This post is part of a series.

Part 1: Damn Good Romances
Part II: Romantic Tension
Part III: Romantic Conflict
Part IV: Emotional Intensity

______________

Emotional Intensity

When I first started writing romance novels, I was still living in Australia.  Everyone writing romance back then seemed to be reading Harlequin Romance and Harlequin Presents books.  We knew them as Mills & Boon novels.  The big sweeping historical romance novels that most American readers grew up reading were unavailable to us.  So when we started writing, we naturally turned to Mills & Boon as the market we wanted to break in to.  It was also a very lucrative market.  There were dozens of authors making very good money indeed writing four books a year for M&B, and many of them were Australian and New Zealand authors.

Back then, Mills & Boon in London had a standard rejection letter which was notorious in writing circles, and universally dreaded by writers just starting to market their work.

The body of the letter — all of it — ran:

“We have considered your novel Wuthering Heights, and although it is well written, we feel it lacks the extra degree of emotional punch for which we look.”

Trying to crack this “emotional intensity” code was the subject of endless working sessions where manuscripts were critiqued to death in search of the answer.

The telling thing about this rejection letter is that it is standard — in other words, it serves to explain the majority of rejections.  This means the majority of manuscripts received do not have enough emotional intensity.

It’s a good demonstration of how important this element is to a romance novel.

Emotional intensity isn’t a single element you can put your finger on, and say “there it is.”  It’s a by-product of a dozen different elements in a romance novel all working together seamlessly, to build up the emotional tension to a fever pitch, then mercilessly holding it there until the endThe bigger elements that contribute to the emotional intensity include:

• The characters
• The plot
• The romantic conflict

To some degree, the setting can also contribute.  Historical romances, for instance, can add to the reader’s sense of emotional intensity, if they’re historical lovers, and the author has done a good job of description and scene setting.  Paranormals, with atmospheric settings, can work the same way.

But settings can also kill off the positive romantic emotional tension, if they’re the wrong sort.  That’s why romantic suspense authors are possibly the most underrated authors in the genre.  They’re constantly juggling hard, gritty storylines against the need to keep the romantic storyline tension wound up tight.  It can be an enormous challenge.

But you will know when the emotional intensity is creeping upwards, because whenever a scene shifts away from the hero(es) and heroine and their problems, and you are mildly annoyed, because you just want to get back to them and see what happens next — that’s emotional intensity at work.

That’s when a romance novel starts to become “unput-downable.”

Next: Heart Stopping Moments

____________________

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2. Damn Good Romances – Part 1 This post is part of a series. Part 1: Damn Good Romances Part II: Romantic Tension Part III: Romantic Conflict Part IV: Emotional Intensity ______________...
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It’s only now I’ve recalled a pithy little line I included in the special features for The Royal Talisman:

“I have also been accused of an inability to write anything short to save my life.”

Good thing a hanging didn’t depend on the turn of that phrase.  Because I blithely included in the description for the Beloved Bloody Time series this disaster of a sentence:

“The books are short.”

Was it me that really said that?

What was I thinking?   I must have been on catnip at the time.

Anyway, here’s the very good news:  I’m closing in on the finish line for Byzantine Heartbreak, the second book of the series.  I can see the checkered flag from here, and if I can finish up my blog posts for the week fast enough, I might even finish the first draft this weekend.

That’s somewhat iffy, though, as Mark is wrestling here in Edmonton this weekend, so I’m going to be spending the day at the arena, and even though I spend the day with my laptop on my knees, I don’t usually get a lot of writing done.  I do get a lot of talking done, though!

But, back to my sad tale of my inadequacies as an author.

Byzantine Heartbreak was supposed to be short.  A fast, snappy read to match Bannockburn Binding, full of hot love scenes, action, tension and suspense.

Well, it’s got all that and more.  It’s just got a lot more of it than I’d anticipated.  Like…nearly twice as much.

Oops.

But, more good news.  One of the glories of self publishing is that I can take these sorts of snafus in stride.  I wrote a book twice as long as it was planned to be?  No problems.  We’ll just publish a book twice as long!  (‘We’, you understand, being ‘me, myself & I’.)

