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Today we're going on a magical quest to fight evil and find true love.

Imagine we're making our way through a forest of fairies,

or we're heading to our first class at a college for elite dragon riders.

As we struggle to learn to control our magic or wield our weapons, we're told time and time

again that we don't have what it takes. We soon meet a darkly

handsome dragon rider or vampire or elf king. We don't know if he's here to help or

harm us. On our quest to save the world we discover in ourselves a power we

didn't know existed and defeat our enemies. Oh and that cute dragon rider

turns out he's not all that bad. If you're intrigued by this tale, you may have a soft spot for romanticy.

That's a popular literary genre that blends elements of fantasy and romance.

It's also one of the fastest growing genres.

Between 2022 and 2023,

romanticisti novel sales increased by 42%.

That's according to the market researcher, Circana.

For today's edition of Writers Room, our series where we discuss literary trends and we talk to

writers about their work, we ask,

what's driving this surge in fantastical romances?

And what can they teach us about dreaming big, loving deeply,

...