Reloading Romance by M. L. Buchman

Writing romance is a constantly changing world. Okay, all writing is, but I don’t often notice it quite as much as I have these last several months.

It’s like seeing your kid daily, it’s still your kid. But someone sees them after a year or two gap and they can’t stop talking about how much the kid changed. 

Now try that for five years, as my romance writing just did.

From 2012 to 2019 I published some 50 romance novels and over 70 short stories, most of them in what I now call the Emily Beale Universe (emilybeale.com). Then I stopped. I found it more and more challenging to keep the romance fresh…and I had this great idea for a thriller series wrapped around a woman air-crash investigator who is on the autism spectrum. (Fourteen books later, I’m still in love with Miranda Chase, miranda-chase.com.) 

To make it even more of a time gap, I hadn’t written my major military romantic suspense heroine, Emily Beale, in an MRS since 2016. 

However, my fans have been clamoring for a new Emily Beale book since, well, the first Emily Beale book back in 2012.

Restarting

How did I decide it was time to return to a long-closed series—long-closed genre for that matter? It was not at the begging of the fans. As Stephen King says in his fabulous On Writing book, I keep my ideas’ door firmly closed to the outside world (except for my lady, who’s an awesome brainstorming partner).

Nor was it because I’d finally recovered from some sort of romance burn-out. If you read my Miranda Chase, you’ll find plenty of strong romantic elements. As an intriguing side note, in a thriller series, the relationships are spread out over a much longer arc. As the Happy Ever After is for the plot elements (i.e. the crisis is solved and the world survives to turn another day) and not the love stories, the relationships can add grist without conclusion. Spinning out their personal lives—it’s the same core team throughout the whole thriller series—allows me much more depth of in motivations and evolving those relationships. Seriously fun.

But back to my main point, restarting a romance series. 

The characters had been very quiet. Oh, now and then they’d pop their heads up with a question or idea, but nothing much came of it. The core of a book needs a powerful character question. I used to think this was especially true of romance but, the more I write, the more I think it applies across all genres.

And the characters from my Emily Beale Universe weren’t tossing out any big character-side questions. Until last winter.

The Question

Oddly, it didn’t come from the romantic couple. They took me a while to find. No, to relaunch an older and successful series, the question needed a bigger source. 

Well, the core voice of the entire series was Emily Beale. No one, in all those books, wasn’t somehow affected by Emily (even books and stories she wasn’t in at all). The question had to come from her.

And, my own theory, the question must be: simple, yet deep.

For Emily, it ultimately came down to “What’s next?” It was only as I delved into the question that I found those deeper layers. How do I dig down? Easy. I write the book and see what I learn.

To answer her question, I had to find what drove it. Emily is a force of nature, the best at everything she does and not an other character wouldn’t take the bullet for her because she engenders that much respect. For her, it turned out that “What’s next?” is a very deep question because it must be something that she believes in and believes that it serves her country, her team, and her family. Also, she’s never asked what might serve her best, a huge (and interesting) blind spot.

In fact, it’s such a big question that, like the romances in my thriller series that I mentioned earlier, it won’t fit within a single book. I fully expect that this is a launch of a new series (the next characters haven’t fully shown up yet, but I expect to hear from them soon…perhaps this next winter). And if it becomes a series, Emily’s question is going to drive right up the core of these titles for a long time to come.

The Craft

“Putting my romance hat back on” as a writer was like riding a bicycle, after a multi-decade gap. There’s an inherent structure to a romance, any romance. There’s a meeting (or re-meeting for second-chance), there’s connection and troubles galore, and finally they get their Happy Ever After. I’m a purist. To me, being a romance means there’s an HEA. (HFN, Happy for Now, just makes me angry. I heaved Bridget Jones Diary: The Edge of Reason at the wall at about page five because I’d bought into the HEA of the first book and then had it taken away. Like all the actors, but movie #2 annoyed the crap out of me, too. Just sayin’.)

