First, today I hit thirty-two and it's been a fabulous day, mostly thanks to a loving husband that understands books are the best of all possible birthday presents. Especially when he is willing to go to the local bookstore and spend an hour letting me pick them out then carry them home for me. I am a very lucky girl.

So, yesterday I made my goal of a thousand words. Wasn't even as painful as I expected. Thanks to Christine for the support. It helped. Hopefully I can do it again today, though between birthday lunches, a trip to see THE SOCIAL NETWORK, and a martial arts class, it might be tricky.

Now, on to the topic in today's title. I love urban fantasy. No secret there. I even enjoy the romantic underpinings in many of the series though I admittedly do not so much enjoy straight romances. Particularly not the old-fashioned pirate/lord/knight whatever kidnaps/arrests/employs comely woman who then develops immense Stockholm Syndrome such that the whole book is the them having sex in various places and positions for little to no reason. Everyone has their tastes and that is not one of mine, but to each their own.

That said, relationships, and by extension sex, seem to play an important role in urban fantasy series. Further, there is an interestingly consistent trend in the development of the main relationship. It seems to involve the following:

Book 1 - Protagonist (usually female) and member of opposite sex meet, butt-heads and annoy one another mercilessly;

Book 2 - Protagonist and same member of opposite sex continue to get on each others nerves but sexual tension is evident. Sometimes a secondary romantic rival appears;

Book 3 - Protagonist becomes fixated on sex or how long it has been since they had sex. Sometimes this is subtle, but often not so much;

Book 4 - Protagonist and someone end up together. Often the main romantic interest but not always.

There are, of course variations but some examples I've seen show this trait is fairly strong in the genre. Let's take four different series: Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews, The Walker Papers by C.E. Murphy, and The Cal Leandros Books by Rob Thurman.

A couple of notes that are important. One, I chose these because there are some of my favorites so nothing is meant to detract from the fact that these are entertaining and enjoyable novels. Two, there are possible spoilers in the analysis, so please read at your own risk.

So, Kate Daniels - In the first book in the series she meets Curran, the Beast Lord. It's loathing at first sight. They spend the majority of their interactions fighting. Sparks fly. It is possibly my favorite urban fantasy relationship though it is antagonistic and hostile at this point.

In the second book they are again thrown together and it becomes clear that there is some tension, though how serious on Curran's part or even Kate's is up for debate.

Book three has a few mentions to both the length of time Kate has been celibate and the reasons why. These are both character appropriate and believable. The trope done well. Still, her growing attraction and attachment to Curran is clear with the relationship progressing to nearly intimate levels.

Book four starts with something happening to cause the new relationship to all but dissolve, but by the end of the book Kate has faced her intimacy issues and accepted her feelings for Curran. Very satisfying.

So, the Walker Papers -- This is my all-time favorite series, but I admit I find the relationships in this one the least interesting. I'll get to why in a moment. Anyway, the first book introduces Joanne Walker, a police mechanic and reluctant shaman. She's pulled into a world she never imagined existed and this puts her at odds with herself, her spirit guide, Coyote, and her police captain, a true skeptic named Morrison. It is this latter fellow with whom she most butts heads though oddly, they share much the same view on her activities.

The tension between her and Morrison is developed further in book two but is precluded from being a real relationship by her position as his subordinate. They continue to annoy each other but there is mutual respect there as well. My biggest problem here is that unlike the Kate Daniels books where the antagonism feeds into the dynamic and where the lovers bring out new dimensions to each other, Joanne and Morrison's hostility feels a little too forced and they seem too alike to really add anything to each others' development as character through their attraction. The hook there is that they can't be together and that is a choice they make. For me, at least, I find the concept of together a bit heavy-handed and inorganic.

Book three and four continue the want but can't have and introduces Thor as a romantic rival. This potentially could add something interesting, but it is made abundantly clear he's a substitute for what Joanne wants and can't have that he feels like less of a real character than a plot device to yet again underline that she is meant for Morrison. Which, I suppose could work if I bought into their attraction, but as stated before, I don't really see it personally.

But, regardless, the point is that this continues the standard genre trend as Joanne is seeking a connection and the physical element becomes a bit more predominant in her mentality.

By book five she is no longer with Thor (largely because she's in love with Morrison) and soon she becomes involved with Coyote, her mentor who had been missing since the end of book three. There are earlier hints that she might have in another time line ended up in a relationship with him, and when they finally do meet, she pursues this.

Personally, this is a much more satisfying relationship. They argue, but help each other grow and together they seem stronger and more realistic characters. Which only makes it more annoying that Morrison is not only a rival, which makes sense, but still the preferred, fate-chosen better option which doesn't. Though I think even if I was a fan of the Morrison/Walker relationship this would still bother me because it dilutes what feels like a genuine connection with Coyote (and something meant to be highly emotional) as just a secondary distraction from what Joanne really wants.


Regardless, the relationship with Coyote is intensely physical and fits the pattern being discussed.

The Cal Leandros books are interesting in that this is the only one with a male protagonist. A twenty-year-old boy who has an aversion to having children due to his parentage, Cal is in love with Georgina, but refuses to be with her to protect her. Their relationship is introduced in book one, but only takes the real forefront in book two. They are less antagonistic to each other, but both are set in their ideals and these are deeply at odds.

This series is one in which the pattern seemed most odd to me. In book three Cal, who never really (that I can recall) showed much interest in sex itself, becomes obsessed with losing his virginity. So much so that he has his friend Robin set him up with a perfect stranger (a nymph who he cannot possibly reproduce with). This seems to make sense in the stereotypical boy his age, but felt like a bit of a sudden turn in the character himself.

Granted, Cal does this in part to drive Georgina away, an action that fails to work until he hooks up with Delilah, a werewolf who can't have children and with whom he has some legitimate chemistry. Still, the focus on sex as an end in itself, while fitting in the trope, made the third book feel out of line with the others. Still enjoyable, but oddly skewed. Also, having spent so much time building up Cal and George (in a manner similar to Walker and Morrison, though this one felt more genuine) the breaking off of the whole relationship felt abrupt and unsatisfying.

Anyway, the point here seems to be that despite multiple variations and permutations, the basic idea of romantic entanglement is fairly consistent in the genre. Introduce a romantic interest, make them fight, keep them apart, then let the protagonist find someone and have sex. As I tried to illustrate this is done, at least for me, with various levels of success.

All of which makes me wonder, do I need a set romantic interest in my novel? I have lots of women to choose from (my protagonist is male) but I don't want to fall into the trap of deciding he belongs with one and ignoring the chemistry that may develop with another. I also don't want to end up having to drop it when it can't work. It's a tricky situation.

Suggestions?