July 5, 2006

Unrequited Love

Written by Sophie Jordan in Jaunty Guests

Hello all! I’m subbing in for Robyn, who graciously invited me to guest blog here with the Quills today. As you can imagine, I’ve been counting the days lately. Only less a month to my debut, ONCE UPON A WEDDING NIGHT. If you haven’t checked out my website, feel free to wander over. It’s www.sophiejordan.net. I have a new contest up as well as an excerpt.

Now, onto today’s blog. Unrequited Love. I love books with this theme. When love begins this way it’s so one-sided and seems so hopeless … it just makes my heart bleed. It’s so much more gratifying when a couple gets together against such an unlikely start. I prefer for the person suffering unrequited love to be the heroine. Always have. I don’t want to read about some beautiful girl blind to the fact that this great hunk of a guy is in love with her. I wouldn’t like her very much. Now, a guy being blind? That’s believable. =)

Seriously, I was that girl in high school that was always the “friend”. The “gal pal”. My best friend throughout high school was a guy — one of the hottest guys in school, to be exact. I was … well, I was just me. My theme song throughout high school was that Vanessa William’s song “Save The Best For Last”. I would bawl whenever she got to this part:

“All of the nights you came to me
When some silly girl had set you free
You wondered how you’d make it through
I wondered what was wrong with you
‘Cause how could you give your love to someone else
And share your dreams with me”

That was my life precisely. Oh, the agony!! I scripted “our romance” in my head a thousand times. You know how it goe … some dramatic event would lead him to realize he loved me. All the good stuff, you know. Who knows? Maybe this led me to writing. Want a HEA? No sweat. Write one.

Fortunately, I now have my own real life HEA … and I also get to write them for a living. What more could a girl want? But I don’t think any theme will ever be sweeter than unrequited love for me (unrequited on the heroine’s side, that is).

As a matter of fact, I think this is why I loved Julia Quinn’s new book so much. Lucy was the “friend”, the “pal”. She fell for Gregory first and she had to watch him moon over her best friend. Now that’s a girl I can relate to!

In ONCE UPON A WEDDING NIGHT, both my hero and heroine are pretty opposed to “loving” each other — for different reasons — but the hero is the most “elusive”. The heroine comes around first of course and realizes she’s in love with him. However, I’m writing a series proposal right now and the heroine in book #1 suffers from unrequited love for the hero. And they grew up together as close friends. Ah, think of all the life experience I have. I knew all that heartbreak enriched me somehow. =) I’m so anxious to start this book. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been this excited to start a book since … well, I don’t know when.

So, what about you? Is unrequited love a favored theme? Does it matter who harbors the tendre? The hero or heroine?

Chat back!
Sophie

1:43 am | Share This

19 Responses to “Unrequited Love”

On July 5th, 2006 at 8:46 am
Isabel Says:

Good morning, Sophie and JQ ladies

It feels like a Monday today as I’ve returned to work
Sophie, unrequited love/plots are my favorite also. I too when through high school being the girl pal, the one that boys confided about their crushes and loves. *sigh* I had a few crushes on some of my closest guy friends at the time. Anyhoo, I’m so excited for your debut, OUAWN, can’t wait to read it.

Question? Does the series proposal your working feature an unrequited love them throughout or is it just the first book…can you tell?
Happy to see you here at JQ today,
Isabel
On July 5th, 2006 at 8:47 am
Isabel Says:

Theme! I meant to say “feature an unrequited love THEME…”

You see what I mean? It’s a typical Monday day for me *sigh*
On July 5th, 2006 at 9:02 am
sophie jordan Says:

Morning, Isabel, fellow “gal pal”!

In answer to your question, only book #1 features the unrequited love theme. Book #2 and #3 of the proposal are quite different … although I’m sure I will revisit the unrequited love theme in the future since I like it so much.

Cheers,
Sophie
On July 5th, 2006 at 10:25 am
Shana Says:

Hey, Sophie! Thanks so much for being with us today!

I do like unrequited love as a theme. I had that element in my first historical, WHEN DASHING MET DANGER. It was on the heroine’s side. But now I kind of like the idea of it being on the hero’s side. If he loves the heroine but can’t admit it, then that adds a layer of vulnerability to what is usually an otherwise tough alpha male.

Great topic, by the way!
On July 5th, 2006 at 11:46 am
Lacey Kaye Says:

YES! Unrequited love. Gotta love it. I mean hate it. I mean that has to be the height of the antsy-obsessive-relationship-arc. And what about House? My boyfriend and I were just talking about that last night. I really, really, really like the way he is totally obsessed with Stacy. Like, he sits around and creates these complicated reasons why she does the things she does (which is usually ignoring him) and plans his entire life around where she’ll be and stuff like that. And it’s so NOT House-the-amazing-doctor. It’s a completely different, vulnerable side to him…sigh.

And I was the gal-pal, too. Also friends with the hot guys. Very hot guys. Very hot guys who were real jerks to the girls they actually dated…yet, I still wish I could have been done in by one of them!
On July 5th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
Jennifer Y. Says:

Hi Sophie! Your book sounds good!
On July 5th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
Shirley Karr Says:

Speaking of House, how ’bout the way Cuddy is trying to not show her feelings for the cranky doc?

