Science fiction or romance – how do you classify Morgan’s Choice

Talking about what constitutes ‘romance’ seems to be a bit like climbing over the fence into the lions’ compound knowing they haven’t been fed for a while. But I have to say I find the debate a little bit perplexing when it comes to the genre I mostly write – science fiction romance.

On the one hand, the born-again romance readers insist that without a HEA (happily ever after ending, for those not in the know) or at the very least a HFN (Happy For Now) then the story doesn’t qualify as ‘romance’. On the other hand there’s more than a suggestion from the science fiction fraternity (I use the word deliberately) that all that soppy love stuff doesn’t belong in science fiction.

I’m not really a romance reader and I’d be the first to say that my stories are SF action/adventure with a strong romance arc. Mostly. I think. And we get back to the old question of genre.

Back in the very recent past we didn’t have a science fiction romance genre. You had a choice: science fiction or romance. So you took your chances. Have your book panned by the hard-line SFers who didn’t want any of the smulchy squishy stuff, or have your book panned by the romance die-hards who protested your story wasn’t a romance because it wasn’t the raison d’etre of the plot. Even now we don’t have a Science Fiction Romance genre. It’s Romance, Science Fiction.

Let’s consider Morgan’s Choice, because… just because.

Is it a romance?

I’ve included the Romance Writers of America definition of romance.

“Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.

A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel.

An Emotionally Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love. Romance novels may have any tone or style, be set in any place or time, and have varying levels of sensuality—ranging from sweet to extremely hot. These settings and distinctions of plot create specific subgenres within romance fiction. Click here to better understand the subgenres within romance.“

So that’s what the RWA had to say.

Is it science fiction?

Is it SF? When we’re discussing speculative fiction (which we are) Orson Scott Card gives a very interesting definition of the difference between science fiction and fantasy. “If the story is set in a universe that follows the same rules as ours, it’s science fiction. If it’s set in a universe that doesn’t follow our rules, it’s fantasy.” “How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy” p22. On that definition Morgan’s Choice certainly is SF.

Is it hard SF? No, it’s not. It’s space opera which the purists consider to be ‘soft’ SF. But it is SF, with non-humanoid aliens with their own politics and their own problems, space ships, inter-planetary travel and the like. There’s no magic, even if inter-planetary travel is pretty slick. If you want an explanation, see my post on planet hopping.

But I’m sure as hell certain that with that cover and that romance arc, it won’t be popular with the ‘straight’ SF community. I recently saw a request by a prominent SF writer (female) who is collecting data for a degree. She wanted the names of women who have published in science fiction since 2000. That’s fine – but she very specifically states that she doesn’t want straight science fiction romance.

And that, folks, sums it up for me. Pick your cliché

• rock and a hard place
• devil and the deep blue sea
• out of the frying pan into the fire

So what is Morgan’s Choice really?

It sits right on the edge.

It absolutely has a central love story—Morgan and Ravindra’s attraction, conflict, and eventual partnership are at the emotional heart of the book. Their relationship drives much of what happens, and if you took it out, the story would lose its spine. So it ticks that first RWA box.

Where it diverges slightly is in the ending. It’s emotionally satisfying and optimistic, but not a classic “happily ever after” in the pink-hearts-and-wedding-bells sense. It’s more a hard-won trust and connection forged through danger and mutual respect. That puts it firmly in Science Fiction Romance (SFR), but at the “adventure with romance” end of the spectrum rather than the “romance with sci-fi trimmings” side.

So yes, it’s a romance—just not a traditional one. It’s a space opera with a strong romantic arc. Think passion, peril, and partnership rather than candlelight and lace.

I’d love to hear your take on this debate.