The Unspoken Rules of Romance: Part IV

Oho, I am long overdue in finishing this series. I'm sure you thought I abandoned it, or could think of no more wrongs to be committed in romance. I'll make no excuses for you, only to say that life got the best of me for a few weeks there. Nonetheless, it's without further ado that I introduce my final "taboos" in romance.

Rape
I've considered going in a few different directions with this category, as I'm pulled numerous ways. On the one hand, I think of contemporary romance's predecessors; the "bodice rippers" that featured heroines who had no right to be desirous of another and therefore had to be forcibly taken. Am I the only one who thinks of Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" when they think of these? Rape in which the hero is the rapist is blasphemous. Rape in which the heroine is attacked by another is depressing. Readers tend to shy away from both these days. Tread carefully.

Incest
After you're done gagging, consider this: there are some writers who are interested in this. An October 2011 thread on Nanowrimo had an author posing the question of whether anyone had ventured into this realm with success. Specifically, the would-be author wanted to do a brother/sister romance. You can imagine the response. The thread has since been deleted. While I don't think I should have to explicitly state this; I will nonetheless. Do NOT write an incestuous romance. Readers don't even want to consider it. The end.

Domestic Abuse
When I read a novel, I fall in love with the hero. I am the heroine. Er go, I don't want my hero knocking the make up off of my heroine's face. I don't want him getting angry enough to shake her, shove her, intimidate her with the threat of violence, or any way behave as if he might do so after the story ends. If he does, I will not pull for said romance. Instead, I will pull for a bigger man to show up and scrub the concrete with his face or some variation thereof. So, let's leave the abusers out of romance, O.K.?

Sexual Dysfunction
As I've mentioned, the hero of any novel belongs to me for a spell. Part of this unspoken agreement requires him to be able to perform sexually without incident. He should not have erectile dysfunction. Better still, I don't want anyone to have any sort of sexual dysfunction, sexually transmitted disease, or anything at all that might make me squeamish. In fact, this blog post is starting to make me squeamish.

In creating this series on The Unspoken Rules of Romance, it was my hope to gather some of the most prevalent taboos or reader expectations and offer them in one place. Some of the taboos I've presented are able to be violated, provided writers do so with foreknowledge of what they're up against and an understanding of why they're up against it. I won't go into which ones fit this category, however, suffice it to say that domestic abuse and incest won't make it.
I do hope you've enjoyed the series.

Missed Part of the Series?

The Unspoken Rules of Romance: Part I

The Unspoken Rules of Romance: Part II

The Unspoken Rules of Romance: Part III

Heroes Live Forever

Elinor Hawthorne has inherited a house haunted by the ghosts of two medieval knights, Basil Manneville and Guy Guiscard. Basil is the man of her dreams, her knight in shining armor. She falls in love with him and he with her. Basil soon realizes she needs to live a normal life, a happy life with a mortal. 

A lifetime later fate intervenes. Basil, still in love with Elinor, is told her spirit lives on in a young woman and he is given another chance at life to find her. 

ExcerptAt the top of the stairs, goose bumps suddenly dotted Elinor’s skin and the hair on her arms stood on end. She glanced back, but didn’t see anything strange, or more to the point, Lucy’s ghost knight.

About the Author

I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.
My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream.
I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, four rescue dogs and a rescue horse.

Links 

http://www.chriskarlsen.com/index.html

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/chriskarlsenwriter

http://pinterest.com/chriskarlsen/

Character Interview w/ Michelle Tucker of Crushed Love

Twenty-year-old Michelle Tucker finds herself devastated when an obsession for dating the wrong type of man claims her freedom and relationship with her four-year-old. Filled with heartrending betrayal, devastation, adversity and more, Crushed Love follows Michelle through a gauntlet of sacrifice and redemption as she struggles to find herself and piece back together her life.

Michelle, what was your childhood like?

Normal. Considering the type of childhood my best friend had, very normal. Parents were and still are happily married and have been very active in church for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I didn’t have everything I wanted – a fancy car, designer purses or clothes or shoes – but my momma and daddy made sure I’d everything I needed.

What made you want to tell your story?

Because so many women in today’s day and age can relate to me. Falling for and being in love with the wrong type of man – a.k.a. “Mr. Wrong” – not realizing the risks and consequences that come with dating that kind.

What’s your biggest regret?

