Tuesday, February 19, 2008
When One Just Isn't Enough
Sometimes it’s just a longing. A brief moment that makes all of time stand still. The way you know when to exactly look across the room. The way he makes you feel when you feel the heat of his eyes travel the length of you, going slowly from staring into your eyes all the wall down to your toes and making their way back up until he’s looking into your eyes and imagining you naked beneath his touch.
It’s the way every nerve comes alive when he walks into the room. The way your body reacts when you feel him standing behind you. Close enough to touch. Close enough to feel him. The way your next breath catches when his fingers come into contact with your skin. The warm touch of his breath along the back of your neck. The way your heart beats triple time at the thought of him kissing you. Tasting you. Backing you against the nearest wall and sliding your skirt up. The way his fingers would dance along your inner thigh. The way he would feel hard against you. Nothing but you and him. Anyway you could have him. It’s all you can think about. Your hands gliding along the smooth
But then you blink and tear your eyes away from his. Strong hands slide up your forearms. Possessing you. Marking you as his territory. You glance up and you see the look. Hero 1 knows you lust. Lusting not only for him, but for another man. He’s powerless to stop you. Wanting you to be his one and only, but you always manage to stay one step ahead of him. You touch his arm lightly. You smile up into his eyes. But the other man is within your sight, standing so when you glance over Hero 1’s shoulder, Unlikely Hero 2’s waiting. Watching you. The heat. The magnetism. The tension.
How can you have it with both men and have two totally different feelings?
He leans down to brush his lips lightly against your temple. There is just the brief skittering of
butterflies low in your belly. The faint rushing of feelings that used to be so strong, but now have started to flicker like a flame that isn’t fed. There is still that tie holding you two together. But this case of lust has built itself into spontaneous combustion. It’s consumed you. When you lay your head down at night, you dream of him. Touching you. Caressing you. His mouth on yours. His hand between your thighs. The way your toes curl. The way he groans your name. The way dominates you, makes you feel again. Makes you remember that feeling. The rush. The explosion. The way his arms hold you tight. The way his fingers feel running through your hair. His lips soft and tender against your forehead.
And it all just started with a look.
It’s when you’re in the shower and the water cascades over you. It’s his fingers dancing over your skin. His mouth soft at first. Becoming more urgent. Demanding. The way the steam sucks the air from your lungs, just like the feeling you get when he’s near you. The way you can’t think. You open your mouth but the words never come to you. The way it feels so wrong, but so right. You’d do anything to be in his arms for another hour. Another minute. Another second. You can’t get enough of him. And each time he’s feeding the flame. It’s white hot between the two of you. Nothing can stop you from getting what you want.
Except for the other hero. Then it becomes a major conflict. You may not be a couple, but there is something there. Something that begs for a chance. A feeling you can’t quite figure out if you want to take a giant leap of faith on. Sacrifice and Trust. A give and a take. Is it worth it? Do you dare? Can you take that risk on just one person?
My heroine is hard to figure out. I think I might tapped into her inner struggle a little deeper. Maybe figured out a thing or two about how to make her tick. I don’t want to say I’ve got her all completely wrapped around my pinkie because she resents those remarks.
My heroine is relationship challenged. If someone gets close to her, she backs away from them. So it was only logical that I bring another hero into the mix. Someone that she was close to in another life. The life she had before her sister was murdered. Then she found another person in which she could trust. There is a balance for her trusting abilities. She picks and chooses the details from her life that she wants those closest to her to know.
So then it was only fair that once those two are established, I bring into someone else. That someone else is eventually supposed to take the place of her roommate.
But it’s not working out so well for me. At least not yet. They can’t stand each other. But I imagine by mid-book two or three they will find a common ground. After all, they have to work together. But it’s the chemistry between the two of them that will set up for the explosion. The first look. That first look of sexual tension between them. You build it up and build it up and then your hero fights you on it. Then the hero that was supposed to just be a friend, inserts himself right centrally into the integral plot line. And yet, the third hero waits on the wings of book one, watching, waiting, biding his time. He messes up. She messes up. They’ve made mistakes before. And it was together. But roomie hero won’t give up. He is the look from across the room. The look that makes you question everything you thought you knew about yourself. And just behind him, there is the work hero. Watching her. Studying her. Sizing her up. Realizing there is something more behind all the anger. Realizing there is that pull between them. He wants to walk away. But something is holding him back.
