I found this Top Ten meme on HelenKay’s blog, then links to several other authors who’d already posted theirs: Jaci Burton, Jill Monroe, Gena Showalter, Rachel Vincent, Jeri Smith-Ready, and Jocelynn Drake. I figured to give it a go!
#1 – My heroines may enjoy being rescued or taken care of, but will never ask for it, expect it, or lie down like a doormat and wait for it. They’re perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, but know that taking care of themselves means loving a man who loves them in return, an equal partnership / footing, as it were.
#2 – My heroes will sound like men, including having foul mouths when it’s in character. They can talk cooking as well as sports, but they will not be girls in men suits.
#3 – I will almost always have a secondary romance in my books, whether single titles or series category. I love writing secondary stories and weaving them into the main plot.
#4 – One or more of my characters will be estranged or at odds with their family – and they won’t always reconcile. It’s a conflict dynamic I enjoy exploring because it’s happened in my own immediate family, my extended family, and in those of friends.
#5 – Every book will have at least one sex scene where a major piece of characterization or backstory or plot point is revealed. Read pages 157 – 169 of INFATUATION to see what I mean. *g* Yes, every sex scene should fulfill a specific purpose, but oftentimes that purpose is simply having sex. Other times it’s way, way more than physical pleasure, and if skipped, will leave the reader in the dark about a vital story element.
#6 – My story people will talk and banter and argue. A lot. I love writing dialogue, listening to people talking, hearing how they use words to coax and convince, etc. Dialogue makes a story for me as a reader; I love plots whose forward momentum is driven by talk, not thought, not narrative, so that has translated into being a big part of my writing.
#7 – There will be a lot of description in my books, hopefully woven into the narrative naturally. I am a very visual writer. I see settings and clothing and hairstyles, etc, just so, and I want readers to see them as close to my visualization as possible. I don’t do collages, but I do tear pictures from magazines and tack them to my foam boards to keep my story visuals in my mind. The other day, I tore out a single pair of shoes!
#8 – I will rarely use a character name more than once, and if I do, it’s a secondary character often mentioned in passing. I’m pretty sure I’ve written a Graham or two . . .
#9 – In every book, my hero and heroine will fall into bed before they ever fall into love.
#10 – There are a lot of cultural references – music, television shows, movies, events. This is because my characters are living in real time. Doing this may date my books for future readers, but I strongly believe it ups the realism factor in the here and now. I also people my stories with characters of all races and nationalities because that’s the world I live in.
#11 – (It’s a Top Eleven list. So sue me!) A lot of my stories will take place in Texas, Houston specifically because I know the city inside and out and love it. If I could work downtown without working there, I’d be there daily in a heartbeat.
Oh, and #1 daughter didn’t like yesterday’s picture, so we took another – with the cell phone camera so it’s really crappy, but she does look more alive. *g* The girl’s ear must weigh a ton from all that metal (8 holes or so), and we won’t even talk about her tongue.
