Jacqueline C. Thomas - Romance Novelist

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Who Rides the White Horse Now: Feminism and Romance

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I was driving to work recently and had an idea for another romance book. I was so struck by the idea that I actually used Siri on my iPhone to take a voice memo. Let’s face it, Siri is pretty but she’s stupid and rarely gets most things I ask her to do correctly. At 70mph per hour, on the toll road, this idea came screaming out of me. I recorded my words at a feverish pace, trying to convey the emotion and feeling along with the plot. Feeling accomplished, and knowing that Siri will have gotten so much of it wrong, I put my phone down and continued my drive. I will have to decode the jibberish that Siri actually recorded later.

The story idea still ran through my mind with less intensity now that I had documented it somewhere. It struck me that the idea was different because the “knight on the white horse” wasn’t a man, but a woman. She could rescue him! I really started to think about this idea of protectors and manly men who protect their women. Even that sentence sounds sexist to me, and it probably is, but I won’t lie, I love a good book where the love interest is an Alpha male. There is something so sexy about a man protecting the woman he loves… that sounds better. “Their woman”…ick!

The fact that I describe that sort of romance that way illustrates the issue perfectly. I like to think I am a feminist. I take women’s rights very seriously, as well as fighting for equality. I think a lot of women are in a similar space to me. I can only imagine being in a relationship with one of the Alpha males from the great romances I’ve read. No, get your head out of the gutter….. It would never work for me to be the wife of a man like that, we’d run into issues even with a quick romp. A man telling me what to do, even if it was in my best interest, I am just not wired like that. Discussion and mutual understanding are where I am at when it comes to the love interest in my life.

All of this set me to wondering, as a romance writer, where is the genre going when both the man and woman should be riding the white horse? Who rescues who? Is it still even appropriate to make the man the hero? Thinking this idea through I posed the question to my husband over lunch one afternoon. He suggested making the woman the heroine. His story idea went something like this: a man who is married to a terrible woman falls for another woman. The new love interest then has to rescue the man from a bad marriage and an abusive wife. My immediate response was no one would read that. Women make up the majority of romance readers, not many of them want to be thought of as a bad wife. Furthermore, I am going to venture a guess that none of them would sympathize with the husband and new love interest. What is weirder, is that if you turn it all around, and he rescues her from an abusive husband, you have struck romance gold…. weird huh?

I have to wonder if there is something about the way our genders are wired or if it is taught? I don’t want to get into the whole nature vs. nurture argument. I just wonder as a romance author how tastes will change over time. I am really interested to see where the genre goes. I mean is it anti-feminist to write an Alpha-male who throws a damsel (as smart, and capable as she may be) over his shoulder?

What do you think? Let me know in the comments because this is a conversation worth having…

My Top Beach Reads for the Summer

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Summer is here and that means it is the season for a good steamy romp through the pages of a romance book or two. I love to read at the beach and by the pool, in fact, given the choice, I would rather a good book than a magazine any day. This isn’t a  top ten list, because several of the books listed here are series almost 60! Every summer I find myself looking for a good book to put in my beach bag. Nothing is worse than getting to your desired sunny destination, to pull out the book you brought and the story is lousy. So in the spirit of romance public service here is my top ten list of best steamy beach reads:

The KGI Novels by Maya Banks (13 books)

This series is pure fun! I love a good adventure in my romance novels and a bit of sex. This series follows the Kelly brothers who are retired military. They set up a paramilitary group for hire, and go on all sorts of worthy adventures, meeting the loves of their lives along the way. I literally read all of the available books in the series last August. There are like 10 of these books and I could not put them down. I can honestly say, the Kelly brothers are swoon-worthy, and that is normally not my type.

Make Me By Beth Kerry:

To say I loved this book is an understatement! This is another book I could not put down. While I did not read it on the beach or by the pool I read the entire book (it’s a full-length novel) on a flight home from London. I could not put it down. The story focuses Jacob Lattimer, dreamy, rich heartthrob and Harper McFaddan, who has just been affected by a life-changing tragedy. While the two characters fall in love, there is so much more to this story than it presents at first. This is a master class in dramatic romance storytelling.

