Happy Valentines Day!

 

It is almost Valentine’s Day.  I hope that you have a sweetheart to share the love with.  If not, curl up with a romantic book and find love in the words of a Romance Novel.  There is nothing as heartwarming as a book filled with the romantic gestures of a strong yet sensitive male character.  Might I suggest Enchanted Heart or Catch a Shooting Star?  Both are Historical Romance novels with a western flair.  If you are in to Contemporary Romance and action/adventure, you might like Ripple Effect or L'Inked.  And of course, Golden Dreams will light your Kindle on fire! All of my books are filled with romance in every sense of the word. (links on this page!)

I love to get into the mind of each male character and explore the different expectations, reactions and ultimately, their romantic gestures that turn the scene around.  When you think there can be no good outcome from an argument, somehow, he wins her heart.  And with the female characters, I love to give them the strength that no one expects, a tenacity that is astonishing to the male characters. Sometimes, it is respected by them and sometimes displeasing to them, which makes the story more delectable.

Romance is not as easy to write as one might think.  You have to know the character that you are developing, both male and female.  In your mind, you have to live their emotions, their trials and tribulations, and their joyous interaction when they finally realize that love conquers every adversity.

All the while, there must be supporting characters and situations that either help or hinder the love that is truly meant to be.  It is an ongoing adventure just to find out whether or not they will end up together.  With twists and turns and seemingly unresolvable circumstances, Romance Novels keep the pages turning, while filling the heart with the hope that every love story will have a happy ending.

This is why I love to write about Romance.  I love to create situations where the characters must realize that they were meant to be together, but only after they struggle with many reasons why they were not. 

Give love a try.  Find it in the heart of your significant other or find it in a book where romance is the catalyst of true bliss.

I wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Cliffhanger

Before I wrote L’Inked, I had always composed sweet romantic stories where I would take the reader up to the point of virtual bliss and then I transitioned to the next scene with prolific prose. To me, it was not unlike a portrait of a beautiful woman who was dressed in clothes that hid the most intimate parts and it was up to the readers, or the admirers of the portrait, to peel back the layers in their imaginative minds. And that was risqué enough for me.

But after seeing the attention that Fifty Shades of Grey received, my son asked me why I didn’t write a book like that. I told him that I would never write about BDSM but I that could attempt to write an erotic novel. I toyed with the idea, hovering for some time on that diving-board of doubt, before I finally made myself vault right into the deep end.

All I had to do was to take that proverbial step over the precipice of rising literary ecstasy and describe the scenes in full, provocative detail in which the characters triumphed in a wide range of exotic, erotic experiences. For me, it was simply one more summit to surpass.  But, it wasn’t as difficult as I’d thought it would be.

I wrote the book, complementing  it with as many carnal components as I could without compromising the plot, and I dedicated it to my son. If he had not encouraged me to write such an exhilarating example of the sensual relationship between a man and a woman, I may never have stepped over that cliff.

And after I finished the novel, I began to receive compliments about it. My readers said that they were “sucked into the story” and that the sex scenes only brought the characters closer together, binding them both physically and emotionally. You, too, will be ecstatically amazed that Marc and Cassie balance their challenging struggle to remove the curse that the Voodoo Queen placed on them with exciting love-making that will “blow your mind”.

Many of its readers also commented that the book would make a great movie. So, after lots of research (and plenty of procrastination), I adapted it into a screenplay. This was another new adventure that I postponed because of my lack of confidence in my ability. But this time, after revving myself up with reassurances, I hit the air running and had the first draft finished in a mere three days. Again, it was not as hard as I had thought it would be.

My next giant jump will be to pitch the screenplay to potential producers, directors and investors. Hopefully, I’ll have an agent to assist me. But first, I’ll have to pitch it to an agent. (Oh my!) I’ve put this off for months, still held back by both the fear of failure and the anxiety of success. I have stretched my leg out a few times, but have quickly retracted it. Now, I must take a deep breath and soar off that cliff, knowing that, whether it’s a crash dive or a smooth touchdown, landing is inevitable. And, I know that bolting forward is imperative because the bluff of uncertainty is even more terrifying than the leap of faith.

Read an exhilarating expert from L’Inked here 

Buy L’Inked here