Romance in books?

Is it just me, but is romance SO hard to write!? In Sarea it actually hasn't turned out to be that bad, but it was really, really hard. And it's difficult to find good examples of romance in books these days.

In The Inheritance Series, Eragon basically falls head over heels in love with Arya (or at least it seemed that way to me!). That was fine with me...but I don't want to have it like that in my books. I like romance that is gradually introduced, as long as it's introduced well. Roran and Katrina's romance...was, ah, disgusting. It would be great if I wasn't (weren't?) a Christian, but I am, and the fact that Katrina was going to have a baby before she and Roran got married doesn't sit well with me. It's nice that Roran was willing to go basically to the ends of the earth for her, though.

The Redwall Series has really good romance. No kissing and all that; it's more knight and lady sort of thing. Reading those has helped me a lot.

Although I do have a problem yet unsolved in my book: two of my characters (I won't tell you who because that would be considered a spoiler =) are supposed to fall in love and get married. I was at first going to have it that the young man (for the sake of a name I'll call him...Bob) was supposed to rescue the lady (I'll call her Lulu!) from a dire predicament, but then I realized Bob is so polite and gentlemanly that he'd rescue any damsel in distress and not just Lulu. So does anyone have any suggestions for me? I already used the 'get into an argument and then realize they realize that they care about each other' thing.

Thanks!

Advice Needed!

I could use a little advice here on romance. The book that I'm writing (Dun Zarum was the name of one third of the book; the actual name for it is 'Sarea'. For people who don't remember, the main character is a 14-15 year old girl named Ehra (pronounced Ee-ruh, although my dad, who's my 'editor in chief' pronounces it Ay-ruh). She's a serf in the land of Sarea, which is ruled by an evil tyrant named Baashil. King Baashil has 10 Sorcerors at his command, and his grip on Sarea is growing stronger by the hour. Ehra is given a chance to change this when a mysterious 'peddler' named Gnomi (pronounced No-mee) shows up at her village. He tells her that she is actually one of five Elashae, humans who can control a respective element as well as other magic. The Elashae were started long ago by one of the good kings of Sarea, and now it's up to the five current ones (no older than sixteen), and Gnomi, an Elashi of Earth of a former group, to stop the Sorcerers and get Baashil off the throne so they can put the rightful ruler back on.

I'm at the point now where the Elashae have defeated the Sorcerers and 'sunk' their castle. They are now traveling up to the land of Songaia to try and convince the Elves to ally with them to overcome Baashil, who's going to be even more powerful then the Sorcerers.

I'm hoping for Ehra (Elashi of Water) and Maki (Ma-key, the Elashi of Fire) to get married at the end of the book. And I don't want it to be no warning and then poof, they get married, but I don't want the romance leading up to Maki's proposal to be...well, something my dad would raise his eyebrows at when he reads it. I really like the romance in the Redwall Series, but I'm not sure exactly how to write it. My mom suggested that I could have it that Ehra and Maki are just friends, and then something happens that makes them realize their true feelings for each other. Does anyone have any other suggestions? If you do, please share them with me.

Thanks so much,

Izori

P.S. I almost forgot! The notebook which I wrote the first draft of Dun Zarum in and also part of Songaia has been filled up, so we went to Walmart and bought a new one! Yeah, I know, only an author would be excited at the prospect of a new notebook.