Monday, January 30, 2012

Sparks fly


How do you make your romance sizzle?

I, for one, favor a love-hate dilemma. The hero and heroine teeter dangerously between not being able to stand each other and not being able to get enough. I love to write strong and feisty women who don’t easily swoon. At least they think they don’t. The tension of these kinds of relationships fascinate and excite me. One minute they are tearing each other’s heads off in a battle of wits, the next they are nose-to-nose, suspended in a heady spell of heated desire.

I think part of the reason I prefer this saucy version over say, a sweet romance, is because of my very own love story. Jaded, heart-broken, man-hater, (okay so that’s taking it a little far, but just go with it) has no intention of being swayed by any man after the last one bludgeoned her heart into an early grave. Let alone a baseball player, whom she has been forewarned are all bad news. The ruggedly handsome center fielder has caught her eye, much to her dismay, but is as aloof as a brick wall.

Unforeseen circumstances have them paired up for a tutoring session. The brain schools the jock on statistics to find that yes, in fact, he has a brain. And a sense of humor. And a dead sexy smile. Trouble! Head-butting ensues as two strong will’s clash.

Okay, so there is some interest there, she’s brave enough to admit it to herself. But girls don’t chase boys. At least, girls like me don’t. And the big, dumb oaf has had more than a dozen tutoring sessions of sarcastic and witty banter—some of my finest work—and has yet to ask the girl out. Could the rumors be true? Is he really a player working her over with some serious game?

Then, the girl discovers the ball player is a believer. He even suggests that they do a bible study before they tutor. What girl wouldn’t swoon over a hunky, self-assured man of God dangling himself as tasty man-bait? Oh, but no, the heel dragging continues. Frustration mounts, sparks fly, and hearts finally collide.

Let’s just say, my husband knew what he was doing. Informed me about his little plan to get my attention after he’d reeled me in. But as exciting as it was, I remember it being infuriating! I told my girlfriends I though he was the biggest idiot on the planet and had officially washed my hands of the imbecile. But I will admit it set the stage for one steamy, albeit rated PG-13, romance.

It’s hard not to infuse some of ourselves in our writing. The way we felt when we were being chased. The zsa zsa zoo that defined our very own romances slips out onto the pages. Ahh, I love to remember falling in love.   

What about you? What is your love story? And how does it relate to the way you write your romances?

14 comments:

  1. Whew. I need to chill out now after reading that. :)
    I love that same love-hate thing, too. I don't always write it, but it is by far my favorite. That will they/won't they tension is magic. My hubby and I have been married for over 10 years and we still have a love-hate relationship. :) Okay, not love-hate, but we certainly have our moments of competition and witty banter. It keeps things fresh. And he pulled the uber-arrogant, "so, when are you going to ask me out?" line the first day I met him. Although I didn't ask him (because, like you, I'm not a man-chaser) I guess it all worked out. :)

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    1. :) Ahh, a little reverse psychology. Tell your hubby that was a strong play! Congrats on being married 10 years! Dating was exciting, but marriage is where the real fun begins. It's a shame more people don't see it that way. Thanks for the comment, Jenny!

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  2. Well, that's one way to start the day ...
    ;)
    I met my husband after I'd broken off an engagement -- (too long of a story for the comment section) -- and sworn of dating. So while there was attraction, there was a whole lot of resistance on my part. The II'm not interested, my heart's been broken" kind of thing. And I meant it ... but oh, I didn't think guys like him existed any more ... and he proved me wrong.
    So, sometimes I like the clashes of heart to heart -- and sometimes I like the hero to come in and heal a broken heart (or vice versa). Just depends.

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    1. God's timing always amazes me. It seems it's always when we least expect it. But he does have a knack for knowing exactly what we need, even if we don't always agree at first. Your hubby sounds like a winner to me! :)

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  3. Ah, Amy, our husbands sound very similar. They both have game. :) My husband was the sporty/fraternity guy that had every girl drooling over him. I was the Sunday school teacher refusing to be attracted to "his kind". Although if I acted on first impulses, I probably would have been interested. But I'm just stubborn enough not to want to be like every other swooning nit-wit. He played it cool and eventually won me over but there were plenty of sparks flying as we figured each other out. And those are the exact romances I love to read and to write. I-hate-ya-but-oh-how-I-love-ya! :)

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    1. Ahh, those good but bad boys will get ya every time. Sounds like a great love story. I'd read it! :)

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  4. I have to agree that I enjoy the frustrating starts in a love story. I remember telling God - "Just forget it, this guy is too dense!" We have now been married for 31 years:)

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    1. I might have uttered the exact same words about Rick! It's amazing how much we are alike. ;)

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  5. God caught my hubby on the rebound and then threw him my way. So he was the one who was a little gun-shy. When he rambled on after our first kiss under a starry sky that this didn't mean we were getting married or anything, I knew he was a goner. :) He asked me to marry him after two months of dating and we've been happily married for 25 years. Probably not enough conflict for a romance novel. LOL

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    1. I don't know, don't sell yourself short. Sounds like a winner to me! And the bumbling after the kiss is great fodder for comedy. :) You could definitely work that in somewhere. Congrats on the 25 years, Sandra!

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  6. Haha! You guys make a great couple! It makes me think about when I first met Matthew and it took him like forever to get the guts to give me his pager number...lol! Seems like forever ago!

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    1. Girl, you just said pager number! That was forever ago :) so cute that you married your high school sweetheart! Matty's a lucky guy.

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