 

The Red: by Tiffany Reisz

This book is red hot! I would classify this as purely erotica. Please don’t let that dissuade you from picking up this gem and giving it a try. It is so easy to get swept up in this steamy tale. In order to save her beloved art gallery, The Red, gallery owner, Mona Lisa, makes a deal with a very handsome stranger to be his for a year. The handsome stranger will pay her in priceless art, this boosting the reputation and clientele of her gallery. Flat, out this book, made me blush, but the story between Mona and the handsome stranger is a pure joy to read. I could not put this book down. The ending is one of the best I have ever read! This is a must for a steamy summer read.

 

The Rose by Tiffany Reisz:

I just picked this one up and it is a pseudo-sequel to The Red. Lia the very privileged daughter of British aristocracy, is an avid collector and student of Greek mythical history, is given a beautiful present to celebrate her graduation, a rose kylix, or ancient wine goblet. This goblet holds mystical powers, and love interest August Bowman teaches Lia how to use the goblet. This book is a four-alarm, hot read. August Boman is beyond the sexiest male love interest I have ever read. You will be grateful for a breeze offshore when reading this one, to cool you down.

The GhostWalker Series by Christine Feehan (14 books so far)

These books are the definition of the great beach read. Normally paranormal romance is not my thing, but  I found myself able to suspend my disbelief and in many cases, Feehan does a great job using these superpowers to enhance the relationship and connection between the two characters. This series follows super soldier through worthy adventures, saving the world one adventure at a time. These books hold a special place in my heart as Street Game was the first romance book I ever read. They are a lot of fun and make the perfect beach read.

 

The Breathless Trilogy by Maya Banks (3 Books)

These steamy romances tell the story of three powerful hotel group owners. Each book has its own story with characters from the other books. They were fun to read and great beach reading. I read two of them on the beach in Nevis last November. They are pure fun. The three main characters Ash, Gabe and Jace are polished businessmen from New York, and much more my style for a romantic interest. So, so, good!

 

The Steele Brothers by Helen Hardt (9 books so far)

This series has the pedal to the floor from the get-go! The Steele brothers are a ranching family with a dark and very disturbing past. (Trigger Warning) While young boys, one of the brothers is kidnapped and assaulted. This horrifying incident affects the lives of everyone in their lives today. Hardt takes an incredibly painful and emotional topic and weaves it through the modern relationships of the brothers. The story is really well done, and a suspenseful read. I have made it to book five of this series. My only issue with these books is the writing is not the strongest at times, but the story is great! I have only made it to book five. If you set out to read this one, just know you will have to continue reading to know how the overarching story ends, it weaves through all of the books.

 

The Idea of You: by Robinne Lee

I picked it up because the concept intrigued me, a mom falls for a member of a boy band that her twelve-year-old daughter is in love with. So far it has been a fun read. Lee does a great job painting Solene’s world, a French-American divorcee, living in L.A., owning an art gallery and raising her daughter. The love interest Hayes Campbell, dreamy boyband member and almost twenty years Solene’s junior, is sexy. I love the tension between the two characters Lee does a great job of not letting the reader know who is really in charge, is it Solene the older, wiser person in the relationship or is it Hayes, with his ability to know just what to say? As I said, I haven’t quite finished this one, but it is so good so far!

 

The Drake Sisters Series by Christine Feehan (7 books)

These are another fun read from Feehan. I liked these books because they focus on a set of sisters with physic abilities (again not normally my thing). Each sister has a story and there are some swoon-worthy love stories in this series. I read the entire series last summer and tore through each book!

Why Romance Needs Sex of All Kinds- Nicholas!

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Nicholas Sparks made headline earlier this week for pushing his conservative, religious agenda at a school he was involved with. The headlines read “Romance Author Nicholas Sparks…” NO! Nick, if I may call you that. You may call what you write romance, and I won’t lie there have been some great stories, but they aren’t true romance. Who am I to tell you, right? I mean I am an unpublished romance author and you have literally sold millions of books, what leg do I have to stand on?

Well, I am a big romance reader, I have read a lot of romance, good bad and truly ugly. More importantly, I write romance, real romance that is a reflection of real life.  I have even read some of your work but you know one thing is missing, the sex. Now I know that there is a huge market for this type of “wholesome” romance. For many conservatives, reading sex is the same as watching pornography. Nick, I know you will probably never read this and I am just another writer blogging out into the void, and on the very remote chance you do see it, you won’t agree with me.

