Fantasy Romance--What is it?

This week I'm guest blogging at fellow WisRWA author Steven Mitchell's blog on the topic of Fantasy Romance.  I'm putting out my definition and hoping to get some feedback on what readers and writers identify as elements of the category.  Stop over and add your thoughts at http://scmitchell.wordpress.com/2013/10/28/fantasy-romance-what-is-it/

BLOODSTONE the Kindle edition releases today at Amazon! Hooray!

What do you do you do when your hero just won’t tell you his name?

You’re the author, right? You control the story. After all, it’s all coming out of your head, isn’t it?

Now I usually haven’t had much trouble naming my main characters as soon as they appear on the page. Some friends have asked me how I can come up with such unusual names as are necessary in fantasy, but the only challenge I’ve usually had is getting the spelling arranged so the reader can pronounce them in some way close to how I hear the names in my head. Secondary characters have had their names changed on occasion, but most of them spring on the page “fully named” as soon as I conceive of them (buddies Grodar and Morys, for instance from THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE, and Rees and Pumble from my upcoming release BLOODSTONE).

But main characters—the author should know their names before she begins to write the first draft.

Tell that to my hero of BLOODSTONE.

He insisted on being “the man” for the first third of the book—or the Shadow Man, as he’s known to others—before I decided I had to figure out what he wasn’t telling me. Turns out he had a very good reason for withholding his true identity. He was in serious denial and had almost forgotten who he used to be.

Ah-ha!

Once another character unlocked his memories in a series of flashbacks, I knew who he was and how he came to be the Shadow Man. And I finally got a name. Not to mention a full sense of how the heroine would both challenge and complete him.

I don’t recommend diving into writing a story without a name for a main character. A well-chosen name tells both the writer and the reader a great deal about that person. The writer has a mental, emotional, and sometimes physical guide to that character and how he/she might react and what might motivate him/her. The reader forms an instant impression to that character. For instance, who didn’t correctly size up J.K. Rowling’s Severus Snape or Draco Malfoy as soon as either of them appeared on the page? Names are powerful or we writers wouldn’t invest so much effort in choosing the right one.

Still, if a character refuses to "play nice," perhaps he or she is telling you something and you need to dig deeper.

BLOODSTONE hits the e-shelves on October 28th!

What if looking at the face of the man you loved meant death?

Years ago, warrior Durren Drakkonwehr was cursed by a mage. Now feared and reviled as the Shadow Man, he keeps to himself, only going to town to trade rare bloodstones—petrified dragon’s blood—for supplies. Though he hides his face, he can’t hide his heart from the woman who haunts his dreams…

Needing bloodstones for a jewelry commission, Mirianna and her father journey across the dreaded Wehrland where the beast-men roam. When their party is attacked, only the Shadow Man can save them. Strangely drawn to him, Mirianna offers herself in return for her father’s rescue.

Living in the ruined fortress with the Shadow Man, Mirianna slowly realizes that a flesh-and-blood man, not a fiend hides there in hoods and darkness. But are love and courage enough to lift the curse and restore the man?

BLOODSTONE, my Beauty-and-the-Beast-type fantasy romance debuts as an Amazon Kindle Select title on October 28th. I hope you'll join me for an awesome release!

Read on for an excerpt:

“What about us? What do we do?”

            Only the hood rotated, cocking with exaggerated deliberation. “Why, you die, old man.”

            Her father blanched. His grip on Mirianna’s arms faltered.

            She saw the Shadow Man turn, saw the muscles of his thighs bunch as he prepared to leap down the hillside, saw, in the corner of her eye, shapes gathering along the tree line below, horrible shapes she’d seen only hours before rushing at her from a darkened clearing. With a shudder, she broke from her father’s grasp.

            “Please!” She reached out to the black sleeve. “Help us!”

            He recoiled at her touch like one snake-bitten. The sudden, sharp focus of his regard staggered her, but she backed no more than a step. No matter how he terrified her, he’d helped her once. She’d been led to him again, and not, her instincts told her, without reason.

