A Hero Is a Hero

Bad Is Good

I write contemporary and historical romances, but the core of my protagonists in these different genres remains constant. Whether the hero is a cowboy (which is the case in my historical romances) or a psychic detective like Levi Wolfe in “Through His Eyes” and “Through His Touch,” they are alpha males with a “bad boy” persona. The heroines are smart, independent, and will stand toe-to-toe with these mavericks.

Why a bit of badness in the men? Well, because that’s my personal weakness. I’ve always loved those bad boys with hearts of gold. All tough on the outside and gooey on the inside – with the right woman, of course!

A hero just isn’t any fun if he isn’t a little (or a lot!) dangerous and flawed in some way. I love the “misunderstood hero” (Mr. Darcy in “Pride and Prejudice” or Rhett Butler in “Gone with the Wind”) and my own heroes fit this description, such as Griffin Goforth in “Fire Lily,” Johnny Cheyenne in “Cheyenne’s Shadow,” and Reno Gold in “Tough Talk, Tender Kisses.”

Levi, the hero/protagonist in “Through His Eyes” and my new novel in the Mind’s Eye series “Through His Touch” is a classic misunderstood, flawed, alpha man and he is – if I say so myself – deliciously bad in the best sense of that word. Levi Wolfe had a troubled youth and he launched himself into a destructive period as a young man to emerge with “No Trespassing” signs posted all over him, especially on his heart. He’s a gifted psychic and self-made millionaire, but he has never known unconditional love. Into his life walks Trudy Tucker, also a talented psychic, who does a head and heart trip on Levi.

I think what I love most about bad boys is their strength coupled with vulnerability. They can take care of themselves and they do because they usually have had to do just that. There wasn’t anyone around they could trust to protect them, love them, and guide them as they grew from boys to men. Or they went down the wrong path in their youth, disappointed people who loved them, and then felt like they couldn’t make enough amends when they finally regained their footing on the right path.

Levi is one of those walking wounded who feels that he can’t trust people with his deepest feelings and that he’s damaged goods. Women look at him and swoon because he’s a gorgeous specimen of manhood, but they don’t look past his beauty to see the sad beast crouching within his heart. Trudy sees him – all of him – and she still loves him. And that both fascinates and terrifies Levi.

Readers tell me that they love my heroes and that gladdens my heart because I love them, too! Whether they are cowboys in the 1880s or present day psychics, they are men with heart and grit!

Mysteries of Writing

How Writing Works

   I'd like to tell you that I understand the process of writing, but I don't. It's still a mystery to me how the ideas come, why I become so obsessed with make-believe people and circumstances, and why it's so imperative that I write these stories down for others to read.

  All I know is that I was born this way. When I was unable to read, I wanted to be read to and I wanted picture books to look at and coloring books to color. Books. Books. Books. I wanted them! Then I learned to write and read and that unlocked something in me. Stories swam in my head. Characters crowded my brain. Feelings bombarded my heart. I acted out movies and TV shows in my bedroom, playing all the characters. Then I began to write original stories. Early on, I loved romances and my earliest attempts at writing always had a romance at the heart of it.

  Years later, I am compelled to sit and write. I fret about characters I've created and feel their pain, their anguish, their joys, and their fears. When my writing is flowing, I'm totally "gone." Hours slip by and I have no concept of time or space. Only when my bladder becomes painful do I realize that I have been sitting for way, way too long. When the writing is going well, I don't even get hungry. The only call I answer is the bathroom one.

  Every writer is asked, "Where to you get your ideas?" and I've never heard a good answer to that because we simply don't know. It's like asking someone, "How did you learn to breathe?" Uh. Nobody actually taught me how to breathe . . . it just happened. Nothing put these ideas in my head. They just happened. I can't turn them off any more than I could decide not to breathe.

 Not all of the ideas make it to the page. Some fizzle out. Others bloom into big, spectaular displays. Some days I write pages and pages of great stuff. Other days I write pages and pages of stuff that needs a lot of editing, rewriting, and rethinking. But every day I write, I feel better for doing it. I suppose it's like people who are compelled to hit the gym. Sometimes it's a joy and sometimes it's an ordeal. But they're always glad they did it and they can't not do it.

  Writing for me is certainly not a hobby or a vocation. It's not even a job, although I make a living doing it. Writing is me. Like my brown eyes and sweet spot for Chihuahuas. It's always been in me, of me, on me, at me. Even when I didn't know how to write, I was romancing it and preparing to fall madly, widly, completely in love with it. 

  

How Touching!