Writing romance without sex in it is a lie, it is not how life works. Before you the army of purity ring enthusiast come charging out, calling for my head, I was one of you. I embraced the dogma and really lived it until I didn’t. My point here is that not putting sex in your books isn’t real life, nor is ignoring all of the types of sex, and being inclusive. Writing sex teaches readers how to love, on a whole other level. Love as you know is more than holding hands or dancing on a beach, wait was that a euphemism?

Sex is important in romance writing and I will fight for this topic until my dying breath. Sex scenes carry so much more to them than just smut as some would call it. I get that there are some romance authors who think that writing sex is a lazy way to convey emotion in the story. I would challenge that by asking them to write a sex scene, they’re difficult and take skill to write.

Recently, I saw a topic of discussion about intimacy in young adult fiction. There was a massive debate about the appropriateness of there being some light sexual activity included in these stories. I championed, yes! We read books to educate us in so many other things, why wouldn’t we read to learn how a relationship really works. Ignoring sex all together in writing romance really gives a distorted picture of a relationship. Being intimate in those special moments tell you so much about who you are, who the other person or people are, the power dynamic, inventiveness, compassion, sense of humour… I could keep going. Sex scenes are so important, for all genders, and preferences.

Ignoring the topic and leaving it out of romance, won’t make those who have different preferences not exist. They’ll be there, reading my books, and the books of other authors whose work reflects real life, real relationships. Writing sex of all types lets our readers know that as an author, I see you and accept you. More than accepting you, I will stand by you and your right to choose your own lifestyle.

Sex is not evil, at least it shouldn’t be if you are doing it correctly. Sex should not be ignored in romance writing. SEX IS IMPORTANT….

 

My Top Ten Tips for Writing Sex (Revised Post!)

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The first sex scene I ever wrote, read more like a PG13 movie then what the scene needed to convey. One of my first beta readers said it best, she said, “I want to know what the rug under her feels like.” The scene was where two characters were going at it on the bathroom floor. I knew she was right. I sat in front of my computer the cursor blinking at me, saying you can’t do this. Frustrated I walked away. I needed help. I am by no means prudish. I grew up in a house where sex was never a taboo subject. Why couldn’t I write it? I realized I needed to educate myself. Here are my top ten tips for writing sex scenes.

Read Sex:

I thought I had read a lot of sex in various works of fiction and that would be enough. My beta reader who made the comment about feeling the rug suggested reading some of Christine Feehan’s work. I read the first book in eight hours I couldn’t put it down. It was sexy but still told a story. This is how sex should be written. The sex scenes in Christine Feehan’s books and Maya Bank’s books help move the plot along. The scenes convey emotional growth and character development.

Watch Sex:

I know this is a controversial idea for some, and I respect that. I highly encourage watching sex, not just pornography, but favorite love scenes in movies. It isn’t about watching the act of sex, it is for the purpose of watching body movement. It is so important to get body movement correct when writing a sex scene. Pay extra close attention to where the participant’s hands are, this is so important. Watch the body movement. The best sex scenes are detailed, where the author has taken the time, to describe body placement and movement. Vague sex scenes don’t carry the same weight in my opinion.

Read online:

I have always read a lot of fiction, but in doing research to write sex scenes, I didn’t have the time to read an entire book to get to a steamy scene. There are great websites that have compiled all sorts of sex scenes. You can search for the type of sex scene you want to write about and read examples of it done really well. Seriously, Google is your friend here. If you are a little shy, open an incognito window and go for it.

Tone:

I love to read a good steamy love scene but as a reader, nothing is more jarring than when the scene doesn’t seem to fit the characters or the tone of the story. Set the mood for the scene and stick to it, is it passionate, lustful, tender, awkward? My point here is to know the mood literally in the room between the two (or more) characters engaging with each other. It would be jarring to read of a couple who need to make love to each other for character development, going at it against the bathroom wall in a club. I am not saying it can’t be done, but the tone is so important here! Here is an example:

Virginia is timid, quiet, reserved. Carl, her love interest is also meek. This is their first time together, neither with a lot of sexual experience. The scene is in her bedroom. They are young and nervous.

Tone Done Correctly:

Virginia couldn’t believe the moment had finally come. She had waited for so long to be with Carl. Her body shook, she wasn’t sure if it was the anticipation or nerves, either way, she wanted him. 