I imagine the length will shorten down a bit once I edit and tidy up the prose.  But at the moment it’s a plus-sized novel and I’m estimating it will be around the 400 page mark by the time I’m done.   That’s a hefty tome by anyone’s standard.  I think, even with hard pruning, it’s still going to be a long novel.

I’m not going to cut it in half or anything drastic like that just to maintain a series uniformity or, heaven forbid, a market price.  The story needs to take up whatever room it needs to be told well.  I have that freedom now.  So you get a fully developed story and characters, and you don’t get short-changed.

Here’s a snippet.  Warning: frank language ahead!

An Excerpt From: BYZANTINE HEARTBREAK
Copyright © TRACY COOPER-POSEY, 2012
All Rights Reserved

“Why’d’you say that?” Ryan asked.  “He’s a good man.”

“’cause he’s a vamp hater,” Cáel replied.  He shook his head.  “A great man, ‘cept for he’s flawed.”

Ryan was staring at him.  “That’s…he comes off like he’s Henry Kissinger.  How could you know that?”

Cáel shrugged.  “We were lovers for nearly a year.  Then I found out.”  He shuddered and drank.  He reached for the bottle to refill, and realized that Ryan was still staring at him.

“Lovers?  You?” Ryan said.

“Think you’ve got a corner on the market, Irishman?”  Cáel topped up Ryan’s glass.  “Not everyone goes for poetic lilts, you know.”

Ryan half-laughed.  He picked up his drink.  “So…what is this, then?  Are we on a date?”

Cáel’s stomach seemed to drop out from his body with a sickening, electrifying rush.  It had nothing to do with the whiskey.  He let his hand drop away from the glass and looked at Ryan, wishing his heart would quieten.  “Do you want it to be?”

Ryan was sitting motionless in the chair, the forgotten whiskey glass held in mid-air.  His eyes were narrowed, all emotion shielded.  After a moment, he gave a tiny shrug, and his mouth lifted in a little smile.  “You’ve gotta know, Stelios, I haven’t had a lover for centuries.  Not since—“

“Bullshit,” Cáel replied.

Ryan’s eyes widened, losing their guarded expression.  The surprise was quite clear.  He put his glass back on the bar.

Cáel didn’t give him time to pull his defense shield back together.  “You’ve had plenty of liaisons and partners, and a ton of sex, and that’s just in the 23rd century that Lyle Bean could find out about.  Do you want me to actually name names?”

Ryan opened his mouth to speak.

Cáel jumped in again.  “It doesn’t matter, anyway.  Because you’re hiding behind a distinction.  You don’t mind hot sweaty sex with whoever appeals to you whenever you feel like it, but what you really mean when you say you haven’t had a lover in centuries is that you haven’t fallen in love.  You haven’t had a relationship that lasted longer than a week.  You haven’t had the guts to try, and that’s pretty sad, isn’t it?”

Ryan was breathing hard, his eyes narrowed with anger.  But that was natural reaction.  Cáel had just kicked him in the guts.  Now he had to get him past the moment.

Cáel knocked back his drink and put the glass on the bar with a rap.  “Let’s get rid of the tap-dancing, because we both know how to do it too well, and we could talk me into a too-early grave with diplomatic waltzing.”  He took a breath, to steady himself.  “Do I want to fuck you, Ryan?  Yes.”

____________

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3. Working Notes – December 12, 2011 I’m one of those writers who doesn’t believe in writer’s block.  I don’t think it exists as an independent condition.  If a writer can’t bring...
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I’ve signed a new deal that will allow my books to be carried in retail bookstores (yeah!) and with on-line retailers like Barnes & Noble.com, not just Amazon.

This means that if you have a favourite little independant brick & mortar bookstore or even a big store down at your local mall that you like to step into instead of always buying on-line, and you’re still reading in paperback, you can now order my books with them.  If you get the print ISBN from Amazon (not the ebook one — it’s different) and my name and the book’s titles, the bookstore will be able to find the book in their Ingram or Baker & Taylor database and order it in for you…and perhaps some for their store shelves.

It also means that right now, you can flip over to Barnes & Noble.com and buy the first three of my books to be put up on their site.

Happy Saturday!

Tracy

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This post is part of a series.

