My favorite books are inspirational romance, and I’ve been reading them for over twenty years. I began in publishing with novellas because I used to devour those four-in-one romance novella compilations. Since then, I’ve written full-length fiction, but the romantic elements are the same. Here are some of the key ingredients I look for as a reader, and hope I include as an author, in romance novels: A Noble Hero Sure, he has to be flawed. He must make mistakes. There has to be that one element he doesn’t have the internal or external strength to do at the beginning of the story that he’ll be able to do at the end. But he must also have at least one area of his heart, his life, where he is noble. Perhaps he’s caring for his elderly grandmother. Or perhaps he’s good to animals. The more noble, the better. A Strong Heroine This doesn’t mean she’s bench-pressing twice her weight, nor does it mean she won’t need help along the way. In my Friday Harbor story, my heroine—a strong and competent character—needs rescuing. That rescue feels believable, without making her look weak. And don’t we all need rescuing sometimes? (By the…