I don't write scary books, but I do inject a smidgeon of danger into every story, like the threat to Arabella's little girls in Love & Turmoil.
My one foray, so far, into romantic suspense was a challenge to write because I had a hard time torturing my characters. I was unable to make situations truly dire and inevitably my humorous voice defused the tension. Portrait of a Girl is more of a romantic action adventure with a few thrills and chills.
In the story, the heroine, Heather, is under threat from Marcel, an enemy of her late father. I enjoyed creating a creepy villain and giving him a vile personality. But he had a softer side - it can't all be murder and mayhem - and a reason, however misguided, for his actions.
After a series of unfortunate events (ha!), Heather is whisked to the French countryside and kept prisoner in an abandoned chateau. Unbeknownst to her, Marcel has already dispatched one of his henchmen. That was a difficult scene to write and it still makes me uncomfortable. It broke my heart to sacrifice that character, but it had to be done in order to motivate another character's actions later in the book. Oh, the tangled webs we weave.
Later in the book, Heather is attempting an escape with the aid of another of Marcel's henchmen who's had a change of heart. There is danger from the environment as well as from the bad guys, and she needs to be physically strong in order to survive, and emotionally strong to outwit the henchman, who she doesn't completely trust. Lots of action and derring-do, like a deadly game of hide seek. She's soon on dry land (hint, hint) only to be faced with a new threat.
Underneath it all is the mystery of what Heather's father had done to warrant Marcel's ire, and what Marcel is searching for that is so dashed valuable. Uncovering those secrets threatens to destroy Heather's sense of self. Has her entire life been a lie? Well, as it turns out...
Oh, and there is a hero, he's quite yummy, and he aids in her rescue at the end.
Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. She spends her days writing spicy contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and historical romance. When not torturing her heroes and heroines, she's in her kitchen baking something delicious. She lives in Nova Scotia with her patient husband, two spoiled cats, and five hens.
5 comments:
Luanna, I can see your humor in this post about scary scenes. Do you plot out the "series of unfortunate events" that befall your characters or do they come to you as you write?
I read "Portrait of a Girl" and it was a terrific, at times gut clenching read! loved it and looking forward to more....
Villa Grace
Luanna, Portrait of a Girl may be more of an action adventure story, but it sounds like you have some scry scenes! I use humor to lighten scary scenes at times in Romantic Suspense stories. I wrote a couple scenes in a torture chamber where I used the cocky hero's (aka, prisoner's) sense of humor to keep the scenes from getting too dark. Dark humor is a great tool when properly applied.
Mixing action and danger with humor is a great way to relieve tension and still engage the reader. Movies like all the Indiana Jones series, Romancing the Stone and it's sequel are in that tradition. One of my favorites of that tradition was True Lies with Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwartznegger.
I haven't read your book but it certainly sounds interesting if you are combining humor and action/adventure along with romance.
I am a scaredy cat when it comes to suspense. I read Lu's book and it was great, but I have to admit, I had to set it aside every now and then to catch my breath. Lots of twists and turns. BUT yes, hero is yummy and all was well in the end. I recommend this book :-)
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