Well, actually there’re two. Wish I would’ve been a bit more cautious about the man I chose to bring around my son because, in no way, was he the type of role model my son needed. My second is hurting his father the way I did. Took him for granted and cheated on him with I don’t know how many men, you know, like most women do at such a young age. Treat good men like trash and no good men like kings. Naïve, young, dumb and stupid and don’t realize it until after the fact – when it’s too late.

How much of your experiences are circumstance and how much are poor choices?

Can’t speak for every woman, but I’m sure most will agree; most all my experiences were poor choices. Sad thing about it is my momma and daddy saw it the whole time and was trying to tell me to do better, but did I listen? Nope. Just kept on. Thought I was grown and knew everything, which’s how I wound up in the predicament I’m in now. Incarcerated.

By your own admission, you have an obsession with dating the wrong type of guy. Most girls can relate to feeling that thump, thump for Mr. Dead Wrong. But how did you get from attraction to an unhealthy desire?

The night he slapped me out of my sleep and threatened to kill me if my son’s father stepped foot anywhere near my house. I was like, really? What type of man tries to hinder a child’s father from visiting and making sure his son is taken care of? But I can’t place blame on him because he was only doing what I allowed to go on for so long, like so many. It’s like, at the time you don’t realize what you’re doing, because you love this man so much and want to make it work with him that you’ll allow and do just about anything to make that happen, even, subconsciously, place your child in harm’s way by trusting and allowing him around your child, a terrible decision.

What was the scariest moment of your life?

Watching the police car in front of the one – I was in – drive away with my son in the backseat. Hearing him cry out my name, knowing there was nothing I could do or say to fix what I’d done. Even though he was only four at the time, he was smart enough to know what it meant whenever the police showed up at our house, because the only other times they’d shown up was when the man I was dating at the time had put his hands on me in front of him and when the lady living in the project directly behind us was killed.

What was the happiest moment of your life?

No-brainer. The day I had my son. Despite the circumstance of his father being heartbroken over not knowing whether he was the father, I’ll never forget the tearful smile he had and way he was overwhelmed with joy at knowing Kavion could possibly be his. That he’d finally have the son he’d always talked about having since our first date. To know I played a part in giving that to him is something I’ll never be able to put into words.

Who do you owe an apology? Why?

First and foremost, God. I wish I wouldn’t have relied so strongly on my momma’s prayer and went to him in prayer for myself and my son. Who knows? Maybe I wouldn’t be in this position if I had’ve. But it’s hard to predict what would’ve happened because God allows certain things for a reason. Only if I’d known back then what I know now, I’d have made better decisions. Lesson learned. All I can do now is concentrate on what’s ahead and try to forgive myself for hurting my son, momma and daddy, something I never thought would actually happen because I’d everything under control, right? Nonsense! I was as dumb and selfish as could be. And to think, I was putting other mothers down through boasting and bragging about how great of a mother I was, when all along, I was being more of a burden to my child than the man I was dating at the time because I was allowing it to happen. Not him. Me! I was the ring leader. I was the one who said, ‘roll up a blunt,” knowing my son was just down the hall, in his room, sleep, with the door wide open. I was the one allowing him to call me all types of ‘b****es and h**s. Me! Wanna know the worst part? I don’t think I’ll ever be able forgive myself for allowing my son to see something like that.

Give some advice to women who might be in a predicament similar to yours.

I know you think dating Mr. Wrong is cool or fun or whatever, but it’s not worth it. Agony and heartbreak and being lied to on a constant basis. It’s not worth it. You deserve better than to be called a b**** or h* or only to be called upon when sex is needed. Find a good man and hold on tight. Do not take him for granite and let go of his hand to grab the hand of a man who couldn’t care less about whether you and your child starve to death. Because there’s a man out there who’ll try to get you to sell your food stamps, who’ll leave you high and dry without a pot to piss in and not think a thing about it while he’s out doing only God knows what with the money you gave him, while you and your baby are at home starving. Don’t be that woman. Don’t be me. Choose better than me. Be better. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself in here because of something that could’ve easily been avoided had you listened and took heed.

