August is Romance Awareness Month

August is Romance Awareness Month – the month to add a little romance back into your life. Whether that means special date nights with your significant other or curling up with a romance novel or romantic movie, set aside some time to focus on romance. I blogged recently about some of my favorite romantic movies, romcons, and classic romantic novels, just to give you a few ideas. 

I thought Urban Dictionary had the best definition of romance: 

True romance is doing something special or unexpected for someone you love, even though you don't have to. Romance isn't a greeting card, it isn't Valentine's Day, it isn't a box of chocolates, and it certainly isn't a dozen roses (unless you like that sort of thing). Real romance is not what modern society has been taught to think it is. Real romance isn't manufactured. It is completely individual. Romance is for showing the person you love that you're thinking about them. It shouldn't feel forced. There are no limits to romance; it can be shown by a handwritten note, by going for a walk, or even by making someone a sandwich. Romance is something simple and sweet that reminds your partner why they fell in love with you in the first place.

So, in that same vein, let's talk about some ways to add a little romance back into your life. Romance authors like writing about creative ways the hero and heroine can show how much they care for each other, and it’s often the little things that count. For instance, actively listening to your significant other is a perfect way to show you care. So are simple gestures. If you’re making yourself a cup of coffee, ask your SO if he’d like one too. And don’t wait for special occasions – stash a greeting card in a drawer or under a pillow for him to find, just because.

In Rescuing Lacey, the heroine shows her attentiveness to the hero’s interests when she gives him a beautiful watercolor set. In return, he shows he’s paying attention to their conversations when he gives her a very meaningful Christmas gift. 

Sometimes showing your love means giving, what looks like to outsiders, to be a very unromantic gift, but the gift means the world to the recipient. A friend once gave his wife a humidifier. Most people laughed it off, but to his wife, who’d been suffering with asthma related to the dry climate where they lived, cried over his thoughtfulness.

But showing how much you care doesn’t always have to involve gifts. During Thanksgiving dinner, in The Promise of Change, the hero notices the heroine is cold, and without prompting, rises from the table to get her a sweater. It’s all about attentiveness and genuine concern.

This month I’ll be blogging about all things romance. So stay tuned. And I love to hear your ideas for showing your significant other that you care.

I'll also be giving away print copies of my books, so check out my Facebook page for weekly giveaways!

Alpha or Beta?

Alpha or Beta? That is the question – for writers and readers of romance novels, that is. While alphas and betas can appear any work of fiction, be it action, spy thriller, or sci-fi, they are the bread and butter of romantic fiction.

The Alpha Hero

Who is the alpha hero? James Bond is probably the most recognizable alpha hero. He’s the prototypical male sex symbol. The guy we think of as a hunk, a hottie, a walking wet dream. He’s strong, confident, smart, and often charming. He may be a little dangerous, with a barely-contained dark side. He might even carry hidden emotional wounds. He’s the powerful business man, the heroic warrior, or the daredevil. He’s sexually adventurous, with no (or at least an unrecognized) desire to settle down. But when he does find his lady love, woe be unto the person who tries to harm her or come between them.

In popular fiction, think Jacob in Twilight or Gale in The Hunger Games.

Jacob and Gale

In classic literature think the Byronic Rochester in Jane Eyre or the aloof Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. And of course, one can’t forget the debonair Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind.

Rochester, Darcy, and Rhett

The Beta Hero

Where the Alpha Hero is the sex symbol, the Beta Hero is the boy next door. The one you’d bring home to mother. He’s cute, smart, affable, and charming as well, only in a quieter, sometimes more sincere way. He’s trustworthy, dedicated, and an all-around nice guy. He might have had his heart broken, and be less willing to take the risk again, until he meets the heroine. He’s perceptive, a good listener, and a genuine friend. And while he may be quiet, even laid back, he’s fierce when faced with an injustice, especially if that injustice has been meted out against a loved one.

Some may argue otherwise, but I’d place Edward Cullen in this category. He’s not brash and cocky like Jacob. And while he has a dark, powerful side, for me, it’s his overwhelming desire to be good that tips him into the beta camp. Peeta from The Hunger Games also fits this archetype.

Edward and Peeta

From classic literature I’d place Jude Fawley, from Jude the Obscure, and aside from Fitzwilliam Darcy, all of Austen’s heroes in this category, especially Knightley from Emma and Edmund Bertram from Mansfield Park. 

