Love on the page: Romance Tropes Part 2

I hope you’ve enjoyed the romance trope talk so far. Today I’m going to tell you about some of my favorites. 

While it creates conflict and tension in the how of two people falling in love (enemies, friends, forced together, etc.) there are other tropes that deal in the when.

  • Slow burn: This is often in tandem with another trope (such as enemies to lovers, etc.) but this is where the couple takes the course of the entire book or series to fall in love. There are only small hints here and there that they are actually catching feelings for each other.

  • Love at first sight: This one is a tricky one, in my opinion. Because many stories are about the couple falling in love and the obstacles that get in their way. But a lot of conflict can arise if a couple falls in love quickly too!* Especially since they probably don’t know each other well and there could be things in their past or even their present that can threaten to tear them apart.

Another way that this can work well is if it’s an insta-attraction, or insta-connection. The romance isn’t necessarily immediate, but there’s a reason the couple is drawn to each other. 

  • Second Chance: Maybe they loved each other once, but were ripped apart for some reason? Maybe their first date was horrible and now they have a chance at a second one? Maybe one loved the other long ago, but it was unrequited and when they’re brought back together the spark is ignited in both of them?

*What might happen immediately after a love at first sight couple connection? What about:

  • Forbidden romance:  The couple’s parents/guardians/friends forbid them to be together (like Romeo and Juliet). It’s taboo for them to be together. It would cause a war if they’re together. One of them is betrothed to another, or a slave and they cannot be together. Cross-class romance fits in this trope.

  • Star crossed lovers/Impossible love: While it’s similar to forbidden love, there is something beyond being forbidden by others or society that says they can’t be together. For instance, they live on different planets, or in different times. Whatever it is, it would be impossible for them to be together.

These last two are my absolute favorite. My heart swoons when the couple loves each other, but there is something that is keeping them apart and they must navigate it. I don’t even need the happily ever after (the couple finally getting together) in order to enjoy this trope.

I could go on with more. There are so many romance tropes! Are there any that you love that I didn’t mention? Tell me in the comments!


Love on the page: Romance Tropes Part 1

Let’s talk about tropes! Specifically romantic tropes since this is the month of love and all things romance! Some of you might already know about all the tropes, so geek out with me!

The definition of a trope in the literary and TV/movie sense, is a situation between characters that is expected and moves the story forward.

Many popular tropes are used over and over, which can seem boring, but as long as they’re done uniquely, readers and viewers love it.

So most of these are pretty obvious by their names, but I’ll describe them for you anyway!

  • Enemies to Lovers: The couple are enemies in the beginning. They hate each other but are around each other for some reason* and ultimately fall in love with each other. The tension is fun to watch/read/write, which is why this is such a popular one.

  • Friends to Lovers: The couple begin as platonic friends and over the course of the story they fall in love. The obstacles they can face is the fear of becoming more than friends might ruin their friendship. Or they worry if it doesn’t work out, their relationship might never be the same.

  • Enemies to Friends to Lovers: is a mix of the two, but usually takes all lot of time together to go through the entire cycle.

*It’s obvious that you would want to stay away from your enemies. So another group of tropes in romance is the thingthat forces the couple to spend time with each other. Here are a couple of them:

  • Forced proximity: This can be literal, like they’re handcuffed together, they’re stuck in an elevator or in a car. Or it can be like they’re paired together at school for a project, or work together. All of these things can make enemies (or friends or whatever) spend time together in order to fall in love.

  • Fake dating: She doesn’t want to go home for Christmas without bringing a boyfriend, so she hires someone or asks a friend to pretend to be her plus one. They’re fake dating because he wants to make his ex jealous, or she wants some clingy guy to leave her alone so he pretends to be her boyfriend. Fake fiance, or even fake spouse falls under this same category.

 

I hope this was interesting! Next week, I’ll bring you Part 2!

Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns is LIVE!

COURTING FAE THIEVES AND CROWNS is LIVE!

