I’m a life-long romance reader. And I’m old enough to remember the surge in paranormal romance novels that flooded the market in the years following 9/11.

During that time readers couldn’t get enough of supernatural romance heroes. Successful series that launched during this time include The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward and The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, (both in 2005).

So why was paranormal so hot in the early 2000s? Because we’d lived through watching real-life heroes like police, fire fighters, and military personnel lose their lives to the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Post-9/11 we craved a hero that wasn’t of the same world where the brave can fight valiantly and still be helpless to stop bad things from happening.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the last several weeks, and I can’t help but wonder what kind of hero readers will want and authors will write in a post-COVID-19 world. I can see a resurgence in supernatural or paranormal heroes. I can also envision the rise of medical heroes and heroines.

Above all, I think readers are going to continue to turn to the lighter side of romance, like romantic comedies and romance novels that either dial down the angst or at least balance angst with light-hearted settings and sympathetic characters.

Speaking of, stay tuned because I have a series launching at the end of summer that takes place in a bar (a light-hearted setting, indeed!) and the series is filled with ultra fun and sympathetic characters. More on this new series in the coming weeks!