This morning in yoga, my instructor said something really interesting. This isn’t a direct quote, btw. Just an approximation. I wanted to write it down the minute she said it, but she frowns on note taking during practice. <g>

She said–approximately–The point of yoga is to steady your body so and allow yourself to fill with light, not cast aside the shadows, but to highlight them.

I love this idea … the idea that allowing in the light, growing as a person, or however you want to think about it, doesn’t require that I banish the shadows completely, but rather that I become more aware of them. We all have dark parts of our personality, of our soul. It makes more sense to be aware of them and keep an eye on them, rather than to pretend they’re not there. In many ways, the great struggle of humanity is the struggle between light and dark, good and evil, vegetable and twinkie … er, well … you get the point. That struggle takes place within all of us.

Highlighting that struggle between good and evil is fiction’s greatest gift to humanity. It’s the reason Story exists. And the reason people like genre fiction, such as Romance, is because genre fiction dares to say, “Yes, Good triumphs over Evil! Yes, the light is stronger than the shadows.”

In Romance novels, the light always wins. I love that. But at the same time, you still need the shadows. You don’t have much of a story without them.

As a writer, it’s a fine line. We all have shadows. Spend too much time talking about them, and the characters are unsympathetic. But if you ignore them completely, the character can come off as sanctimonious or, perhaps worse, boring.

I recently read the forth book of an epic and popular series. (I’m not going to say which series, ’cause … well, why be rude?) I was hugely disappointed in the final chapter of the story. Today in yoga, I realized why. Instead of using the plot to have the lead character face the shadows of her personality, the author used plot to simply remove the shadows all together. In the final book, the characters had no doubts, no second thoughts, no fears about themselves. It made for rather dull reading. And I was left feeling rather let down.

Coincidentally, at the same time, I’m listening to the last Harry Potter book in the car. I’ve read it before, but wanted to revisit it before the last movie comes out in the summer. It’s so good, I’ve been finding excuses to run errands, just so I can listen to more of it. And it’s reminded me all over again what I love about the series. The epic battle of good and evil, with Harry desperately clinging to good, but always wondering if he has enough light within him to hold the darkness at bay. Harry has enough angst and shadows for tons of books. That’s why we love him. If he were wholly good, he’d be hard to stomach. He has doubts and fears aplenty. He’s not afraid to look at the shadows or to make sure they stay in their place.

Who are your favorite tortured characters?

(Btw, as a completely random side note … I tried to find more pictures to include in today’s post. Couldn’t find any. When you google “good vs. evil images” you get some very weird stuff. Seriously. You should thank me for saving you from that.)

So I have a confession to make – I hate love triangles. Abhor them really. Can’t abide them. In fact nothing will turn me off faster when it comes to a movie or book as if it contains a love triangle. I don’t know, I just don’t see the appeal. Now clearly there is a market for this type of story. I mean I haven’t missed the big Twilight phenom. I even read the first book. And that is the only one I read and that’s really all I’ll say about those books. Okay, one more thing, frankly as much as I am normally a vamp girl, I would totally have been on Team Jacob if I’d cared enough to take sides. (coincidentally enough did you know that if you google the name Edward and then then name Jacob, the very first images that come up are from the movies)

But back to the love triangle. I’ve tried to figure out what it is about this type of story that doesn’t appeal to me and I don’t know that it’s just one thing per se. I suppose one of the main things is that none of my romantic fantasies have ever involved having more than one man fighting for my affections. That seems like a lot of pressure to be charming and alluring and interesting. I’m perfectly content with the love of one good man and see no real benefit to having some poor other guy pining away for me because I chose someone else. That just isn’t romantic to me. Frankly all I can think of is how much work that would be. Dating my husband was exhausting and he was pretty low maintenance.

I remember a book that I read a very long time ago, it was one of those amazing books that just sticks with you. It was big, more of an epic than a true romance and it followed the story of a woman named Fancy and the love triangle was between her and two brothers, Cash and Hart. Don’t get me started on the ick factor that comes with the brother thing, but I will say the author did her job. But here’s the thing, even at the tender age of 19 I could tell which brother Fancy should have picked. One brother adored her, just loved her with the kind of love we all dream about. He was stable and warm and gentle. And the other brother was great too, but in a more flashy kind of way. He was fun and adventurous and passionate and of course that’s the one she chose. Eventually she did end up with the right brother, but only after heartache and it just wasn’t the way it should have been. I ached for that brother and I just wanted to smack her for making the wrong choice.