Part 1: Damn Good Romances
Part II: Romantic Tension
Part III: Romantic Conflict
Part IV: Emotional Intensity

______________

Romantic Conflict

Romantic Conflict is perhaps one of the most misunderstood functions of a romance novel.  It gets misused by writers and critics.

But when it is used well…wow!  Then you’ve got a romance on your hands that you can’t put down because you simply have to find out how it all turns out.

Because “conflict” sounds like arguing, stress, people at loggerheads, you might be forgiven for thinking that romantic conflict is when the hero and heroine are standing toe-to-toe, going at it over some minor or even imagined slight.  Actually, that’s more a function of romantic tension than anything else, as I pointed out in the last post.

But I suspect many new writers and readers may mistakenly think that aguments, misunderstandings, shouting, and negative confrontations between the hero and the heroine constitute romantic conflict, and that’s why so many romance novels feature high stress scenes like this.  Perhaps this is where the Big Misunderstanding plot originated?

Believe it or not, you can have a hero and heroine perfectly in synch with each other, even madly in love and sublimely getting along, and still have a plot that is highly charged on the romantic conflict meter.

Romeo & Juliet - Leonard di Caprio & Clare Danes

The perfect example:  Romeo and Juliet.  They never had a moment of negativity between them.  They were in love almost from moment one.  Yet that classic plot is still incredibly high in romantic conflict and I’ll explain why in a moment.

So what is Romantic Conflict, if it isn’t characters arguing?

The simplest way to define it is to ask a question.  Romantic Conflict is what is keeping the hero(es) and heroine apart.

What’s stopping them from committing to each other?

As you can see, that question is a fundamental plot and character question, not a petty, “You didn’t put the seat down!…Again!” type of question.  It really digs into the heart of the story.

Can you see why, if romantic conflict is constructed properly, the romance turns into such a humdinger?

It is also why Big Misunderstanding plots are not really strong on romantic conflict, even though they’re favourites that keep turning up, even on the virtual shelves these days.  I suspect they’re more sentimental favourites these days, but writers have to work extra hard to make the story pay off for the reader, because when the hero and heroine can resolve their differences simply by talking to each other, Big Misunderstandings become somewhat strained and superficial when they’re dragged on too long.

If romantic conflict is what is keeping the hero and heroine apart, I’m sure you can already see, thinking about your favourite romance novels, that there are all sorts of things that can keep a couple/group apart.

Generally, a writer focuses on two different types:  external and internal.

External conflict is anything that comes from outsides the hero and heroine.  Forbidding families, interferring friends, lack of money, countries, politics, religion, crime, spies, wars, kings, enemy action, you name it.   Here is where all the conflict for Romeo and Juliet lay.  The two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, were feuding and would have forbidden the pair to be together, period, finito.  That was the sum total of their conflict, and Shakespeare built a classic story that has lasted centuries around this purely external conflict.

Ladyhawke - Rutger Hauer & Michelle Pfeiffer

However, purely external conflict is exceedingly rare these days.  You might find the odd historical romance where the lovers are utterly in love and the world forbids them to be together.  Also, paranormal romance is another genre where such parirings could be forbidden or impossible.  A really good example of that forbidden love is the movie Ladyhawke.

However, the contemporary romance and contemporary circumstances rarely provide stiatuions where anyone would be unable to overcome barriers to love for long.  And if a hero wasn’t determined enough to find a way…how much value as a romance novel hero is he, really?  Romance heroes are supposed to be ardent, determined, and somewhat superhuman.  Love conquers all, even in contemporary romances.  That’s part of the romance novel’s charm.  So a really powerful romance novel needs something more than a family’s wrath to keep a pair apart, these days.

That something is internal conflict.  Internal conflict is just what it sounds like.  It’s barriers and conflict emerging from inside the hero’s and heroine’s own minds and hearts.

The range of reasons and conflicts are endless.  Think of any of your keeper novels.  Pick one.  And ask yourself “What kept them apart?”  You’ll quickly build up your own list of reasons and internal conflicts as you work through your keeper novels and memorable romances.

The art and craft of romance writing is in selecting really strong, realistic internal conflicts for both the hero and the heroine.

