Romance Tropes: One Bed

Welcome to a new series where I break down classic romance tropes and give my opinions. First up is a well-known and well-loved trope: “There’s only one bed!”

They’re rivals at a law firm and have to leave town on a business trip. They arrive at a hotel only to discover that they’ve been booked in the same room. It’s not the best situation, but they can suck it up for one night and deal. Lo and behold, when they arrive to their room…there’s only one bed.

Or, they’re friends hiding their feelings for each other on a vacation. They find a quaint bed and breakfast along the way and stop, but there’s only one room left. You guessed it - this room has just one bed that they’ll have to share.

In essence, this is the simplest form of the forced proximity trope. There are plenty of other ways to get your characters closer, but this is so easy! What better way to get your lovebirds all snuggled up than having them share a bed for a night? Sure, one of them might offer to sleep on the floor or the couch, but before long we know where they’ll end up.

I’ve seen this done in countless media and I love it. It can be comical and cute or it can be tense and force the characters to face their feelings, be they physical, emotional, or both. The trick is to make it believable. An error in booking, a last resort, or the scheming of a cupid-type friend who knows the two need a little nudge in the right direction.

Is this a trope you enjoy reading or are considering adding to your own work? Let me know!

A Year in Review, a Year Ahead

2022 was the first year since I began publishing that I did not publish a book. Isn’t that weird? Sure, I had preorders for The Montgomery Arrangement just last month, but no actual releases.

It’s been a strange year for me. Life outside of writing took a front seat and I felt like I was getting nothing done. Any goals I had were put aside while I tackled adult life, disappearing from the internet for weeks at a time. For the first time since starting this journey, I felt like Lori Fayre was a separate person, someone I knew but hardly got to see, and I had to choose between my two lives. And I hated it.

I’ve made it no secret that my recent trilogy, Unexpected Mergers, was very difficult to write. I think it had taken more out of me, though, and I found it necessary to take a break from my work and focus on other things. I won’t get into that here but, suffice it to say, things are going back to normal. And now it’s time to write.

I’m keeping my goals for the new year simple. I have a new trilogy that I’m working on and I’m really excited about it. I’m also going to be attending my first in-person author event this year (more on that as it unfolds!). I think I began putting too much into myself as a business owner and not so much as a writer, and that’s going to change.

There will be gaps again. There will be days where I don’t post to social media or my blog. There will be times when my website doesn’t get updated as often as it should. But you can know that when I’m not on the internet, it’s because I’m making something new, something exciting, to give to you.

Thank you all for a wonderful year. I hope to have many more ahead. And, even if they’re not my books, please keep reading! Books are the one escape we have these days.

Love always,

Lori Fayre

The Montgomery Arrangement Preorders!

I know I keep dropping off the radar and popping up again, but that’s life! At least this time I have returned with amazing news. 

The Montgomery Arrangement, book three of Unexpected Mergers and the end of the series, will be available for preorder this Tuesday, December 13!

I will be sending out advanced reader copies this week so, if you can't wait to read it, just send me a message on any social media with your email address! You can learn more about this book through my website, or through the clicky-links on the right side of the screen.

Also, please bear with me, because I have a giveaway planned as well as some cool content that has to do with my next series. Wait, did I say next series?! That’s right! And this one promises to be as steamy and exciting as you could possibly want 😉