Do you love a good reunion story? Recently a lady at my day job, whose husband had passed away, was contacted by a man she dated in high school. They went out to dinner, caught up on what had happened to them in the last forty years. During dinner, he told her after high school graduation, he went into the military. On his first leave, he intended to ask her to marry him and become an army wife. Eager to reunite with her, he went to her home, only to learn she'd married and moved to California. Now forty years later, they are dating and are engaged to be married.
A good reunion story always has built in conflict. Maybe they were attracted, but one wasn't ready for a commitment. Maybe something is keeping them from being together, like a parent or a job or location. Maybe there's a secret that can't be revealed at the moment, but years later they're ready to deal with the problem.
In any sub-genre of romance, you can use reunion stories. In contemporary romance, they are often used for the secret baby plot, mistaken identity or something brings them back to the small town where they grew up where the hero/heroine still resides. These are some of the standard plot lines used in contemporary romance. If you take this plot line, add an unusual twist, along with strong writing skills, you're a candidate for Harlequin/Silhouette.
Small contemporary romance is usually a quick read. The story is fast-paced, and in the 250 pages, you have to take your characters from dislike with interest to madly in love and ready for their happily ever-after. Your conflict should be strong, yet resolvable in those short pages.
How many of us have thought about old boyfriends and wondered if we saw them today, would we consider them? My first love in high school was a boy who broke my heart. Today, he's been married five times, and I thank my lucky stars we parted ways.
With reunion books, there is built in sexual attraction. Most of the time, they've been intimate with one another and remember what it was like to be with that person. And usually, some significant conflict tore them apart.
In My Sister's Boyfriend, she traded places with her twin sister and went out on a date with her sister's boyfriend. Things went further than she intended that night and she gave him her virginity in the back seat of his Mustang. Now fifteen years later, she comes face-to-face with him once again. Will he
realize it was her all those years ago and not her sister?
So do you enjoy reunion stories as much as I do? Tell me some of your favorites.