I do realize that the love triangle is wildly popular and has been for a really long time. I mean look at Guinevere and Arthur and Lancelot. True Blood has one. I think Dawson’s Creek had one, but I never watched that show. They’re everywhere and clearly they feed something in people or our culture would have lost interest in them. But to me they never work.

That being said I’m completely willing to listen to any arguments to the contrary. So for those of you who love love triangles, here’s your chance. What is it about that story line that pulls you in? For everyone else, what are your favorite kinds of story lines and which ones do you least like?

When I was asked to write a book set in the 60′s with a modern day heroine for Harlequin Presents, my first thought was, wow, how incredible. I love that era. The fashions and music were nothing short of revolutionary, while the ‘so called’ sexual revolution made possible by the pill before the shadow of aids had been identified, was said to liberate women. It was an era of compelling figures who would open our eyes and our hearts, and technical advances that were both fast and thrilling. And, most crucially for my purposes, women were fighting for equal pay and rights with men.

Women might have been moving forward, but there were some men who had not caught up with the times, and I found the idea of pitting a modern woman against a man like this irresistible.

My second thought was – write a contemporary romance set in the 60′s – how does that work? That’s up to you, I was told.

Brilliant – A blank canvas with no rules. And so Gray Quinn was born.

I must admit Steve McQueen was a huge influence as I wrote this book. And, yes, being a motor bike fanatic he rode a ‘monstrous throbbing machine’ just like my hero, Gray Quinn!

I had my modern woman meet Gray Quinn in the current day. Magenta then falls asleep and dreams that they have both been transported back to the sixties.

The fun and games begin when Magenta starts to assert herself in this sixties dreamworld. Needless to say, Quinn is not amused. Nor is falling in love with chauvinist Quinn part of Magenta’s plan, but fate has other ideas.

Waking up from a deep sleep can be wonderful – Sleeping Beauty receiving that magic kiss, for instance. But when Magenta wakes up in the modern world without Quinn or the baby they were expecting she is thrown out of her beautiful dream into a nightmare. Will fate be kind to Magenta just one more time?

What’s the best dream you ever had – and did it come true? I have a signed copy of Gray Quinn’s Baby to give away for the best answer.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Happy reading!
Susan

Since we’ve been talking about New Year’s resolutions, I’ll continue with that theme. I made my list as I do each year. One of the things I’m focusing on this year is gratitude.

I’ve found that when I stop and count my blessings amazing things happen.  I read something recently that suggested when you’re feeling blue, stressed or otherwise out of sorts, if you’ll take a moment and write down five things for which you are grateful you’ll feel better. It’s an instant attitude makeover.  

Here’s a peek at some of the things in my gratitude journal:

I’m grateful for my family and for the quirks and idiosyncrasies that make each of us individuals.

I’m grateful that I’m a writer. It’s not always easy (especially at times like now when I’m working toward a February 1 deadline, and I’m having to say no to a lot of things I’d like to do… but that’s okay…there’s nothing like the feeling of typing THE END at the end of a writing marathon.)

I’m grateful for my critique partners and the people who read and contribute to the Quills blog. As a writer, sometimes it feels as if I’m creating in a vacuum. It’s so wonderful to connect with other writers and readers.

I’m grateful for my animals – my old cat and my hyperactive dog who torments the old cat… they hiss and growl at each other all the time and several times a day I find myself yelling at them like a parent yelling at fighting children… but they make me smile and their unconditional love is balm for the soul.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience each new day. Lately, I keep running across quotes that reinforce this thought: “Life is not a dress rehearsal.” ~ Rose Tremain; and “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” ~ John Lennon.  It’s made me very aware that each new day is a gift. I’m trying my hardest to live accordingly.

I hope you’ll take a minute and take inventory of what you’re grateful for.  If you do, would you please share it with us here?

Congratulations to Kris and Karyn! You are the winners of Christyne Butler’s give away! Please e-mail her at christynebutler@hotmail.com and she will give you instructions on how to claim your prize.

The JQs are thrilled to have Eloisa James with us as she discusses one of the, ah, more colorful characters in her most recent release, The Duke Is Mine…

Sir Justin  Fiebvre

My daughter has a terrible case of Bieber Fever. Just in case the details of this notable illness have passed you by, here are the symptoms:

1)    Her room is painted in three shades of purple, since that is Justin Bieber’s favorite color.

