Back during the Brenda Novak auction in support of diabetes research, the awesome Sarah M. Anderson and her equally-awesome eight-year-old Lego set-building son put their trailer-making talents up at auction. I was determined to win, and I did. I now present to you the result:
Don’t forget to check out an excerpt of Twisted on my website!
Today Twisted went live on NetGalley, so reviewers can now request it if they want it. It seemed an appropriate time to put an excerpt up on my site for anyone who wants to see a bit about the style and story. So if you’re curious, head on over to the Twisted page and read the first chapter!
I’ve been thinking about Thanksgiving lately. Not just because I have a lot to be thankful for (which I do) but because my book comes out November 19 (which is one of the things I have to be thankful for). So I’ve decided that this year, I’m going to give something away on the blog every single day for the month of November to celebrate. Books—mine, my friends’, my favorite authors’—in both e and physical copies, handmade jewelry, Donors Choose gift certificates (which I give away almost every year), and who knows what else?
I’ll also be having guests. Normally, I don’t do the guest blogger thing, but I know I won’t be able to blog every day by myself, so expect a few other voices in this space next month. If you have suggestions, or want to volunteer, let me know!
Everywhere you look today you’ll see celebrities behaving badly. You must remember that you are not a celebrity, you are a romance hero, which is considerably more difficult to manage. Take, for example, the 2007 story of Fabio’s encounter with George Clooney, wherein—according to TMZ—
… several women who had won a dinner with Fabio were sitting at his table snapping photos of the “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” hunk, when Clooney apparently thought they were shooting pix of him — and gave them the finger!
Now, lest you misunderstand, Clooney does many admirable things. This is merely an example of one way in which it is tougher to be a true romance hero than to be a celebrity.
Obviously, romance heroes do lose their tempers—they’re only human—but when they do it isn’t because they think the world revolves around them, nor do they get nasty or violent in front of innocent bystanders. Particularly (though not limited to) women.
Some people seem to believe that “respect” and “protect” don’t go together. After all, they say, if you respect a woman’s strength, shouldn’t you believe she can protect herself?
Well, yes and no. This is one of those difficult questions posed to romance heroes. Take, for example, the heroes of romantic suspense novels. Inevitably, situations will occur in which the hero will have to physically rescue the heroine. However, just as often, the heroine is portrayed as rescuing the hero. In fact, in the best romantic suspense, they rescue each other.
But respect is far more than acknowledging someone’s physical strengths. To be a romance hero, you must listen to your heroine, and to women in general. That means if she says “I can handle this situation,” you back off. (It goes without saying, I hope, that if she says no, she means no, even if you think she “really” might mean yes. Remember: no means no. Maybe means no. Only yes means yes.) The ability to listen—and to remember what their lovers tell them—is probably the number one quality of a romance hero.
Take, for example, Jack Hodgins on the television show Bones. This guy is not what you would think of as a romance hero…at first glance. Oh, true, he’s a millionaire, but he’s basically a nerd who spends his days looking at bugs dug out of dead people. And he’s a conspiracy theorist. And a UFO fan. But Jack Hodgins gets the girl. And why does he get the girl? Not because he buys her anything fancy with his millions or takes her to fancy restaurants. No, he gets her because he listens. When he asks her out on their first date, he remembers that she said she misses the feeling of being a child on a swing, so he takes her to the park and swings with her.
Besides, listening to women will teach you about women, which means you are far less likely to make a misstep in pursuit of your heroine. Once upon a time, when men and women lived basically separate lives, it was very difficult to for one sex to see inside the lives of the other, but that is no longer the case. I’m not saying stalk women, here, just listen. Read some blogs, follow some women on Twitter or Facebook, talk to the women in your place of work. See what kinds of things interest them, and what pisses them off. This will vary from woman to woman, naturally, but it’s a start.
So watch, listen, respect and protect. Do that and you’ll be well on your way!
I love romantic suspense. It’s my favorite romance subgenre. Police procedural, innocent character in jeopardy, or paramilitary, from the completely closed door to the extremely sensual, I gobble it all up. But recently I’ve been thinking about the heroes and whether there’s room, in literature, for the beta hero among all the hard-eyed, heavily-muscled alphas of romantic suspense.
I worry about this because the hero of the manuscript I am currently editing (LOST, out in May 2014) has a number of beta qualities. He’s not at all certain he can do the job he’s setting out to do. I think his insecurities make him a more interesting hero, but I am not sure he will be deemed an appropriate suspense hero.
Such heroes exist on television, but I see them very, very rarely in books. One of my favorite television beta heroes is Dr. Spencer Reid on Criminal Minds. Reid is a true geek. Twice that I can remember during the show he had romantic entanglements and in both instances he retained his essential beta qualities despite being the romantic lead. He’s a thinker and a bit of a klutz, and even when his girlfriends are in danger that doesn’t change. Once, when he’s investigating a starlet’s stalker, it all turns out fine, once it does not.
Romantic suspense is chock-a-block with FBI heroes, however, and all are alphas—nary a Dr. Reid or even an Agent Hochner among them. Where are the data analysts? The ones who spend most of their time tracking cybercrime…without guns? (Because, yeah, there are plenty of computer geek heroes, too, but they all pack weapons and spend their off hours working out with weights rather than playing with video games.)
Rick Castle is another great television beta hero. (Although, okay, Castle is as much rom-com as romantic suspense.) Beckett leads, Castle follows. He’s not weak by any means, and he contributes to every investigation, but she carries the gun and she clears the room. He is protective, but she’s the protector.
In this respect, probably the most interesting crime show on TV was Numb3rs, which featured an alpha brother and a beta brother, both of whom solved crimes, both of whom had romantic relationships. The alpha brother, FBI Agent Don Eppes, had a string of failed relationships and his romances were episodic. But he wasn’t really the show’s star anyway. The whole show revolved around his math genius brother, Charlie. Charlie’s crime-solving, Charlie’s ongoing romance, Charlie’s HEA.
So the crime-solving beta isn’t unheard of, he just doesn’t appear in romance novels that I’ve seen. Strong women, stronger men seems to be the formula. Sometimes, heroes are broken, but beneath the cracks and scars they are still alphas. Unlike the beta heroes of contemporary or historical romance, every romantic suspense hero goes through life sure of his place in the world. Of course, your SEAL heroes have to be alpha—they’d never make it through training otherwise—but what about the others? Is it necessary for the genre that they be alpha? Does “beta” translate too easily to “weak” when it comes to plots that involve physical as well as emotional danger?
Have you read any books with beta crime-solving heroes? I’d love to hear about them!
One of the nice things about living a reasonable train-ride away from NYC is the variety of events and organizations available. While my RWA chapter meets in CT, my Sisters in Crime and MWA chapters both meet in the city. And I am close enough to get downtown for things like the MWA readings or Lady Jane’s Salon on occasion.
Last night I got down to the city for Lady Jane’s where I heard readings from one category romance, one erotic romance, one historical romance, and one YA romance. Major variety!
Tiffany Reisz
Barbara Wallace
Katherine Ashe
Lindsay Ribar