Hand Signals 

  It’s common knowledge that the handshake and/or originated from early man extending his hand to a stranger to show that he was unarmed and came in peace. The handshake and wave are still the main gestures of greeting among men and women because the hand is one of our most useful and valued “tools” and it’s a vulnerable part of our anatomy.

  The hand has many small bones in it that can be crushed with a modicum of pressure. Therefore, when you extend it in greeting, you’re showing trust to the other person. However, this is only one instinctive gesture we humans make toward each other. Men and women usually touch in progressive steps and we instinctively know what they mean even if we aren’t conscious of them. Here are the main progressive “touching” steps:

1.      Hand to hand contact. If you like someone, you’ll let him hold your hand. This can also include inadvertent touching of hands – as in when a man hands you a glass of wine and your fingers slide over each other. Intentional? You bet!

2.      Hand to arm/shoulder contact. Touching someone’s arm or squeezing someone’s shoulder is a more friendly gesture. Women do this with great skill – briefly touching a man’s arm to make a point in conversation, resting a hand on a man’s shoulder as you share a laugh. It’s a signal to the man that you’re interested in him and want more contact with him. This gesture can also morph into hand to the small of a woman’s back. It’s a “let me help you” friendly gesture, but it also denotes possession (“she’s with me”).

3.      Hand to hair/head contact. This is an intimate gesture. You have to feel trust for someone to allow him to place his hands on your head or hair. Other than your family, close friends, and hair stylist, who would you feel comfortable with stroking your hair or caressing your cheek? Right. No one. That’s because their hands are getting close to vulnerable parts of you – your eyes and your nose. Instinct tells you to protect your head, so when you allow someone to stroke your hair or place his hand on your cheek, you are telling him that you trust him.

4.      Hand to neck/throat. Again, a vulnerable part of your body, so no one touches you there unless you trust that person and/or want intimacy with that person.

5.      Arm to shoulders/waist. When a man puts his arms around your shoulders, he’s signaling that he would like to get closer. Now, if this is a man putting his arm around another man’s shoulders (and they are both heterosexual), then it’s a friendship gesture. Hetero men don’t put their arms around each other’s waist – but they will put their arms around a woman’s waist as a signal of possession. This is a very intimate gesture because the man’s hand is moving progressively lower on a woman’s body – from the head, to the shoulder or arm, and his hand in between the breasts and the genitals. (That’s why men don’t feel comfortable placing their arms around each’s other waist! Too close to the package!)

6.      Handsy! – The next step is hands on the prizes – breasts and genitals. Hopefully, this step is done in private. The other steps can be done in public.

  So, when a man (or woman) skips one of these steps, it throws the other person off-balance. That’s why we love those Alpha Males and Dominants. They skip steps. The woman expects the man to take her hand or place his hand on the small of her back . . . but he grabs her, pulls her intimately against him, his lips glide down the side of her face, and he gives her earlobe a little bite. Whoa! He skipped steps, the devil! He knows it. She knows it. And now it’s a matter of, what are they going to do about it?

  If you want to see a good example of the step-by-step action, take a gander at the main love scene in “The Last of the Mohicans.” It’s sheer perfection.

  Examples of “skipping steps” can be found in virtually any romance novel worth its price!

In Love with Levi

Why I Love Leviticus Wolfe

While it’s true that I have to be in love with every hero I write or it just does not work for me, I admit that I have a special place in my heart for Leviticus Wolfe in my Mind's Eye series (THROUGH HIS EYES and THROUGH HIS TOUCH). Here are four reasons why I’m so “gone” for this guy.

1.      He’s my ultimate type. I love bad boys – guys who are badass but have bleeding hearts. Levi is bad in a good way. Growing up in a challenging environment, he developed a hard shell, but somehow he has managed to remain kind and compassionate. He doesn’t go looking for a fight, but he doesn’t back down from them either. His heart is scarred, but still big and beautiful.

2.      He leads and never follows. Levi takes charge. When he sees something or someone he wants, he goes after it. His mission in life is to bring about order from chaos. He doesn’t like lies or turbulence in his life because that’s what was around him all the time when he was young. He doesn’t like to feel that he’s not in charge and in control – which is why being with Trudy is both thrilling and aggravating for him. When he’s with her, he’s not sure-footed or certain of the direction he’s moving toward with her.

3.      He knows he’s deeply flawed. Although he’s handsome, gifted, and successful, Levi knows he has deep flaws and wounds that haven’t healed. He wants to be a better man, so he’s in therapy and working to exorcise his demons. But his main flaw is that he doesn’t trust others or his own heart. His intellect – knowing he should trust Trudy and allow himself to love her with all his heart – battles his honed instincts – guarding himself from further pain that would wipe out the progress he’s made in shedding his phobias and becoming “normal.”