Romance structure can be pure (as in contemporary romance), mixed-in (like romantic suspense), or nearly overwhelmed by other elements (vampire lit among others). But once familiar with the structure, and I mean down to a writer’s core after crafting numerous books, it becomes a powerful base to build story upon.

Over the last five years of writing thrillers, I’ve learned the thriller core as well. But it’s a very different tool. Story has a different shape, the writing has a faster pacing, the action behaves differently. The chapter, paragraph, and even sentence structure are quite different.

So, “putting my romance hat back on” made me feel like I was stuttering at the keyboard. (I put a lot of mileage on the backspace key in the first hundred pages, a lot.)

Keeping Clear

This was actually the biggest challenge. 

I remember way back when I’d finished my first fantasy novel. It sold to a tiny press, so I was hands-on for every step: edit, polish, cover design, and final production. When it was all done, the editor turned to me and said, “Great. When do I get the next book?”

Uh…

I still think the scariest moment in my entire twenty-nine years of writing was opening that blank white screen and knowing that, for a fact, anything I wrote was going to be utter crap compared to the book I’d just been working on. It took me many books to truly understand that the purpose of the first draft, to get something, anything down on the page (you can’t edit a blank page). I actually now call my first draft, the Ugly Draft. It keeps the pressure off—a bit.

After so long hiatus, I ran into the same issue.

The original Night Stalkers, Firehawks, and Delta Force series won numerous awards and titles: Top 10 and Top 5 romance of the year from people like Booklist, Barnes & Noble, and NPR. (I typically no longer submit my titles to traditional review sites, but it was certainly fun while it lasted.)

Now I was sitting down, opening that blank document once again, with little more in mind than Emily’s question. All of those accolades had to be left outside the closed door because anything I wrote, even after 75 novels, was going to be…well, there’s a reason I call it the Ugly Draft. And to do it in a genre I hadn’t touched in five years…

There’s a screen saver on my computer, a tumbling: Let Go! Have Fun! The more I did those two simple tasks, the easier the writing became. I was there to tell a good story. Not to load myself down with stress and angst.

The Result

It’s both similar and different. It follows the same romance structure that I developed in my earlier military romantic suspense titles. And I did enjoy putting that particular writer hat back on. 

But it’s also, in some ways, unrecognizably different. That’s probably mostly my perception rather than my readers’ reactions. But the feel, the depth, the focus are far more elaborate than those earlier titles. Of course, I’ve also had about 2.5M more words of practice since the last time I wrote a big Emily Beale story, so I’m far more conscious of those bigger elements and building them as I go.

Now? It’s time to let it out into the world. And move along! I’m already 30K words into the next book (another Miranda Chase at the moment).

If you want to see what I wrought, Night Stalkers Reload #1: Guard the East Flank releases June 1 direct-from-the-author at https://mlbuchman.com and is available everywhere for a July 1 pre-order (https://books2read.com/guard-the-east-flank).

BIO

  USA Today and Amazon #1 Bestseller M. L. "Matt" Buchman has over 75 novels, 200 short stories, and 50 read-by-author audiobooks. From the beginning, his powerful female heroines insisted on putting character first, then a great adventure.

PW declares of his Miranda Chase action-adventure thrillers that: “Tom Clancy fans open to a strong female lead will clamor for more.” 

About his military romantic thrillers: “Like Robert Ludlum and Nora Roberts had a book baby.” 

A project manager with a geophysics degree, he’s designed and built houses, flown and jumped out of planes, solo-sailed a 50’ sailboat, and bicycled solo around the world…and designs quilts. He and his wife presently live on the North Shore of Massachusetts. More at: https://mlbuchman.com 

WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW

 

By Beverley Oakley

  “Write what you know.”

 Many of us are familiar with this conventional piece of advice: Write what you know because it’s the best way to infuse our stories with reality.

 But reality can be hard to define.

 The last thirty books I’ve written are set in the Regency and Victorian eras. Years of enjoyable research into the history, manners, politics, and clothing of the time have provided my stories’ plot and color.