2)    There are three bulletin boards over her sofa, all covered with pictures of Justin torn out of Tiger Beat, occasionally with his beloved, Selena Gomez, and in one notable example, bare-chested (my husband disapproves of this one).

3)    To the right of the bulletin boards is a full-length concert poster of the Bieb.

4)    To the left of the bulletin boards is a black-and-white canvas close-up of…yes! Justin’s face.

5)    Over her desk?  A quote in vinyl lettering from one of his songs (it took her father and me a full hour to figure out how to transfer the letters to the wall).

Have I forgotten anything?

Well, there is the Justin nail polish (not that she uses it), and the Justin toothbrush, and the Justin singing doll…

Now you know why Sir Justin Fiebvre appears in The Duke is Mine:  because if your beloved daughter spends approximately 20 out of 24 hours of the day talking about Justin, at some point a writer has no recourse but to stick the fellow in a book.  He wears purple velvet, in case you’re wondering… and all the girls scream when he sings.  I think he’s going to be a literary hit;  Julia Quinn wrote me and said that he was her favorite character in the book (Sorry, Olivia and Quin!).

So if you could take any star from pop culture and shape him into a character in a romance, who would it be?

New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James writes historical romances for HarperCollins Publishers. Her novels have been published to great acclaim. A reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa’s very first book that she “found herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar”; later People Magazine raved that “romance writing does not get much better than this.” Her novels have repeatedly received starred reviews from Publishers’ Weekly and Library Journal and regularly appear on the best-seller lists.

It seems to be common thought that it takes twenty-one days to form a new habit.

I know it is cliche but every year I make New Year’s resolutions and I start on January 1.

This year one of my resolutions was to eat healthier. Since January 1, I’ve been doing just that. If indeed it is true that it takes twenty-one days to form a new habit, I have only six days left for this healthy eating to be a habit.

You ask how’s it going? Perhaps this says it best…every day I write down a comment, a thought for the day…here’s a sampling of what I’ve written so far:

*I made good choices today and it wasn’t hard
*I’m definitely making better choices and not feeling deprived
*Eating more fruit makes it easier as well as having left-overs
*I feel like I’m eating and sleeping better
*Eating right is starting to become a habit and I feel so much better

What else has helped my healthy eating….MY CROCKPOT

Yes, I unpacked my new Christmas gift and so far I’ve made:
Spicy Mexican soup
Pot Roast

This weekend I’m making:
Beef Stew
Vegetable beef soup

I’d be interested in how you’ve been doing since January 1…have you made ANY changes and if so, how’s it going?

Thanks to the Jaunty Chicks for inviting me here today!  I wanted to bring up the idea of creating totems for characters today.  I do it once in a while in a story, find a symbolic object or animal that represents my hero or heroine, and try to weave that into the theme or plot.

For SEDUCING THE VAMPIRE, I didn’t come up with a totem for my heroine Viviane LaMourette, so much as realize she’d had one all along.   Even after I’d written about it, it took a few passes through the story to realize “Yes!  That’s her totem.”

The first time the hero meets the heroine just outside the ballroom in an 18th century salon, he marvels over the red roses tucked along the side of her onyx dark hair.  In the centers of those roses are skulls.  Hummingbird skulls to be precise.  [That picture of the necklace is a replica of a hummingbird skull.  Creepy?  Kind of, but I own that necklace!]  She later tells the hero that the hummingbird is her totem, but doesn’t explain why.  He realizes (about the same time this author had the realization, and so wrote it into the story), that the heroine is much like the fragile hummingbird.  Beautiful and unique, she has to flutter her (imagined) wings quickly, for if she ceases, she will succumb and flounder and eventually die.  Viviane is a vampiress struggling to survive in a patriarchal vampire society.  She doesn’t want to be owned by any male vampire, so she feels she has to stay one step ahead of them, fluttering her wings ever faster, or she will die.

It was a unique way to show her vulnerabilities, and at the same time, her strength.

So tell me if you feel you have a totem?  Do you relate to an object or animal?  I like to think the dragonfly is my totem.  I have two copies of SEDUCING THE VAMPIRE and some nifty beaded bookmarks (book thongs) to give away to two lucky commenters.

Everyone has met a jerk at least once. Perhaps you dated one, or were friends with one. They’re not nearly so charming in real life as they can be on TV, or in books and movies — mostly because we’re the ones they’re being jerks to! And, of course, in real life we’re often not privy to the events that caused them to be jerks, or whether or not they struggle internally with those events.