“I love you so much,” Carl said as he leant down and kissed her soft lips.

“Please make love to me Carl, I want to do this,” Virginia said, her voice cracking.

Tone Done Incorrectly:

We are going to use the same characters and the same setting.

Virginia stipped her clothes from her body, she couldn’t get them off fast enough. She needed Carl inside of her, she missed the feeling. (it is her first time! how would she know what he feels like?)

“I am going to wreck you, I won’t stop until you beg me for mercy,” Carl said as he grabbed the back of her head.

She wasn’t leaving that room until she belonged to him and only him. She would take all he had to give and then beg for more.

 

Does this illustrate the difference? Carl and Virginia are young, and it is their first time. The second example while steamy is out of place for two young, inexperienced partners. See, tone matters.

 

Message:

What are you trying to tell your reader in the scene? I think this is why I love writing romance so much. Romance is a time of great joy usually, that feeling of falling in love is magical. Sex, on the other hand, can hold a lot of different emotions. We are our most vulnerable when we are naked in front of another person. I think when sex is written correctly in a romance novel, there is so much more going on in the scene then just the body mechanics, there is massive character development. My favorite scenes are when characters really fall for each other in the moment of sex, or one partner is tender to another.

Pay attention:

This sounds so stupid to say but it is true. As a writer, you must pay attention to body movement. I follow a lot of fellow romance writers and readers, their number one complaint that the author did not pay attention to the scene. Let me give an example.

Carl swept Virginia up in his arms, he was carrying her to his bedroom. Tonight would be the night that they had both waited for, longed for, imagined. Carl looked down at Virginia’s long flowing locks.

“You are so beautiful,” he said.

He reached up and stroked her cheek.

Wait, what? Did he just drop Virginia or does Carl have a third arm? Nothing is more jarring to a reader than something like this. Pay attention to your characters!

 

Have fun:

Let go, have fun, write out your wildest fantasies. Writing sex is fun. When I first started writing sex, it wasn’t fun. It took me a while to learn the advice I am giving here to you today. I wish I would have come across this article as a resource. My suggestion is don’t get hung up on the technicalities the first time you write the scene. Go back and edit using the technicalities, tone, mechanics and message. Let your character’s really “feel” not just physically but emotionally too.

Read what you wrote:

You are the first reader of the story your characters are telling. Read the sex scene you just wrote. Does it make sense to you? Pay attention to the mechanics, did one of the characters grow another arm like in the example above? Doe the tone of the scene fit with the story you are trying to tell? I have written the steamiest scenes and then went back to re-read the scene and it just doesn’t fit. This is where a good note app does wonder. I have scrapped scenes for this reason, and archived it, for later use.

Vivid imagination helps:

I love to put myself in the scene, not necessarily as a participant but more like a fly on the wall. Before I write the scene and during, I like to imagine the setting, the characters, all of it. I think of it this way, if it were a movie would the audience want to watch it?

Don’t be embarrassed:

I am not a prude. I was raised in a house where the topic of sex was an open and ongoing conversation. I consider myself very blessed to come up in a house with such a liberal attitude towards sex, yet when it came to reading and writing sex for the first few times, I was nervous, even embarrassed. I didn’t realize this at first but after I did, I knew I was going to have to overcome it to really write the scenes my characters.

 

I really hope this article helps those of you who are looking for tips on how to write sex. I know these tips have helped me hone the craft of writing truly great sex scenes. If you have a tip that you have not seen here, please share it in the comments.

“Well All Romance is Garbage,” she said.

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I know that I am luckier than most to have a great support network, not just in life, but when it comes to writing. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about my own preconceived notions and prejudices when it came to the romance genre. In a lot of ways romance as a genre gets a bad rep, as being fiction without any value, or to some as simply stated…garbage. Garbage. That is quite the word to describe anything in life To me it means, nasty, unwanted and without any value.

I was recently at a gathering with a group of women that I am honored to call my friends. One of the newer friends in my group didn’t know that I wrote fiction. The conversation went something like this as she asked from the far end of the long table we were seated at.

“Oh, you write? What do you write?”

I replied, “Romance, contemporary romance, you could consider it fiction too, with a romantic element.”

“Ugh, all romance is garbage.”

