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Once there was a fairly popular genre called Fantasy. He was well-known, great with kids, friendly with young men and women. But he wasn’t nearly as popular as the top-selling genre ever—Romance. Romance was everywhere. She was especially popular with female readers, who were carrying Romance everywhere. Fantasy began to grow jealous. But then something happened. Fantasy and Romance fell in love. And so they got a ship name: romantasy.

Mission update

• As of Monday, Feb. 4, Lorehaven.com has revealed a new front page.
• We also reviewed Lindsay Franklin’s The Unraveling of Emlyn DuLaine.
• Share this episode and enter our drawing for a free copy of Parker’s own romantasy novel (plus space opera): The House of Haddaway: A Fairytale Retelling
• Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild

Backstory: Parker J. Cole

Onscreen writer Parker J. Cole is an author, speaker, and radio show host with a fanatical obsession with the Lord, Star Trek, K-dramas, anime, romance books, old movies, speculative fiction, and knitting. An off-and-on Mountain Dew and marshmallows addict, she writes to fill the void the sugar left behind. To follow her on social media, visit her website at ParkerJCole.com.

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Quotes and notes

• Why Does Christian Romance Outsell Christian Fantasy?
• Episode 99: How Can Christians Discern Sensual Scenes on the Printed Page? | with Parker J. Cole
• Episode 149: Why Do Christian Fans Love So Much Romance?

1. To review, why is romantic fiction so popular?

• A reader’s ideal of Paradise influences his or her story preferences.
• If your ideal Paradise is love and family, you’ll likely prefer romance.
• If your ideal Paradise is a fantastical world, you’ll likely prefer fantasy.

2. What do we mean by this new term ‘romantasy’?

• Romantasy is when the romantic and fantasy aspects of the story are equally important
• Romantasy is just a romance book with a fantasy world as a backdrop
• Romantasy is when the plot would fall apart without the romance
• Romantasy is a fantasy plot with a central romance that follows romance book “beats” (see: Romancing the Beat, by Gwen Hayes)
• Romantasy is just fantasy with “spicy” scenes

—M. K. Lobb at Writer’s Digest, Feb. 27, 2024

3. How does romantasy affect Christian fans?

• Just last week, we saw one great challenge: fans demanding story porn.
• But it would be unfair to blame romance/romantasy alone for this sin.
• Both fantasy and romance awaken us to the magic of God’s forever-love.

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Top questions for listeners

• What is your favorite “romantasy” story?
• For you, who would win in a fight—fantasy or romance?
• Or would the two embattled genres become “enemies to lovers”?