About the Author 

Tavares Marquez Jones was born in Swainsboro, Georgia on March 30, 1986, the first child of Lillie Jones, the second son of Willie Dawson. His father was a pastor and entrepreneur, his mother a housekeeper at a nursing home, then an assembly worker in both an environmental technology and energy conservation plant and a poultry factory. He lived in Swainsboro through high school, graduated in 2004, and received a full football scholarship to Middle Tennessee State University. After enjoying a wonderful first three years both in the classroom and on the field, he fractured a bone in his right foot in a game towards the end of his senior season. Because of injury, he was unable to perform to the best of his ability in front of scouts. Therefore, his draft stock plummeted. He went from being projected as a mid-to-late round pick in the NFL Draft to not getting picked up at all. For about two or three years, he worked a few jobs here and there, an assembly worker at a Nissan plant, maintenance man at a nursing home, replenishment associate at JC Penney, before wholeheartedly rediscovering a passion he had kept secret from everyone – including his mother – WRITING. He writes novels with themes that include poverty, love, Christianity, inspiration, tragedy and perseverance. He finds writing very refreshing, inspirational, and exciting.

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Good Things Come in Tall Packages

Dr. Joe Connors and socialite lawyer Lucy Alcott come from two different worlds, two very different cultures. But will those differences keep them apart when their attraction is too strong to be denied?

When socialite Savannah attorney Lucy Alcott entered the Hyatt looking for fun, martinis, and hot sex, the last thing she expected to find was Dr. Joe Connors. Joe is Lucy's opposite in every way: he’s dark, she’s pale; he’s tall and reserved, she's tiny and vivacious; he wears his compassion and deep spirituality on his sleeve, she wears designer bags and clothes. That night at the Hyatt Lucy found herself not in the arms of a casual encounter but reaching out to a man who challenged the walls she had built around her heart—and when he gave her his number, Lucy knew Joe deserved a woman as warm and tender as he was. So she threw his number away. When an unexpected meeting six months later brings them together again, will Joe overcome Lucy’s fear of losing her heart, or are their two very different worlds destined to keep them apart forever? 

Excerpt from 

Good Things Come in Tall Packages

The man wanted her.

Lucy felt the passion rolling off of Joe like tidal waves, and she was more than ready to let him knock her off her feet.

“Shall we go upstairs, Joe? I could use a quiet moment with you before we say goodbye again. Every time we’ve been together it’s been in a crowd with music pulsing in the background and drinks in our hands. Let’s be real. Let’s go upstairs and spend some alone time. I won’t bite. Unless you want me to.”

His big smile lit up the room like Georgia sunshine. He stood and proffered his hand, looming above her like an awesome Egyptian statue. Lucy was dwarfed by almost everyone, but Joe was enormous by anyone’s standards. When she’d first met him, despite the fact he was at a medical convention, she’d assumed he played for the NFL. The fact that he possessed brains and brawn made him ideal for bed sport. It hadn’t worked out that night, but tonight…Lucy could hardly wait.

“Should we say goodbye to Ben and Maura?” Lucy cocked her head to scan the crowded room. She spotted them in the center of the ballroom floor, Jessie sandwiched between her parents, standing on her dad’s feet as the happy newlyweds shared a family dance.

“Let’s not bother them. Come on, sweetness.” Joe effortlessly pulled Lucy to her sore feet and put his strong arm around her waist. She hobbled a bit. “Shall I carry you, my Southern Belle?”

A Word With Ann Montclair

I grew up sneak-reading all my mom's steamy romance novels. She kept them high on a shelf in her closet and warned, "You better not read those..." Of course, I read them. And now I write them! I strive to take readers on a fun, emotionally charged, and highly sensual ride to happily ever after. Available now: THE BILLIONAIRE'S BAUBLE (Soul Mate Publishing 2011), ONE WET SUMMER (Musa Publishing 2012), and GOOD THINGS COME IN TALL PACKAGES (Musa Publishing 2012). Next up: LADY IN DEED, my debut novel in historical romance set in Tudor England (Musa Publishing Winter 2012).

I am a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and a community college English professor. I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York with my sexy hero and our teenage son. Our grown daughter lives in Los Angeles, California--my hometown.

Thanks for learning a little about me. You can contact me at ann@annmontclair.com.LINKS

Web site: http://www.annmontclair.com

Blog: http://annmontclair.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AnnMontclairFanPage

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/AnnMontclair

Buy link: http://www.musapublishing.com/

Interview with the Author Ian Thomas Healy Talks Candidly About The Archmage

Tell us about your latest book.

