Romance: it comes in single servings...or multi-packs.
by Jeaniene Frost

I'll be the first to admit it--I'm unfaithful.

Before anyone calls my husband, I'm talking about genres. Romance is my first love, but I'll spend evenings with urban fantasy, mystery, and horror novels, too. Yes, call me shameless.

I'm also an avid series reader. I love to follow the same hero/heroine through several novels, watching them change, grow, be challenged, and ultimately, be triumphant at the series' conclusion.

So it's probably no wonder that the books I write would be romance blended with a hefty dose of urban fantasy, a touch of mystery, and even a little dash of horror. Plus, I write a series featuring the same heroine and hero throughout several books.

But wait, somebody says. I didn't know romances could extend beyond one book with the same hero/heroine. Doesn't that break the happily-ever-after rule that the majority of romance readers expect?

I can't speak for every series that's ever been written in romance, but for my own, no, it doesn't. I will deliver a happily-ever-after for my hero/heroine. Guaranteed. But it's just going to take more than one book to tell their story.

The staple of romance is the stand-alone novel, where a hero/heroine have their happily ever at the end of one book, and then aren't seen again. Or, there are novels where the series is set in the same "world", so that same hero/heroine can appear later as secondary characters, but a new hero/heroine takes center stage in each book.

Some authors with popular "same world" series are JR Ward's BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD novels, or Sherrilyn Kenyon's DARK-HUNTER novels. I love stand-alone's and same-world series books, too.

Still, as a reader and a writer, I have to confess that I most enjoy following the same hero/heroine throughout several books. There are lots of recurring hero/heroine series novels outside romance's walls, but, with those, I can't count on a happy romantic resolution for the hero/heroine, because, outside romance, a happy resolution isn't an imperative.

So anything could happen, which is part of the excitement for me as a reader, but sometimes, I want to know in advance that everything will work out for the couple in the end. This is where a romance series with a recurring hero/heroine can offer readers something they won't necessarily find outside the genre--the chance to delve into the same characters over multiple books, but still get that guaranteed happy resolution.

I don't claim to have blazed any trails with my books. One of the first series' romances with a recurring heroine I read was in the eighties, with Bertrice Small's SKYE O'MALLEY books. Today, Mary Janice Davidson's QUEEN BETSY series is very popular. So is Katie MacAlister's AISLING GREY, GUARDIAN series, and Colleen Gleason's GARDELLA VAMPIRE CHRONICLES, just to name a few.

My NIGHT HUNTRESS series has received more enthusiasm from readers than I ever expected. The coolest part of being a writer has been when readers tell me they can't wait to see what happens next with Cat and Bones in my series.

So, while stand-alone's will always be the mainstay in romance, readers have shown that there's also room in the genre for series' novels with a recurring hero/heroine. For readers like me, who enjoy delving into the same characters over multiple books, but who still want that guaranteed ultimate happy resolution, there are books available without having to leave the romance section of the store.

Jeaniene Frost