And there she is- the heroine. Looking up into the eyes of the guy she wanted with all her soul as a teenager. Finally having the chance at him and almost wanting to let it go. But she can’t. He’s her last tie. The very last thing holding her to her past. How can she let him go? She can’t quite yet. Even though she’s looking over his shoulder. The future uncertain. Her feelings all jumbled. The attraction between her and three men… it’s just overpowering. And intoxicating. Frightening.
Question of the Day: It’s not often that we write our heroines with two or more heroes. And aim for them to stick it out with the two or more heroes. So at one point do they become more than a mere plot device? When you do make them become an actual option for the heroine to choose? How do you sort it out? And if you’re a reader, do you like the more than one hero option? What turns you off the most?
PS. I'm on vacation this week and the wenches are graciously covering for me in the comments. I will try to comment later on in the day. I look forward to what you have to say!
It’s the way every nerve comes alive when he walks into the room. The way your body reacts when you feel him standing behind you. Close enough to touch. Close enough to feel him. The way your next breath catches when his fingers come into contact with your skin. The warm touch of his breath along the back of your neck. The way your heart beats triple time at the thought of him kissing you. Tasting you. Backing you against the nearest wall and sliding your skirt up. The way his fingers would dance along your inner thigh. The way he would feel hard against you. Nothing but you and him. Anyway you could have him. It’s all you can think about. Your hands gliding along the smoothBut then you blink and tear your eyes away from his. Strong hands slide up your forearms. Possessing you. Marking you as his territory. You glance up and you see the look. Hero 1 knows you lust. Lusting not only for him, but for another man. He’s powerless to stop you. Wanting you to be his one and only, but you always manage to stay one step ahead of him. You touch his arm lightly. You smile up into his eyes. But the other man is within your sight, standing so when you glance over Hero 1’s shoulder, Unlikely Hero 2’s waiting. Watching you. The heat. The magnetism. The tension.
How can you have it with both men and have two totally different feelings?
He leans down to brush his lips lightly against your temple. There is just the brief skittering of
butterflies low in your belly. The faint rushing of feelings that used to be so strong, but now have started to flicker like a flame that isn’t fed. There is still that tie holding you two together. But this case of lust has built itself into spontaneous combustion. It’s consumed you. When you lay your head down at night, you dream of him. Touching you. Caressing you. His mouth on yours. His hand between your thighs. The way your toes curl. The way he groans your name. The way dominates you, makes you feel again. Makes you remember that feeling. The rush. The explosion. The way his arms hold you tight. The way his fingers feel running through your hair. His lips soft and tender against your forehead.And it all just started with a look.
It’s when you’re in the shower and the water cascades over you. It’s his fingers dancing over your skin. His mouth soft at first. Becoming more urgent. Demanding. The way the steam sucks the air from your lungs, just like the feeling you get when he’s near you. The way you can’t think. You open your mouth but the words never come to you. The way it feels so wrong, but so right. You’d do anything to be in his arms for another hour. Another minute. Another second. You can’t get enough of him. And each time he’s feeding the flame. It’s white hot between the two of you. Nothing can stop you from getting what you want.
Except for the other hero. Then it becomes a major conflict. You may not be a couple, but there is something there. Something that begs for a chance. A feeling you can’t quite figure out if you want to take a giant leap of faith on. Sacrifice and Trust. A give and a take. Is it worth it? Do you dare? Can you take that risk on just one person?
My heroine is hard to figure out. I think I might tapped into her inner struggle a little deeper. Maybe figured out a thing or two about how to make her tick. I don’t want to say I’ve got her all completely wrapped around my pinkie because she resents those remarks.
My heroine is relationship challenged. If someone gets close to her, she backs away from them. So it was only logical that I bring another hero into the mix. Someone that she was close to in another life. The life she had before her sister was murdered. Then she found another person in which she could trust. There is a balance for her trusting abilities. She picks and chooses the details from her life that she wants those closest to her to know.
