Color me silly but I want a hero to have to chase a heroine to ground, or see a heroine long for a man she can’t/or shouldn’t have for whatever reason and then watch her struggle.
I want to be there when heroines and heroes come to the realization that their lives will be poorer should they give in to their fears--or external forces--and that giving up on the chase would mean losing half of themselves. I want to be there when they say to themselves, "I don’t care what it takes. We love each other and will be together."
Perhaps this is why the "chase" is at the heart of the stories I write.
Am I being greedy wanting a compelling plot and the chase? What are you looking for when you open a Romance? Sandy will be giving away a hardbound, autographed copy of A THIEF IN A KILT.
Sandy
http://www.sandyblair.net/
37 comments:
I like how you worded it. I like to see the characters fight their feelings at the beginning and work around them for awhile. The little suspense makes the story more enjoyable.
Sandy I think you really hit the nail on the head.
If things come to easy then how can you really appreciate them. I think the characters should have to work and sacrifice to be together, because if they really do love each other then they will do what ever it takes to try and be together or do what ever it takes to keep the other safe from harm.
Then as a reader you are provided with a plot and characters that you can cheer & feel for.
So I guess what I'm saying is I totally agree Sandy :0P
Sandy, I am so with you on this one. I don't like stories where they're doing it on the first page or even the first chapter. I don't mind if they recognize that they want to do it in the first chapter, but there has to be reasons why they can't/won't give in to it. I think the chase is what makes the romance. Make them work for it. Nothing comes easy in life and this is no exception. I like the build up of tension, the near misses and what ifs and the omg-are-they-ever-going-to--get-together feeling you get as you read along, resisting the urge to skip ahead to see if they actually do. Because, when they finally do, it's like magic - and very gratifying as a reader.
Welcome Sandy and Good Morning to Everyone! Love the post Sandy and I really love your books. You are such a hoot!
Well I'm off to the coffee maker while I sit there not so patiently waiting for my first cup of the day. I hope you all have a fun time today and make sure and read Sandy's zanny funny books especially if you need a pick me up of laughter.
huggs,
Terra
I have yet to read anything by Sandy, but theye sounds sooo funny.
Sandy love the post and your books.
I like to read a book that carries a little mystery. Telling a little about the characters or going straight into a storyline. I like to get to know the characters. I like to feel as if I'm there.
The characterization is what I look for in ANY book, let alone any specific genre. Make me believe in them and I'm hooked.
I love the post Sandy. It was very well put and I have to agree with you. I love to read about the struggle both the hero and the heroine have to go through in order to find out that they love and can't without each other.
But I don't like it when you have to wait until the very last 4 or 5 pages for them to get together and make love. It really frustrates me and I think that they should at least have one or two scenes where they at least get close enough to the deed to leave us wanting more.
I haven't had the pleasure of reading any of your books...yet! I'll be looking out for them at my local bookstore now that I've been to your website and seen their covers.
Hi Dina,
Thanks for the kind comments. I enjoy the tension delay/suspense provides, as well. It's one of the reason you keep turning the pages.
Sandy
Hi Dina,
Thanks for the kind comments. I enjoy the tension delay/suspense provides, as well. It's one of the reason you keep turning the pages.
Sandy
Hi Slayermel,
Thanks for dropping by. You're right. Characterizations have to be three dimensional for readers to really empathize/relate to them. Otherwise, they come across as little more than two dimensional paper dolls. (Even the villains.)
And IMHO perfect people are boring.
Sandy
Hi Margay,
You're so right in say nothing comes easy in life. Finding love that lasts has got to be at the top of many a person's "Hard-To-Do" list.
Sandy
Good morning, Terra. Thanks for posting my blog. (I'm seriously computer challenged, folks.)
It's also nice to know that someone besides yours truly and her editor enjoys the humor.
Sandy, grinning
I like suspense with my romsnce, nothing is easy in life so why should romance be any different. If is worth having its worth fighting for.
