Welcome to Day 4 of the Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. The question I put out to all of these authors was “What challenges do you face in writing romance in today’s society?”
Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too. I’ll put the link at the bottom of this post.
Today my guest author is Erica Dakin. A big thanks to Erica Dakin for blogging with me today. Here is a little about Erica and her book The Conspiracy.
What Challenges do you face writing romance in today’s society?
I like the question! I think for me there are a few aspects to the challenge, but I think what it in essence boils down to is to avoid writing something that’s too cliche, yet remains believable. The staple romances of the seventies and eighties all had barely adult heroines who were impossibly naive, and heroes who were in their mid-thirties and arrogant to their toenails. They started off hating each other, yet somehow this then suddenly turned to love without any apparent motivation or believability. These days the discerning reader doesn’t accept that anymore, so as an author you have to play around with the tropes and twist them enough that the book remains interesting yet doesn’t lose the essence of Romance. I think it is also more difficult to get away with a dominant, alpha-male hero, because readers want their heroines to be strong, not submissive. It’s a fine line to tread!
Biography
I was born in the Netherlands and lived there until age 25, when I moved to Great Britain to be with my boyfriend. I married him in 2006 and have never regretted the move or the marriage.
I have always been an anglophile and started learning English when I was ten. I began writing short stories in English when I was about fifteen, and since my first love in books has always been Fantasy, my dream was to once write my very own epic fantasy novel.
When I got to about age thirty, I realised that whatever I wrote always ended up being heavily romantic, probably because my second love in books is for all things Romance. The short stories kept coming, until I finally got to the point where a short story just wasn’t long enough.
I currently have two books available. They are as much fantasy as they are romance, and the content is most definitely adult, mainly because I’ve always thought that there is little point in romance if there is no sex involved. I also feel that it is very important for your characters to be believable – few things used to annoy me more in eighties’ romance novels than heroines suddenly going from hate to love for the hero, simply because they reached chapter seven.
The Ritual is part one of my trilogy, and The Conspiracy is part two. Part three will probably not appear before 2014, but you never know. I hope that people will enjoy them, because I can’t be the only one who likes the combination of fantasy and romance.
I have always been an anglophile and started learning English when I was ten. I began writing short stories in English when I was about fifteen, and since my first love in books has always been Fantasy, my dream was to once write my very own epic fantasy novel.
When I got to about age thirty, I realised that whatever I wrote always ended up being heavily romantic, probably because my second love in books is for all things Romance. The short stories kept coming, until I finally got to the point where a short story just wasn’t long enough.
I currently have two books available. They are as much fantasy as they are romance, and the content is most definitely adult, mainly because I’ve always thought that there is little point in romance if there is no sex involved. I also feel that it is very important for your characters to be believable – few things used to annoy me more in eighties’ romance novels than heroines suddenly going from hate to love for the hero, simply because they reached chapter seven.
The Ritual is part one of my trilogy, and The Conspiracy is part two. Part three will probably not appear before 2014, but you never know. I hope that people will enjoy them, because I can’t be the only one who likes the combination of fantasy and romance.
The Conspiracy
Publication Date: May 23, 2013
There is no room for love at the royal court. There is only intrigue and political maneuvering.
For Veysita, a young half-elf courtier, this has been the reality of her life since childhood. Crown Prince Tionev is her best friend, but never more than that, even if she would like him to be.
When she uncovers a plot to assassinate the queen, her life is thrown into turmoil. Veysita discovers that she has not been trained to be the prince’s bodyguard, as she thought, but to be much more. She is to be a spy, thief and maybe even assassin, and she will have to travel into the lion’s den with little more than her wits to aid her. As if that isn’t enough, there is also the handsome, honey-eyed stranger who keeps showing up whenever Veysita least expects him.
Love may come knocking after all, whether there is room for it or not…
For Veysita, a young half-elf courtier, this has been the reality of her life since childhood. Crown Prince Tionev is her best friend, but never more than that, even if she would like him to be.
When she uncovers a plot to assassinate the queen, her life is thrown into turmoil. Veysita discovers that she has not been trained to be the prince’s bodyguard, as she thought, but to be much more. She is to be a spy, thief and maybe even assassin, and she will have to travel into the lion’s den with little more than her wits to aid her. As if that isn’t enough, there is also the handsome, honey-eyed stranger who keeps showing up whenever Veysita least expects him.
Love may come knocking after all, whether there is room for it or not…
PLEASE NOTE that this book contains strong language and explicit scenes.
Go over and check out her books.
Here’s the link to Rosie’s side of today’s tour: http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-2pC
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