Jude, Mr. Knightley, and Edmund Bertram

Personally, I tend to lean toward the beta types (Yes, I’m Team Edward). While physically I may be drawn to the sexy, charismatic male, my heart and soul are drawn to those men who have a quiet resolve; the ones with old souls and great depth of character. You know what they say – still waters run deep. Even so, my first to heroes fit in the alpha category.

   

Take Alex Fraser, my hero in The Promise of Change. Alex, a.k.a. the Earl of Rutherford, is one of England’s most eligible bachelors. He has all the boyish charm of Hugh Grant, carries the polish of generations of earls, has the work ethic of his commoner grandfathers and mother, and playboy lifestyle notwithstanding, he has a deep respect for women that prevents him from falling into the unforgiving category of womanizer. Alex is alpha with an air of sophistication. He’s never married, preferring casual flings with beautiful women who have no illusions of marriage. That is, of course, until he meets my heroine, Sarah.

In Rescuing Lacey, Luke Hancock is the polar opposite of Alex, but an alpha
male nonetheless. Where Alex is polished, Luke is rugged. Where Alex is wealthy, Luke lives modestly. But Luke’s sex appeal is undeniable, as my heroine Lacey can attest to. Beach-bum-gorgeous, Luke is a man’s man. A pilot, outdoor guide and environmentalist, with a painful past, Luke is alpha with a few rough edges.

Now enter Josh Ryan. My hero in Dreams of Perfection, Book #1 in the Dreams Come True series, is beta all the way. Josh is the best-friend, the one who’s always there. His frank opinions often guide my heroine, Darcy, through the pitfalls of her romantic fairytale notions. He’s her Mr. Knightley. He knows Darcy inside and out, and loves her despite her foibles. As the story unfolds, Josh is pitted against Blake Garrett, a true alpha, for Darcy’s affections. Will his steadfastness pay off? Or will the charming Blake make Darcy’s dreams of perfection come true?

I must admit, it’s fun writing a beta for a change. I think they are more complex in many ways than alphas, and thus a little more challenging to write.

Finally, there's Nathan Maxwell, my sexy southern gentleman in Ship of Dreams, Book #2 in the Dreams Come True series. He's alpha with charm. Rhett Butler but without the jaded reputation. Nathan gives my heroine, Laura, a run for her money, who falls for his charm when she should be focusing on her professional goals. But who can resist a hot guy with a southern accent, who's a gentleman to boot? Not me, that's for sure.

Who’s your favorite? Are you Team Jacob and Gale, or Team Edward and Peeta? I’d love to hear which archetype stirs your blood. Or your heart.

Bringing (Subtly) Sexy Back

Who doesn’t lust after a steamy-fog-up-your-reading-glasses-where’s-my-fan love scene? Lori Foster, Delilah Devlin, Lisa Kleypas, are just a few authors that come to mind when I think about love scenes that make me squirm.

But I also applaud a good subtle-leave-things-to-your-imagination love scene, be it in books or movies. Some of the most sensual scenes I’ve read omit the graphic details, allowing my juicy little imagination to finish the scene, and leave me just as breathless as the explicit ones.

So, what can an author do to achieve that breathless love scene without all the salacious details?

·        Build sexual tension. Without building sexual tension between the characters from the beginning, even the most graphic sex scene seems methodical and devoid of passion. Dialogue that sizzles, using tools like double-entendre, is a great way to ratchet up the tension. Intimate settings, telling glances and innocent but electrifying physical contact can really get the blood pumping.

·        Create an emotional connection. The hero and heroine should have an emotional connection, even if they don’t yet realize it. But that’s not the only connection needed. The author should also create a connection between the reader and the characters. If the reader doesn’t care about the characters, why should she care whether the hero and heroine are about to jump in the sack. That’s where plot and character development are so important. Without them, the love scene is just, well, pornography.

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·        Arouse anticipation. This not only applies to the hero and heroine, but to the reader as well. Make the reader want the love scene as much as the characters. A few close calls and near misses between the hero and heroine work to heighten the anticipation.

