market. Essentially, I’m writing the kind of books I’d like to read.

My likes:

• Slow burn

• Introverted FMC and MMC

• Mature FMC and MMC (mental maturity moreso than age)

• Shy/quiet but capable FMC

• Strong communication

• No third-act breakup

• MMC has high EQ (as well as high IQ!)

• Single POV

• Compelling subplot/s other than romance

• Characters make logical/well-thought-out decisions

My dislikes:

• Insta-love and insta-lust

• Tattooed/burly/bearded MMC

• Very tall/big MMC

• “Kickass” FMC

• Lots of swearing (I like swear words reserved for when they’ll make the most impact, rather than used in everyday conversation)

• Physical attraction being the main driver for the relationship

• Childhood friends to lovers/childhood connection

• Destined/fated to be together

• Dual POV (sometimes I do think it’s done well, but overall I prefer the MMC to be mysterious, to not know what he’s thinking)

I feel like some of my dislikes are things that are more common or trendy in the romance space at the moment, and this is a big part of why I find it hard to find books I’ll like. This also applies to romance K-dramas (I’ll add two more dislikes for K-dramas: Noona romance and noble idiocy trope. 🤢)

I don’t feel inclined to stop writing romance any time soon, but going forward I would like to lean in to mystery subplots more. The last three books I’ve written have all contained mystery elements, so this is not far of a stretch.

But back on the subject of reading—I’ve taken a brief detour from Gamache to read Amma by Saraid de Silva. This isn’t the typical kind of book I’d pick for myself (literary fiction), but I’ve joined a local book club, and this is the book for June! I’m happy to give it a go. So far, so good.

It was my mum who suggested joining a book club, and I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before. Hoping to meet some nice people there.

All in all, life is feeling very full at the moment, with work, writing, Zumba, book club, daily walks, and the copyediting course I’ll be taking in a few months. This is a good thing. I like it this way.

Wishing you similar busy but comfy vibes!

-Sara

PS. What are your likes and dislikes in the romance genre? Any recs?