I can relate to the unrequited thing, too, but with a twist. The guy who had my heart was the brother of a friend. Because of hanging out with her, I got to hang with him, too. Talk about bittersweet! My best friend from 7th grade on was a guy, someone I did *not* have a crush on. We really were just good friends, but no one believed us. Even my mom thought I’d end up with him until I told her I was marrying the guy I met on a blind date a few months before. Turned out I was Grace to my friend’s Will. (He looks stunning in drag, btw.)
On July 5th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
AndreaW Says:

Hi Sophie!

I also love the unrequited love theme. I would have to say it’s one of my favorites and to be quite honest, it doesn’t matter if it’s the hero or heroine who feels that way. There are some really great authors (especially Avon authors :)) that can portray the theme from either perspective in a “worthy” manner to me.

I’m so looking forward to ONCE UPON A WEDDING NIGHT as well! Less than 3 weeks…

Hugs,
Andrea…who was also a “gal pal”!
On July 5th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
sophie jordan Says:

Wow — lots of “gal pals” here at JQ. But not surprising, I guess. We’re all readers and/or writers of romance. Not only does that make us intelligent, but we’re sensitive souls. The hot guys had to have someone to talk to while they were dating the bubble-heads, right? =)

Shirley, your story is too funny! Now that is another plot premise altogether! Maybe you should use it.

Sophie
On July 5th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
Laura T Says:

Dear Sophie~!

I love seeing your blogs on the net/ website/ and chats! I just can’t wait to read your books. I am very excited about it, and I am glad you are writing another about unrequited love! I love that theme, it’s truly almost my favorite. (aside from a couple breaking up in the past, and then getting back together)… anyway, this is lovely. And you already have a fan here, just from that excerpt on your website! I felt like I was there. I like it when the girl is loving the guy and he’s too stupid to see it right away… :O).
On July 5th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
sophie jordan Says:

Laura, you sweet thing you!
It sounds like we have similar tastes … at least in heroes. The harder they resist, the harder they fall. =)

And thanks for your kind words about the excerpt. I’m planning to get a new one up soon. Check back.

Cheers,
Sophie
On July 5th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
Manuelita Says:

I also enjoy the unrequited love story, whether it’s the hero or the heroine whose love is not being returned. But, like Shana, I especially like it when the hero isn’t free to admit his love because that adds a different twist to the story.

So, Shana, are you going to write a historical where the hero is pining away for a girl he can’t have?

Sophie, I can’t wait to get my hands on your debut book!
On July 5th, 2006 at 5:06 pm
Laura T Says:

eeeek! another excerpt. omg. I hope everyone is going to the site to see what all the buzz is about, Sophie. I just can’t get over how many great books have been coming out lately!
On July 5th, 2006 at 7:07 pm
Kelli Estes Says:

You hit the nail on the head, Sophie, when you said, “We’re all readers and/or writers of romance. Not only does that make us intelligent, but we’re sensitive souls.” Yep, I was also one in high school who had the best guy friend who never returned my feelings…that is, until AFTER I was married to someone else! By then, he’d lost his hold over me. LOL!

And, like you, I often wrote my own HEA, if only in my mind. What do people do who aren’t intelligent and sensitive writers or readers? Suffer in silence?

Great post, Sophie!
-Kelli
On July 5th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
sophie jordan Says:

Hey, Kelli! Thanks for stopping by.

I knew you were a girl after my own heart. We’ll have to do a toast in Atlanta for all of us “gal pals” out there.

Best,
Sophie
On July 6th, 2006 at 9:24 am
Shana Says:

Manuelita, I’m working on a story right now where the hero is pining away for the heroine–not that she’d ever know it! It’s still floating around in my brain, but if I can make it work, I think it would be a lot of fun.
On July 6th, 2006 at 9:38 am
sophie jordan Says:

Before this post “scrolls” away, I wanted to thank the Quills for inviting me to blog with them. It was a lot of fun. Also, a great thank you to everyone who stopped by and tossed in their .02 on the topic of unrequited love … now I really can’t wait to start that book!

Best,
Sophie
On July 6th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
Lark Says:

Having read OUAWN and loved it, I can say everyone is in for a treat.

I wish I’d gotten past the unrequited routine in high school! I spent nearly 30 years thinking I was in love with a guy but was terrified to tell him how I felt. When I finally fessed up, I was about to marry another man and thought if he cared he’d declare himself and ask me to marry him. He was stunned but didn’t ask me to call off my wedding. A week later I got a letter saying he’d been in love with me all along and wished me the best. Ironically (or perhaps predictably) my marriage didn’t last but by then I knew I was finally over him. Sometimes the hero just has to be heroic or lose the girl forever.

Can’t wait for the new book!
Lark
On July 7th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
Sophie Jordan Says:

Wow, Lark! What a painful thing to have gone through! Thanks for sharing.

Oh, and thanks for the praise on OUAWN!

Hugs,
Sophie

July 5, 2006

Unrequited Love

19 Responses to “Unrequited Love”

Leave a Reply