It's not black, it's just a very light shade of grey...

I'm getting a little peeved with the category romances I've been reading lately. Most of them have been missing that very important black moment. For the non-romance types, a black moment is when all of the conflict that has been leading up through the entire book comes to a head, and the reader is absolutely convince that neither the hero or the heroine are going to give up their side so they can find mutual ground and come together. In a relationship. (Get your mind out of the gutter! =) ).

In the HQ Blaze I just finished reading, the "black moment" (or very light grey in this case) came when the hero got pissed off because the heroine went for coffee with a friend and didn't tell him about it. (There was actually a note she'd left that he hadn't bothered to read). First. This is not a black moment. This is not even an argument. What the heroine should have done is said "When you own me, you can tell me where and when I can go. Until then, you know where you can go..." Either way, this isn't an overwhelming argument, that makes me, the reader, wonder if they can get past it. It makes me wonder why the heroine would want to be with such a tight-assed control freak, but that's neither here nor there.

Overwhelmingly, you hear editors talk about how conflict isn't sniping or arguing throughout the whole book, with which I wholeheartedly agree, however, if the conflict isn't strong enough that the black moment has me on the edge of my seat worrying and doesn't give me a big sigh of relief when the h/h overcome it, then that isn't conflict either.

I have to say, I started reading all these Blazes as a bit of market research for my own book, and all I'm finding is really good examples of what not to do. Don't get me wrong. I'm reading some very nice sexual tension and some rather hot sex scenes, which really is the point of a Blaze, but the fundamentals of the story are getting lost in the sheets. (pun intended =) ). So come on Blaze editors and writers, don't forget about how to structure your story while you're getting hot and heavy.

Thank you.