It's actually been an entire year since I've released a novel, which is strange because I've published at least three books every year since I was first published in 2018 until 2022. This is also a story that has been a long time in the making. One episode (or chapter) at at time, once a week on Kindle Vella since July of 2021.

But I didn't publish it to Kindle Vella, then slap it into a book. Serial story writing is different than novel writing, so there were a lot of edits and some added chapters to make Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns the best it could be in novel form!

It's available in ebook, paperback, and for the first time ever… in HARDBACK!!

In case you missed what the book is about, here's the cover and description:

A tournament for the prince’s heart.
Fifteen fae hopefuls chosen, vying for the crown.
But the king has planted a beautiful spy in their midst…

Half-fae Amberle is a thief, but there’s nothing she can steal that will buy her father’s freedom. When she’s invited to enter a glamorous competition to become the potential mate and bride of the prince, her every instinct blares a warning. After all, the king can’t be trusted. And worse, she knew Prince Rion as a youngling, and he hates her.

The feeling is mutual.

But when the very King of Faerie who holds her father prisoner offers to free him in exchange for Amberle’s compliance, will she strike a bargain?

How hard can it be to spy on a few royals and noble wannabes? It’s not like she’s at risk of falling in love.

◆ Fans of The Selection and Throne of Glass will love this binge-worthy story of cunning fae, enemies to lovers romance, a sprinkling of royal mystery, and deadly secrets.

These are a few of my favorite... characters!

First off… Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns releases in less than one week!! If the gorgeous cover and the lovely character art and the awesome description hasn’t convinced you to click preorder or buy yet, you can read the first two chapters for FREE.

Just click here: Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns Chapters 1 and 2

Do you have a favorite character? I’ve found that my favorite characters aren’t necessarily from my favorite books, but they definitely can be! For instance, I love The Hunger Games, The Night Circus and Ender’s Game, but none of them have characters that I would categorize as my favorite. And I would say it goes vice versa, but it doesn’t. All of my favorite characters are from favorite books.

Here are a few:

Rose Hathaway

From Vampire Academy, by Richelle Mead

I love how fiercely loyal Rose is. I love that she is snarky and strong and protective and that she doesn’t back down from a fight. I love that she isn’t afraid to speak her mind. I think I would have loved to have a friend like her when I was growing up.


Fun fact: I briefly took up running when I really connected with Rose because she was always running. I don’t necessarily enjoy running anymore, but I don’t exactly hate it like I used to.

Get it here

Gansey

Richard Gansey III from The Raven Boys, by Maggie Steifvater 

I love all of the characters from the Raven Cycle series, but Gansy is an old soul with so much richness and depth. He’s obsessed with finding dead kings and he has the means to do it despite being a teenager. And his relationship with Blue!! Swoon!!

 Fun fact: I first read this series by listening to the audiobooks which is narrated by Will Patton (of Remember the Titans) while walking my oldest kiddo to and from kindergarten and pushing my toddler and baby in a stroller. It’s one of those fond memories from when my kids were still babies.

Get it here

Prince Maxon

Maxon Schreave from The Selection, by Kiera Cass

I know a lot of people had an issue with Prince Maxon, but I was all in with how immediately he fell in love with America. As a longtime fan of The Bachelor, it was fun to see “the bachelor” pick his favorite so quickly. He definitely has a lot of flaws, but I loved seeing a broken prince find love.

Fun fact: I've read this series over and over and was something I'd read on my phone late at night while I was feeding my newborns. Another fond memory when my kids were babies.

Get it here

Will Herondale

Will Herondale from Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare

As much as I love Jace from The Mortal Instruments, there was something so tragic and dark about Will from the Infernal Devices. Jace seemed like jerk in the beginning because he was a haughty teenage boy. Will was worse, but once I learned his reasons, it broke my heart. I love his relationship with Jem and the evolution of his relationship with Tessa.