So then it was only fair that once those two are established, I bring into someone else. That someone else is eventually supposed to take the place of her roommate.
But it’s not working out so well for me. At least not yet. They can’t stand each other. But I imagine by mid-book two or three they will find a common ground. After all, they have to work together. But it’s the chemistry between the two of them that will set up for the explosion. The first look. That first look of sexual tension between them. You build it up and build it up and then your hero fights you on it. Then the hero that was supposed to just be a friend, inserts himself right centrally into the integral plot line. And yet, the third hero waits on the wings of book one, watching, waiting, biding his time. He messes up. She messes up. They’ve made mistakes before. And it was together. But roomie hero won’t give up. He is the look from across the room. The look that makes you question everything you thought you knew about yourself. And just behind him, there is the work hero. Watching her. Studying her. Sizing her up. Realizing there is something more behind all the anger. Realizing there is that pull between them. He wants to walk away. But something is holding him back.And there she is- the heroine. Looking up into the eyes of the guy she wanted with all her soul as a teenager. Finally having the chance at him and almost wanting to let it go. But she can’t. He’s her last tie. The very last thing holding her to her past. How can she let him go? She can’t quite yet. Even though she’s looking over his shoulder. The future uncertain. Her feelings all jumbled. The attraction between her and three men… it’s just overpowering. And intoxicating. Frightening.
Question of the Day: It’s not often that we write our heroines with two or more heroes. And aim for them to stick it out with the two or more heroes. So at one point do they become more than a mere plot device? When you do make them become an actual option for the heroine to choose? How do you sort it out? And if you’re a reader, do you like the more than one hero option? What turns you off the most?
PS. I'm on vacation this week and the wenches are graciously covering for me in the comments. I will try to comment later on in the day. I look forward to what you have to say!
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34 comments:
Sin, I think that you could get on well with a scientist!
You have a great intuition for the forces of nature.
First time stands still...Albert would love that!
Then the Psi forces, perhaps subtle energy, whatever contributes to the unknowns of attraction.....all scientists would love that!
'The future uncertain. Her feelings all jumbled. The attraction between her and three men… it’s just overpowering. And intoxicating. Frightening.'......definitely the stuff of science.
Yep, you need a physicist in your novel to explain what's going on *g*
Hot blog!Well, Janet Evanovich is the obvious icon here. She's managed to drive her readers crazy between Morelli and Ranger, so you can too. Colleen Gleason, also. I think your approach is realistic, too. Sometimes things can go either way. But I'm a have my cake and eat it too girl...why not both?
Sin at her best:)
No one writes sexual tension like you my dear.
I have the same issue. I have the sexy, hard bodied boxer in one corner and the silent, mystery man, ex MP in the other. Both men offer different things to my heroine, but ultimately I think she chooses the man that she can't walk away from, the one who can complete her sentences, and put up with her short comings because he thinks she's worth it. Is it an easy choice as a writer? No. Because somewhere in the process they become more real than just characters on a page, and you hold their destiny at the tip of fingers.You want to make the heroine's choice real and believable, and that's a tall order sometimes, because as a writer you're emotionally invested in your characters.
I like Maggie's solution, give her all three:)
This is like the wet dream of the blogworld. LOL! Even on two hours sleep and medication, this totally woke me up.
I haven't a clue what to do with so many men. Alas, it has never been a problem I've encountered and never will be I'm sure. I'm afraid I'm dull and prefer one hero at a time.
But I'd say this is a fantastic way to keep people tuned in when you're writing a series like what you have in mind. If you can inspire cupcake/babe pandemonium like JE, you've got it made.
I don't like the more than one hero option in romances. I try to avoid it, unless there is an hea in the future. I do however, like them in erotica and fiction. Though I couldn't read evanovich because I'd be like... come on already get with someone...
Tiff - I think a lot of people are getting to that point with the Plum books. I heard her say in an interview she has no plans to end the series or even for Stephanie to age at all. Just seems odd to me. Even if you're the best writer in the world, that's hard to sustain.