Hi Ruby,
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a chance to read one of my books some day.
For those of you unfamiliar with my tales, I enjoy taking a real moment in time and interjecting my imaginary hero and heroine into the mix then see how they cope with not only their growing attraction to each other but with the realities and stresses of the period.
The Thief In A Kilt, for example, in set in 1411, one week before the Scottish Civil War. Hero Ian MacKay has to not only deal with a woman he rightly believes to be an English spy in the Regengant's Court (our intrepid heroine) but try to keep feuding liege lords from tearing the country assunder. So, almost everyone you meet in this book really did live and did do what you're reading about.
And to keep everyone from weeping at the incredible (and lethal) insanity that was Scottish politics I utilize humor.
Sandy
Hi Kimmyl,
Thank you for dropping in and for letting me know you've enjoyed my wee tales. I agree that you have to feel like "you're there," in the story.
Sandy
Hi Hermeslyre,
Hope your'e having a great day. I love well crafted characterizations as well. Have you read "The Constant Princess," by Phillia Gregory yet?
Fabulous book.
Sandy
Hi Phoebe,
I can promise you won't have to wait until the last 4-5 pages should you get your hands on one of my books. The Scots were/ are a randy lot.
Sandy, grinning, married to one
Hi Breiab,
Nice to have you here. You're right. Suspense is great, because it keeps you interested, keeps your heart racing and your hopes high that all will work out in the end.
And if it doesn't work out in the end, we don't call it Romance but an "Oprah Book of the Month," otherwise known as mainstream fiction.
Sandy
There are sooooo many wonderful authors out there that it's hard to complie a list of favorites that guarrentee a reader a "Romantic chase" but some of my favorites are:
Lorraine Heath
Maggie Osborne
Kathleen Givens
Jane Graves
Deborah Smith
Marjorie Liu
Kresley Cole
And of course the fabulous Julie Garwood.
These Romance authors (historical, contemporary and paranormal) craft wonderful characterizations and plots. Some of the stories will charm you, some will make you laugh, while others will bring you to tears, but all will make you very glad you picked up their books.
If you also read mainstream fiction I highly recommend The Red Tent, The Constant Princess, A Hatred for Tulips, Slammerkins, The Secret Life of Bees and the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.
If you love mainstream history (with loads of James A. Mitchner style detail) give author Edward Rutherford a try. (London, Sarum, and Ireland.)
Sandy
Oh, I concur completely.
It is unrealistic to think that people will meet and immediately fall into each others' arms or bed unless there is payment involved.
If the h/h have had a past, maybe I can accept it, but it's hard for me to get them together even by the middle of the book. Building the tension and the romance is part of the driving force of the plot--well, I think so. That way, when it happens, EVERYBODY wants it!
Sandy, I totally agree. For me it's the chase as well, wondering how in the world the hero and heroine will every work everything out to be together at the end. This is what makes the story sizzle.
Diana Cosby
www.dianacosby.com
Hi Sandy!
Great blog. I am like you. I like the chase. It builds the "love" between the characters to a higher level when "making love" finally happens between them.
Hmmmmm I sound old fashion...LOL
Billie Jo
I'm with you, Sandy. I can deal with a book that has sex up front when there are compelling reasons for them to stay apart, but I prefer when the sexual tension builds throughout the book and isn't resolved until the ending. It's not the fashion right now, so I don't even write those books, but I enjoy them when I find them.
I recently read a book that fit Phoebe's description of them getting hot and heavy throughout the book but not really consummating until the end, and that worked very well.
Love your Kilt books!
No wiser words were ever spoken. Romance is all about the chase, the sexual tension, the build-up. Say it however you like. I agree that there is nothing more rewarding than being dragged through 200+ pages of frustration, to finally get the 'reward' we all are looking for in a great romance.
Excellent blog!
Thanks, Sandy.
Good afternoon, Ms. Blair! I'm smiling at your blog, since you and I just talked about this on the phone today.