            “Please,” she repeated. “Help us. I—we’ll do anything.”

            “Anything?”

            His voice was a whisper that caressed flesh. Mirianna’s stomach quivered. Her breasts tingled. Her mouth grew even drier. Without thinking, she slid her tongue along her lips. Vaguely, she wondered what she’d done. And why time seemed suspended, as if everyone but she and the Shadow Man had been cast in stone and all sound arrested. All sound except the taut, guttural repeat of his question.

            “Anything?”

And now for something completely different...

I enjoy baking, and I enjoy fairy tales, and I especially enjoy romance. What about combining all three--just for fun?

Recipe for a Fairy Tale

Take one orphan teenager

Add a wicked stepmother

Toss in two cruel step-sisters

Combine with beatings and press under a heavy work load

Let stand several years

Prepare one handsome prince in need of a wife

Arrange a fancy dress ball

Combine with a dash of pomp, a teaspoon of circumstance, and one full tablespoon of glitz

Measure one cup of fairy godmother and sift with a liberal helping of magic

Add to previously battered orphan

Stir in prepared prince and fancy dress ball

Caution:  Some lumps will remain

At midnight separate two glass slippers

Add one to princely mix

Reserve one for topping

Bake several days in despair and confusion

Topping:  Combine three-fourths cup of proclamation and reserved glass slipper

Sprinkle liberally over all

Dust with happiness

Serves two

That's my recipe. How about yours? What's your favorite fairy tale recipe?

Thank you and a Giveaway!

I want to thank everyone who voted for the cover art for BLOODSTONE in the Affaire de Coeur Magazine Cover Art Contest.  There were 22 entries and BLOODSTONE took a respectable 10th among some fierce competition.  This was my first entry in a cover art contest, so I had no real idea what to expect.  I just know I really like my book's cover.  The book is in production galleys now, so I hope to have a release date soon (fingers crossed!).

In anticipation of BLOODSTONE's upcoming release, I decided to try a Goodreads Giveaway to see how that works.  It took me more than 30 minutes to figure out what to upload, but...success!  Click on the widget to the right if you'd like to enter to win a free copy of the paperback version of THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE.

It’s here! The cover art for BLOODSTONE, my upcoming release from The Wild Rose Press.

Waiting for a cover is like waiting for the birth of a baby. Will it be a boy or girl? Will it take after the pretty side of the family or the one with ‘character’? The author fills out a form describing the hero and heroine, the setting, mood, and any objects important to the plot. Then the artist does what he or she does best, marketing weighs in and—voila!—a cover is born. And the author has to live with it.

I was fortunate enough to have Rae Monet, the same cover artist for THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE, do this cover. I threw a challenge at her with this beauty-and-the-beast story, but she came through admirably. It’s a beautiful baby, don’t you think?

Royal Baby and Goodreads

I admit it—I’m a William and Kate fan, and I was keeping track of the royal baby watch. I thought Diana brought some much needed good looks into the Windsor bloodline, and I’m rooting for William and Kate to have the kind of marriage Cinderella dreamers hope for them.

But as for the baby’s name—I’ve recently seen THE KING’S SPEECH (great movie, by the way), and I understand the significance of George in the name of the king as well as the patron saint of England, but still…I guess it’s a more popular name in Britain than here.

Maybe they’ll call him Alex in daily life; it’s got to be better than Georgie. What do you think?

On another note, Goodreads recently emailed to tell me I’ve made their top one percent of reviewers. My first reaction was—Really? I’ve written reviews of over 180 books, which doesn’t seem to me to be a huge number, but okay.

I joined Goodreads because even though I’m a writer, I’m a reader first and I love books. Their recommendations have occasionally appealed to me and I’ve discovered some new authors that way. Plus, my Goodreads friends tip me off to new authors or established authors I think I should try. (That’s what got me into Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden books. A number of my friends were reading them.)

How about you? If you use Goodreads, what do you use it for? What treasures have you discovered as a result? Any tips or recommendations?