 Love, passion, hope and other human emotions are universal and transcend time and country, so this combination equals reality for me as an historical romance author.

 

 

But lately I’ve been at a crossroads. Continue writing what I know through painstaking research?

 Or write what I know from having lived it?

 In my twenties and thirties, I travelled the world on airborne geophysical survey contracts based in Africa, South America and Europe, often as the only woman on small crews of ten to fourteen.

At the end of each day, following a turbulent eight hours surveying the steamy South American jungle in a light aircraft at 250ft above ground, or being thrown around over the Greenlandic Icecap, the last thing I felt like was to write fiction in a familiar setting.

 I wanted to escape into a world of chandeliers, castles, cotillions and Regency glamour.

 Now, I realize that choosing to write about a world separated from my own by two hundred years, and a continent away, was, at the time, my safe space.

 Writing those Regencies romances gave me the outlet I needed and, I hope, provided readers with satisfying adventures in ballrooms and drawing rooms, and with feel-good endings.

 But as I contemplate being an ‘empty-nester’ twenty years later, I find myself looking for the kind of rush that buying a new sportscar might bring for some.

 I need change to keep my life interesting.

 And as I have no intention of spending big on something new and flashy, or altering my happy home-life with my gorgeous hubby, slavishly loyal, 62kg Rhodesian Ridgeback, and funny, clever teenage daughter, I’ve decided that the answer to my¾call it a midlife writing crisis¾is to write in a new genre.

 To write what I really know: Africa set crime, mystery and romance.

 I’ve made a good start. My first book is finished but unedited, with a romantic action adventure based around my dad’s stories of his work prosecuting medicine murder and illegal diamond trading in the African mountain kingdom of Lesotho where I grew up in the 60s.

And my second romantic suspense is half written, set in the luxury safari lodges of Botswana’s pristine Okavango Delta, where I met my Norwegian bush pilot husband the day before I was to leave the island I called home, to fly back to Australia to marry my boyfriend of seven years.

 

I’ll admit that changing genres is scary and that writing what you really know is hard when the present throws up living challengers to your perspective on history and politics. Even your own story.

 But I’ve resolved to be brave.

 The time has come for me to emerge from my English castle and step back into the African deserts, mountains, and wetlands of my youth.

 ***

Beverley Eikli writes Historical Romance as Beverley Oakley, and Africa-set crime fiction and romance as B. G Nettelton. You can read more about her Regency and Victorian romances at: www.beverleyoakley.com and her Africa-set romantic suspense at: www.bgnettelton.com with her new website under construction.

 

 

What's New in 22? By Kathy Coatney

As we kick off 2022, I’ve decided to branch out from contemporary romance

to romantic suspense/mystery/women sleuths. I’ve had a book partially written for several years. I’ve decided to go back to it and do a series of books with my heroine Izzy O’Keefe and her partner A.J. Cooper. It will be a lighter suspense with a lot of fun, adventure and suspense set in Maine (town still unnamed).

I will also be writing a Crooked Halo Christmas Chronicle with the Trench Coat Brigade featured in it again. This will be going into an anthology with Windtree Press that I will discuss in detail next fall.

I am also writing the second Vermont Christmas Romance, that will also be set in Snowside, Vermont, and Jody and Nick Claws will be returning to spread some Christmas magic with Sadie McCluskey and Hank Dabrowski. Sadie is an urban farmer, and Hank is a kindergarten teacher for disabled children. This book will release in the fall of 2022.

I’m doing a deep dive into Amazon Ads this year with Amazon Ads Unleashed, and I’ll be working on selling my back list. I’ve made some attempts in the past, but I’ve never been successful. This time I am determined to make these ads work.

As for myself personally, I’m taking on a new journey on body image. A friend stumbled across a podcast by Heather Robertson, Half Size Me and I started listening. Heather lost a 170 pounds over a decade ago and has kept it off. She talks about everything on her podcasts and YouTube videos from body image to binging to self-sabotage. There are over 30 videos and 500 podcasts.  

