Letting Characters Choose Their Path

Please help me welcome fellow Wild Rose Press author Becca Dale to the keyboard today.Welcome, Becca, take it away!

Hello everyone. Thanks for inviting me here today, Sarah. Since I don’t want this to be just a promo spot, so, let’s talk about the crazy world in my head. My characters are often adamant about what they want/need/believe, and I have to figure a way around their stubbornness and a fit their story into the outline in front of me. However, I have never had the hero refuse to have sex with the heroine.

The prequel to Sweet Restraint, Sweet Temptation, was easy to write, short and to the point while still carrying some intense passion and emotion. Consequently, it is in the Wilder catalog. When it came time to write Sweet Restraint, I expected more of the same. Unfortunately, the initial heroine gave in too soon and resented herself and the hero for it – sigh start over – new heroine, different setting and circumstances. Fortunately, the next two actually liked each other. Fantastic. Problem? Gavin not only liked Savannah, he respected her and refused to rush her.

Come on! How am I suppose to write erotic romance if the hero keeps being a good guy?

I discovered, after several starts and stops, that Gavin was as eager to get Savannah into bed as I was for him to get her there, but I had to find creative ways to work around his sense of honor and self-restraint. I could have written Sweet Restraint with less passion, but since my editor expected to keep it in the same heat level as Sweet Temptation that wasn’t possible. Next plan, push the issue and risk her locking up on him like the previous heroine had. Bad idea. Final option, let him express himself, however he saw fit and quit telling him what to do.

All right, Mr.-Gotta-Do-It-My-Way, what do you want to do? Keep it hot but don’t cross your personal boundaries or hers. When I stepped out of it a bit and quit trying to make my characters do what I wanted, the story flowed. I laid out what I needed to happen start/middle/end but left how they made the sexual portion of the journey up to them. I soon discovered that Gavin is a stubborn but very imaginative hero.

So did it work? Well, the heat level is up there and then some, so I think so, but I will leave the official verdict for readers to decide.

Savannah Jensen’s well-planned life offers everything a woman could want except a driving passion to override self-imposed rules. At twenty-nine, the clock isn’t screaming, but it has begun to tick loudly, so when a friend convinces her to attend a bridal blow-out sale, she’s not exactly excited about the reminder that she is alone, especially when a gorgeous man sweeps her into a sensual dance that threatens everything she has ever believed in.

Gavin Ferguson doesn’t believe love exists, but when he picks up the tuxedos for his sister’s wedding, fate, lust, and the family curse throw him a curve. Suddenly, he longs to convince the beautiful woman in ivory that she should be his—at least until he can sate the sexual fire she ignites. Yet, distrust born of disappointment and betrayal insists he protect his heart from the lie of perpetual happiness shining in her eyes.

Once Savannah and Gavin dance, raw desire, too hot to ignore, sweeps them toward insanity with nothing to cling to except sweet restraint.

Leave a comment on this blog for a chance to receive the first in the series, Sweet Temptation. Don’t forget to leave a way to contact you and preferred format.

Blog: http://beccadale.blogspot.com/?zx=e75a2e47d1148f92

Buy Links:

Sweet Restraint:  http://www.wilderroses.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=865

Sweet Temptation:  http://www.wilderroses.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=767

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whisper your fantasy to me, baby

Today's blog is by author Becca Dale.  Make sure to leave a comment here and well as at her blog for your change to win.

Whisper Your Fantasy to Me, Baby: The value of secret dreams.

The heroine in my latest release, Surrender at Sea, confronts a bit of forbidden fruit that ultimately represents everything she secretly desires—joy, love, and respect. In her case, as is often the situation in romance, physical desire ultimately fulfills unspoken dreams. Such fantasies are frequently too precious or painful or even embarrassing to be consciously acknowledged, but they guide our choices and our hopes all the same.

Growing up, I longed for a considerate partner who would put the seat down so I did not need to shower at three AM, share in the daily chores such as dishes, and show affection both in public or private. [Sorry, Daddy.] This is a simplistic example of the value of secret dreams. My father did not feel the need to help with the housework, or put the seat down for that matter, partly because of the generation and environment in which he was raised and partly because of the nature of his job that kept him long hours in the field. However, my mother usually worked those fields beside him. It always seemed to me that he had a responsibility to her as well to the farm.

In his defense, Dad provided the fodder for my perfect husband fantasy by offering both good and bad examples of male behavior. It was his chivalrous habit of walking on the outside of the sidewalk to protect my mother from vehicle splash; his hand at her waist or on her arm as they spoke; and the way he sought her out the moment a waltz played, even if they had to dance in the alleyway of the milking parlor, that made me long for such tacit affection. This unspoken dream hovered in my head and tinted my view of the male population.

Today, my husband is literally the man of my dreams and so much more. I am lucky. This I understand without doubt. However, other fantasies, many voiced only to myself, continue to guide me in countless ways. Unspoken and sometimes even unacknowledged desires drive us forward or hold us back from true fulfillment. They can deal with simple things, like those mentioned above, or explore far more intimate issues that could potentially place a person in a position of ridicule. Romantic literature allows writers and readers to explore such things without fear of repercussions because it is, after all, fiction. Before you ask, no I do not secretly yearn for a boy toy like Jess in Surrender does, but an escape to the Bahamas would be lovely if someone has a spare ticket to share.

So what hidden dreams and desires make you shiver in the night? What do you secretly yearn for? Now that you think about it, has such a dream been fulfilled? Share your fantasy and read or comment on those that others share. Make me laugh, cry, or just say aw and you could win a copy of Surrender at Sea and a secret bonus just for playing along. Remember, I may need to find you when the contest is over so mention where you heard about this blog or simply check back to see who won. [NOTE: Off the Keyboard is not labeled as an adult page so keep your responses PG13 or cleaner, please. ;-D]

If you would like to explore this topic in a more intimate setting, pop over to Becca’s Retreat and share away. You must comment here as well though if you want to be in on the contest. (comments are at the top of the post) Thanks for visiting and thank you, Sarah, for allowing me to drop by. I hope all of you have your very best secrets fantasies come true.

Check out Becca's new release, Surrender at Sea.  Now available at The Wilder Rose Press.







 

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