Sin - great blog!! I am with everyone else; your tension is palpable. :)
I am a one hero kinda gal though too. I get frustrated when an author stretches the HEA over more than one book. At least when it's marketed as a "romance" novel. If it's suspense or a thriller, I'll cut them some slack, but I feel like if there isn't a HEA in a romance, even if it's only short term - until the next book - that I got cheated.
I liked One for the Money, but I think JE's long term noncommittal heroine would get on my nerves after a while. *ducking rotten fruit being chucked at me from QS and PM Lis*
But, I think, with the right set ups, it can work. I just think to keep it going for that long requires some inventive plot twists.
As a reader, I get turned off when it feels like they start to cheat on one another.
Did I stumble upon the SPICE channel and not know it? Anyone got a cigarette? What do you mean there is no smoking on this ship?
Holy hell.
Okay, multiple *ahem* heroes. Love them. Why have just the one twinkie when you can have two...or the whole box? But as we can tell by yesterday's blog, I have a fondness for Gluttony, which is where this sort of lies.
Laurell K. Hamilton has multiple heroes (multiple everything, if one's being honest), and I don't mind it. I enjoy her book and the world she's built for her characters; and she's made the conflict and the actions/reactions seem REAL. I don't think there is gratuitous sex (which I think is what she's sometimes accused of).
The thing that bothers me? Only this. Everyone wants to screw her heroine. I mean, just once, I'd like her to meet a guy (who wasn't gay, mind) who didn't actually want to have sex with Anita Blake. That's all. That's where my reality suspends. Not at the gore or the vampire or the sex that would make Hugh Hefner blush--but the fact that Anita can't talk to a man without him propositioning her or taking her against the wall.
Seriously.
But maybe I'm jealous. Of a sort. (Not that I want Anita's problems. Just her hottie list. *LOL*)
Yes, but the romance is almost secondary (or IS secondary) in the Plum novels. They're action/mystery books so technically they're fulfilling their book goals by solving the murders.
But Steph's inability to commit does get on my very last nerve. But who are we kidding? I'm not reading because I care about Steph; I read because I care about Ranger. *LOL* I got into an argument with a coworker once just for that reason.
"You wouldn't read these books if Ranger was a girl!"
"Why would Ranger be a girl?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm just saying, if he was a girl, you wouldn't even bother with that series."
"But he's not a girl."
"That's what I'm saying."
"I don't understand your point."
"I'm saying you're only reading these books because Ranger is in them and you think he's hot!"
"Oh. Yes, that's true. Why would anyone read these books for any other reason? The mystery isn't that mysterious..."
I will join the chorus. Sin, your scenes sizzle. The success of other writers with multiple heroes shows that a significant number of readers approve of the mix.
Like Marnee Jo, I haven't read JE since One for the Money, although I enjoyed her humor when she wrote for Loveswept. I'm a one-hero reader myself, faithful to the Nora Roberts formula of one man, one woman.
Hey, obviously the one man-one woman formula works. If it's not broke, why fix it? *LOL*
Though I have to say throwing a third person into the mix, whether another woman to compete for your hero's affection...or a handsome guy to complete for yours...I do agree it brings its own built in conflict and baggage. (Your character can only be internally neurotic for so long before a different conflict needs to come along to keep them apart. Okay, *I* might not need anything else than my own neuroses, but not everyone is like me. In fact, most people aren't...they're far more well-adjusted.)
A third wheel always adds some delicious to the mix. And esp is good if it's a good third wheel, an EQUAL possibility. Like making a choice between Chinese food and Italian. Both have their perks; both fulfill different needs--both fill you up...but which do you choose?
Okay, so love is more complicated and more simple than that--being love is as much a CHOICE as it is a scientific attraction we have no control over. It's both.
Q- You wanna be my studymate? I'll pay you to explain the scientific meanings behind attraction and lust. C'mon. You know you want to.
I've never been the scientist type. I only passed biology because the teacher took mercy on me. But I understand passion. And if someone could make chemistry all about studying about sex, I could pass that too.