Fun fact: This one isn't so much fun, but my son has some challenges and there was one exhausting weekend when we couldn't get his medication refilled so he couldn't sleep. He ended up being awake for 36 hours straight. I don't like sleeping while he is awake, so I stayed up with him, sitting in the hall outside his bedroom and reading this series because it's one of those comfort series for me.

Get it here

Who are some of your favorite characters? Comment on this post and let me know!

Creating Characters - Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns

Several months ago, I asked my readers what types of things they wanted me to write in my emails/blog posts. I got a few requests for what my writing process is like. So this month I wanted to focus on CHARACTERS!

It’s appropriate since I have a release in less than two weeks! Many of you have read Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns on Kindle Vella, but I know a lot of you have waited for the book versions. Your wait is almost over because book one releases on January 18th!

Preorder it here —> COURTING FAE THIEVES AND CROWNS

Choosing/Creating Characters

When I began brainstorming Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns, I had an idea of the basic plot I wanted and I had an idea of what I wanted the female main character (Amberle) to be. 

Since The Selection is one of my favorite series and I love watching The Bachelor/The Bachelorette with my husband, I knew I wanted a similar competition for the prince’s heart. I had also recently read Throne of Glass and loved the idea that Celaena was taken from prison to compete for her freedom as the prince’s champion.

So I meshed the two. I knew I wanted the female main character to be approached by someone to enter the competition for her father’s freedom. I also liked the idea that the prince didn’t know the true reason she is there, for added conflict.

My books don’t have a lot of stabby/killing scenes, so I didn’t want to write the life of an assassin (like in Throne of Glass), so she became a thief instead.

Since I had already spent so much time worldbuilding the world of Faerie and the Raven Court, I wanted to set this story in the same world. I went back to all my development of the history of Faerie and the Raven Court and the old king, Orion, was the perfect match for my prince.

King Orion is mentioned in the Raven Court series, but his wife or mate had never been mentioned, so I was free to create Amberle and the other contestants for Prince Rion’s heart from scratch. But I did place a few other names from the Raven Court. I won’t tell you who they’re related to (you might be able to guess some) but Didi Beechriver, Kali Islandwort (the healer), Wyn Firetail, and a few others have connections to the Raven Court series.  

It’s not the first time I’ve done this. Tessa, in Remember (Dream Walker Academy), is Emily’s daughter from In Her Dreams. And in Frost Boarding House there are several family connections. Evandrus Quinn is an ancestor of Juliet Quinn from the Siren Prophecy, Aline Dracul is related to Kol Dracul, Gemma MacLugh is related to Kenzie MacLugh and of course Leif Villers is in so many Shifter Academy books. 

I love creating these connections! In fact, as I’m writing Becoming a Fae Queen (Raven Court #4) I’m already adding references to Amberle and her story in Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns.

This is obviously just a snippet of my process and a lot more goes into it, but I love sharing my writing process, so if you want to hear more, let me know!

2022 Wrap Up!

I hope your holidays have been good this year. They were very chaotic for my family, but everyone is happy and healthy, so I count it as a win! 

My husband and my kids are off this week and part of next week, so I'm not technically working, but I wanted to write one last post this year!

I began my publishing journey in 2018. That year I published three books: the In Her Dreams trilogy.

In 2019, I published six books: The Siren Prophecy trilogy (co-written with 4 others), and the Frost Boarding House trilogy.

In 2020, I published six books: Dreamwalker Academy books 1-3, and the Reclaim trilogy (co-written with Jesse Booth).

In 2021, I published three books: Raven Court series books 1-3, AND I began writing my Kindle Vella story Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns.

The reason I'm telling you all of this is because this year, 2022, I've only published one book. And it was a novella. Exiling a Fae Queen came out in January, but that’s it. This year have focused on publishing more episodes of Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns, and I’ve been working on my author business. I’ve also done a lot of growing and learning this past year that I'm hoping with propel my author career and help me reach even more readers. 

