I took Drama Queen (that’s my younger teenage daughter), two of her cousins and my mom to see Disney Princesses on Ice the other night. We had quite the adventure getting there. Driving downtown – *in the dark* – is not my favorite thing to do and since I took my mom, we had to take her car as it’s fitted for the scooter she rides. (I never minded pushing the wheelchair, but she likes the independence.) Anyway, so her car does not have a GPS and true to form, I took a couple of wrong turns and ended up going through a pretty rough part of the city. Did I mention this was AT NIGHT? Yeah, lots of fun. I got turned around in the parking garage too 
, but that’s another story. Fact is, we made it. In one piece, or five people as the case may be.
And the show was awesome! Beautiful skating, amazing pageantry, lots of glitter and humor and happy endings for all involved. It got me thinking about what is absolutely necessary for me in a romance. And that is the HEA. I call ‘em happy beginnings, ‘cuz it takes work to keep that happiness and love alive, but I assume the romance protagonists I read about are going to do that. Right? That’s why they’re in romance for me.
When I was finishing Deal With This, I kept going back over the beginning of the book – not to rewrite it, but to make sure that the victorious ending was believable. That it built on the beginning. That my story would leave readers feeling good deep down inside. And that only works for me when all the elements come together. So, I struggled with the ending, argued with the epilogue and finally finished the book. I love the story and the characters and I’m hoping readers will feel the same way.
About a year and a half ago, I read two books in a trilogy. The second book overturned the happy ending for one of the couples. They broke up permanently, leaving the most giving and heroic guy without his love or pretty much any hope at the end of Book 2. I wrote the author…I wanted to know if the hero was going to get another love…I wanted to tell her she was uber talented ‘cuz she really tapped into my emotions (both good and bad). She assured me Book 3 would have the HEA, but when it came out a couple of months ago, I couldn’t make myself buy it. 
Totally surprised me. If that book had been available when I finished the other one, I’d have bought and read it in a heartbeat, but now I don’t want to. I realized that there are certain things *I* need in my romance and one that I absolutely will not compromize on. I want the HEA and I don’t want to read a book down the road that flips that HEA and doesn’t resolve the pain of loss before the end of the new book. I discovered that I couldn’t make myself trust the author enough to buy the next book. Maybe I get more involved with characters than the average reader…because I’m a writer. All I know is that my characters feel real to me and so do the ones I read about by authors who know how to tap into my emotions. I become emotionally invested in the outcome of the book.
I know this is a personal thing. It doesn’t mean an author isn’t wonderful or that his/her books don’t absolutely rock when she flips a happy ending. We all have our hot buttons and when they get pushed, we react. This is one of mine. The readers and reviewers I love talking to the most are the ones that truly recognize this reality – that personal preferences do not a bad book make. 
Being aware of our own limitations is a good thing, I think. It helps us avoid falling in pits in the future. I’m a huge fan of MovieEndings.com because it helps me avoid that hollow sick feeling I get when an ending I expect to be victorious isn’t. I know not to read authors that make a habit of writing endings that will make me cry or flipping endings that didn’t. 
So, what element (or elements) is a total must for you in your favorite books? Well developed characters? A strong plot? An absolutely error-free book? (Trust me there *are* readers who need this and if you’re one of them – that’s cool, right? 
) A heroine who is strong from the beginning? One who grows emotionally during the book? An alpha hero? A non-alpha hero? Marital faithfulness? An exotic setting? A familiar setting? A paranormal element? A little suspense? Steamy love scenes? What?
I do not want to focus on what bugs us in books. That’s just not me. But I’m keen to hear what you most desire to be present. What element(s) do you absolutely need to make a story work for you and that help keep you reading a particular author?
Hugs,
Lucy
P.S. I’ve got a month long party going on at my personal blog to celebrate the Nov 27 release of DEAL WITH THIS. Pop by and say, “Hi,” and get entered into one of the many drawings for prizes going on.
I think that I like you have to have the HEA. The books that have it all in my opinion of what I like to read are your Mercenary Trilogy, Ready – Willing – And Able. You keep the thread of adventure through them all, and let us know that the couples were making it work. There are lots of Authors that do this, and I gravitate to them for my reading.
I have Deal With This on preorder so that it will be shipped to me by Chapters as soon as it is available. Good to see you back.
orignal story ideas are good to me. hea ending is always cool.
I need the happily ever after. That’s why I read romance. If I wanted the main character to die I’d watch the news. Reading to me is an escape into someone else’s life. I don’t mind the ups and downs along the way, hey, that’s life. But I do insist upon the happily ever after. I like to smile when the book is over because I thoroughly enjoyed the story and feel good about the ending.
I appreciate characters that act maturely. Vulnerability or acting out when hurt is fine as long as the character ultimately realizes what s/he really wants to do from the heart, instead of dragging out the conflict/anger just to give drama to the story! Lucy, I love how your heroines AND heroes reveal their sensitivity without taking away from their strengths.
Thanks, Cryna.
I personally love writing connected stories so I can revisit the HEA of my characters. I’m such a sap. LOL
Kim H…I enjoy original stories too, though I gotta say there are some tried and true storylines I never get tired of reading.
Carolyn…exactly. I want to feel good when I’m done with a book. Full stop, period.
Thanks, Allison…that means the world! It really does.
Lucy, I totally get what you’re saying. I know I get so deeply involved in a book and the characters, that when things don’t work out, it’s like watching the break-up of dear friends. Very hard to go through. Like everyone else, I need my HEA.
Now for Suz Brockmann, I’m willing to wait for the HEA. She puts her characters through the wringer, but I find myself trusting her judgment, and where she’s taking them. So there has been hurt, heartache, awful things that happen, but that makes the stories all the more intense and the HEA even more rewarding. I’m a fan for life.
Stacy…I hear you. Suz is one of the most talented writers out there and I absolutely adore her work! I haven’t read her last few books, but they’re on my TBR shelves just waiting for me.
Hugs,
Lucy
Although I both love and want the HEA, it is not a requirement for me to like a book.
That’s why I read such a wide variety of fiction, I guess.
I have to tell you though, the first book I ever read by Barbara Delinksy was ‘Three Wishes’.
Totally loved that book. It was everything a romance should be, IMO.
The ending was not what I would call a HEA.
Sometimes, an awesome love story just is not meant to end well. And that is what makes it so memorable. Does that sound weird???
Oh…Barbara Delinsky is SO talented. And hon, you are *not* weird. That’s what personal preference is all about.
Hugs,
Lucy
Oooh, Angie, I loved Three Wishes. I recommend to everyone. I would have liked a different ending also. I met Barbara at a book signing and she said the book had to end the way it did; I guess she is right – but it was such a wonderful tale of love and redemption. After finding this author I ran out and bought about 20 of her books. Three Wishes was not the first I read. I also loved her Matchmaker series – Twelve Across being one of them.
Hi again Lucy, would you say which trilogy that you read the first 2 of which you mentioned in your post? I’m curious! Thanks, Allison
Sorry, Allison…I’d feel really uncomfortable doing so. It was a lesson for me, you know? But I didn’t want to tell the author’s name or allude to much about the stories as that might prejudice someone against them and well, that would make me feel bad.
Thanks for the discussion, gals…this is lots of fun.
Hugs,
Lucy