Have you a Cozy Romantasy?

Greetings Book lovers and, even more devoutly, Book readers!

It seems a while since last we posted but do not discount my repost of the 9/11 account, now upon the 25th anniversary of that awful day. It is important that events be remembered no matter how they may be full of unpleasant memories. Such events become part of our history in time and thus part of us, of our own tales: tales which we may pass along to those who were not able to experience them directly. Such is also the theme of my latest novels: tales and how they are gathered and how they are told.

For those who have been reading my massive tome of love and war in a future medieval America, A TIME OF KINGS, we also show the making of memories and how they filter down through the years, affecting and infecting each person they come into contact with. It is very much like the virus that caused the pandemic which is reported in my FLU SEASON SAGA novels. Perhaps, having come to the final page, one might think back to the beginning and ponder how we have gone through so much and been turned by each twist, each statement proffered. That is the power of the tale - the story writ large.

Given the rage of some chapters in A TIME OF KINGS, despite the downfall tumbling toward conclusion, I sought something easier on the heartstrings as my next fare. Indeed, I thought of a lighter tale of a young fellow in his twists and turns, seeking his fate, searching for the profound path to his destiny. As do we all in our youth? Thus I have taken a boy who, merely a babe in a basket on the final page of A TIME OF KINGS and let him grow to adulthood and then given him his own tale. Indeed, a tale foisted upon him! It is itself the tale of gathering tales to tell! What could possibly be amiss in such a plan? A devilish disruption, I dare say! The love trope.

And thus I shall introduce Haron, a Baron by his birth - his father Harroth being a Duke by birth, and his grandfather a Prince in his final years by acclamation. You know him as Jack of the Court of New Cago in the Realm of Chicageaux, at once Royal physician, then chief medical officer during the War of the Five Princes, returned to counsel the new King and witness history as keeper of tales. Fate has been unkind to Duke Harroth, leaving young Haron at the mercy of Court child caretakers. Yet he seeks his own way, caught between the Royals and the Commons. Thus he is prone to making errors - which, as he will come to know, errors make for fine tales. So let us tell the tale of his tales being told!

Originally, a tale of adventure was known as a Romance. Imagine a knight on a quest. We have someone heroic on a journey for some important task. That is at bottom the definition. Let us image further that this knight is sent to retrieve a noble lady to be his liege's bride. Perhaps on the way back to his liege's castle, there grows a state of amorosity between the knight escort and the lady escorted - and there you have the introduction of the love story between two figures as the feature of the Romance. Many examples of this turn in literature. Becoming popular over the centuries, we find the name Romance transformed into a tale of the adventure of seeking and finding one's own determined partner in relationship. 

Add the idea of this new-formed Romance to the other term, Fantasy, and you have the current genre known as Romantasy. Fantasy, as it were, dealt with the fantastic; that is, that which is not of reality. It could be a tale full of the verisimilitude of reality but for a small turn. This is known as magical realism. A predominantly realistic story but for one magical element which is essential to the story. Or it could be a tale completely contained within a realm which does not nor has ever existed in our known world. The invented landscape, thus populated with strange creatures, differing kingdoms, and imagined heroes and heroines in their own troubles. Plenty of those examples, as well. Thus we bring such a fantasy setting as foundation for a Romance and - voila! - the Romantasy is born.

What is interesting here is how this term Romantasy is newly born. Haven't most fantasies included a relationship tale? A certain aspect which involves the coming together of lovers? Furthermore, hasn't the usual Romance included some elements of fantasy - a love potion or a cupid flinging arrows? So it seems the term Romantasy is merely something clever used to foist books upon the hungry readers of the world. It has been well-documented that the Romance genre sells the most books. Romantasy, therefore, might be said to be a sub-category or even a newer preference among the readers of the genre.

Now let us consider the additional term 'cozy'. Most of us might link the term to a warm home in a cold season, fire in the hearth, hot beverage in hand, a blanket covering our modest figure all in aid of a sense of comfort. To this we may wish to add a fair tale of Romance set in a Fantasy world. Now it seems as though such readers would prefer their comfortable status not be disrupted by the turn of a page into a scene of violence or, in the alternative, the detailed recounting of a moment of passion. That is fair. To denote such a tale, the 'cozy' moniker has been coined. Thus we now often find 'cozy' attached to 'romantasy' as though horse and buggy. 

