Those unfamiliar with the romance genre may assume selecting careers for one’s characters is a simple task. He’s either a duke, a pirate, or a kilt-clad Scotsman, while she occupies her time stamping her pretty little foot and contemplating how heavily to heave her bosom.
Those of us who read, write, and love romance know there’s more to it. In fact, choosing and researching characters’ professions is one of the most crucial tasks romance novelists face (second only to selecting the shirtless men to massage our feet while we write).
One of my favorite romantic comedy authors, Jennifer Crusie, is the master of picking professions that put her hero and heroine at odds with one another. Welcome to Temptation features a small town mayor and a videographer who may or may not be making an adult film that could jeopardize the mayor’s career. Faking It stars a professional con artist and a painter with a history of forgery.





















