Hello everyone, please join me in giving a warm welcome to author Denise K. Rago. She has kindly stopped by my blog for a guest post today.
I will be reading Denise's debut novel, a paranormal romance called Immortal Obsession , and I will be reviewing it here at my blog. Stay tuned for my upcoming review as well as a giveaway in March.
Now for Denise's guest post, she is here to discuss the Subtle Art of Romance Writing.
When I looked up the word romance in the dictionary, numerous definitions came up:
1) A love affair, especially a brief and intense one.
2) Sexual love, especially when the other person or the relationship is idealized or when it is exciting and intense.
3) A spirit or feeling of adventure, excitement, the potential for heroic achievement, and the exotic.
4) A fascination or enthusiasm for something, especially of an uncritical or inexplicable kind.
5) A novel, movie, or play with a love story as its main theme.
The genre of romance writing concerns itself with a love story, which could possibly be a brief, exciting and intense affair; includes sexual or physical love and can be filled with the spirit of adventure and generally, a fascination with the other person. The romance novel is a culmination of many things, but also, what the reader brings to the tale. As a writer, I recognize the need for imagination and in having readers fill in the nuances of sex and love based on their own experiences.
Each of us has our own perception of what an exciting or intense affair might be like, how we perceive adventure and experience physical love and passion and what might fascinate us about another person. When writing a paranormal romance, the writer has the additional responsibility of bringing romance into the world of beings that are not entirely human. In my case, vampires; those seductive and dangerous creatures whose very speech or touch can bring us to our knees and make us say and do things we might normally not do!
Within the realm of romance writing, I like to weave in a bit of the erotic, something elusive and arousing, yet my own personal preference is to leave much more to the imagination, than I put down on the page. I can visualize it as I write it, but I like to hint, to suggest and then let the reader fill in their own fantasies based on what sits well with them. This helps to form a connection between the characters and the reader and elicit their emotional response.
Yes, the prerequisite to the romance novel must be a romance, but to what extent varies from author to author. Some may just hint at an attraction between two characters, whereas another may be more forthcoming in the erotica department. We all have read both types of novels and they each have their place, but I would much rather have my reader experience what Amanda Perretti, the young mortal woman in my novel feels when she finally meets up with the man she has been searching for for over six months, the utter excitement when she realizes he truly exists. Her fascination and her need for him are palatable, even when she discovers he is a vampire.
When vampire Christian Du Mauré surrenders himself to her, I dwell not on the details of the physical aspect of their union, but on how surprised he is at being able to relax and be seduced by his mortal lover. Vampires experience love too and Christian Du Mauré is no different. Having loved and lost centuries ago, he still harbors guilt and pain and still pines for his lost love to this day. His regret and desire form an interesting paradox.
Love and desire are emotions I try to capture in my writing; subtle ways I work at creating a romance that is at once grounded in the familiar: candlelight, love notes and flowers, and is also paranormal, with characters that live is a very different world than you or I. Each of us experiences love in a myriad of ways and it might be safe to say, we would define romance differently as well, no matter whether we are mortal or immortal.
-Denise K. Rago
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Thank you for stopping by my little corner of the web Denise! Wonderful guest post, and how fitting since Valentine's Day is around the corner. I do agree when you say: The romance novel is a culmination of many things, but also, what the reader brings to the tale.'
How true that each reader digests what they are reading differently and each one of us does fill in the bits with our own imaginations. Everyone has their unique take on romance.
I can't wait to read Immortal Obsession . Christian Du Mauré sounds like quite the hero. Vampires, romance and Paris are a few of my favorite things.
About the author:
Denise K. Rago is a paranormal romance author whose first novel, Immortal Obsession, was published in September 2010. You can reach Denise on her website, http://www.denisekrago.com/, where you can also read an excerpt of her book – part love story, thriller, vampire romance and paranormal romp that takes place in Revolution-era Paris and modern-day New York.
Denise is also on facebook and twitter.
about the book: Immortal Obsession :
Christian Du Mauré impulsively follows his best friend into the complex, warring underworld of Parisian vampires. Against the fiery backdrop of the French Revolution, Christian's life is changed forever following an affair with a mortal artistocrat—for when he promises to watch over her daughter, she reveals the child is his.
More than 200 years later, in modern-day Manhattan, only two descendants of the star-crossed union remain. After one of them witnesses a savage murder in Central Park, she becomes determined to find the ethereal stranger who saved her life.
When their worlds inevitably collide, Christian finds he cannot prevent Amanda, his unwitting descendant, from becoming a pawn in a centuries-old struggle for power.
As a confrontation between ancient enemies comes to a head, Christian must finally face an unspeakable betrayal from his past—for himself, and the woman he loves.
