I suppose I should start with what my book is trying to accomplish, or rather, what it isn't. It's not a romance. It doesn't pretend to be, it doesn't want to be, it makes no airs to that effect. The relationship in question isn't even the main character's. The woman who guards the leader of the rebellion (if Leia Organa had a dedicated bodyguard) happens to enjoy the attention of a certain god-like being. She's one of the few, if not the only--so far--character who directly interacts with beings of that power scale, even if this particular god-being is relatively minor compared to, say, the creator of the physical universe. Jamarah, that woman, is definitely a secondary character. She's not the MC; she's not the MC's foil. She works for the antagonist, albeit in an everpresent sort of manner. She's 'on screen' very nearly as often as her boss. I wanted to introduce the character of Gykos, the god-being, as a way to show the reader what an interpersonal relationship between a god and their chosen might look like; I'm considering making it a romantic relationship. The problem I'm having is that...well, I don't read a whole lot of non-romance novels. For the longest time, I tended to find novels without romance uninteresting due to, well, we'll call it personal circumstances. If it didn't have romance, it didn't have what I was looking for. In and of itself, that's not a problem. Unfortunately, now I don't know how to write a relationship that's romantic in nature, but not even tangential to the point of the book. The relationship itself is relevant to her story, to the rebellion's story, because it's that relationship with Gykos that makes her so intrinsically useful to her boss. He gave her the gift of 'magical gut feelings', or to quote the line in the book, "to reliably predict the outcome of her undertakings." So when she says she has a bad feeling about this, she's got a really good reason for feeling that way. Her boss refuses to listen, and it lands him in the hospital bay, comatose. But...because of my relatively limited experience with things that are not romance novels, I don't actually know how to write a relationship between two characters that doesn't a) end in the funnest of fun times, or b) sound like something that's directly out of a Harlequin, closed-door romance or otherwise. Putting in any romance between them feels like too much, but putting in none feels like I'm writing something unnecessarily Puritan. Any guidance at all would be helpful; I'm very lost. EDIT:: the book is space fantasy, toeing the sci-fi line, if it matters. ((Also, I started the wikia for my novel the other day. wish me luck.))
I think if it is a subplot that it should be present, but based upon the the parties involved and how much time they get together. I have a loose based Rom subplot between 2 MCs, but it is a loose one at best due to the fact that they are in a war, and cannot afford much time to really build much of a physical relation (and it is Sci-fi). Your best bet is to keep it as relevant as you can, by making mention of it at points throughout based upon their feelings towards the other person and when they can be together. Otherwise it is kinda like a long distance relationship due to the issue of duty coming first. If you can get them alone for a little horizontal Mambo, then go ahead. I think someone else on here has a sex scene where the guy gets blown in half by some type of rocket or missile. So it really depends on when/where you can pair them up, and have things work in a fashion that you want in regards to the Romance side of the story. The more likely they are to lose one or the other due to being killed can either make them jump to being more intimate, or putting some distance between them until there is a more stable ground to develop their relationship without fear of outright losing one or the other. You have options as to whether it can work out or not. It all depends on the conditions surrounding it and the strength of their feelings toward it as far as making it work or not. Good Luck.
What are you defining as "romance"? There can be romance without physical intimacy of any kind shown such as talking about a relationship or even side conversations. Maybe have them speak together on occasion and establish it through more subtle means such as their tone of voice?
So, Jamarah is the bodyguard of the antagonist if I'm reading rightly, correct? Is she a POV character? I just ask to be sure, because that doesn't really sound like a role that would be a POV character on the face of things. If she is it makes sense for her to be fleshed out and potentially have this whole thing going on, while if she's not it seems weird for her god-romance plot to take up any space. But this is what kind of confuses me. It seems like you just want to explore what this type of relationship between a human and deity of sorts would be like, but it doesn't have much bearing on anything. It's relevant that Jamarah has this godly gift, but you don't need Gykos to be a character for that - she can just be chosen by the god and have this power as a result, as an informed trait. Going into the details of the relationship - having it be a relationship - seems like a deviation/distraction from the rest of the book. Obviously I don't have the knowledge of your plot that you do and can only evaluate things from a limited scope. But it kind of sounds like a darling that could stand to be cut, to me. Exploring a god/human relationship could be something for another project.
@izzybot Alright, so I realize, having read your post, that I've done somewhat a rubbish job of explaining myself, so with your forgiveness, I'd like to try again. To the first point: the POV jumps between characters. The MC, the antagonist, Jamarah, and one other character get to tell the story in their own turn, but most of the story is told from the MC and the antagonist's pov. I've read other books where that's done well, and I hope I'm not doing a poor job of it myself. To the second: As a matter of world-building, I feel obligated to explain to the reader how the gods work, both on a grand scale and on an interpersonal one. Jamarah's irritation that her boss doesn't listen is a big deal during this part of the book, made all the more personally frustrating because her boss wouldn't believe her about her magical gut feelings, even if she told him about Gykos (because reasons). She's enjoying a moment of quiet peace when Gykos appears at her side, and they have a discussion about what fools these mortals be. To me as a writer, Gykos personally isn't a critical character, but because he's important to Jamarah and how she interacts with her world, I feel like having him make an appearance is opportunity to kill two birds with one stone--her powers explained, and the gods demystified. But even as I say that I want them to be an item, even as I think it's reasonable...it feels wrong. You see, (and yes, this is definitely a personal failing) I keep failing at writing the chapter with the romantic/sexual relationship feeling, but I can't do any better with a nice, respectful adherent-to-deity relationship. ((EDIT2: feels so wrong because my brain keeps alternating between wanting to write it as smut, because that's most of my reading material lately, and a resounding objection to doing so. The intense inner conflict over how to present the relationship roadblocks me.)) Honestly, at this point, I think I need recommendations for books in settings that don't normally have established pantheon, but do in this story; I need examples of it done well so I can manage not to muck it up myself. ((Edited because that's not how English works, silly))
I think the book sounds great, and I think you should write the romance how you feel you want to. As long as it moves the plot and has some conflict / tension, but it on screen.
