Writing Tip of the Day-Characters

Allowing the heroine to feel something is missing from her life is another way of making her human. A perfectly satisfied character can seem shallow and uninteresting, or an eternal Pollyanna who fails to recognize the darker side of human nature.

Writing Tip of the Day-Characters

A heroine may have something she wishes she had never said or never done. Facing up to past regret will make seem her more human and likeable.

Writing Tip of the Day-Characters

A deadly fear can be a powerful addition to a heroine's character. Her courage in facing and overcoming this fear will aid in creating reader sympathy for her.

Writing Tip of the Day-Characters

A heroine should have a method of attack for her goal, something she intends to do if fate allows. Concrete plans and the will to carry through with them are signs of intelligence in a character.

Writing Tip of the Day

A heroine should have something she wants more than anything in the world. The reader wants to pull with her as she strives to reach her goal and to celebrate with her when she succeeds.

Writing Tip of the Day-Characters

The heroine should have a reasonable measure of self-control. She should not succumb too easily to the blandishments or sexual attraction of the hero as this can make her appear lacking in resolve. If she must yield physically for plot purposes, she should still retain emotional distance.

Writing Tip of the Day-Characters

The internal values and moral strength of the heroine should be paramount. It is these qualities which will bring the hero to his knees.

Writing Tip of the Day-Characters

Regardless of how powerless a heroine may appear because of her circumstances, she should have an internal bastion of strength no one can breach, not even the hero.

Writing Tip of the Day-Characters

The conflict in a romance novel should never be completely set aside by the physical intimacy between hero and heroine. The story is over the instant the problem which keeps them apart is resolved--unless you immediately introduce a different and stronger conflict. Ideally, the increase in intimacy should lead to greater difficulty.

Writing Tip of the Day-Characters

The heroine should be consistent in her actions and emotions. If she initially despises the hero or another character, the transition to a different feeling should be gradual and caused by specific events. An about-face without sufficient motive strains the "suspension of belief" for the reader.

Writing Tip of the Day-Characters

Allow your heroine a modicum of reserve regardless of her circumstances. A heroine overwhelmed by her physical and mental reactions to the hero will appear incapable of sustaining the conflict between them. The story will weaken in direct proportion to her loss of emotional control.

February Newsletter

TRIUMPH IN ARMS is out! February 1 is the official "On Sale" date for this final book in the Masters at Arms series--though I've heard from readers on both the east and the west coast who have already bought and read it. Release dates are about best seller placement, the theory being that a book has a better chance to make the lists if initial sales are concentrated in a narrow time period. No matter, I'm excited TRIUMPH is making its debut. I love the artwork and general feel of the cover, which remind me a bit of an older book, ROYAL SEDUCTION, with its sensual pose for the couple, soft turquoise shadings, misty moon and live oak tree. I will admit, though, that I'm a little sad at the end of this series.

Reviews for TRIUMPH have been uniformly good. I won't take up space with these here, but will post the more interesting bits on my blog soon. Not that I expect them to be as fascinating to you as they are to me. :-)

Speaking of the blog, I posted the 75th Writing Tip of the Day to it this past month, and should reach 100-plus in February. The current subject is characters, or how to create more effective heroines. Up next will be 20 or 25 tips for putting dynamic heroes on the page. This project may turn out to be more helpful to me than anyone else. There's nothing like trying to tell someone exactly how you do something to clarify it in your own mind.

Due to the new book release, I've been doing a few extra things that will show up here and there on the Internet. I'll be the featured author for February at the historical romance section of Eye on Romance (http://www.historicalromancewriters.com/) with a special Dear Reader letter and a book excerpt. A (different) excerpt and a guest blog piece will be posted on the Fresh Fiction web site (http://www.freshfiction.com) on February 6. Also on the 6th, I'll have another guest blog on the RomCon web site during their special Fourteen Days of Love celebrations at: http://www.romconinc.com/index.php/conversations/blog/5. Finally, a guest interview with Christine Morehouse will be posted to the Romantic Crush Junkies site on February 10, with a free autographed book to be given away to a person who leaves a comment. Check out this great web site for other fascinating author interviews as well: http://romanticcrushjunkies.blogspot.com/

Meanwhile, I've been hard at work on Book 2 of my medieval series, BY GRACE POSSESSED. The goal set on January 1 was for 10,000 words per week, or 40,000 for the month. As of this past Friday, I had 38,589, a little behind due to a couple of "lost" days, but not bad. Now if I can just keep it up…

With warmest wishes for a Happy Valentine's Day!

Jennifer