The Archmage is a sequel to the novel Just Cause, starring the super-speedy Mustang Sally along with the rest of the Just Cause superhero team. In it, I explore the use of magic in a superhero setting. In this case, a character named Wolfgang Frasier has been slaughtering other mages around the world and taking their power for himself. He’s gotten so powerful that there is only one other mage remaining besides him, the hero Stratocaster, who is a member of the Lucky Seven hero team that Sally trained with at the beginning of Just Cause. If Frasier manages to kill Stratocaster, his power becomes absolute and he could plunge the entire world into darkness, becoming its total ruler. This is, of course, his goal. Sally and the other heroes have no choice but to try to stop him, even though his power is so great that he can call armies of the dead out of the ground and turn anyone captured to his side. There’s a nifty bit of time travel thanks to magic going awry that sends the team back to the 1870s, and of course some great intrigue and epic, cinematic battles. At the same time, Sally’s relationship with Jason is growing much more complex and suffering growing pains all its own.

What is Local Hero Press?

LHP is an imprint I created specifically for the release of my novel-length work and collections. I didn’t want to simply release them under my own name as the publisher because with such a wide variety of genres under my belt, I wanted something to tie them all together. This way, if someone buys The Archmage, likes it, and looks to see what else LHP has to offer, they might discover Blood on the Ice or Pariah’s Moon or Troubleshooters.

You do write in a variety of genres. Tell us about some of them.

I don’t like to be pigeonholed, so I don’t force myself to stay in one genre if I’m interested in writing in a different one. This goes against common wisdom of building a brand, from what I’ve seen on the internet, so I’m forming my own uncommon wisdom instead. That again ties back to the LHP imprint by creating a common thread beyond just my name. I follow my muse, so I’ve gone from superheroes (Just Cause, The Archmage) to funny science fiction (The Milkman), to cyberpunk (Troubleshooters), to fantasy/Western (Pariah’s Moon), to urban fantasy sports (Blood on the Ice), to religious symbolism (Hope and Undead Elvis) and even more. And if my agent sells The Guitarist, I can add “Mainstream Young Adult” to my genres.

You have an agent? But I thought you were self-published.

I do have an agent, Carly Watters of PS Literary Agency in Toronto. She represents my Young Adult work only, and when we discussed the possibility of her representing me, we both agreed that she could still effectively represent a portion of my work and I could still effectively release my speculative and adult fiction without interfering with one another. I am, in fact, searching for a second literary agent to represent The Oilman’s Daughter, the epic steampunk/space opera that I coauthored with my dear friend Allison M. Dickson.

What’s it like working with another writer so closely on a project?

I’m not sure I have anything better to compare it to than a successful marriage. We worked very closely together on the project (two time zones separating us notwithstanding!). We had complete trust with each other, and were able to discuss what should have been extremely divisive and difficult issues not only with calm heads, but with a sense of joy that only two opposing viewpoints between dear friends can bring. The best thing about working with someone like that is going back through the manuscript and not being able to tell exactly who wrote which parts. That’s just awesome.



The Archmage, book 2 of the Just Cause Universe series, launches from all online retailers on September 1, 2012. Exclusive signed editions can be purchased directly from Local Hero Press (http://localheropress.ianthealy.com).

Find Ian on Twitter as @ianthealy, and follow Local Hero Press as @LocalHeroPress.
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorIanThomasHealy and http://www.facebook.com/LocalHeroPress
Author website: www.ianthealy.com

Virtual Book Blurb Blitz for Sugar Walls

Sugar Walls

by Mysti Holiday

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Emilie is dumped by her boyfriend, best friend Jack Voss offers a shoulder and a place to live--the other side of his duplex. He’s always there, fixing her problems, her car, her sink. Emilie doesn’t know what she’d do without him, or with the feelings she’s having for him. His shoulder doesn’t just offer comfort anymore; his touch is a turn-on. Their shared wall is the only thing keeping them from sharing a bedroom—and fanning the flames might risk breaking something that Jack can’t fix. 

EXCERPT:

Emilie hadn’t lied about the leak in her pipes. Just like she hadn’t broken her dishwasher, or the leg off her couch, or the alternator in her car on purpose. But, to be honest, it was almost a relief when those things happened, because they gave her an excuse to see Jack.

She’d called him first thing this morning when running water for her coffee had resulted in puddles beneath the sink. He’d come over the first chance he’d had and now he was on his hands and knees on the linoleum looking at the pipe that oozed moisture, oblivious to the woman behind him who was also soaking wet, albeit for an entirely different reason.

His ass looked good enough to take a big bite out of. Emilie couldn’t help herself; it was right

there, sticking out from under her kitchen sink, and she had to clench her hands into tight fists

to keep from grabbing it. Still, that didn’t keep her mind from wandering, and when one of his

hands reached out for a wrench, she pictured it on her, cupping her breasts, thumbs circling the

rosy buds. Instantly her nipples puckered, as tightly clenched as her hands, and her crotch dampened even more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mysti Holiday is the pseudonym of a very busy SAHM who dreams of warm climes and hot bodies.  Most people know she writes, but not what she writes about:  sexy men and the wanton women who love them.