There are also external conflicts that can be added to the mix — yes, we’re not done yet!  Family feuds and arranged marriages are not longer barriers to happy love matches in our romance novels anymore — except in historical novels — but even in historical romances, the better ones have strong internal conflicts as well.  But external conflicts are still around and still provide lots of grease to the romance novel mill.

The external conflict that we love to adore these days has changed significantly.  What keeps the hero and heroine apart can be so much fun to write and and read:  military thrillers, paranormal suspense, vampires, urban fantasy, romantic suspense…and the sub-genre plotlines that go along with our romance novels are added to the romantic conflict in a way that makes the romance hum and zing — as far as we, the reader, is concerned.

Even erotic romance adds to the romantic conflict, if the author knows what they’re doing.  The sexual storyline is a perfect opportunity to add to the romantic conflict by introducting more conflict, more tension, more reasons to keep the couple apart romantically, even as they’re twined together between the sheets.   Lora Leigh is a perfect example:  Her couples are always dealing with a sexual issue before the HEA moment.  Often it’s something the hero is demanding of the heroine — anal sex, or an extreme form of BDSM — that they must work through before love is possible.

Can you see, now, how powerful and all-encompassing romantic conflict can be?

Next:  Emotional Intensity

____________________

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1. Damn Good Romances – Part II: Romantic Tension This post is part of a series. Part 1: Damn Good Romances Part II: Romantic Tension Part III: Romantic Conflict Part IV: Emotional Intensity ______________...
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Quick update. My contemporary romance, Lucifer’s Lover, just hit print.  It looks gorgeous!  Especially with that cover.  And it’s a long novel, so it’s a pretty hefty tome, too.  You can pick up a copy directly from Createspace right now, or wait a few days for the print page to populate over at Amazon.

And The Royal Talisman, my erotic historical romantic suspense, has popped up at Barnes & Noble.com for all you Nook readers.  Although, as usual, no sign of a blurb, excerpt or author information, despite faithfully filing all that guff when I uploaded…  So I’m directing you to the book’s page here, first, then you can click through to B&N…

 _________________

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Top Five Posts for January

1. It’s Just A Job – Wood Elves

From the #2 spot last month.

2. Really Cool Historical Vacation Spots: Constantinople

You might be interested to know that the book I’m madly writing right now, Byzantine Heartbreak, is partially set in Constantinople.

3. Damn Good Romances – Part 1

Colour me shocked!  A new entry!  :)

4. i have seen the writing on the wall…

Down from #3 last month.

5.  Do Women Like MMF?

And my second new entry this month, which keeps my finger off the trigger for another month…! :)

______

Top Five Pages for October

1.  Bannockburn Binding

Yes, I’m very upset about this one.  :)

2. Trilogies & Series

More proof that everyone loves series.

3. Books by Category

From #1 last month.

4. Blood Knot

Holding steady.

5.  Complete Booklist

This is such a monotonous list in some ways.

___

Top Five Articles for October

1. MM and MMF – Let’s Try Again. Why Do Women Like Men Who Like Men?

And #1 for one more month.  This was not just #1 in this category, but overall.

2.  The Difficulties of Writing Really Old Erotic Historical Romances.

A old favourite returns to the list.

3. The Ten Best Romantic Moments In Film History

Stable.

4. What Is Urban Fantasy, Anyway? Urban Fantasy in the Romance field Defined.

Up from #5

5. The Perils Of Writing Erotic Romance.

Down from #4

___

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Constantinople from the Sea of Marmara, with the dome of the world famous Hagia Sophia in the background. It was the largest single domed structure built in the western world at the time. It would be rebuilt twice because of riots and fire.

It’s been a weird week. For a start, it’s been very cold. Like, 35 degrees Celsius below zero cold. That’s negative 31 in Farenheit for all you Imperial-thinking people.

I got Mukluks for Christmas — real authentic ones.  But even at -35, they let the cold in and my feet started to chill up.  I joke at work that I look like an old fashioned babushka:  mukluks, a full length coat, a shawl wrapped around my head, my fur (faux-fur) collar turned up around my ears, and layers and layers of clothes beneath, as I hurry along with my head down.

Only in Canada.