I spent the last year losing the weight I’d accumulated in 2019. I’m currently at my goal weight, and I’m still not satisfied. All I can see are the imperfections, and the temptation is strong to lose more weight to fix the problem, only my problem isn’t physical, it’s mental. So I will be embarking on a new journey in 2022 to learn to love my body.

I would love to hear what are your plans are for 2022.

Before I go I wanted to tell you about my 12 book Murphy Clan series. There are four subseries—Falling in Love, Return to Hope’s Crossing, The Crooked Halo Christmas Chronicles, and the Vermont Christmas Romances. These are all part of The Murphy Clan, but each book can be read as standalone books.

To kick off 2022, I’m releasing the Falling in Love Boxed Set 

on January 5^th, a four book subseries of the The Murphy Clan. The books are all set in Paradise Falls, Idaho.  

I will also be releasing a three book boxed set of the Return to Hope’s Crossing subseries date undetermined.

About Kathy:

I've spent long hours behind the lens of a camera, wading through cow manure, rice paddies and orchards over my thirty-year career as a photojournalist specializing in agriculture. 

I also love—and write—deeply emotional, small-town contemporary romance. Ironically, some of my books carry an agriculture thread in them, some more than others. Please note I used to write these books under Kate Curran, but now I write all books under Kathy Coatney.

I also writes a series of nonfiction children’s books, From the Farm to the Table and Dad’s Girls.

When I'm not writing, you'll find me mountain biking, cross-country skiing, or running—a really, really slow jog that's been compared to a pace slower than a tortoise. 

http://www.kathycoatney.com

You can follow me on these social media sites:

BookBub

Goodreads

Twitter

Amazon

Website

 

 

Walking The Edge with Sue Ward Drake

What do a former army sniper and an uptight ghost tour guide have to do with each other? Well, there’s the way the army veteran gives the woman-with-better-things-to-do soldering glances. And the way the French Quarter ghost guide can’t seem to turn around without running smack into his broad chest. But they’re both beating the bushes to find her hearing-impaired younger brother and decide to do that together—for totally different reasons.

Let’s do a quick Q & A about my romantic suspense, WALKING THE EDGE, which you can find in the groceries and the drugstores and on the shelves of all major book retailers RIGHT NOW!

What did you like best about writing Mitch and Cath’s story in WALKING THE EDGE?

One of the best things about writing a story set in my old home town is that I get to vicariously relive all my favorite things—the rich aroma of coffee and chicory from the French Market coffee stand, the piquant bite of boiled shrimp, the winter fog rolling over the river levee and creeping through the dark streets.

Another thing that was fun was returning to New Orleans and photographing locations where the action takes place—and actually being tourists this time. Because lots of readers have visited New Orleans, and I wanted to be sure I evoked the sorts of memories they might have.

You can see some of the locations and images I used to inspire the scenes in this story here: https://bit.ly/33ZmTeE

What about the character’s growth issues do you identify with?

The hero, alpha to the core or my gosh how would he have survived the army for fourteen years, needs to step back from being so goal-driven. He has to realize he’s doesn’t need to prove himself to his older bothers because he’s worthy as he is, flaws and all. The heroine struggles with trust and how to protect the only family she has.

What are some of the other characters like?

There’s Cath’s ex-boyfriend who fancies himself a fashion plate and is more concerned with his appearance than his personal relationships.

Her office manager, modeled off one of the dear friends I had while living in the Quarter.

There’s Mitch’s three brothers, Kurt(who’s hearing impaired with some of the same problems I’ve got), Jack, and Hal, all of whom don’t mind telling Mitch what they think about his lack of progress—and his relationship with Cath.

Then there’s Mitch’s elderly aunt with her daytime soaps and her penchant for collecting Mardi Gras beads from all the carnival krewes. 

Last but not least, Tiger, Cath’s orange tabby kitten.

