Let me say a big Howdy to you all!
Like Linda said in her blog yesterday, I thought for a long time about what I might blog concerning this. My favorite things. Hmmm…. Finally I decided to blog about some of the heroes of the stories I write and to tell you a personal experience that caused me to realize how important these romance stories can be. Probably you are aware that for writers, these characters we create become real people to us, and, in addition, they can help us in so many different ways.
Let me start first with the hero, Eagle Heart, from SHE STEALS MY BREATH. The title for the book comes from being inspired by many poems from John Trudell — of AIM and Rock & Roll fame. But the hero of this story came to me recently at a time when things were not so easy for me.
This hero entered into my dreams, calming some fears in my life at that moment in time. His care and concern for the heroine in the story was really somewhat based on the care that he showed me in my dreams. It was this hero who encouraged me to research and write about the Medicine Man of old. Now, this might seem strange that a hero talks to the author. But, if you have a chance to talk to many writers, they will probably tell you the characters in these books take on a life of their own and often they do talk to a writer. Also, sometimes they resist my attempts to write a scene they feel is out of character for them. I’ve learned over the years to pay attention to this.
In the book, SHE CAPTURES MY HEART, the hero of this story, Gray Falcon, showed me what exactly a medicine man was all about when his concept of right and wrong was challenged. Instead of caving, however, he made light of the problem, and he brought humor (as did the heroine) into the story. Strangely, the humor came at a time when it seemed there wasn’t too much to laugh about. These two (the hero and heroine) often gave me the giggles when I was writing the book.
In the book, BLUE THUNDER AND THE FLOWER, the hero’s struggle in a world foreign to him brought about some understanding of what those men faced so long ago and how they coped with what was thrown at them and how they went on to make a good life for themselves despite many trials and tribulations.
In the book, IRON WOLF’S BRIDE, this hero stunned me with his determination to keep his marriage alive, regardless of the lies and “road-blocks” set in his path. This hero refused to believe the worst of the heroine and also gave me many insights into the Indian character of old because he realized there was foul play afoot and went about discovering it. And, his determination and “smarts” to figure it all out impressed me. He never gave up. I thought it was a good lesson to learn.
In GRAY HAWK’S LADY, I was treated to a hero, who, despite his anger at what heroine had done to him, did not sink to treating her in a bad way. In fact, he went on to treat her with respect, even protected her from others’ gossip. It was also this book I was writing when I met my husband, and Gray Hawk was quite willing to re-enact our first kiss, which is written in the pages of that book. Because of his care for this heroine who had, at first, treated him in a bad way, both she and I fell in love with his character.
These are some of the stories where the hero of the story has taken over and has somehow changed my perspective about something. And, I love how, when the characters change, I do, too.
And now, for a story about romance and romance books in general and why they are one of my most favorite things:
Long ago, when I had very small children (they were both babies, really), there was a time when my husband (my ex) was often out of town. He was doing internships and so finance was scarce. My own parents were no longer alive to help out and my brother and sister lived very distant from me and my husband’s parents lived far away, also. So, it was up to me to somehow take care of the babies and all this entails, including “bringing home the bacon,” so to speak. It was at this time when I discovered the real treasure of romance books. They calmed me down, helped me to get a good night’s sleep and helped to keep me going. Also, I made some very good friends along the way, too, romance books being one of them. Life got better, of course. But, I’ve never forgotten that time, nor the simple pleasure the books provided. Interestingly, one of my daughters tells me one of her finest memories from that time period is going to sleep while I was reading a book. From this, I’ve realized that sometimes all one needs is a good story to get a person through a tough time in life.
Well, that’s all for today. Am hoping you enjoyed the blog on this terrifically fine Tuesday and, if you did, please leave a comment about your own favorite things. Oh, I almost forgot. When you leave a comment, you’ll automatically be entered into the drawing for the e-book SHE CAPTURES MY HEART. See the Giveaway Guidelines to the right for the rules.