Author Katy Evans Shares 4 Romance Writing Tropes That Never Go Out of Style

One thing you can always count on in the romance industry, is that it’s always changing. Existing genres evolve and new genres develop. While older romances caused quite a scandal with a sizzling kiss, modern romances have boldly cracked open the bedroom doors—scandalous kisses are only the beginning of the heat and passion that heroes and heroines now share.
One thing is for certain, though, there are particular writing tropes that romance readers continue to seek out. Here are four of the most beloved:

Billionaires
This is an all-time favorite trope that has been around since romances were first published. Billionaires claim a significant piece of the market, even when the spotlight is temporarily lured away from these richer-than-Midas kings. The pendulum always seems to come back to these boys, as was the case with the worldwide bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. These men are powerful and rule the world, often from the boardroom, sometimes as princes or heirs, and they exude confidence from every pore. What is there not to love about a billionaire? This versatile romance trope not only allows ample room for the hero to strut his stuff, but the story can be set in historical or modern times, and can include other popular tropes such as friends-to-lovers, or secret pregnancies. A personal favorite of mine, I explore the intriguing and powerful world of billionaires in Ladies Man, my most recent release.

Fighters
Is there anything more attractive than a man in his most primal form, unpolished, raw, and seething with testosterone? Romances with fighter heroes have been around for a while, but creating a specific category around them has been a fairly recent development. From Lori Foster’s SBC Fighters series to J.B. Salsbury’s Fighting series to my own Real series, fighters pack a punch that leave romance readers breathless. You can always count on a fighter hero to get your heart pounding and your blood boiling, by the time the book is over.

Motorcycle Clubs
Part of the attraction of romances is the thrilling escape they provide into other worlds. In the case of MC romances, the worlds are very dangerous. We love putting ourselves in the heroine’s shoes and being thrust into heart-pounding circumstances, with a blunt-talking, dangerous alpha hero on a bike to tempt even the most untemptable. The MC trope is a newer trope, one that shot to the attention of romance readers with Joanna Wylde’s Reaper’s Property and Madeline Sheehan’s Undeniable, offering such unique stories like Kim Jones’s Sinners Creed and Beth Flynn’s Nine Minutes. Although a fairly recent trend in the romance market, Motorcycle Club romances are so edgy, unique, and engaging that I predict they will only continue to grow and evolve, securing a permanent place among readers’ favorite romance tropes.

Athletes
From the fabulous Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Chicago Stars series to newer Indie releases like Helena Hunting’s Pucked and C.D. Reiss’s HardBall, athletes give us everything we love about heroes who use their physiques to the max—the sweat, the competitiveness, the testosterone—in a multitude of settings, which makes for an absolutely engaging, pulse-pounding read. They are men who know how to get what they want, and never hesitate to go after it. Just like athletes in the real world, these men are often celebrities, chased around town by dozens of groupies who vie for their attention. What could be stronger proof of a man’s devotion to his girl than having his attention (so coveted by others) focused solely on his girl?

Although certain elements about these stories stay the same, the romance market is certainly not stagnant. It continues to evolve, month by month, year by year, and will continue to do so thanks to both the hard-working established authors who keep delighting and surprising us with their newest releases and daring new writers leaping into the game. Being a member of this unique industry with so many possibilities has been inspiring, and I too challenge myself to push the limits of these established tropes. The freedom of expression and variety in art has never been as vast and exciting as it is today, and I eagerly look forward to seeing what variations on these tropes pop up next!
Ladies Man is available now.