I'm not sure if anyone else agrees with me but YOU left one important person off your list of experts at the romantic chase....
Sandy Blair!
You my dear are excellent at it!
Hi Sandy,
I also agree with the gist of your blog. There needs to be some tension and struggle for the reader to be involved in the outcome. Like many others who commented, I have read many books where the attraction between the main characters was resolved really early in the book and they "hit the sheets" by the end of the 1st chapter. After that, all the dramatic plot building of the book seems to lose its climax (no pun intended).
I have read most of your books and thoroughly enjoyed them. Your characters are likable and rounded and I love that they make me laugh out loud in parts (although that draws some strange looks on airplanes) Elizabeth and Duncan in Man in Kilt were really great.
One thing I don't see a lot of in books anymore is the male characters perspective on the tension between him and the heroine. We read about her pining and longing, but rarely see inside his head (except for the interest in sex). Do you have any insight on why that is so rare from a writers perspective?
Thanks and keep the great books coming!
Hi Irene,
Thanks ever so much for dropping by! And it's nice to know there are more people who think as I do.
Sandy
Hi Billie Jo!!!
So good to see you here. For those who don't know Billie Jo, she's a fabulous and beautiful gal, a wonderful mom, an avid Romance reader, a book reviewer and the gal who graciously started my fan club.
Sandy
Hi Esri!!
Thanks for adding to the blog. Esri is a fab YA author, folks.
Sandy
Hi Kimberly,
So nice to have you here. And you expressed it better than I did.
Sandy, grinning
Hi Suzy!!!!!!!
Thanks for dropping in and for the kind inclusion of me on my "favorites" list.
Ladies, Suzy is my incomparable critique partner. I couldn't function, wouldn't be published without her. Better yet, she writes wonderful western historicals rich in history and light, engaging contemporaries.
Sandy
Hi Buckeyegirl,
(Are you from Ohio, per chance??)
Thanks ever so much for the kind words about my books. (Duncan will always have a special place in my heart since I modeled him after my dh. )
I don't know why so many authors shy away from dealing with hero anxiety. Perhaps crafting physical tension is easier than dealing with emotional tensions/fears.
Lorraine Heath and Sherrilyn Kenyon aren't afraid to craft tortured heros and both do a splendid job of exploring the inner workings of the male mind.
Sandy
Well Sandy, now that I've read all of your books you need to write more. I do so love your work and it does bring giggles forth that might otherwise be stiffled from my boring days.
Big waves to Bille Jo and Suzy and great to see you keeping Sandy in line. LOL!
I'm off to la la land now as it's almost the witching hour.
Good Night All and thanks to Sandy for taking time from your busy schedule to be here with us.
huggs,
Terra
Hi Sandy!! Its Cathie! Missed you a bunch! I do have this book on my keepers shelf so don't add me to the contest. Just had to come and shout out a big hello to you, you've been missed. I hope things are going good with you!
Oh yes, I love a stubborn heroine or hero who grow in love as the book grows on. I know there was a wonderful warmth when I first met my hubby and it just grew and grew and when having to be separated for the summer college it was so hard to adjust to that but I have a great hero that wrote me every day (and we just had our 25th anniversary in June). And the chase is so much fun to do and read about!
Hi Cathie!!
So sweet of you to come by!!! I've missed you as well. And it's heartwarming to know my books are still on your keeper shelf. Thank you!
Hi Terra,
In the works: "The Ghost Clan" (a 5 hero Highlander series) "The Last MacCodrum" and "The Mistress" (light Highlander historicals) and "Almost A Queen" (a mainstream historical.)
Sandy
Sandy has just emailed the winner's name for a signed copy of A Thief In A Kilt. Oh and the winner is...................Phoebe Jordan! Yay, contrats!! Phoebe if you could email your snail mail addy at terraontop57 at yahoo dot com I will get it right off to Sandy so she can send your book out.
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