She's married to a wonderful man who happily sacrifices himself for research, and she spends most of her days dreaming of interesting and unusual situations in which to place her characters.  But most of all, she's a sucker for a happy ending.

Publisher: http://www.wilderroses.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=89

Website: http://www.menagerieauthors.com/

Blog: http://www.menagerieauthors.blogspot.com/

The author will be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one random commenter and to one random host at the conclusion of the tour.

Follow the Tour

The Unspoken Rules of Romance: Part III

The more I write about what is and isn't acceptable in mainstream romance, the more I realize how restrictive the genre can be. Conventional romance calls for the rocky yet certain union of boy and girl through the course of one or several books. Romance outside the mainstream can vary from that in any number of ways, or fall within those very parameters, while still fitting within a niche market or interest. The challenge for a romance writer (and yes, this is more challenging for some than others) is to stay within the measures of acceptability to reader and industry, genre or sub-genre. Some writers purposely veer off course and do so with varying degrees of success. Those writers recognize the potential pitfalls of challenging industry and reader expectations and decide to do so nonetheless. Other writers are unaware of prohibitions and violate them, thereby becoming the unexpected target of rejection. At this point, I make no arguments about whether these rules should or shouldn't exist; I only acknowledge that they do. So, without further adieu, here are a few more taboos for you!

Anal Sex
We could speculate endlessly as to the reason this is shunned. Maybe it lacks the romanticism afforded missionary sex or maybe its exclusion is the reflection of a still-conservative society. My guess is that people might shy away in squeamishness from the reality of what the act actually entails. Whatever the reason, boy meets girl, boy wows girl, girl bends over for anal sex is not the recipe for success in mainstream, contemporary romance. By and large, the act is treated as a fetish of sorts by the industry, relegated to erotica and/or erotic romance.


Slavery
This is a sticky one. Philippa Gregory made a decent attempt at this in A Respectable Trade, acknowledging the inherent inequality and lack of real choice for at least one party in any romance that includes a slave. But this type of novel has an inherent ability to come off poorly, especially when the woman is the one enslaved. Without naming names for the sake of criticism, a particular interracial romance comes to mind, published in the last few years, that has taken quite a bit of flack for romanticizing the realities of the slave and master relationship. The most vocal of opponents made a point that I hadn't considered until made plain: How can their love truly be love, when one of them isn't free to love anyone else? Such is the state of just such a romance, robbed of the freedom of choice that pervades all true love. For this reason, I think it near to impossible to create a romance where at least one party is enslaved to other, and to do so without offending LOTS of people. I think it IS impossible to create a romance where one is a slave, the other master, and dominance is based on a long and sordid history of racial oppression, and to do so without offending LOTS of people. Wait. I take that back. I don't think Philippa Gregory suffered a ton of backlash, though some found the romance unconvincing. Something to think about, I suppose.


Addictions
Alcohol and drug addictions are OK for secondary characters, but they're generally considered unattractive and undesirable for either hero or heroine. Again, it's about creating the illusion of near-perfectness (for each other) while maintaining flaws that make the character realistic. A substance abuse addiction is not one of those flaws. Though I hesitate to paint this one with a sweeping stroke, I can see the lack of inclination a reader would have in accepting a hero who's slumped over a bottle most days. Maybe he'll get treatment, maybe he won't. Either way, he'll always carry the stigma of addiction. It's not fair, I know, but sometimes, that too much reality in a romance is unacceptable.
I'll admit now that I'm a hypocrite when it comes to this one. In my debut novel, Crimson Footprints, the heroine's younger sister struggles with a substance abuse problem. And while that isn't quite the same, the subject does get some play in the novel in any case. In the book's sequel, Crimson Footprints 2: New Beginnings, substance abuse is an issue to be tackled, bringing me in complete violation of this norm. So, we've learned that I'm a hypocrite, hardly against the breaking of a few meager rules. Essential to all this however, is my awareness that rules have been broken. Any writer who violates taboos without realizing it is in for a long bout of confusion and a few angry, unanticipated outbursts.

Well, that's all for now. Look forward to The Unspoken Rules of Romance Part IV in a few days, when we discuss a few more obvious and not-so-obvious taboos in mainstream romance.