What is a Contemporary Romance?

At the core, a romance novel has a central love story with a satisfying ending, also called the HEA for happily-ever-after. Apart from the requirement for a happy ending, romance novels can be dark and scary, or quirky and fun. Romances novels are as varied as life itself. And with genres such as paranormal or historic, readers have the difficult task to pick a genre.

Nora Roberts, bestselling romance author, explains, "The books are about the celebration of falling in love and emotion and commitment, and all of those things we really want."

One of the many sub-genres of romance is the contemporary romance. These novels have to be set after 1945 to qualify as a contemporary romance. (Stories set prior to 1945 are historic novels.) Most contemporaries are set in present times, without any elements of fantasy.

Romance novels come either in the category format or as single title.

Category romance novels are shorter than single titles with approx. 55,000 words. Because of the shorter format, category romances are quick reads, focus tightly on the romantic development between the two lead characters, but they still tell emotionally satisfying stories. The largest publisher of category romance is Harlequin / Mills & Boon.

Single title romance, approx. 85,000 words, allows room for the story to develop more fully, also very often has a sub-plot.

According to the Romance Writers of America's market research, romance fiction generated $1.37 billion in sales in 2006. Or in other words, 26.4% of all books sold are romance novels.

If broken down by romance sub-genre, 16% were contemporary romance novels.

Or, put quite simply, one in five read romance novels.

The lines between genres such as chick-lit, women's fiction, and contemporary romance are quite blurred. All three genres are set in modern times, but while they all have a female character lead, they are still different.

Chick-lit follows young, hip women in glamorous settings, but these stories sometimes don't have a happily-ever-after. The same goes for the genre women's fictions, where the stories address other topics related to women's lives, not just love and romance and finding Mr Right.

The Romance Writers of America sponsor the RITA Award - the romance-publishing industry's highest award of distinction. The award, a golden statuette, has become the symbol for the best in published romance fiction.

Great examples for contemporary romance novels are:
"From The First" by Jessica Bird, 2007 RITA Winner for Best Short Contemporary Romance.
"The Mommy Quest" by Lori Handeland, 2007 RITA Winner for Best Long Contemporary Romance