I think one of the publishers has gone so far as to create an imprint along those lines...
Are you thinking about Dorchester's Candleglow imprint?
...but the one thing that IS absolutely necessary in romances today is having a happy ending to the romance itself.
Ah yes. The HEA.
It's what I love about romance. They sail into the sunset -- figuratively speaking though I did read one last summer where they literally did. And as for the relationship time, the H and h must get together quickly in the story. I'm part of a brainstorming group and one criticism that some of the writers had heard from editors or contest judges was that their H/h didn't meet soon enough. The sooner they meet, the more time you have to explore and develop the relationship, have the black moment that drives them apart, and bring them back together for that happy ending. On these boards, there are no word count constraints, but in the real publishing world, there are, so you must make the best of the 50,000 or 80,000 or however many words your editor wants.
