Friday, October 28, 2011

Friday Friend - Katheryn Lane

Please welcome today's Friday Friend, Katheryn Lane.

Katheryn has lived and worked all over the world, including the USA, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.  As a result she has no clear idea of where she is really from!  She is currently working full-time as a teacher, mother and a wife, but somehow she also finds time to be a part-time writer as well.  ‘The Royal Sheikh’ is her first book, a contemporary romance inspired by her experience of living in the Middle East.  In her free time (on the rare occasion that she has any!) she loves to lose herself in a good book.

Happy Endings

‘ . . . and they lived happily ever after’ is the classic ending of any good fairytale.  It is also the classic ending to any romance novel and though it is phrased in more varied language, the meaning is the same: the boy gets the girl (or nowadays, the girl gets the boy) and they are united together in their love for each other after having overcome many tests and challenges.  But why is this?  Why do romances always have that happily ever after ending?

Firstly, romance stories are types of fairy tales in which good overcomes evil and love conquers all.  Both fairytales and romances have an enduring appeal because of this as they reinforce our hope that love will win the day and that despite all the hardships that are suffered, life is essentially good and fair.  Like fairytales, romances show us that despite the many trials and tribulations that are thrown our way (whether it’s the big bad wolf, or a simple misunderstanding between two people), the power of love will find a way to overcome these obstacles, beat the odds and enable us to find happiness.

Secondly, even though we know that life is often not fair, the guaranteed happy ending in romances gives us a bit of escapism.  In real life there are too many unhappy endings due to illness, death and divorce, not to mention infidelity, unrequited love and forced separation.  Reading a good romance provides us with a bit of fantasy and a pleasurable escape.  Even when we aren’t confronted with the bigger problems in life, romances give us an easy way to get away from some of the more miserable aspects of our existence such as the weather, having to get up at 5.00am for work (in my case!) and the price of the weekly shopping bill.  Romances have the power to bring some joy into our lives.  Without the happy ever after ending, a romance novel would turn into a tragedy and if that is what we wanted to read, we would pick up a copy of ‘Wuthering Heights’ or ‘The English Patient’ instead.

Thirdly, as we read a romance we become attached to the central characters and there is nothing like the satisfaction of seeing them, like good friends, coming together at last and finding true happiness.  Personally as a writer, I want my characters to be happy by the time I leave them at the end of the story and I would feel guilty if I didn’t.  If I left them apart at the close of the final chapter I would feel that my story was unfinished and I am sure that my readers would feel cheated.  In the same way, readers of an Agatha Christie mystery would feel cheated if Miss Marple failed to solve the crime by the end of the book and the mystery finished with her saying that she has absolutely no idea who did it.

I am sure that there are many more reasons why romances have that happily ever after ending, but for me these are the main ones and they are why I love reading and writing romance.

   
Katheryn, thank you so much for being with us today.  Having read and enjoyed 'The Royal Sheikh' while I was holiday last week, I don't think I'm giving too much of a spoiler by saying that of course it has a happy and satisfying ending!


‘The Royal Sheikh’ is available from Amazon:
Follow Katheryn online at Twitter: http://twitter.com/KatherynLane
Read what she’s up to at the moment: http://katheryn-lane.blogspot.com

11 comments:

  1. I think the whole appeal of romance is the happily ever after--and that is what draws me to them!

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  2. I agree,Katheryn, with your comments re the HEA, and with Jenn - that's what draws me to the romance genre.

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  3. I agree as well Katherine. HEA is the reason I read romance. But then, I do like the chase too. :)

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  4. Katheryn, the caption to this post drew me to read it even though I'm rushing to a book signing this morning. I agree with all you've said, yet I have one book that did not end with HEA but with HN. (Happy Now) and the story had to end the way it did. I always warn my buyers that is NOT a HEA book so they won't be disappointed. Sometimes I feel we can gain strength from another's story of accepting, coping and making the best of what we have. Linda

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  5. Hello Katheryn,

    Welcome to Heroines with Hearts! We're so glad to have you here with us today.

    You've hit upon the thing I like best about romance novels: the happily ever after. In a world where happy endings are not always guaranteed, it's nice to know I can pick up a book and escape the realities of life for a while.

    And I agree, too, with getting to know the characters and seeing them as friends. Every now and then I'll pick up one of my own books and reread it, just so I can visit with the characters I've grown to love again.

    Great post!

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  6. Thank you so much everyone for your comments.

    Jenn and Lindsay it's nice to hear from other lovers of HEA romances.

    Linda, I agree that not all books have to have a HEA ending and the HN ending is a good alternative, especially for modern romances. I hope your book signing goes well.

    Debra, thank you so much for hosting me on your blog! I know what you mean about spending some time with your characters. I'm currently visiting mine again by doing a series of Facebook comments about them (and I might do a blog posting soon) in which I comment about what type of perfume, clothes, home furnishings etc they would have.

    Katheryn

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  7. I love the happily ever after. We get enough of the bad endings in real life. That is why romance novels are so appealing. Everything usually works out. It may take a long time coming...but they still usually leave you glad you read it and with a feel good feeling inside.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com/

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  8. Hi Kathy,

    You're right, there are too many bad endings in real life. It's great to be able to escape by reading a romance novel with a happy outcome.

    Katheryn

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  9. Thanks you so much for being our Friday Friend, Katheryn. It's good to know that people still want the HEA endings!
    All the very best for your future writing career!

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  10. Hi Kathryn, sorry I missed your visit! I love the "happily ever after" endings--that's why I read and write romance. Life provides enough of all the other stuff! :)

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  11. Thank you so much for hosting me on your great website Paula and thank you Jennifer for your comment. Apologies to both of you for the late reply!
    Katheryn x

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