Fortunately, 2023 will already beat this year because in just a few short weeks, book 1 of Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns will release. I know a lot of you have been waiting for the novel version. I'm so happy with the changes I've made for the novel format, it's turned into an epic story that is the best thing I've ever written. 

Then, later (hopefully in the spring) the fourth and final version of the Raven Court series, Becoming a Fae Queen, will release. 

Beyond those two books, I'm not sure what will be next, (probably book 2 of the Thieves and Crowns series) but stick around on this journey with me!

Christmas with Camilla Frost

Frost Boarding House has heavy themes of ice (and fire), so that alone lends itself to this time of year. But there is also a Christmas scene in Chapter 15 of Frost (book 2).

Here’s a little snippet:

Christmastime at the Frost Boarding House in 1898 should have been magical. It was, in a sense, as Miss Dracul garnered expensive decorations that enveloped the entire house inside and out. Mr. Frost tried to refuse the extravagance, but she insisted. 

Pine garlands hung along the mantles and railings, enveloping the entire house with the bitter smell that reminded Camilla of the Washington forest just outside the house. Candles and ribbons and Christmas flowers decorated every flat surface. A seven-foot pine tree was cut and was the centerpiece of the house in the entry hall. They decorated every inch with ribbons and candles, large glass balls and tinsel. Camilla and Oliver draped popcorn garlands and fashioned a star made of twigs from the yard for the top.

Not a soul in the house said a word when small iridescent ice balls that somehow never melted in the house’s warmth appeared one morning. They hung and shone like crystals, catching the candlelight and filling the hall with their light-magic.

Camilla was glad for the silence one evening as she touched one of her creations between two fingers. The house had been in a hustle and bustle, but she felt lonely. Creating the crystal-like ice was something she’d done to distract herself from her solitude.

If you didn’t have a copy already, I hope you took advantage of the free day of Frigid a few weeks ago! If you want to continue the series, here’s a link for Frost <—

But if you like to binge, here’s a link to the entire series that also has a special bonus scene other editions don’t have. —>BOXSET

Holiday Traditions

When I look back at my life, and specifically my childhood, I don’t remember the different gifts I received over the year (I remember some, but definitely not all). But I do remember the family traditions surrounding Christmas. 

We always had a family party on Christmas Eve, where we ate food and gave gifts–it’s a tradition we still do. I always loved driving home from that party and seeing all the Christmas lights on the houses and prayed that I could fall asleep quickly to make Christmas morning come quicker. 

When Santa came to our house, he always left rolled-up notes on the tree. Some presents from him were around the tree, but when we’d unwrapped everything else on Christmas morning, my siblings and I had two notes each that led us on a hunt for a present hidden somewhere in the house or outside. One time we had to drive to my grandma’s house because Santa had hidden some sleds in her garage.

This is a tradition that started with my grandparents (with my mom) and has been carried on with my kids too. So it’s lasted three generations so far.

What are some of your holiday traditions? I celebrate Christmas, but I’d love to hear about your traditions from any holiday!

Christmas Through Time: Victorian Era

I have always been fascinated by the past. When my oldest kiddo was a baby, I loved pushing his stroller through the cemetery and wondering what the lives of those buried there must have been like. It was from that thought that the premise of In Her Dreams was born.

Naturally, I’m curious about what holidays were like in different time periods so I wanted to share a bit about that with you this month.

I didn’t know this until I researched it, but Christmas as we celebrate it today was largely influenced by the Victorian Era. For thousands of years, many people celebrated midwinter festivities associated with paganism and when Christianity was introduced, it was mixed with these festivals. But it wasn’t until the Victorans, and specifically Queen Victoria, that the Christmas holiday formed the way it is today.

Christmas wasn’t a day that workers had a holiday from work until the wealth of the industrial revolution allowed people in England and Wales to take two days off to celebrate. And the publication of Charles Dicken’s, A Christmas Carol, encouraged the wealthy to give money and gifts to the poor.

The Victorians also established that it was a holiday for the family. Feasting, giving gifts, decorating and playing games was all a part of it.