I am happy to give my spot over to the celebrated writer, Tina Donohue, so please enjoy.
Tempt Me, Tease Me, Thrill Me
As a romance writer – and reader – that’s what I want a story to do. It has to draw me in, tantalize me with the conflict, then provide an HEA that has me sighing, grinning, crying – preferably all three.
It’s what makes for a great story – the holy trifecta of romance, beginning with the first T:
Tempt Me: It starts with the hook, otherwise known as the blurb on the back cover. Those short paragraphs give the reader an idea of what to expect, the story’s tone (light, dark, somewhere in between), and the first glimpse of its characters.
For example: In my latest erotic romance, In His Arms, the blurb reads in part:
Owned by one man, loved by another. . .
Abducted and delivered into sexual slavery, Lori has surrendered her will in order to survive. For more than a decade, she’s been known as Summer, a lovely submissive, her owner’s possession until he gives her to his newest lieutenant, a mysterious man called RJ. Commanding and virile, RJ dominates without cruelty and possesses without threat, engendering a mixture of safety and passion. In his strong arms, Summer enjoys carnal pleasure she’s never known and tenderness she’s craved.
Immediately, the reader knows this is a dark novel, filled with suspense and very hot romance.
For one of my more playful works, Adored, the blurb reads in part:
A shameless fantasy come true…
When tall, dark and delicious Adam Farrell crosses Danni’s radar at a trade show in Vegas, it’s not lust at first sight. He’s been the star of her wicked fantasies for a while, pleasuring her in acts of domination and submission that leave her breathless. Aching for his masterful touch, believing she’ll never have it, Danni indulges in a public sex act Adam alone witnesses. What follows is a night of wild and unrestrained passion in his powerful arms. It’s only the beginning.
Once the hook’s in place, the hard part begins—the conflict. It must be there from page one, building continuously in order to draw a reader through the characters’ worlds and their stories. And that brings us to the second T:
Tease Me: Doesn’t it drive you crazy, but don’t you just love it when you want the characters to do something and they simply won’t cooperate? You’re aching to have the hero tell the heroine that he loves her, but he just can’t. Through each scene, you’re on the edge of your seat whispering, then shouting, “Tell her, dammit!”
That’s the effect I strove for in my erotic romance Lush Velvet Nights. It’s clear that Nathan loves Adriana. She knows it. So, does he. But because of an incident in his past, he’s fearful of committing. He comes close, then draws away. It’s that back and forth that keeps readers turning the pages, wanting, wishing, praying for the correct resolution.
And that brings us to the final T…
Thrill Me: Ah, endings. To me, they’re the most difficult to write. They not only have to be satisfying, they must be memorable. I recall the first time I read Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. I wept at the end. For days, the conclusion haunted me. That’s the mark of a great story. For my own endings, I want readers to smile and to cry, because finally the characters have made it. Whatever they desired in the story, they’ve achieved.
As an example: In my erotic romance Deep Dark Delicious, Eden has had a difficult time believing that Rafe could genuinely love her. Because of past disappointments, she hasn’t trusted love. But Rafe wouldn’t give up on her…an Alpha male to his core, he pursued Eden in a way every woman dreams of. At the darkest moment of the novel, when he thought he’d lost her, Eden came to him and what she did wasn’t a surprise only to Rafe, but to my fans and readers. And yes, there was laughter and tears.
Be tempted, be teased, be thrilled…it’s what romance is all about.
My latest release, In His Arms, is available now. Here’s the full blurb and buy link.
Blurb:
Owned by one man, loved by another. . .
Abducted and delivered into sexual slavery, Lori has surrendered her will in order to survive. For more than a decade, she’s been known as Summer, a lovely submissive, her owner’s possession until he gives her to his newest lieutenant, a mysterious man called RJ. Commanding and virile, RJ dominates without cruelty and possesses without threat, engendering a mixture of safety and passion. In his strong arms, Summer enjoys carnal pleasure she’s never known and tenderness she’s craved. In his heated gaze, she experiences a sense of recognition she doesn’t immediately understand until it proves dangerous in a way she could never have imagined. Bound by desire and their growing love, RJ traverses the shadowy world of human trafficking, risking all for Summer’s freedom only to learn she harbors a fateful secret that threatens to tear her from him, leading to an irrevocable event that risks both their lives.
Buy link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8593-50-in-his-arms.aspx
My Bio (‘cause sometimes you just have to know about a writer)
I’m a multi–published novelist in contemporary, historical and erotic romance. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised my work. I have reached finals and /or placed in numerous RWA–sponsored contests. Before becoming a novelist, I was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.
Email: tina@tinadonahue.com
Website/blog: www.tinadonahue.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000458023097
And finally, what you’ve all been waiting for – a CONTEST!!! Yay!! To celebrate the release of In His Arms one lucky commenter on today’s blog will have her choice of one of my following books**:
1. Lush Velvet Nights – ebook
2. Adored – ebook
3. Deep, Dark, Delicious – ebook
4. Close to Perfect – mass market paperback
5. Bad Boys with Red Roses – trade paperback
6. Take My Breath Away – trade paperback
** Winner chosen at random. Winner in continental US has her choice of one of the six. Winner outside continental US has her choice of one of the ebooks.