Maggie! Thanks babe! You're right. I'm a huge fan of Janet Evanovich. Of the way she has structured her series. Not so much of her romance (Sorry Janga!). My heroine plans on being with someone in the end. It might be one of those things you can totally see it. But there will be no limbo period. You can't have an almost always boyfriend and have fantasies about sleeping with the hot, very sexy, very deadly and dangerous partner in crime. I mean, I'd be sleeping with the partner in crime and maybe lusting after the old boyfriend. I'm a have my cake and eat it too kinda girl, Maggie! LOL
Both Evanovich and Gleason tackle their triangles well. Gleason gives you a glimpse of progression where Evanovich is stuck in neutral. I just want one tenth of that ability to drive my characters absolutely mad with each other.
Lis, except for you my dear. I know you're not the sandwich type of girl (with your writing either) but I'd let your heroine have her cake and eat it too (to borrow from Maggie!). Both are incredibly hot and great for your character in two entirely different ways. That's why the story line works. They have to offer the heroine something different to keep her wondering what if.
She's not getting all three. Don't think I could make her dead sister's ex and her work out. I'm twisted... but yeesh. LOL
Ter! Sorry. It was late and the title was all I could think about all day yesterday. Try riding the plane at 6am, thinking about your character having sex. And you can't write it down because your father is sitting beside you. Well I could've, but there is something very wrong with that. LOL
There is nothing dull about just one man and one woman. I read romance novels all the time. It's how you get the perfect HEA. It's what most readers of romance expect at the end of a well written novel. I just prefer to drag mine out a bit and make the readers suffer.
Yeah. The blog got a little wild last night. Have no idea if I should've posted it, but I did it anyway. Hellion's gonna smack me when I get home.
My only concession is that I went through and edited most of the hotter stuff out. Once I started writing it, the blog had a mind of it's own.
Sorry blog world! *Sin dancing because she's really not sorry and running from Hellion as she tries to ditch me overboard*
Sin - that comment about your dad sitting beside you cracked me up. The other day my dad actually asked me about my writing. I explained that my short was an erotic romance that basically meant lots of sex. His response was, "So you take after me."
HA! That's such a scary thought I refuse to comtemplate it!
Tiff- I'm with you. I like my erotica with more the merrier. Romance novels, I need the man and woman HEA. That's why I read them. But I like to broaden my horizons too. I'm a hard girl to please I suppose. LOL
I'm with you. I'm almost to the point that I just want the series over with and JE's heroine to move on with her life. Show some character growth! Progress her, don't take away! I swear, the Steph she writes now is nothing like the woman she started out with. I loved that spunk, that inner fire that her heroine used to show. It's like all the life has been sucked out of the characters. And that's not something I strive to do but making a playing field.
Marn! You sweet sweet thang!No fruit chucking done on my part. I totally agree with you. I realize that the books are not romance novels. JE classifies them as adventure. But if you're gonna have a triangle in your adventure, at least give it some life. Give it some progression. Even if it doesn't go my way (ie: babe, babe, babe all the way baby!) At least I'll be able to put the series away knowing that the characters would given an ending. Some sort of HEA. A resolution. Anything.
LOL! I agree about the triangle. Again, I've only read One for the Money, and I was fine with Morelli. Ranger wasn't really developed yet. Except the black Mercedes and long hair.
Anyway. :) Poor you on the plane with your dad! Yikes! I remember watching movies with kissing and stuff with my dad. Talk about awkward. I can't imagien thinking about the nasty with him next to me.
Hellion- don't chuck knives at me. I swear, I haven't gotten to watch any porn.
Lately.
I was just thinking about how sometimes your writing your heroine and you realize that the one she's with can't satisfy everything for her. She craves adventure. Excitement. Danger.
Lusting after that one moment hinged on a single glance from across the room. We've all gotten a look from across the room (and who cares if you're drunk and thought you saw someone making eyes at you and you realize after you stumble off the bar stool and wonder over, that he was staring at the blonde behind you... let's just forget that for a second). We all know what that feeling is like. Think of the possiblities. Think of all the positions you can fit into one night. And that's just what my heroine is thinking.