Readers have described WALKING THE EDGE as a page-turner. Action-packed, exciting—and fun!

Here’s the blurb:

Ex-army ranger Mitch Guidry never should have let his brothers talk him into joining them in the Big Easy. Particularly when they have him going head-to-head with the very last thing he needs: a feisty redhead who has more opinions than even his hard-headed brothers. Loyal and overprotective to a fault, Catherine Hurley will do everything she can to stop Mitch from finding her fugitive brother...and yet, he can't get enough of her.

Cath should be furious with the overbearing ex-ranger who shows up on her doorstep looking for her brother. Sure, Mitch Guidry is hotter than a Louisiana summer and pushes every one of her buttons, but he's also an immediate threat to her family, and family is everything to Cath. Unfortunately, the only way to save her brother is to stick to Mitch like glue. But sharing close quarters with him while they search for her missing brother together proves to be more than a little challenging...particularly when it comes to protecting her heart.

A survivor of the devastating hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Sue Ward Drake currently resides in Nevada where there is zero percent chance of a hurricane. A former Harlequin author, she loves giving her readers romantic suspense laced with dynamic characters and presenting workshops on creating a hearing impaired character. 

You can find her at www.SueWardDrake.com and follow her on BookBub, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

 

Tinkering with Candy & Romantic Suspense

(Since we have a houseful of company, this post is a duplicate (almost) of a blog I wrote a few years ago. Only I used Kahlua instead of Amaretto in this year's recipe and substituted cream cheese for the powdered sugar and corn syrup. They're all good!)

Making candy at Christmas is a family tradition. I was in grade school, when we first added chocolate-covered cherries to our repertoire. Marcia, who rented our upstairs apartment, joined in the fun and shared her recipe. My holiday candy selection still includes chocolate-covered cherries, but not Marcia’s version. My new iteration rolls cherries in a fondant that’s much less sticky.    

I’ve been accused (jokingly) of altering the recipes I contribute to family cookbooks to insure no one can duplicate my dishes. Not true! I’m genetically predisposed to tinkering. What fun is it to follow a recipe by rote year after year without experimenting? And measuring? Only when I’m baking. My same predispositions apply to my romantic suspense manuscripts. We’ll get to that later.

Let’s consider this year’s Oreo/almond ball candy. My starting recipe called for a filling made of crushed chocolate wafers, chopped and toasted almonds, corn syrup, powdered sugar, and chocolate-flavored liqueur. Here’s my most recent modification. The amounts are best estimates because I mix till I get the desired consistency, adding more powdered sugar and/or Amaretto to fit my mood:

1 package double-stuffed Oreos, crushed in the blender

1 cup chopped toasted almonds

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

¼ cup light corn syrup

1/3 cup Amaretto

(Later, you’ll need at least a pound of vanilla-flavored candy coating (probably more) and maybe a cup or so of melted semi-sweet chocolates for decorating.)

I mix filling ingredients, roll them into balls in the palm of my hand, and place them on wax-paper covered cookie sheets. The candy goes into the freezer to harden. After the balls chill at least an hour, I melt vanilla-flavored candy coating in the microwave. Then I roll the balls in the coating and plop them back on waxed paper. Next I use a fork to fling (yes, fling) melted semi-sweet chocolate across the candy tray to create interesting patterns.

Will I use this recipe next year? Possibly. But, last year, my liquor of choice was crème de cocoa, and I used regular Oreos, not double-stuffed. Who knows what next year’s cupboard will inspire?

So how does this apply to romantic suspense? I have a very difficult time kowtowing to the conventional wisdom that conflict between the hero and heroine must be sustained throughout the book in order to keep a happy-ever-after (HEA) ending in doubt until the last page. If the heroine and hero are truly smart, why can’t they resolve their conflicts much earlier so they can team up to defeat whatever evil threatens?

That’s one reason I’m a J.D. Robb fan. While her heroine, Eve, and hero, Roarke, occasionally argue/fight, they function as a team. Yet, while Robb’s books couple ample romance with suspense, many genre purists say her novels aren’t romantic suspense. I disagree.

