THE IMPORTANCE OF BABY BOOMER AND MATURE COUPLE ROMANCES

THE IMPORTANCE OF BABY BOOMER AND MATURE COUPLE ROMANCES

There are a lot of different kinds of romances  - Contemporary, Historical, Erotic, and New Adult to name a few.  Most of these stories involve characters in the 18-29 age range.  With people waiting longer and longer to get married in this day and age, where is all the love for people over 30?  Come on people, they need love too!

Now, I know you are saying that people in their 30s and 40s are not baby boomers and you are one hundred percent correct. I’m not sure what else to call those that don’t fall into the baby boomer range (born between 1946-1964). I have seen books out there about 40-year-olds that are called baby boomer romances , and yes, it is a pet peeve of mine. I hate it. Don’t do it.  Please, just don’t!

So, what do we call these 30-49 year old love stories?  Generation X/Y romances, Mature romances, Older Adult romances – to me, none of those titles seem to really fit. Most people don’t even know what generation X/Y is, and when I hear the term Mature romances I think of books that should only be read by mature audiences. And that leaves Older Adult romances which first of all, is a mouthful and second of all, is actually quite boring. Regardless of whether they have names, I will continue to write them. And there are a few good reasons to do that.

The first reason I think romances about older characters is important is because quite a few people have written them in the past and as a general rule they aren’t very well received. And it isn’t because people don’t like them, it’s just that they don’t know how or where to find them. And of course, book sellers don’t make it easy either. I have typed in ‘mature romances’ into Amazon search and it comes up with a few of the kinds of books I’m looking for but many of them are just romances for those over 18 to read. Sigh…Let’s try again. We can type in ‘baby boomer romance’ and again we get a few of the kinds of books we are looking for but also many books about babies and economic booms. Sigh again.  I know, through research, that there is an audience out there. We just need the chance to reach them. I, as an Indie author, might not be the one to do that, but I sure as hell will try.

The second reason I think these types of books are important is that older people need a voice. I am in my forties and truthfully I don’t always want to read about 18 to 24-year-olds angsting over everything in life. I have lived a lot in my 45 years, and I love to read about people going through things that I go through or that I will soon go through. And believe me, there are plenty of other 40-plus people out there who feel the same way. Admit it, when you hear about a 64-year-old person, you think of a lady/man with white hair, a house dress/pants up to his armpits sitting in rocking chairs on the porch reading news papers and knitting.  But in all actuality, people in their sixties can be alive, vibrant and sexy. One of my baby boomer romances features a character named Jack. He’s still trim and muscular from his work, he’s covered in tattoos and scars, and is still able to bring his girlfriend to her knees.  (Yes, I’m being a bit coy here because what I really wanted to say is not appropriate for all audiences.)  Bottom line is that people of all ages are interested in books with older characters, and some of those that haven’t even tried might find that they like them. And I want to be one of the people to give these amazing heroes and heroines a voice…an accurate voice. 

The third reason I think these types of books are important is because  the underdog is usually worth fighting for, and in the genre of romance, baby boomer/older  romances are just that. I believe it is time for a change.  New Adult and Erotica stories have had a great run at the forefront of the genre, but I think there is plenty of room to give another sub-genre a chance to shine.  It’s all cyclical and now is the time in the cycle for NA and Erotica to move along to the next step in the circle and let Baby Boomer/Mature love stories rule for a bit. They’ll get their chance again. Besides, everybody loves second chances, and these older characters are pretty much guaranteed to be involved in their second chance at love. And despite the images we have in our head about older people, they can have some pretty damn good sex that will make you just as weak in the knees as a scene involving a couple of twenty-year-olds.  Don’t believe me?  Stay tuned! 

If you are interested you can pre-order Fate's Encore: A Baby Boomer Love Story 

Amazon (Available on Kindle Unlimited)
http://goo.gl/YHP3w3