·        Stimulate the senses. Evoking the five (and sometimes six) senses adds depth and emotion. Do the hero’s hands feel calloused and rough as they graze the heroine’s silky skin? Does the heroine smell of citrus and rain? What is the sound of their breathing, the taste of their mingled breath? Do the hero’s eyes turn dark with desire?

·        Reveal the physical and emotional reaction. Describing what is physically happening isn’t enough. What are the characters feeling, both physically and emotionally? How do they react to touch, taste, smell? What are their physiologic responses? Eyes dilating, pulses racing, knees weakening? What are their emotional responses? Are they dazzled? Enraptured? Shaken to their core?  

·        Close the door. Provoke the reader’s imagination by leaving her panting for more. Insinuate where the scene is going and then close the bedroom door.

The following is an excerpt from my second novel, Rescuing Lacey.

Lacey turned to go into the kitchen, “Well, guess we should finish up the—”

               Luke grabbed her hand before she could finish her sentence and pulled her into his arms. Lowering his lips to hers, he muttered, “They can wait. I can’t.” He’d waited patiently all night for this. No interruptions from dogs, best friends, or rogue waves. Just the two of them. Alone.

               She rose up to meet him. He nipped her lower lip then, caressed it with his tongue, before taking it between his lips again. She groaned low in her throat, as she raised her arms to wrap them around his neck, twining her fingers in his hair. He dropped his head to press kisses along her jaw, inhaling the scent of her rosemary and lavender.

His head swam with it. With the feel of her body against his, the taste of her lips, the sound of her rasping breath. Why had he waited so long? How had he waited so long? Only her refusal could stop him now.

“Lacey . . . Lacey,” he whispered. “So beautiful.”

He returned to her lips again and again, unable to quench his thirst for them. Their sweetness only left him craving more.

               The heat between them built to epic proportions. No matter how close they became, it wasn’t close enough. One hand clasped the nape of her neck while his other hand slipped down her bare back, his fingertips skimming along her spine, raising goose bumps. 

               She shivered in response. Her tongue grazed his, as their breath mingled in whispery sighs and soft moans. She slipped her leg between his thighs as his hands slid to her waist, before venturing further to her hips, pressing her snugly against him.

               His touch was like fire. It consumed her, and she willingly gave in to the greedy flames. Her hands slipped beneath his shirt, skimming her nails along his bare skin, his answering moan inflaming her until she thought she would spontaneously combust.

               But something else lay beneath the passion. Something intangible, more intimate than the physical response alone. Whatever it was left her aching with a need so fierce, so primal, it nearly brought her to her knees. 

               He lifted her dress, sliding his hands along her thighs, around to her bottom. Her breath caught, her legs trembled. She didn’t know how much longer they would support her.

               His hands glided back up her arms. “Say my name,” he muttered against her lips, as he slipped the straps of her dress from her shoulders.

               “Luke,” she whispered against his mouth.

               “Again.”

               “Luke.”

               And it sounded like a benediction. 

Breathless yet? What do you prefer! Love scenes that end with a closed door? Or do you like the heat of something more explicit?

What's in a Name

People often ask me how I name my characters. Do I put names in a hat and draw? Do I research the name’s meaning? Do I just pull them out of the air?

No, no, and no. When it comes to naming my hero and heroine, and oftentimes, my secondary characters, I put a great deal of thought into it. I don’t have any children, but I imagine I put just as much thought and effort into naming my characters as I would have my children. In many ways, my characters are like my children. I give birth to them, nurture them, and watch them grow and develop, then set them free to make their way in the big, dangerous world we live in.

So, for starters, I keep a running list of names that I hear or see that I think would make great character names. When an idea for a story forms, I think about the characters, who they are, where they’ve been, and what name suits their personalities, or vice versa, what name is completely opposite from their personalities.

In my second novel, Rescuing Lacey, my heroine is a tough-as-nails photojournalist who doesn’t take any guff. In her case, the perfect name was one that didn’t suit her at all. Something frilly and girlie, like … well ... Lacey:

The name Lacey Sommers, and all it implied, didn’t fit the woman standing in front of him. There was certainly nothing frilly about her. Tall, tanned, and muscular, she couldn’t be accused of being girlie, but neither was she the care-worn, jaded photographer he’d envisioned. A knot of desire formed in his stomach.