Jerks are some of my favorite characters, though my husband doesn’t get it. In fact, he’s more likely to despise the character than feel anything for them, or see any chance for change. My husband is a nice guy, and he treats people fairly — a fact for which I’m grateful. I, on the other hand, look for hints of remorse and damage in jerk characters, loving those moments where they show their potential for honor, no matter how fleeting. Here are a couple of my faves:

1. Brian Kinney from Queer as Folk. Played by Gale Harold.

Brian is narcissistic, cold and selfish. His sexual exploits are proof of this, and his modern apartment is as sterile and cold as his heart. He is gay, almost 30, beautiful (and worried about losing that to age) and seemingly irresistible. He treats most people, even those whom he calls friends with contempt. Except for childhood pal Michael, and lesbian college friend, Lindsay, for whom he would do anything, he has no friends. He sees the young thing at a bar and goes after him, not knowing this young man will ultimately lead to his downfall and partial reformation. Brian’s change by series end is not huge, but it’s enough to be satisfactory, yet stay true to character. He has learned to love unselfishly, but he’ll be damned if he’ll let anyone else know that. Brian is a jerk, but through his interactions with his few friends, his son, his lover, and memories of his father, we catch glimpses of what lies beneath the hard exterior. We see when he breaks down, faces death — and worse, faces growing old. All of this is brought into painful clarity by Gale Harold’s unflinching portrayal.

2. Damon Salvatore on Vampire Diaries. Played by Ian Somerhalder.

Damon is borderline evil. Perhaps not even borderline. He has killed without remorse — and with      just enough of a hint of it to make him not quite the villain. He does it all with a twinkle in his eye. In season two we’ve seen him kill the brother of the girl he loves, and try to atone for it without trying too hard (spoiler — the brother didn’t really die). He’s the guy you want around when someone has to die. He’s about self-preservation and pleasure, and has no illusions about what he is. “I’m a dick,” he announces in one episode. However, we know he will do whatever Elena and his brother Stephen need for him to do — even if that means not acting on his love for Elena, because he knows Stephen is better for her. Best moment was earlier this season when the sheriff (who up until this point thought he was human) tried to kill him. He looked at her with such confusion, “But you’re my friend,” he said. Fabulous. Somerhalder plays this character with charm, lethality, and just enough naivete to make him thoroughly captivating.

In books, particularly romance novels, these characters are often secondary, unrepentant rakes. Readers clamor for their stories, leaving authors with the task of making these men heroes without compromising character. Often times these characters can over-shadow the real hero of the book with their sheer force of personality. Plain and simple: they’re fun to write.

So, what do you think the appeal is behind these characters? And who are your favorites in books, TV and movies?

Do you ever eat Dove chocolates? I’ve been snacking on them tonight in lieu of dinner (healthy, right? but it’s been A Long Day), and one of the little messages was “Attitude—Pick a Good One” (Linda, Clear Springs, MD). That Linda! She’s a smart one.

I actually sat and thought about this chocolate blurb for a few seconds (and almost—almost—forgot to eat the chocolate). We all know we should have a good attitude, but what struck me is the idea that we can choose our attitude. We can choose to have a positive or negative attitude.

I’m not going to lie to you. I have a negative attitude a lot of the time. I’m just one of those glass half-empty kind of people. I anticipate the worst and make contingency plans. I’m sort of a control freak. But lately when the worst does happen, I’ve been trying to take it in stride.

Everyone who knows me well is laughing at this point, but I’m trying okay!

One thing I think I do have a good attitude about is the publishing industry. For some reason I’m able to release control of the book industry and be more or less zen about it. Maybe it’s because I know there’s really very little my editor or my publicist or I can do to get you to buy my books other than get the word out and write the best books I can. A lot of debut authors worry endlessly about print runs and lay-down dates and making lists. Why? There’s nothing you can do to make that happen—other than write the best book you can and hope your editor and publisher do their jobs too.

Sure, I’d like to sell more books. I’d like to make a list. I’d like to make a little more money. But it will come or it won’t. In the meantime, I can be positive and upbeat about the success that I do have, and I can celebrate the success of my friends. Because here’s what Victoria from Alexandra, VA says on another Dove wrapper, “Don’t covet; compliment and aspire.”

Now that’s a good attitude!