Thursday, February 14, 2013

Guest Post Writing Romance Novels by: Rachelle Ayala


Writing Romance by: Rachelle Ayala
Love is an emotion both enduring and fleeting, especially romantic love. Falling and staying in love is fraught with rapturous joy among desperate despair. Writing romance is a way of capturing these heightened sensations and weaving a story that makes the reader feel like falling in love over and over again.
Romance can range from sedate to erotic, but all romances demand a happy or at least hopeful ending. Some romances have mild problems with relatively well adjusted characters whereas others are full of extreme drama with severely flawed and dysfunctional characters.
For me, romance is a thread of hope that runs through my story and wraps it up with icing on the top. The journey to get to the happy ending is anything but neat, and I love the push/pull of tortured love, where the path to love is neither straight nor easy. In my stories, I raise the bar constantly by throwing seemingly insurmountable problems in front of my hero and heroine. Sometimes their love turns into hate, and their misery is compounded by distrust and betrayal. The strongest love is oftentimes forged in the fire of adversity, and forgiveness is never far behind love.
A romance is a love story with sexual tension. It may have other subplots, mystery, suspense or historical elements, but the underlying story is the sparring between two hearts battling desire, insecurity, attraction and fear. I’ve written three novels, Historical Fiction, Romantic Suspense, and Women’s Fiction with the romantic plot front and center. My characters are well aware of their attraction, but obstacles crop up to keep them from fully trusting and giving their hearts.
Sexual tension is central to romance, whether it is shown on the pages, or hidden behind closed doors. A story without sex would be one of friendship, loyalty, and devotion, but would not be romantic. I enjoy exploring all aspects of my characters and their development. Leaving out sexual expression would be leaving the story incomplete. Of course, there are various ways of showing sexual tension. A lot can be implied. Even the light brushing of fingertips can be smoldering hot if the emotions behind it are expressed.
A romance is more than just sex and attraction. I’m always finding themes behind my stories: forgiveness, redemption, trust and hope find their way to the happy endings. My characters might have started out flawed, or dug themselves into a deep hole, but love changes them and enables them to forgive and hope for a happy and fulfilled future. Ultimately, romance is optimistic and uplifting. I love reading and writing romance because love can make the world a better place.


Rachelle Ayala has written three romantic novels: Michal’s Window is a powerful and emotional journey as lived through the eyes of Princess Michal, King David’s first wife. Broken Build is a story of redemption and healing where a man learns to love and trust the woman who destroyed his life. Finally, Hidden Under Her Heart is concerned with forgiveness in the face of judgment over abortion.

Author Bio:
Rachelle Ayala was a software engineer until she discovered storytelling works better in fiction than real code. She has over thirty years of writing experience and has always lived in a multi-cultural environment.

Rachelle is an active member of online critique group, Critique Circle, and a volunteer for the World Literary Cafe. She is a very happy woman and lives in California with her husband. She has three children and has taught violin and made mountain dulcimers.

Visit her at: Website: http://rachelleayala.me Blog: http://www.rachelleayala.com or follow @AyalaRachelle on Twitter.

2 shout outs:

Rachelle Ayala said...

Hi Paula, thanks for having me on your blog! Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Finding Forever In Romance said...

I can't keep up with you Woman ;b Of course, your posts/reviews/ being interviewed ect. are always great :D