Guest post written by The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic anthology contributors
Enemies become lovers, rivalry turns to romance, and convenient marriages create true love in these 12 addictive Romantasy tales from Olivie Blake, A. G. Slatter, Tasha Suri, Katherine Arden, Kelley Armstrong, Hannah N. Maehrer, Melissa Marr, Megan Bannen, Kelly Andrew, Kamilah Cole, A. C. Wise, and Eliza Chan.
Lost lovers return for a second chance – but what are their motives? Academic rivals compete for a prestigious position, but their sizzling chemistry might get in the way. A monster slayer posing as an unwitting sacrifice meets an intriguingly moral prince.
From relationships caught in disparate timelines to ghostly ballrooms and dragons that need rescuing from princesses, this anthology gives you an inventive new spin on all your favorite tropes, and much more that you’ve never seen before.
Marie O’Regan & Paul Kane (Editors)
To us, romantasy connects to all the most famous love stories in fantasy fiction from the past – we mention the likes of Perseus and Andromeda, and the love triangle of Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot in our introduction – whilst still being something fresh, modern and entertaining. It’s a mood and a feeling, primarily; it’s about how the words make you feel. But it should also be a love story of whatever variety set against the backdrop of a fantasy setting or using a fantasy or SF idea (such as time travel, for instance): something that thrills, entertains and engages the reader. If a romantasy story has done all that, then it’s definitely fit for purpose – and thankfully all of our writers rose to the occasion!
Kamilah Cole (Contributing author)
Romantasy, for me, makes me feel the same way that fairy tales did as a child. Even in the Grimm brothers’ brutal originals, good defeats evil, princesses end up with princes, and the horrors of the world have a purpose beyond chaotic despair. In a romantasy, love is the fairy tale, triumphing over wars and betrayal, over enemy lines and power grabs. As a Black woman, society and fiction expects me to be strong, to be the best friend or the comic relief. But in a romantasy—especially the kind of diverse romantasy that I enjoy—I can be soft. I can be a damsel in distress. I can be the main character and the love interest, the center of the love triangle and the princess to be protected. So I’ll always love romantasy for giving me the space to be so much more than a Strong Black Woman.
Angela ‘A.G.’ Slatter (Contributing author)
Generally, for me, romantasy is a good fun read. When I’m writing it – and let’s be honest, this is my first outing! – what I like to do is write relationships that are more equal than those I read about in romantic fiction as a teen, and certainly better than those in Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre! Female characters stand on their own two feet, choose their own paths and relationships, traditional or otherwise, and tell partners what they want instead of taking whatever’s offered. I think romantasy gives a chance to look at fantasy in a new way, to model healthier relationships and examine ideas beyond elves versus dwarfs and the usual quest narrative. And it’s nice to let loose with some spice on the side (and the middle and other side too).
Hannah Nicole Maehrer (Contributing author)
As a child my world was made of magic and whimsy. As an adult, not much has changed. I can remember the moment I fell in love with storytelling and to no one’s surprise, it was a romance. My entire world opened to the possibilities of love in any circumstances and those circumstances always expanded to the fantastical. I spent most of my life in love with love. I adore watching two characters at their most vulnerable, at their most human. Romantasy allows those stories to live within realms of impossible imagination. Love in and of itself is magic; romance is made of it. From our tangible world, something that does exist is the bridge to the fantastical we find in fiction. To bring them together into one genre is combining the things I adore most in storytelling, which for me is priceless, and timeless.