4.      He’s learning to love and be loved. Levi has never known deep, abiding love in his life and Trudy offers that to him. It frightens him because he feels unworthy of it and, yet, he wants it, desperately. Accepting such a gift will mean that he must reveal all of himself to Trudy, and when he does, he’s afraid she will decide he’s too messed up and she’ll leave him.

So, there you have it. Trudy has her work cut out for her, but she’s up to the challenge – I hope!

Authors Who Inspired Me

Fifty Shades of Inspiration

Since we all love to read, I thought I’d share with you whose books inspired me to be a writer, to be a better writer, and to be brave enough to write what was in my heart.

The #1 position is held by Mary Stewart. When I read “The Moonspinners” I was entranced. I read it about six or seven times. It was that book that made me want to write stories for other people to read – specifically to write love stories. I was in eighth grade. I had written things before, but I’d never thought about making a living doing it until then.

I couldn’t make a list of authors I admire without including Margaret Mitchell. Her “Gone with the Wind” is the essence of historical romances. The sweeping, all-encompassing history and historical facts in her book are staggering. Yes, there is no HEA, but the ending still stands for all time as one of the best. Readers could write their own sequel (until the actual one came out…but it doesn’t count because Margaret didn’t write it).

Truman Capote inspired me to never stop learning how to write better and to go at your own pace. I love the story of how he and Ernest Hemingway were in a hotel room writing one day. They started in mid-morning and in the late afternoon Hemingway pushed aside his typewriter and suggested they call it a day and head to the bar for drinks. He glowered at Truman and said, “I’ve typed three whole pages of my novel and you’ve sat there all damn day and typed one word!” Truman smiled and said, “Yes, but it’s the right word.”

LaVyrle Spencer inspired me to write historical romances. I had written only contemporary stories until I read her books. “Hummingbird,” “Twice Loved,” “Vows,” “The Gamble, and “The Endearment,” along with all her others, brought joy to me and made me want to step back in time. She is a beautiful writer. Of late, I read a book that reminded me of LaVyrle’s touching characters and storylines – “Archer’s Voice” by Mia Sheridan. It’s simply wonderful and I’m a big fan of hers now.

Finally, I must give a bow to E.L. James. Yes, yes, I’ve read all the criticism of her writing. Hey, folks, I’ve read a lot worse that made bestseller lists, so chill. Besides, if you’re reading “Fifty Shades of Grey” and you’re all wrapped up in bad sentence structure or weak word choices, then you just don’t get it anyway. People don’t enjoy those books because of the writing style. (wink, wink) I was totally wrapped up in Christian’s character. I thought he was fascinating and I loved all three books. They inspired me to write what was in my heart – what I’d wanted to write for 10 years, but had been afraid to branch off into a new direction with it.

There are many other authors I love, but these are touchstones for me.

Serial Mur--I mean, Musings

Oh, the tangled webs we weave....

I'm writing a series now called "The Mind's Eye" series and Book #2 is being released in a matter of days. This is a first for me and it's been a real trip so far. I went at this almost with blinders on . . . just diving in and not giving much thought to the books ahead of me.

Luckily, I did create two protagonists I really love. They're multi-dimensional and have interesting backstories I can draw on and their present predicaments are also juicy!

Book #1 -- "Through His Eyes" -- was a complete joy to write and rewrite and rewrite. Loved it. Still do.

Book #2 -- "Through His Touch" -- was also fun to write, but there was a bit of tension stirring in me the whole time, too. I was now cognizant of how a series must build in popularity and word-of-mouth or perish. Gulp! My first one received wonderful reviews, but didn't climb very far up the best-seller or even moderate-seller ladder. However, I did make inroads with bloggers, which I feel is very important and something I've not done for my previous books. While i was more aware of the type of promotion involved and the $$ it would take, I was still not as "savvy" as I should be. Book promoter is a new job for me and I'm still finding my way.

Book #3 is in its infancy. It's supposed to be the final one, but I'm not ready to say farewell to these characters, so I'm leaving the door open for more adventures, more angst, more revealing of character flaws and fears. It's true -- series books can be addictive.

My only hope is that the books continue to get attention and readership. If #3 lies dormant without showing any readership growth, I'll have to re-evaluate my desire to continue with the series. As it stands, I do plan to take a break after #3 and write an historical romance that I've outlined and am yearning to flesh out. After that's done, I'll decide whether I should do another 3 books for Mind's Eye or say a fond and tearful farewell to my lovely Levi and courageous Trudy.

Through His Eyes Novel by Deborah Camp