Since the 5th Croft book is in Stephanie's court right now, and I'm waiting for copyedits on Passion Unleashed, I sort of have a little extra time (which means I'm procrastinating writing a proposal for the 4th Demonica book,) so I did a little blog-hopping this morning. While be-bopping around the internet, I found an interesting post at Dear Author.

Jane says that, "Every now and again I hear declarations that the contemporary romance is a dying subgenre and it’s harder and harder to find, and that if you’re not an established name, you’ll never get anywhere, because fewer people want to read contemporary romance."

Now, I think that the post is a little tongue-in-cheek, but I've heard the same comment pop up every once in a while. But…really? Do people really think that contemporary romance is a dying subgenre?

A look at the most recent Romantic Times magazine reveals 21 contemporary romances being released in November. These aren't romantic suspense. Romantic suspense releases number 15.

Paranormal romance releases in November? 17.

Granted, a look at past issues shows that paranormal releases outnumbered contemporary releases in the last three months, but when you consider that most of the Harlequin and Silhouette lines publish straight contemporary romance, it seems as though the market favors contemporary. So to me, it appears that contemporary romance genre is going strong.

Of course, it could just be that because paranormal romance is my favorite of the romance genres, I don't notice a lack of contemporary romance. Yes, it does seem like paranormals are everywhere, which is great, but what I want is more quality paranormal and erotic romance. I'd also like more dark paranormal romance.

What about you? Is there a particular sub-genre you think is getting ready to qualify for the endangered species list? Is there something you want to see more of?

And if you enjoy contemporary romance, stop by Dear Author for a chance to win Erin McCarthy's new contemporary, Flat-Out Sexy!

P.S. — don't forget the Writeminded chat tonight at 9PM at Writerspace! Hope to see you there!