First off, let me say that many readers have loved the romantic subplots in Manzakar. There have been, of course, readers who’ve stumbled onto my book from the Romantasy universe (an honest mistake, I promise, considering Manzakar has actually been labelled “romantasy” by readers on Goodreads), and have been utterly disappointed by the lack of… well, romance. And this will sort itself out eventually, as readers discover that Manzakar is not, in fact, a romantic fantasy, but straight up epic fantasy.
But I thought I would take the opportunity to delve into the reasons the characters lack a certain amount of the romantic feels—aside from the fact that I did not set out to write a romance. Rest assured, it has nothing to do with not liking romance personally. I love romantic fiction and am in awe of romance authors. Writing good romance is hard.
Anyway… let me get to the point.
Why aren’t the characters in Manzakar more, well, romantic?
1. Manzakars are slaves.
The people who loved our main characters sold them into slavery at very young ages. It was definitely out of necessity, but this decision was not made lightly. These starved Gohari parents probably had several children to feed and were desperately trying to survive. Likely believing they were, in fact, being punished for Archil’s heresy, they would have cowered in the presence of the mighty Manzakars. If these nomads had a son, they might even consider selling him, since it would mean the boy would survive—and possibly as a Manzakar himself—and the rest of the family would at least have a chance to live off the proceeds of the sale. I imagine there was also this sad little hope that, in the case their sons did become Manzakars, those sons would come back and save their families.
The point being: I don’t think our main characters learned about romantic love from their parents—they were too busy trying to survive.
2. Manzakars are soldiers.
There is no room for romance in a soldier’s life. As a Manzakar cadet enters adolescence, his choices are clear: Enjoy your fist, or engage in something very quick and covert with someone else. Whatever you do, don’t get caught.
Romance? What romance? This is sexual gratification, pure and simple. Do it quickly, quietly, and stand at attention, soldier!Tikran had only had a couple relationships himself, with Manzakars and other cadets, and they had been very covert. Since open displays of affection between men were impossible, his relationships had also been primarily sexual. From a soldier’s perspective, he’d convinced himself that this worked well, since it allowed him to avoid any emotional entanglements that might derail his training.
3. Gohari women are taught to be courtesans, not to love.
Learning to seduce for personal or monetary gain is, let’s be frank, the furthest thing from “romantic” there is. Female Gohari slaves are taught how to survive—it just so happens that their ability to seduce is their means of survival. And to be clear: there’s nothing romantic about that. I would bet that, across history, courtesans were the least romantic humans ever, and I don’t blame them one bit. I would be one cold, calculating bitch in their shoes.
And I’ll be frank—I’ve always wanted to read a female James Bond. You know, a badass (but utterly human) female character who doesn’t care so much for romance while still being very sexually assertive. I think popular media is incredibly lacking in this type of character, and Coxani is my rendition.
I am very proud of her, especially how she shows up in Book Two. (Ahem).
4. There’s a bloody rebellion going on.
Honey, while I would love to make you feel like the special human that you are to me, we could all die tomorrow. Can this… maybe wait? Despite what a lot of romantic fiction tells you, ticking clocks and romance don’t really go well together in real life… (yet another reason I am in awe of romance authors who are able to pull this off well.)
All that said, I don’t think any of the above actually prevents a person from falling in love. In fact, experiencing a traumatic event with someone else likely brings you closer on account of your shared experience. It just also impacts the ability to show that love adequately.
TL;DR: The characters in Manzakar aren’t especially romantic because I wanted them to be realistic reflections of the world they live in.
But maybe, just maybe, despite all this, my characters will eventually learn how to show love in a healthy manner.
Maybe.
If their creator stops throwing shit at them.