You can sometimes think that one night will take care of that sort of problem (ie: Ranger and Steph) but sometimes it doesn't and just goes to prove that there is something there. Between the two of you. And even if you want to deny it and shove it into that deep dark recess in your black soul, it's still there. In the back of your mind. Each time you see each other.
I agree. I want Anita Blake to get rejected. At least just once. Sorta like Merry Gentry. I realize that Merry needs to get pregnant, but c'mon. A little rejection is good for the soul.
Janga! Thank you very much babe! I have to admit that besides scenes with Ranger, JE's humor is what brings me back to her books each and every time. After years of reading about her heroine bumble her way through bad takedowns and not learning her lesson, humor is the only thing that will make me pay $20 for a hardback. That must mean something in the literary world. I wish JE could bottle up some of that talent and sell it. I'd be first in line to buy some.
Ter- My dad would probably laugh as well. Maybe roll his eyes in a feeble attempt to mock me. But I don't think he'd get embarrassed. More like he'd never stop making fun of me.
Just like I made him suffer through Law and Order: SVU the other night. I watch that show to catalog crime scenes. The way they interogate suspects. That show is research for me. Dad says it's one of those shows that will warp him and I've now contributed to him becoming a felon. LOL
Dads. Yeesh.
Ter, I'm still LMAO over the sex comment from your dad.
Marn- I just play the innocent daughter. Which is hilarious and funny. I tell my dad if we're watching an action movie with sex in it, "Dad. You do realize that my virgin eyes can't watch this. I mean, seriously. What the hell are you watching!"
It becomes a laugh fest after that.
Wenches and Pirates (winking at Q and our lurker men. I know you're out there.) I will be back later on. Wenches great job keeping up with the comments. I really appreicate it!
*LOL* I love your dad's comment, Terr. That is SO not what my Amish father would say. I have no idea which wicked family tree branch he would even point to. Probably the one with the uncle who supposedly died of syphilis. (Not that I believe that.)
Virgin daughter? Didn't MATTY make some sexual reference about you and the table the last time we were having a family dinner with everyone there?
OH, and Sin's comment about "And you know just one person can't fulfill everything you need" thing--and I just stopped because that's what romance novels are supposed to be, aren't they? The fantasy that there is one person who can be all the things we need, or didn't even know we needed--but put into a format that seems like real life, that you could believe it happens, that you know it happens.
But yet real life is actually more about the love triangle thing. There isn't just one person who could complete you or make you happy...so how do you go about picking the one who makes you happiest?
I thought that but I wasn't going to say it. LOL! Sin needs to let go of reality. Then again, I don't know what kind of reality she lives in because that scene she described about catching the eye of the hottie across the bar and getting that look is not part of my reality. Ever. Even when I was hanging out in bars five nights a week.
*sigh* Why couldn't I have been born a bombshell like Sin?
I ask myself that very question all the time, Terr.
Wow, I'll take that cigarette Hellion! Sheesh, I was trying to decide whether to check the blogs or take a nap before the kids come home. I'm wide awake now!!! LOL
I'm with the camp that's more comfortable with one woman to one man. I've read a couple of stories where it could have gone either way and they weren't really my thing.
I'm not sure whether I believe in the one woman for one man thing in RL, but in my romances I like it to be pretty clear cut.
There is something...comfortable about knowing THIS guy is the hero and that the choice is obvious. That's the beauty of genre fiction. The good guys are good; the bad guys are punished; and we get to kiss the right guy at the end. (After all, haven't we all done our fair share, me perhaps more than mine, of kissing frogs?)
WOW what a lot of posts!
I guess its true that sex sells books *g*
Sin said:
"Q- You wanna be my studymate? I'll pay you to explain the scientific meanings behind attraction and lust. C'mon. You know you want to."
*g* Do you pay in dollars Sin? cus I come expensive.
Unlike the others here I'm all for your many-body ideas. I was trained as a many-body theorist after all so I guess its natural.
The few body problem in physics (like the stability of the solar system) is very difficult to solve accurately. Just like with love or lust there is the fascination of never knowing the outcome with certainty!
I say go with it Sin. All power to your elbow...or whatever! Just follow your instincts...I often do and it works for me *g*
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