So, this weekend I caught up on an HBO show I’d missed, True Detective. Talk about somber and depressing. Like so many of the darker shows I perversely enjoy, the cinematography is  beautiful in its starkness. Other cases in point: Hannibal, Penny Dreadful, The Killing (in which it never stops raining), and the merciless sun and isolating open spaces in Breaking Bad–just as effective as gloom and clouds.

Setting a mood in writing is tricky. I don’t want to bore the reader with too many details or paint in broad, cliche brushstrokes. Somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot, providing just enough in-the-moment sensory description to make the reader feel there, to not only see, but experience the place.

Summer and I were happy to have several critics point out that The Bohemian and the Banker was like taking a little Parisian vacation. The Paris we all imagine and probably nothing like the actual city was at the turn of the century. But hey, we sent our readers someplace and that’s good to hear.

Currently I’m enjoying the rainy, gray spring weather outside as it’s perfectly setting my mood to work on a gothic romance. The Tutor is kind of like Jane Eyre meets the Sound of Music, the Secret Garden, and every “true hauntings” show I’ve watched on TV.  A young man, passing himself off as a tutor with forged credentials, travels to teach twin boys at an isolated estate. The kids are odd. The master of the house is  moody. The servants are all a little off and the house itself oozes an aura of menace. Good times!

I really love spooky stuff, was weaned on Stephen King, and hated that the ghost of the week in Scooby Do was always some dude in a costume. I’m having  a ball working on this story and hope I can really pull off the creepy atmosphere. Readers can expect it….sometime. Hey, maybe in time for Halloween. That would be cool.

I’ve decided to invite guest writers to my blog on Fridays, beginning today with the amazing Zoe York…

LOVE IN A SMALL TOWN

Six years. Two break-ups. One divorce.
They should be over each other…

Police officer and army reservist Rafe Minelli knows better than to tell his wife no, particularly since they aren’t married anymore. She can’t hightail it out of town, though, not when they’ve finally broken through the post-divorce cold war status quo.

Olivia Minelli needs to leave Pine Harbour. It’s just too hard to see Rafe moving on without her—even if he says he doesn’t want to. But when a new and exciting job falls into her lap, she needs to choose: protect her heart, or take the new job and risk getting emotionally entangled with her ex-husband. Again.

GET IT FREE TODAY AT:

Amazon US: http://www.smarturl.it/LiaSTAmzn

Barnes & Noble: http://www.smarturl.it/LiaSTBN

Kobo: http://www.smarturl.it/LiaSTKobo

iBooks: http://www.smarturl.it/LiaSTiBooks

More information:

http://zoeyork.com/books/pine-harbour/

Committed Passion is a series finale, each couples’ story is moved along a little further and loose endings are tied up. I enjoyed revisiting all the characters and at the same time I was happy to say goodbye so I can start something new. Not sure exactly what the next series will be. I started on a MC (motorcycle club) romance a while back but about a chapter in I realized I wasn’t achieving the grit factor expected in these types of romances. But maybe I’ll work on it anyway. In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy Committed Passion. Buy links are on the book’s page here on the web site.

The Wyatt brothers and their special ladies are back to celebrate a wedding in a final novella.

 If you enjoyed Leah and J.D.’s story in Blind Passion but wanted to see how they worked out some of their issues, Committed Passion is for you.

 If you’re a fan of Gina and Micah, who bicker and banter but fall in love by the end of Dangerous Passion, here’s a chance to learn more about how they settle into each others lives.

 Or if Jonah and Rianna’s pussyfooting around love in Guarded Passion intrigued you, they’re back and contemplating lifetime commitment.

 Three couples. Six points of view. Three stories tied up and resolved—more or less.

In keeping with blogging on a more regular basis, I’ve decided to cast Wednesday as something like a show and tell day.  I want to highlight movies, shows, stage plays, songs that move me and which others might enjoy.

Today on my mp3 player, a song from A Home at the End of the World came up in the queue reminding me how much I really enjoy this movie. Sad, sweet, sexy, soulful, all the good “s” words. Two boyhood friends with a special bond later try to build a life together along with a third. Can three be a family or only a crowd? Here’s the trailer. Trust me and rent the movie if you’ve never seen it.

And the song from my playlist, Something Somewhere by Duncan Sheik. (no video just audio on this)

This morning I was thinking about what common theme is contained in all romance novels of any sub genre. What I came up with is longing and frustration of that longing. The protagonists desire someone seemingly outside their grasp and spend most of the book fighting desire. Sometimes there are external forces keeping the lovers apart, but I believe the most gut wrenching novels are ones in which the protagonist(s) are basically punishing themselves by denying what they crave. Isn’t it so satisfying to see the steps of their journey as they falter their way to a happy ending?

I believe romance is such a popular genre because everyone has experienced a longing for something (or someone) that seems impossible to achieve. Maybe a high school crush that never came to fruition. Maybe something more current. But the sheer need which must be denied for whatever reason is  such a basic, primitive thing. Hang any plot around it you want, reaching for something just beyond reach is the crux of romance. IMO.