As for my hero’s name in the same book, I wanted something masculine, something that would sound sexy when whispered in a moment of passion, yet also have an important ring to it, thus, William Lucas Hancock, or Luke for short. Luke works well for the beach-bum wilderness guide Lacey thinks he is, but William Lucas Hancock works equally as well for the Ph.D. environmentalist.

Dreams of Perfection, Book #1 in the Dreams Come True series, is about a successful romance

writer whose real-life boyfriends never live up to her own perfect heroes. She experiences a Pygmalion romance when her latest hero comes to life.  The heroine’s quirky mother is a Jane Austen scholar who names her children after her favorite Austen characters:

And thanks to her mother’s chosen obsession, er, profession, Darcy and her siblings bore some combination of the names of her mother’s favorite Austen characters: Darcy Elizabeth, Anne Elinor, and Frederick Brandon.

They were easy to name — I simply pulled out my Jane Austen bible (that’s the Jane Austen Anthology for any Jane Austen newbies) and put her characters’ names together in new combinations until I was satisfied.

The men in the book took more time to name. I relied on my list of names, and added several more, looking for the right combination of first, middle, and last names that would fit my character’s roles and personalities. For Darcy’s best friend, I wanted a warm, comfortable name, one that said nice guy. Josh Ryan (Joshua Michael Ryan) was born. For the hero-come-to-life, I needed a name that sounded like a dashing romance novel hero, thus Blake Garrett, trauma surgeon, um … came to life.

Finally, for a novella I have in the works, Romancing Dr. Love, my heroine is a brainy psychology professor, who has based her entire career on the hypothesis that love is simply a chemical reaction. But she finds she must defend her science when she meets her antithesis in the form of a handsome, romantic literature professor. 

For her I needed something both fitting and ironic. I chose Samantha as her first name, shortening it to Sam, since she’s grown up with more masculine thought-processes when it comes to love. But don’t let that fool you, she’s all woman underneath. The last name, of course is the irony. The doctor who boils love down to nothing more than a chemical reaction fittingly bears that word for her last name. I’m still working on the hero’s name, but you can be sure it will be something sexy and romantic.

So that’s it. That’s the process for naming my characters. If you’re an author, how do you name your characters? If you’re a reader, what makes you love a character

A Story is Born

I am often asked where my stories come from. My response: everywhere.

The Promise of Change is the result of a trip to Christ Church College, Oxford University in Oxford, England. I spent three summers taking a course as part of Oxford University’s Adult Education Program. A way cool experience! You can read more about my experiences here.

A trip I took to Costa Rica with my husband inspired Rescuing Lacey. An actual experience on a small plane while in that country appears in the book and was the first chapter I wrote. The story grew in both directions from there, but first I had to ask why was my heroine there? What was at stake? And what role did the hero have in her journey?

Now, I have no idea what inspired my latest book, Dreams of Perfection, which is the first in a three-book series. Also, when I began writing Dreams of Perfection, I had no plans to write a series. For Dreams, I started thinking about what would happen if a romance writer’s hero actually came to life, a la Pygmalion, and the story took off from there. About a third of the way into the book, I realized two secondary characters, Laura and Millie, each deserved their own stories, and the Dreams Come True series was born. Laura’s story, Ship of Dreams, is available on Amazon. The "first meet" scene from Ship of Dreams actually happened to me. When the inspiring incident occurred, I hadn’t yet started Ship of Dreams. I had the characters, and I had the premise, but I didn’t know how the story would start or how my characters would meet. Then, voila, an incident with my shoe. Perfect.

Dreams of Her Own, Book #3 in the Dreams Come True Series, features Millie's journey, and will be out Fall 2015.

Beyond the series, I have lots of ideas percolating in my brain – so many that I’m having a hard time deciding which one to write next. One in particular that I’m leaning toward was inspired by one of Sting’s old songs that I’ve always loved. Another sprang from an RWA workshop I attended way back in 2012, and yet another grew out of my, ahem, thirty-year class reunion in 2011. Then there’s the idea that came to me while riding down a two-lane road through Sonoma County, California, where my husband and I were vacationing, when I saw a dilapidated Victorian house sitting on the corner of a forgotten vineyard.

So many stories, so little time. Sigh.

In sum, my story ideas come from travel, songs, experiences, and the firmament (as in Dreams of Perfection). I can see a person standing on the corner and wonder what her story is. And since I can’t know, I invent. And another story is born!