Sienna's Mom - an Interview

So, in every book there's a person to hate. I guess I expected people to hate my villains though. But people think Sienna's mom is the villain! So, to help people relax a little, I've asked her, Sophia Whitfield, to explain things a little herself: 

Me: Thanks for coming on today, Sophia.

S: My pleasure. I just hope Sienna doesn't kill me for getting oil paint down in the keyboard. I thought I got it all off, but... 

Me: So, people have had some pretty harsh things to say about you and the way you've treated Sienna. Do you have anything you'd like to say to them? 

S: Not really. It is what it is. It's kind of hard when people have seen into your personal life and are judging the mistakes you've made. You know, people make mistakes, but I was just trying to protect her. In light of everything that's happened, I see that I went off the deep end. I'm not sure why except that I still have so many unresolved hangups about what happened to me. There were almost 18 years of pain and bitterness influencing me, but I'd stuffed it down so deep that I didn't even realize it was affecting me - blinding me. I almost wonder if Sienna had been interested in anyone but Lee if I would have reacted the same. You see, Sienna doesn't know this, but Lee reminded me of her father in so many ways it was scary sometimes. It was like I was replaying my history every time I saw them together. I won't say anymore about that right now though. 

Me: So we've been working on the next book, Focused, together. Do you feel better about how your story is beeing told in that book? 

S: Look, Michelle - Don't feel bad about people hating me. You told it like it was and if you'd changed anything, it wouldn't have worked. It hurt when Sienna or Lee would call me crazy, but maybe I was. Fortunately, I've got time to fix things. Sienna and I have always been so close, and this is the first time anything's come between us. That kills me. But things are getting better. I'm getting better - I'm growing. I don't care if anyone else forgives me, as long as Sienna does. Luckily that girl has a big heart. 

Me: Before we conclude this, can you tell us how things are going with you right now? 

S: (hint of a shy smile) Well, things are going good. I've never been so mixed up in my life, but there's a new happiness in my life that I've never had before as well. 

Me: I guess you're talking about Mr. Greeley. Things are going well? 

S: Oh gosh! I wonder if he's going to see this. I'll just say that I like where things seem to be going. I never thought I'd find someone to make me feel this way. 

Me: I'm glad. You deserve it. Thanks for coming on today. I know it wasn't easy for you, but I thought it would be good for people to get to know you a little more. 

S: Thanks for the opportunity. This blogging thing is pretty fun. I'll see you back in Microsoft Word? 

Me: Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes. My kids are awake and they want breakfast. You know how it goes. 

S: Boy, do I ever!

Check out Tiffany's review over at Escaping...One Book @ a Time 

I even have a Giveaway going on over there!

Hunky and Human

Let's face it...creating the perfect leading man is not easy. You would think it would be, wouldn't you? I mean, the recipe seems pretty standard. Mix together a tall man, broad, shoulders, a glinting smile, and speaking eyes. Add a dash of humor, sensitivity, and intelligence. Dimples are optional, but generally appreciated. Combine this mixture with muscles, good kissing techniques, and more than his fair share of good looks. Voila! Place in story and allow to steam for at least 150 pages.

If you want to stay in the category of standard and cliche, go for it. The tricky part begins when you want him to not be perfect. I want my heroes to be human and still be swoon-worthy. However, it's our failings, our struggles, and needing to grow into something better that makes us human. So how do you give your hero faults? Many go with the whole bad boy thing. It works, but it's almost cliche too. Plus, I don't personally admire a bad boy. I might find him charming and alluring, but not someone I could respect and build a life with. (Unless, of course, he changes completely through his desire to be worthy of my love.)

You could make him shy, vulnerable, tortured, or unavailable. You can make him arrogant, quiet, immature, or driven. I've seen them all done successfully. However, you should never make him lazy, stupid, boorish or oblivious. In the same vein, you should probably avoid having him fart, belch, pick his nose, or chew with his mouth open. Don't give him too big of a nose ( though hawk noses seem popular in 70's harlequins for some reason), squinty eyes, a spare tire or man boobs. (hope I don't offend.)

Why? Many men have some (though I hope not all) of these less than desirable attributes, and they find love. Shoot, I love my husband more than life itself, and there are often less than desirable sounds and smells in our bedroom. Let's face it - real love and real life mean waking up to see your loved one's face and quickly diving under the covers to avoid his/her morning breath. But that's just it. A romance novel isn't real life. It's fantasy. When people read romance, they're looking for something a little more perfect, a little more sublime.

Yet to connect with it and believe the story, they have to feel that it's real. They have to miss the characters like they know them, and they need to believe that they might run into them at the mall someday. It's a conundrum to say the least. But the most important thing to keep in mind when you're creating Mr. Right, is who he needs to be right for. He needs to be right for the reader, but mostly for your heroine. Now you just need to hope you didn't screw her up. But that discussion is for another day.