I’d argue the time has passed to insist on precise measurements of ingredients (50% romance/50% suspense). Who cares? Do readers who love thrills with their romance really care how and when the ingredients get mixed, as long as a book delivers both? Changing recipes can add new flavors, deliver surprising twists.

Now that my Christmas candies are all made, I’m off to enjoy eating them with the family members who are visiting. I’ll worry about dieting next year!

So how do you feel about altering recipes for candy or romantic suspense? Do you feel deprived if a book doesn’t keep the hero and heroine in conflict until the very end? 

The Unexpected Road Taken by Content Editor Anna J. Stewart

Thank you so much for the invitation to post on Romancing the Genres! I’m thrilled to be here as my editing alter-ego.

If anyone had asked me years ago, when I got serious about publishing, that in addition to my writing books for Harlequin (their Heartwarming and Romantic Suspense lines) I would add freelance content editor to my resume, I would not have been able to keep a straight face. Editors are the guardians at the gate: they clean up the (sometimes) messy manuscripts and help tighten and strengthen and polish. They have infinite patience and love, love, love the written word with a passion few others possess. All that still holds true of course, even as I’ve donned the editor armor. I love my Harlequin editor; I’ve liked most of the editors I’ve worked with over the years. They’ve taught me more than I never realized I didn’t know. There are, however, different types of editors and it’s important for writers and authors to know exactly what they’re looking for and, more importantly for the indie authors out there, who they’re hiring.

I am a content editor. The easy description is I edit the story (and sometimes the writing itself). I LOVE story, character, plot, conflict…all those ingredients that make the best of fiction cake that land on e-readers and bookshelves. I am also well aware of my limitations. No one (I repeat no one) wants me telling them where a comma goes, what a split infinitive is, or if a semi-colon is appropriate. Just ask my own editor. And while I do have a special affinity for the Oxford comma, punctuation is not my forte (spot the run-on sentence above? Yeah…moving on). But story? Oh, story. There’s my happy place.

It was one of my critique partners, another Harlequin author, who suggested to supplement my writing income (because I needed to stay close to home to care for an aging parent), to try my hand at content editing. The more I explored the option, the more I realized that content editing was a kind of ramped up version of what we did as a critique group. I, like many other authors, had a knack for helping root out story issues in other people’s work far more easily than I could see it in my own. I also always pushed hard on conflict because without conflict, there truly is no story. Especially in a romance. And so…I dipped my toe in the content editing pool waters. In the few years since I’ve been working with authors, I’ve earned a number of return clients and have read and worked on some truly amazing stories, all of which, I believe, have since been published. It’s the best of both worlds for me, without a doubt. This feeds my creative side, allows me to work from home, and refills the creative well. It’s also a way for me to pay it forward in gratitude for all the authors and editors who have helped me on my own publishing journey.

So what exactly is it that I do? For want of a better term, I excavate. I go deep into characters’ thoughts, their motivations, and most importantly their conflicts. I have an entire check list of questions I keep nearby as I read through a story the second time (the first time I read, it’s straight through, just as a regular reader would). Conflict is not something that can be solved with a conversation; if people can talk out their “issues”, that’s a really quick book. We want them to earn their happily ever after; don’t just hand it to them. In romance especially, you need characters who grow, who change, and who (at least one of the main characters) makes a decision at the end of the book they wouldn’t have made at the beginning (something I learned from the fabulous Mary Buckham)

As a content editor, I’m also looking for consistency and therefore inconsistencies. Does everyone’s descriptions remain the same? Anyone changing eye color? Hair style? Did the author mention an event that collides with something else in the timeline? Do they say something that contradicts something they’ve stated or thought previously? Is their behavior consistent with how it was set up from page one? Are they behaving realistically, rationally, believably?