Therefore, we return to Baron Haron and his insistence on going forth to gather tales worthy of telling, and in that telling he shall become notorious. Certainly he wishes for love, as well, but that side of his passion is not so forthcoming. Thus he will set out on a quest to see what remains of the world once the Realm of Chicageaux has been put into proper order. Is it a Romance in the sense of a quest? Yes, it is. Is it a tale of love? Yes, gradually. Is it cozy? Nothing too naughty or unsettling occurs - which is not to say it is plain and uninteresting. Rather, things happen along the way which are both startling yet digestible without a disquiet outcome. I dare suggest you'll see what I mean: a tale of adventure, of love, or the power of tales told. A fitting conclusion to what I call my Medieval America Trilogy - a trilogy by setting, not by chronology although they may be read in order, as one wishes. Three stand-alones nevertheless tied together.

THE WARRIORS BAUMANN, a ribald comedy set in medieval Missouri of 2353.

A TIME OF KINGS, love and war in medieval America, centered on Chicageaux 2988-3079.

BARON HARON TELLS HIS TALES, a cozy romantasy and a journey across Iowa and parts west in 3095.

Coming in November, right in time for your holiday gifting! (Note: it is quite permissible to gift yourself a book!)

More about young Baron Haron in our next post.

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(C) Copyright 2010-2026 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.

Plotting an Epic Fantasy With Dragons

Once upon a time there was no epic fantasy with or without dragons. Then, one day, there was! How did that happen? I'm still wondering myself. When my head clears of the sleepy cobwebs, my intellectual mind reminds me that it is a simple thing we like to call plot - or, in the superlative, plotting.

Plotting is the positioning of plot points (i.e., "things that happen") along a route through a tale. With a quest tale, it is considerably easier because you have an actual route to follow. Such routes are best laid out on maps. The first step to plotting is to have a good map of the quest area. Normally these are not laying about willy-nilly in a dusty cartographer's shop. No, you might very often need to make your own. 

The first step is to find a map of any ol' place. Let's take America, for example. Find a map of America, that ancient land of myth and merriment that scribes will not cease talking about. Now, we know from our basic studies that the world changes through the centuries. We know seas rise and mountains rise. We know also that rivers may flow away and become lifeless canyons. We know that once fertile fields may become inundated by the sea and turn into marshlands. Forests will fall in one place yet grow thick in another. 

The second step is to mess up the map. Create chaos. Let the seas rush in and the lakes overflow. Let mountains sprout and volcanoes thrash the land. Quakes will alter the landscape, as well. Cities may need to be rebuilt as others collapse into ruin. We are talking centuries, remember. Kingdoms rise and fall, borders change. Legends are passed from campfire to tavern to a fine court of ladies and gentlemen. And there are always stories to tell that explain the world we inhabit today - the today of our tale.

The lower valley in the Ancient Era.

The lower valley as we know it today.

The third step is to designate a starting point. Let's say it is a city at one end of the map. Then designate a destination, perhaps at the opposite end of the map - depending on the size of one's map. Bigger is not always better; remember the stamina of your hero/heroine and his/her cohort. Think of the dangers along the way: a longer journey must necessarily be fraught with more dangers. Something significant must happen at regular intervals which will cause the hero/heroine to press on. Yet what does happen at those regular intervals must also be entertaining in its own right, almost as though that scene were its own tale.

The fourth and final step is to draw a line connecting the two points: start and finish. Next, draw an X at regular internals. These Xs will mark where something significant happens, such as a dragon attack. Perhaps there are wild people blocking the route. Or interesting ruins that must be explored. There may even be a magus or two here and there. Or a city, grand and glorious, that no one in your hero's party ever suspected existed. Or another dragon attack. The possibilities are nearly endless - though do keep in mind the length of the route and give your heroes a break once in a while. 

The entire realm of the Americus, circa 9845.

Keep in mind that a good tale has ever-worsening events. This rule was invented by scribes long ago who had too much time on their hands and too much ink on their nubs. This rule is important for testing your hero. A hero is not so heroic if all he/she must face is a magic bunny. Let your hero face doom. It's really not so awful. Remember that you can enjoy it all from a comfy chair. For your hero, however, it is a blessing: the chance to prove himself/herself and reclaim that reputation once lost (hence the need for a road trip in the first place). The final plot points should take your hero down to his/her worst, ready to fail, ready to die. Then go get a fresh cup of tea and let your hero/heroine dangle a bit.

Now that you have your plotting done, wish your heroes well and send them on their way with ample supplies and a healthy dose of fortitude and bravura. Perhaps assign a comic relief (a kitchen boy?) or some other minor actor (a hunchback?) to divert attention from the blustering braggadocio of the dragonslayer - for who else is best suited for such a journey but a dragonslayer in search of dragons? As scribes long ago were wont to scribble: "It takes a whole cohort to slay a dragon!"

You, too, can ride along on this heroic quest to rid the world of the scourge of dragons by reading EPIC FANTASY *WITH DRAGONS on slices of shaved wood or as light upon a smooth stone. The choice is yours.

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(C) Copyright 2010-2017 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.