Monday, December 17, 2012
KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE with Marina Adair
We
have a special guest on the blog today. Marina Adair is a National bestselling
author of romance novels. Along with the St. Helena Vineyard series, she is
also the author of Tucker's Crossing, part of the Sweet Plains series. She
currently lives in a hundred-year-old log cabin, nestled in the majestic
redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, with her husband and daughter.
As a writer, Marina is devoted to giving her readers contemporary romance where the towns are small, the personalities large, and the romance explosive. She also loves to interact with readers and you can catch her on Twitter at @MarinaEAdair or visit her at www.MarinaAdair.com. She’s been nice enough to give us a little glimpse into what makes her such a good writer and thrown a little eye candy and excerpt in for good measure. Take it away, Marina!
As a writer, Marina is devoted to giving her readers contemporary romance where the towns are small, the personalities large, and the romance explosive. She also loves to interact with readers and you can catch her on Twitter at @MarinaEAdair or visit her at www.MarinaAdair.com. She’s been nice enough to give us a little glimpse into what makes her such a good writer and thrown a little eye candy and excerpt in for good measure. Take it away, Marina!
I am a Hart of Dixie addict!
Every
week, my friend Hannah Jayne and I sit down with a bottle of wine—or three—and
watch as the lives of our favorite Alabamians play out in the town of Bluebell.
Sometimes, when the season is on hold, we watch reruns while eating fried
chicken, buttermilk biscuits, and sipping mint juleps. And I know that we are
not alone in our obsession….
So,
what’s the appeal?
I
mean, sure George Tucker is so hot that one Southern-boy smirk packs enough
panty-melting power to wipeout every Victoria’s Secret on the eastern seaboard:
And
the chemistry between Zoe and Wade has every good girl in America wondering
what it would be like to take a ride on the wild side.
But it’s more than just mind-blowing sexual tension and hunky heroes that has me tuning in—although Wade’s abs and Lavon’s tats make my girly parts stand up and cheer.
For
me, the must-see-mentality is because Hart of Dixie has some of the tightest
writing on television. The show is full of conflict, love-triangles, tension
and a whole lot of humor and heat. And, as with all great writing, every scene is
packed full of character and plot.
The
writers make sure that every scene has its own beginning, middle, and end—and that
every scene introduces a new problem to drive the next scene forward. If one
scene were to end up in the cutting room floor, their entire story would
unravel because it is so tightly woven.
But
how do they accomplish all of that in ninety-second of screen-time?
Conflict
and motivation.
Motive
creates conflict and, in turn, conflict intensifies the hero and heroine’s
motives. Before I sit down to write a scene, I nail down what each character
wants and how their goals can directly conflict. Once I know what motivates one
character, what scares them, and what they are willing to do anything to
obtain, then I pair them with someone who wants the exact opposite. This works
for individual scenes as well as the overall story arc.
For
example, in my book KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE, Gabe is a 100% alpha-Italian
who loves his family something fierce. In fact, after his parents died he made
it his life’s mission to ensure his family’s happiness. So I picked the one
thing that would lite him on fire: someone messing with his kid sister.
Not
just any woman could go head-to-head with a guy like Gabe, so I needed a woman whose
motivation was equally as important. Intro Regan, a single mom who just moved
to town with the goal of giving her daughter the best childhood possible—unfortunately,
years back she unknowingly had an affair with Gabe’s brother-in-law and got
pregnant. The only way Regan can accomplish her goal is to raise her daughter
in the small town of St Helena and the only way Gabe can keep his family safe
is to make Regan leave town before his sister finds out.
These
motivations are the driving force of every scene, every action, and every line
of dialogue.
In
this scene, Gabe’s goal is to gain information from Regan on the whereabouts of
his cheat of a brother-in-law, Richard. Regan’s goal, at the urging of her
friends, is to either make-nice with Gabe or leave the bar before she says
something that would further ruin her standing in town.
Excerpt from Kissing under the Mistletoe
Gabe
dragged a chair from the next table and dropped into it. This was his town,
these were his friends and Regan needed to understand that. “Thought I’d come
over and see how St. Helena’s newest resident was faring.”
Actually,
he’d come over to see if his brother’s plan was even possible. Not that he
would ever sleep with a woman to gain an edge on anything. It wasn’t how he was
raised. But Nate had a point. Gabe had met Regan once and, six years later, he
could still remember exactly what she looked like, exactly what she had smelled
like. If Richard kept in contact with anyone from his past, it would be her.
“Jordan,
Frankie,” he acknowledged. When he looked at Regan, heat flickered. He wondered
if she was experiencing the same stupid attraction that he was, or if she had a
bad case of heartburn.
“Gabe.”
Her smile was all sunshine and roses, but she spit out his name like it was a
four-letter word. Yup, she definitely
had it bad for him.
“Regan?”
