# Romance Fiction Style Guide — Crimson Leaf Publishing

This guide is authoritative for all romance fiction produced at CLP.
Every agent writing or editing romance content must read and apply this guide.

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## The One Rule That Cannot Be Broken

**Every romance must end with a Happily Ever After (HEA) or a Happy For Now (HFN).**

- **HEA**: The central couple commits to each other for life. Readers expect and demand this.
- **HFN**: The couple is together, happy, and moving forward — but the future is open. Acceptable in series where the full HEA comes at series end.

Any ending that separates the couple without a clear reunion, or leaves their love in doubt, is NOT a romance. It is a love story. Know which you are writing.

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## The Central Romance Arc

The romance arc is the SPINE of the book. Every subplot, external conflict, and character
moment exists to push the couple together or drive them apart — and ultimately to earn
their final union.

### The Three Acts of the Romance Arc
1. **Meet / Attraction** — How do they meet? What is the immediate dynamic (hate, indifference, instant pull)?
2. **Conflict / Dark Moment** — What keeps them apart? The external obstacle (circumstances) AND the internal obstacle (their own wounds, fears, or flaws) must both be present. The Dark Moment is when it all falls apart — they CANNOT be together.
3. **Resolution / HEA** — One or both of them chooses to overcome their internal obstacle. They earn the relationship. The final kiss/declaration is a reward for emotional growth.

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## What Makes a Great Romance Hero/Heroine

**Protagonist (usually the POV character):**
- Has a wound or belief that prevents them from accepting love (e.g., "I always get abandoned," "I'm not worth fighting for")
- Their want (external goal) is different from their need (to accept love / vulnerability)
- Has agency — they drive the story, they don't just react to the love interest

**Love Interest:**
- Must be worthy of the reader's investment (not just hot)
- Has their own wound that mirrors or complements the protagonist's
- Must make a real sacrifice or choice to earn the HEA
- The reader should understand and feel what the protagonist sees in them

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## Sub-Genre Map

### Contemporary Romance
- Real-world present-day setting
- Conflict is interpersonal: exes, workplace dynamics, forced proximity, small towns
- Heat level: sweet → steamy (specify per project)
- Comps: *The Hating Game*, *Beach Read*, *It Ends With Us* (dark contemporary)

### Paranormal Romance
- One or both leads are supernatural (vampire, werewolf, fae, shifter, witch)
- The supernatural world has rules — establish them clearly
- Mate bonds and fated lovers are common structures
- Comps: *Twilight*, *Outlander*, *A Discovery of Witches*

### Historical Romance
- Setting is research-dependent — get the period details right
- Social constraints ARE the conflict: propriety, scandal, duty vs desire
- Regency (1811–1820) and Victorian (1837–1901) are the most common eras
- Comps: *Bridgerton* series, *The Duke and I*, *Outlander*

### Fantasy Romance / Romantasy
- High-stakes world with magic, war, or political intrigue as backdrop
- The romance arc must be as developed as the external plot arc
- Explicit content is acceptable in adult romantasy (specify heat level)
- Comps: *A Court of Thorns and Roses*, *Kingdom of the Wicked*, *From Blood and Ash*

### Dark Romance
- The love interest may do morally questionable or actively harmful things
- The reader consents to discomfort — but the author must handle the dark elements with craft, not gratuitousness
- The HEA must still be emotionally earned
- Content warnings are mandatory
- Comps: *Haunting Adeline*, *Corrupt*, *Icebreaker*

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## Tension: The Engine of Romance

Without tension, there is no romance. Tension is not just "will they get together" —
it is the electric charge between two people in every scene they share.

### Types of Tension
- **Sexual tension**: Physical awareness, proximity, almost-touches, loaded dialogue
- **Emotional tension**: Vulnerability, fear of being known, the moment they show each other something real
- **Conflict tension**: They want the same thing but can't both have it, or they want incompatible things

### How to Build It
- Delayed payoff: resist the kiss, resist the conversation, resist the admission
- Subtext: what they DON'T say is as important as what they say
- Proximity: put them in close physical spaces (cars, rainy doorways, shared rooms)
- Loaded objects/gestures: a hand on the small of the back, a borrowed jacket

### Pacing the Romance Arc
- **First touch / First acknowledgment**: Early (Chapter 2–4)
- **First kiss** (or near-miss): Act 1 end / Act 2 beginning
- **First time** (explicit projects): Act 2 middle, after significant emotional intimacy
- **Dark Moment** (they're torn apart): Act 2 climax
- **HEA declaration**: Act 3, at the highest emotional peak, earned by growth

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## Heat Level Guidelines

| Level | What It Includes |
|---|---|
| **Sweet** | Emotional intimacy; kissing; no explicit content |
| **Warm** | Kissing, some physical description; fade to black for intimacy |
| **Sensual** | Emotional depth with explicit scenes; character-driven |
| **Steamy** | Explicit sexual content that advances the emotional arc |
| **Erotic** | Explicit content is a central feature of the reading experience |

The project brief will specify the heat level. Default for CLP is **Sensual** unless stated otherwise.

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## Dialogue Conventions

- Romance dialogue is heightened — characters say what they almost mean, skirt what they actually mean
- Banter is foreplay — keep it sharp, specific, and evenly matched
- Declarations must be EARNED — "I love you" after 3 chapters of meeting feels hollow; after shared trauma and growth, it's everything
- Avoid: characters explaining their feelings in analytical sentences; real people don't do this
