The Dark Side of Love
I’m going to come right out and say it: I “grew up” on
romance novels.
Sure, I read all kinds of genres, devoured everything from
science-fiction to historical non-fiction, fantasy to Shakespeare and anything
else I could get my hands on, but it was romance that I went back to every
time. I loved the happy endings, the “will she, won’t he?”, the multitude of
reasons why it would never work all tossed out for the sake of love.
I’m a sucker for a happy ending.
So how in the world did I turn into the kind of romance
writer that skirts the darker side of love?
In Blood of the Wicked,
Silas and Jessie are two people who could–if it weren’t for the
circumstances–get along outside the plot. She’s feisty and engaging, he’s
strong-willed and sexy, and both have a sense of humor that curls like the
edges of burnt paper. What draws them is raw sexual attraction, what keeps them
together is that strong sense of loyalty both display. But the ride isn’t
smooth.
Lure of the Wicked
follows a tough-as-nails heroine and the man no one would have ever considered
strong enough to match her. Naomi is one of the darkest heroines I’ve ever
written; a killer just barely on the “right” side of the law. Phin is, on the
other hand, the most beta of my alpha heroes–a metrosexual man with a lesbian
couple for parents, silver-tongued and unshakeable. Theirs is a relationship
built on mutual loss and bone-deep understanding. Like Jessie and Silas, it’s
not an easy ride.
But no matter how difficult those relationships seemed, it’s
nothing compared to All Things Wicked,
the third in my Dark Mission series. I
knew going in to this how hard it would be. Caleb and Juliet walk a very thin
line between love and hate in this story, and it comes so close to going either
way so many times.
On the one hand, there’s Caleb–tortured, bitter, alone. He’s
made his bed and sold his soul, and now he’s going to sleep in that bed with
the demons who claim him. Because that’s how it has to be.
On the other, there’s Juliet. Abandoned by everyone she
loves, hurting, desperate to know why and how and who. She’s hungry for
revenge, hungry for answers–hungry for family. Everything she’s ever wanted has
been taken from her, and she blames one man for it.
This is a dark romance; one that teeters on the edge of
violence even as it strips away everything these two use as shielding.
As if that weren’t enough, the world won’t let them circle
each other forever. It’s the circumstances that really push this relationship
from one step to the next; they force Caleb and Juliet to not just confront
each other, but themselves, too. Like purging an infected wound, it’s not
pretty, and it’s painful and violent at times. But not all love is cupcakes and
roses.
As Poison has reassured us for decades: every rose has it’s
thorn. It’s that kind of love–so alien from the sunshine and rainbows dreamers
concoct, perhaps even frightening–that keeps me on the edge of my seat. As
gripping as the outside plot, as mysterious as the secrets shaped around them.
One wrong push, and Caleb and Juliet could get swept away forever.
But is this a good thing?
I people-watch. And like most writers, I typically assign
stories to people I see. Sometimes, I don’t have to. Some couple give off this
electric vibe, this frenetic, almost palpable aura of intensity when they’re
together. These are the couples that I thought of when I wrote about Caleb and
Juliet. People who, maybe, shouldn’t be together. Who might find more peaceful
relationships with other people.
But these are the couples who spark just by looking at each
other, leaving you with the uncomfortable sensation that you might be looking
at fireworks... or the blazing inferno of a house set on fire.
The dark side of love may be difficult to embrace, hard to
understand–definitely hard to write!–but I think it’s just as valid a
relationship as the roses and candy type, the “everything clicks” type. Even
when it touches some uncomfortable lines.
Do you like reading about the dark side of love in your
happily ever afters? Or do you prefer a sweeter kind of relationship?
San Francisco provided me with a home only until the wanderlust
struck. I was raised all over the U.S. like some kind of tiny blonde gypsy, and
marinating in the melting pot of so many cultures may be the source of this
wild imagination. No matter where I was or what I thought I wanted to be when I
grew up—actress to artist, web designer, fashionista or author—I was always
creative.
As far as careers go, daydreaming for a living kicks so much
ass.
A $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour
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Please follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.
The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/01/virtual-book-tour-all-things-wicked-by.html
