Why Contemporary And Historical Romance Remains Strong

As I was driving into work this AM, I was really thinking about why these two genres seem to always be the "go to" genres. Sure, there are a lot of other genres out there that have huge numbers in sales, but in terms of longevity, it seems to always be the contemporary and historicals that take the prize. Why? 

In simple terms, these two genres don't rely on, for lack of a better word, gimmicks to survive.

Consider genres such as paranormal. We went through a period of time with the vampires and werewolves in every book, but we got tired of those. So we shifted to angels and demons (just a variation on a theme), then off to the Urban Fantasies and then the Steam punk, but these genres just don't last, with the exception of those smaller unique groups of readers who are fans. The thing to understand though, is that these stories all relied on that unique "plot" element to keep the story alive and to support the romance.

The romantic suspenses out there are also in this same situation. To keep the story afloat requires that external plot element of the crime and mystery. Without it, the romance goes no where. 

But when it comes to the contemporary and historical romance, the focus is simply on the romance set in a time period. That's it.

So, if you want to know what I believe will be the trend to follow for the future, my answer is simple. Stick with the contemporaries and the historicals!