He feigned surprise. “I almost didn’t recognize you with that smile on your
face. You look so serene and . . . tame. You must have called my guy.”
Regan
pressed her lips tightly together, but he still heard a faint and muffled “Bah
Humbug,” come from her general direction.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to be getting
home.” Smile back in place, she grabbed her purse off the chair. Gabe was
supposed to be winning her over, seeing if becoming friendly enough for her to
open up to him was even a possibility. A hard task when all he wanted to open
were the next two buttons on her blouse.
“Ah,
and here I came all the way over here to buy you a drink.”
“Maybe
another time,” she said, smile holding. “It was—” She stopped, slapping a hand
over her mouth and looking at the other two women, who, eyes wide, cheeks
strained and nodding their heads, were definitely sending her all kinds of
signals. None of which he could understand.
Big surprise there, buddy.
“It
was…?” he prompted her to finish.
“That’s
all, it just was.” She stood, ready to leave.
Now
his brothers were sending him various
kinds of signals, all of which had a matching hand gesture. He knew the only
way to play this was to pretend that he wanted her to leave. So he leaned back
in his chair, rested his feet on her chair
and sent his brothers a cocky nod before wiggling his fingers at Regan in a
smart-assed buh-bye.
Game
on.
Regan
growled. Swinging her purse, she whacked his loafers off the chair and
reclaimed her seat. She signaled the waitress and looked him in the eye. Man,
she was sexy when she was spitting mad.
“You
know what, Gabe? I’ll take that
drink. In fact, let me buy you one as
a token of my thanks for all you’ve done for me over the years.”
“Ah,
there’s the girl I know and love.” He sat forward and pressed his fingers into
her forehead, pulling and massaging until he ironed out the wrinkles of her
frown. His other hand tugged her lips up into a smile. “Much better.”
She
swatted his hands away and was about to swat him in the junk when Jordan
cleared her throat. Both women were giving Regan a reprimanding wag of the
head.
Batting
her eyelashes she leaned into Gabe and asked, “What can I get for you? Wine? I
hear the new DeLuca Zen is fantastic.”
That’s more like it.
She was set on staying. His friends were back where they should be—in his
corner. The other DeLucas were all but high-fiving him from across the room.
And if Regan leaned any further forward he’d be able to see right down her
shirt.
Time
to volley.
“Actually
I’ve got a beer over at my table. I came over to let you all know that there’s
an ATL on one missing Randolph.”
“Wait,
is he the brown one with the red nose?” Regan deadpanned.
“Yes,”
Gabe leaned forward, making sure to take up all of Regan’s space. “He is also a
treasured town mascot.”
“I
heard about that,” Frankie said, her face scrunching in anger. “Some idiot
destroyed the town Christmas display. People are pissed and I don’t blame them.
Every kid in town looks forward to getting their picture taken in the sleigh on
Christmas morning.”
“I heard they’re offering a reward for his
safe return.” He spoke directly to Regan, who swallowed.
He
knew she still had the deer and he wanted to put the pressure on. A woman like
Regan would know something was off if he suddenly went soft. Plus, he’d seen
her mad and he knew riling her up was the quickest way to get her to open her
mouth. It was also the quickest way to gain information. And if he was lucky it
would win him another glimpse of those Christmas panties.
“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about
poor Randolph, would you?” Gabe raised a brow.
“Why
are you asking me?” Regan said, her voice close to a shriek. “I’m new here.”
“You
are the town Vixen.” He leaned in,
tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
She
closed her eyes and he watched her mouth silently count to three . . . make
that ten, then she dug through her
purse. She dropped two bills on the table for her wine and smacked a quarter
against his chest.
He
eyed the coin and smiled. “What’s this for?”
“For
not saying, ‘Have a good night!’”
I am happy to report this
tasty-sounding read is already waiting on my Kindle. If you’d like your own
copy, click on the book title above to go straight to Amazon. And one lucky
commenter today will win a signed ARC offered up from Marina. (Us residents only.)
Do you watch Hart of Dixie? Love Christmas stories? Wish you had a wine-making,
100% alpha-Italian of your own? Comment and you just might get one (on paper.
*g*)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Books by the Crew
23 comments:
I love a good contemporary romance, and at last count, I had 75 Christmas books on my Kindle. Combine contemporary romance and Christmas, and I find the book irresistible. I now have 76 Christmas books on my Kindle. :)
Wow, that sounds complicated! How are they going to work that out? That'd be a tough situation to work through. Awesome!!
I haven't watched Hart of Dixie, but I always love the clips. *LOL* I mean, it looks like a good show, but I rarely have the attention span for an hour long drama (at least on the week days)--I prefer 30 minute sitcoms like Whitney or Modern Family. *shrugs* I'm already tense at the end of each day--watching hot men making me insane with sexual tension I couldn't do anything about would only provoke me. *LOL* But I love the fact you have this ritual with a friend and some wine...that'd be fun.
