Date Night: Blurring the Lines in Genre?

Author R. C. Matthews released a book this week, DATE NIGHT. It's been described as a cross between Chicklit and Contemporary and we asked her why?

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Please welcome R. C. Matthews here to answer our question...

DATE NIGHT: Blurring the Lines in Genre?

When I first decided to write Date Night, I knew it would be in the “Romance” genre. And although I’ve been an avid reader all my life, I didn’t really appreciate the extent of “sub-genres” or “niches” within each genre. Sure I knew the difference between contemporary, erotica, historical and suspense romance novels. But what the heck was “steampunk” and “new adult” or “space opera”? The more I researched, the more I realized I had no clue what publishers were looking for in each genre. And I found it rather frustrating that the story I wanted to tell in Date Night didn’t fit neatly into any one genre or niche.

Aren’t we supposed to be creative and color outside the lines as artists? Why in the heck do we box ourselves into these narrowly defined categories?

So I simply said: screw it! I had a story to tell and I decided to tell it the way I wanted to tell it. Date Night is a blend of chick literature, contemporary romance and new adult. The story doesn’t fit neatly into any one of the three categories.

-          Chick literature: The relationship between the heroine, Jordan, and her grandmother lends the story a distinct “chick lit” feel to it. Grannie is a central character in Date Night and I hate to relegate her to the category of “secondary character”. There is even a section of the book told from Grannie’s third person point of view. I once read that true “romance novels” should not allow the hero and heroine to be separated for long periods of time and while secondary characters are welcome, they should not steal the show. In the case of Date Night, I guarantee you will walk away loving Grannie every bit as much as you love Jordan and JT. Does she steal the show sometimes? I’ll let you decide.

 

-          Contemporary romance: But at the heart of Date Night is also a beautiful and satisfying love story between Jordan (22 years old) and the hero, JT (24 years old). I admit I used the age old “little sister and big brother’s best friend” troupe, but I hope you’ll agree my angle was fresh because there was no long-standing crush. Jordan and JT fall in love over the course of the book through shared experiences that make them look at each other in a new light. Despite the fact that love and romance are central to the story line, neither the hero nor heroine has entered their full-time careers yet and Jordan still lives with her mother. So the couple is a little young for the typical contemporary romance novel. Many contemporary romance novels today tackle marriage, babies and juggling full-time careers.

 

-          New adult: And although their ages fall neatly into the new adult genre (18-25 years old) and the story is told from the first person – alternating point of view so commonly found in new adult books, the main story line doesn’t center on the craziness and drama associated with college life, exploring sex and drugs, or starting a new career.

Ugh! Where did that leave me when I wanted to market Date Night to a publisher? Between a rock and a hard place. In my experience and through my research, I couldn’t find many publishers that actually encouraged authors to blur the lines between genres. Luckily for me, I had a day job that helped pay the bills so I had the luxury of not caring whether or not I blurred the lines between genres and I could take the chance on self-publishing my book.

So where did that leave me, I ask again? With a beautifully unique story worth telling! And I hope you’ll agree it is worth reading as well.

Please share your experiences.

Just look at this cover of Date Night!

Ever since Jordan Billette’s father, Jeremy, died unexpectedly when she was eight years old, Jordan and her paternal grandmother (‘Grannie’) have shared a special bond by creating a tribute to Jeremy: a scrapbook that documents the important milestone of Jordan’s life from her first report card with letter grades, to her first kiss, to graduating from college.

Upon graduating from college, only one significant milestone remains; her wedding day. When Grannie is diagnosed with aggressive cancer, she makes one dying wish to Jordan. Grannie wants to watch Jordan walk down the aisle. Not engaged? Not even dating? No problem. Grannie has a plan. She signs Jordan up for a dating service—dinner dates twice per week will surely turn up a soul mate!

JT Murphy has been best friends with Jordan’s older brother Jared since they were in diapers. Grannie wisely insists Jordan meet her dates at the restaurant where JT waits tables because she needs protection from unworthy jerks. JT is more than happy to help; Jordan is like a sister to him. So why does her smile light up his evening whenever he sees her and why is he noticing that she has curves in all the right places? As the wedding draws near…JT wonders if it’s his heart that needs protecting…from the pain of potentially losing Jordan forever.

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