I catch the bus to and from work, so standing around waiting for that bus in the morning is the most miserable thing in the world.  And for some reason, the street where I wait for my bus is always a wind tunnel, even though it’s a perfectly normal suburban neighbourhood street.  Even the slightest breeze at those temperatures is a serious thing.

The location where I catch the bus to come home is just as bad and for some reason, the bus has been late every day this week…except for the two days when I was delayed a few minutes, and then it came early and I missed it, and was forced to wait a horrible 25 minutes on that freezing street for the next (and only) bus to come along.

So it’s been an interesting week.  It takes five minutes sitting on the bus just to get your fingers to unthaw enough to be able to type, let alone get your brain cranked up enough to start writing coherent thoughts.  The cup of double-brewed hot Irish Breakfast tea I take with me in a thermos cup that I get to sip as soon as I sit down is so welcome!

It must be weather-related, too, but the bus has been strangely over-crowded this week.  Every seat full and standing room only, which makes writing a challenge.

Nevertheless, I got all my blog posts caught up, and I started in on Byzantine Heartbreak, the second in the Beloved Blood Time series.  That was my goal for this week, and I’m pleased to say I pulled it off despite the weird challenges.

Here’s a snippet from this week’s scribbles:

An Excerpt From: BYZANTINE HEARTBREAK
Copyright © TRACY COOPER-POSEY, 2012
All Rights Reserved

“What is it?” Ryan nudged gently.

Nayara blinked, her gaze refocusing on him.  “I…it’s…nothing, Ryan.”

“What thought just occurred to you?”

She gave another tiny shrug.  “Nothing.”

Ryan sat his full weight on the window ledge and crossed his arms.  “You’re not really going to try lying to me, are you?”

He watched her hesitate and realized she was weighing up doing exactly that:  lying to him.  Stunned, he wondered what it was she was considering hiding from him.

“Give it up, Nayara.  Now I know you’ve remembered, I’ll dig it out of you with whatever tools I can think to use, if I have to,” he said softly.  “Especially if I think the station is in danger, and you’ve already suggested it might be.”

“No,” she said quickly.  “It’s not.  Not at all.  It’s just the opposite.  I’ve remembered, and it’s stupid.  It’s actually embarrassing.  It’s personal.”  She bit her lip, glanced at him, then her glance skittered away and he saw she really was feeling awkward.

“Since when could you not tell me anything?” he asked.

Her gaze swung back to meet his eyes squarely and she just looked at him.  No coyness.  There was challenge there.

Suddenly, Ryan realized what she would not share.

His gut tightened.  “You like someone,” he said, fighting to keep his expression neutral.

“No, I don’t know if I like them.  I barely know them outside of business,” she said, and Ryan could see that she was picking her words with care.  “Sometimes I find them most irritating.”  She frowned.

“Do you at least want to give me the gender so you don’t have to keep circling around the pronoun?” Ryan asked.

Nayara’s smile was wise.  “So you can build fantasies around me?  Hoping it is a woman, Ryan?”

Hating it’s anyone at all, he thought.  He made himself smile.  “Why not?”

__________________

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My erotic historical romantic suspense, The Royal Talisman, has just been uploaded to the Apple Store and on to Kobo today. Barnes & Noble and Sony are still holding out, but I’ll report when they’ve stocked it.

Have a great weekend!

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Stop #7 of the Bannockburn Binding book tour.

Today I’m at Books ‘n Kisses, talking about one of my favourite subjects:  history.  No, I won’t send you to sleep.  I also manage to slide movies into it, and blood and gore, so it’s not all that boring.

Swing by for an excerpt that hasn’t been seen anywhere else (I think…I’m losing track about now), and drop a line saying hello.

____________

Also, Bannockburn Binding is out everywhere now — click on the image below to get a link to your favourite retailer.

Bannockburn Binding - Tracy

Blood Knot by Tracy Cooper-Posey

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G’day and Happy Australia Day.

The ironic thing is, by the time you read this, Australia Day will actually be over — in Australia, anyway, thanks to the International Date line.  But it’s still officially Australia Day where I am.  So I’m saying G’day to all the Australians like me, who are parked in places far from the homeland and, like me, don’t get to have the day off to celebrate, watch fireworks, and melt under what is often one of the hottest days of the year.

Have a great day!

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