I’m a pretty tough sell on these three characteristics, so I will push the author to think deeper about how their characters are dealing with situations. All those little details that tend to slip out of our control while our fingers are flying—are they right? Do they remain the same throughout? I’m an extra pair of not only editor eyes, but author eyes as well. I’m also still learning. I go to and listen to workshops; I attend conferences. I always want to make myself better at my craft and sometimes I’m just flat out wrong. Which brings me to my main “commandment” if you will.

Whatever story I’m editing, I always, always tell the author that these are my suggestions; what I would do to make the story stronger (not hopefully better). This is their story, first and foremost. If you think I’m wrong? Then I’m wrong. Take what works and discard the rest. Only the author, when all is said and done, can decide what works best for the book and characters. I have no doubt I’ve scared some authors away because I go hard. I go hard because I would want an editor to do that to me (and my editors have, believe me). I want to give my readers the absolute best experience possible when they open one of my books and that’s what I want for my clients as well.

I also consider being asked to edit an author’s book a privilege. I know how hard it is to send your work out. I know how blindingly terrifying it can be to wait for what’s essentially someone’s judgment of your hard work and I never, ever, take that for granted. I can’t speak to other editors, but that’s the code I edit by. I’m probably not everyone’s cup of tea (cliché alert! I’d totally ding an author for that phrase, LOL), but I go into each project with the best of intentions and I hope, the best advice I can give.

Thank you again, Romancing the Genres, for the opportunity to talk to you all today. I’ve loved being here. If anyone has any questions, please post them in the comments below.

Cheers!
Anna J

Bio:

USA Today and national bestselling hybrid author Anna J. Stewart writes sweet to sexy romance for Harlequin's Heartwarming and Romantic Suspense lines. Early obsessions with Star Wars, Star Trek, and Wonder Woman set her on the path to creating fun, funny, and family-centric romances with happily ever afters for her independent heroines. A former RWA Golden Heart nominee and 2018 Daphne DuMaurier finalist, her Heartwarming book RECIPE FOR REDEMPTION was recently optioned for a TV Movie and will air on UPtv during the 2019 holiday season. Anna lives in Northern California where she deals with serious Supernatural, Sherlock, and Jason Momoa addictions and surrounds herself with friends and family. When she's not writing, you can find her at fan conventions, wrangling Rosie and Sherlock, her two cats, or building her client list for her content editing services (Content Editing by Anna J). You can read more about Anna and her books at www.authorannastewart.com.

Canadian Romantic Suspense Author Maureen Fisher

The First Meet

by Maureen Fisher

More here: Cold Feet Fever 

First meets between the hero and heroine are crucial to making a romance plot work. First and foremost, it’s the first turning point of the book. After the first meet, the protagonists are unable to return to their ordinary lives.

Not only does it introduce the characters, it initiates the romantic conflict, helps set the tone of the book, and hints at character goals and future conflict.

The first meet should pack a good, dramatic punch in the development of the plot, and it should leave the reader hungry to find out what these two people will get up to the next time they meet.

In Cold Feet Fever, my romantic crime mystery, Granddaddy Hiram wants Sam Jackson, his grandson and senior business partner, to mend his wicked ways and settle down. When he meets party planner Katie Deluca by chance, Hiram senses she’s the perfect woman to tame Sam.

Unaware of Katie's former career (mortician) and criminal connections, Hiram steps way over the line by hiring her without his grandson’s say-so, giving Katie carte blanche to organize the grand opening for Kinki, their jointly owned nightclub. To compound the transgression, he implies that Sam is a junior employee, and will report to Katie. One of her duties is to keep Sam in line. To that end, Hiram insists she share Sam’s office.

Katie’s Goal in the Scene: To break the news to Sam as tactfully as possible that his boss hired her this morning to organize Kinki’s grand opening. As of today, Sam will now report to her, and they will share his office.

Sam’s Goal in the Scene: To forget his financial worries by amusing himself, teasing the very attractive, but uptight woman who had the nerve to barge into his office, interrupting him during a most enjoyable massage session.