I do like Christmas stories--there's a lot of fun to be had there and if you have snow, lots of setting where romantic things can happen. *sighs, swoons*
No. I don't want a 100% alpha anything of my own...*LOL* There needs to be some percentage of beta in there so I don't kill him. *LOL*
Thanks for being with us, Marina. I haven't watched this show either, but that's because I had to break the tv watching habit in order to get writing done. Which was HARD, but I'm over the hump now and am very careful about avoiding new shows. Especially ones that look as good as this one.
Couldn't do the full on alpha either. On the page they can be fun. In real life, not so much. But that's just me. I'm alpha enough for the both of us. Sadly.
Can't wait to read this one!
How much fun. I love when the motivation of the two characters are such opposites that they butt heads the entire book. You've definitely got that going in this excerpt!
I haven't watched Heart of Dixie, but I may have to track it down now! Sounds great and I'm a sucker for good TV writing.
Hi, Janga!
I am with you! I love a good contemporary and mix it with Christmas and I am sold! Thanks ford stopping by and Season's Readings!
Oh, Ms Hellion, you will LOVE Hart of Dixie! It is an hour,but there is so much humor that it seems like 15mins. Great television! And I am also a Modern Family watcher!
Thanks for stopping by!
That's so true about the motivation stuff. It's taken me YEARS to learn how to create conflict between my H/H. In the first book I ever tried to write they were just nice pretty people who ended up happily together by page 50. LOL! No shocker that book never did get written.
Thanks for having me, Terri. I wont tempt you anymore with Hart of Dixie.I get it. Before I was able to go to full time writing,I had to find time to write,so like you I gave up TV. And now, there are only a few shows I watch...I would always rather be reading though :)
Hi, Haleigh!
You'll have to tell me what you think of the show. Thanks for stopping by!
Terri! In my first book I had obstacles that were so bad there was no way they would EVER get together. So I can at if from the other side.LOL!
I never thought I'd consider giving up the day job but now I so wish writing WERE the day job. I envy you ladies who get to do it full time. I could have primetime TV back. *sigh* The Voice is the only thing I won't miss and thank goodness that ends this week.
I think I'd like Hart of Dixie too! This looks great. And those guys look hot, er, I mean, young.
:)
This does sound like a complicated plot. Those are some serious conflicts to work around. Brava.
I don't go to a "day job" per se, but I don't get a lot of time during the day with the kidlets under foot. When the youngest heads to school, I'll do this full time. I stop short of wishing for that day though. As much as I'm looking forward to writing a lot more some day, I can't quite look forward to them growing up so fast.
Wine (Nappa Valley), Women (Its a romance) and Song (Christmas Carols).
+ a bonus of kissing under mistletoe.
Sounds perfect for me.
And there is an audio version ...... Its now on my wish list!
Motivation driven conflict could lead to a suspense novel or if someone eventually compromises, to a very hot romance. The cover and title suggest a sweet frothy Christmas romance.
I'm currently reading Jennifer Blake's 'Shameless' which has elements of all three components and is brilliant.
Which slot does 'Kissing under the mistletoe' fit, if any?
Great to meet you Marina!
Santa Cruz Mountains? My Santa Cruz Mountains!? Okay, so they aren't mine, but sorta...I'm just closer to the bay then the mountains!
Welcome to the Revenge! I always make sure we're stocked with some of the best California wines, since I be partial to them...
A series set in St. Helena...wondrous! Love to wander through that wine country at least once a year, usually when I'm in the Sonoma area for the NASCAR race...
I must say, I'm always impressed with writers who figure out the direct conflict between characters before they start writing. I'm usually floundering around and actually, my conflict is usually an outside one, they just have different ideas how to work it all out...
Hi Marnee,
What do you write? And I agree on the kiddos part, I want my daughter to stay young forever.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi quantum!
Kissing Under the Mistletoe is a hot romance. The cover does look sweet, but it is heart and heat at the same time. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Maureen~
Yes, your Santa Cruz Mts. Although I live closer to the beach side, right near Santa Cruz. I love that so many fabulous authors live in the Bay Area!
On Wine Country, my husband and I were lucky enough to live in St Helena for the first few years of our marriage. It is still one of my favorite places that we lived...and I love going back for a visit!
Thanks for stopping by~
I'm in the La Selva area, getting rained on today...but I think everyone in the bay is. I must entice you to the Monterey Bay RWA chapter...we can always use a speaker... ;-)
Maureen!
That would be great! I am actually good friends with one of your board members, Jules. Drop me an email marina(at)marinaadair(dot)com
I look forward to hearing from you. If anything it is two more bay area writers connected :)
Jules is my new VP! Coolness, we'll figure it out...
I like Christmas stories. Nice excerpt.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thanks Bn100!
Great post! LOVE the HofD pics too ;)
Post a Comment