 

Yep, folks, you read that right. Now I don’t know this woman very well and rather than be offended, I was intrigued.

 

“Well is there something about it, in particular, you don’t like?” I asked.

“You just don’t need sex to move a story along. There just doesn’t have to be a romantic aspect to move the story.” was the response I got.

“I agree with you,” I said. “So you don’t like romance because it has sex in it?”

“No, it’s just all garbage.”

I still wasn’t offended. I pressed on further and asked what this woman did like to read instead. When she gave a string of popular authors, I did not judge her. The works by the authors she mentioned were legitimate and had brought her hours of entertainment, but let’s not kid ourselves here folks, she was not naming literature, but popular fiction. Again, I am not judging her on her choice of fiction that she prefers to read. Who am I to judge?

So as all millennials (I hate that I fall under this category) do when I encounter such an awkward conversation, I had to tweet about it. I apologize if this makes me insufferable, I tweeted the condensed version out to a writing group on Twitter. I had not felt personally attacked, I was just amused by the whole interaction. I will still continue to be friendly with this person, even though in her opinion, I write garbage.

My point in sharing this interaction, aside from my fascination with the social cues, norms, and taboos broken in polite conversation, is that romance shaming is still alive and well my friends. In time I believe this will change, I know it will. Women’s fiction has always been judged unfairly. I think it is because it is written for women specifically. I think this attitude is a holdover our misogynistic society. As the second women’s movement continues, women are owning their sexuality and being proud of their sexuality in bold ways. I think that romance and all fiction written for the female audience will gain more respect and understanding.

(to the friend mentioned above) Friend, if you are reading this post, don’t worry girl, I still like you.

Evolution and Preconceived Notions

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I will admit it, I had a preconceived notion of what the genre of Romance books. In my mind, they had damsels in distress with heaving bosoms and a buff heroine with his shirt that laced, open baring his muscular chest. These were the books that could be found on a magazine rack at the grocery store, an inexpensive thrill for the bored housewife. As a dear friend often says to me, “Oh sweet summer child,” I could not have been more wrong!

There has been such a cliche around romance books for so long, and I think only now is it starting to be broken down. I think this has a lot to do with women’s equality, reading romance isn’t desperate or sad, it what some of us enjoy and that is our right. I think deep down, it boils down to women expressing sexuality, which makes a large part of the American population uncomfortable. I think the first step, at least for me, was admitting I read romance, and I do it proudly. Romance as a genre is just as good as any other genre I have read up to this point, and in my opinion, it is better. I know that sounds biased because I write romance but, in order for a romance story to truly work, the author really has to have a deep understanding of the characters, you have to understand what makes them tick.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that all writing can be difficult. I just think it takes something extra to write romance. Rather than just have a keen understanding of your main character, you have to know their love interest’s personality as well. I have been in awe of the evolution of this in my own writing. As the author, I usually start with an idea for the plot, then the characters begin to form. Once I have my characters, I really try to get to know them as if they were real people, not a product of my imagination. What are their likes, and dislikes? What is their backstory that guides the decisions they are making in the story?

So many times as the author, I have sat down with a loose plan in mind of where I want the story to go. What amazes me is how many times my characters “speak-up” and say “no.” There have been times where I have walked away from the computer, truly proud of what I have written and then I hear that character’s voice, “That isn’t me, I would never say/do that. Be true to me.” I have a love and hate relationship with this scenario. I hate it because as Stephen King says, “sometimes you have to kill your darlings.” Killing your darlings really sucks sometimes. I have to go back and re-write, staying true to the character. My characters are my road map to the story. This is where the love part of this scenario comes in. I can honestly say, that each and every time I have re-written a scene, chapter or half a book (yeah, that really happened) my work has come out better because of it.

Romance as a genre is so much more than the cliche that I had in mind. Romance is about falling in love, and what is better int he human experience than falling in love? Romance lets you do it anytime you want, you get to live it through the characters, as you root for them to make it to happily ever after. I read romance and I am damn proud of it. Romance reminds me that there is love and beauty in this world. We are all more delicate and fragile than we care to admit. Now, historical romance might not be my jam, but not only does the historical romance writer have to keenly know their characters, but they have to do historical research on top of it! Now when I walk past those covers that I used to judge so ignorantly, I give a nod of respect to the author.