Without giving away too much, here is Sam and Katie's first meet.

********************

Excerpt

Her chest rose and fell as she inhaled a deep breath. “Please don’t call me ‘Cupcake’. My name is Katarina Deluca. People call me Katie.” She regarded him as though she expected a reaction.

“Should I know you?”

“Of course not.”

A lesser man might have missed her subliminal relaxation. Reading body language was a mandatory talent for skilled gamblers, and he considered himself one of the best. She’d hoped he didn’t recognize the name. Making a mental note to Google Katie Deluca, he stuck out a hand. “Sam. Sam Jackson.”

She shook his hand with surprising firmness. “I know all about you.”

“I get that a lot.”

“If we’re to hit it off, I have one request.” She fixed him with melted chocolate eyes, which, on closer study, sparked with disapproval.

“Do tell.” He picked up his pizza.

“Since we’re sharing an office until after the grand opening, I must ask you to refrain from entertaining female guests on your couch.”

Sam froze, the pizza halfway to his mouth. “Say what?”

“I won’t tolerate ‘massages’ while we’re sharing the space.”

“Sweet baby Jesus,” he moaned. “I’ve gotta lay off bourbon.”

“Excellent idea. Do your body a favor. Nevertheless, your senior partner, Hiram, engaged me to plan and coordinate Kinki’s grand opening. He also mentioned the only available space was in your office, and indicated that he expected me to supervise you.”

An arrow of pain speared Sam’s skull. The wily old man’s powers of persuasion obviously worked fine in spite of major impulse control issues. Smelling another of his granddaddy’s matchmaking attempts, he set down the last of his pizza. “Hiram’s my granddaddy. He calls himself the senior partner because he’s older, not because he’s my boss. He has no hiring authority.”

“Hiram warned me you’d say that.” Katie’s voice brimmed with compassion. “He also promised that after you got over your snit, you’d be happy to comply.” Under her breath, she muttered, “It would have been a nice touch if he’d warned me about the casting couch.”

Sam lowered his feet to the ground with great care. Leaning forward, he spoke softly, emphasizing every word. “It’s not a casting couch. I should know. It’s my office, my couch.” For some reason, it mattered what she thought.

“Believe it or not, I find this situation as difficult as you do.”

“I doubt it.” He gulped a fortifying swig of coffee, wishing with all his heart he could lace it with something stronger. “What else should I know?”

He watched with reluctant amusement as she whipped out a notepad and flipped the pages. Who used a notepad in this era of tablets and other electronic devices?

She must have found the nugget of information she wanted because she stopped flipping. “Ah, yes. Here it is. Hiram informed me you won a lot of money in the casinos, enough to buy Kinki and renovate it too, with plenty left over for a grand opening. His words were, and I quote, ‘The sky’s the limit’.”

Sam choked on his coffee. 

About Me

Transplanted to Canada from Scotland at the tender age of seven, I’m an escapee from the world of bits, bytes, and dumps (possibly not what you’re thinking).

I’m a voracious reader, bridge and Mahjong player, yoga enthusiast, seeker of personal and spiritual growth, pickleball enthusiast, and avid gourmet cook. My husband and I love to hike, cycle, and travel.

I’ve swum with sharks in the Galapagos, walked with Bushmen in the Serengeti, sampled lamb criadillas (don’t ask!!!) in Iguazu Falls, snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef, ridden an elephant in Thailand, watched the sun rise over Machu Picchu, and bounced from Johannesburg to Cape Town on a bus called ‘Marula’.

My Books

"Maureen combines action, adventure, romance, mystery, and an often LOL sense of humor in her page-turning novels. They are the perfect additions to your libraries, like da rum and da coconut in your piña coladas." 

Find out more about my novels here or click on the links under the covers.

More here: FurBall Fever 

More here: The Jaguar Legacy

Coming Soon: Horsing Around With Murder, a cozy murder mystery with romance and inappropriate boomer humor.

Connect with Maureen

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