Romantic fiction is one hot topic. Consider these statistics from the Romance Writers of America (RWA) Web site: In 2004, romance generated $1.2 billion in sales with 2,285 romance titles released. It is the genre that tops all popular paperback fiction sales in North America at 54.9% and 39.3% of all popular fiction sold including hardcover and trade-size paperbacks. With these impressive sales numbers in mind, isn't it time you investigated this genre? Let Leigh Michaels, a veteran award-winning author of more than 80 contemporary romance novels and sales (in copies) of more than million, introduce you to the world of writing romance and all of its subcategories-whether or not you're writing a true romance novel or your story just contains romantic elements.

How often have you finished a novel and thought to yourself, 'I could write that!' Well, yes, you probably can but it's not as easy as it seems. Before you pick up your pen or place your fingertips on the keyboard, delve into this in-depth course in writing romantic fiction. After all, says Michaels in Chapter 1, 'Not every story with a horse and a ranch is a Western; not every story with a murder in it is a mystery; and not every book that includes a love story can be classified as a romance novel.' Learn the difference between anthologies, chick-lit, city girl, continuity stories, erotica and erotic romance, long contemporary, mainstream, medical romance, miniseries, mom-lit, paranormal, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, regency, saga, time travel, single titles, short contemporary, sweet traditional, time travel, woman in jeopardy, women's fiction and young adult, and many others.

Michaels breaks down each phase of writing such a popular novel form from establishing your story's framework to the actual writing and submitting of the work. Learn how to do effective research in order to build a credible story with characters your readers will love. Discover how to avoid clichés and stereotypes that will make your readers cringe and create realistic engaging character dialogue. Develop your characters' relationships in convincing ways, add conflict and 'up' your reader's interest through secondary characters, and add tension-filled timing sure to keep the pages turning. With a review of her most important points at the end of each chapter, Michaels has all the bases covered. In "Appendices and References", Michaels includes samples of a well-written query letter, cover letter, synopsis, and title page. And with her knowledge of the publishing industry, she also includes an appendix of romance publishers and a suggested reading list of the books discussed or excerpted throughout the book.

Everything you wanted to know about romance writing is right here in one great book. Whether you're a guy or gal, don't miss being a part of the fast-growing, ultra-successful world of writing romance.

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