This is a guest post by Beverley Kendall, author of steaming hot historical romance and mastermind behind the wonderful blog and review site, The Season for Romance. See below for giveaway details.
You always remember your first, right? Your first boyfriend, your first kiss, your first marriage (if you went on to have more than one), your first job and most importantly, your first child?
I have only one son so he is my first and only. No fear of jealousy between siblings here. No sense of guilt that I may—and I say may—gravitate more toward one child than the other.
Luckily, when an author writes a series, they are able to revisit with much loved heroes of past books and flirt with upcoming heroes as we anticipate writing their own book.
No, what I have are the characters I create—my heroes. They are the ones who demand my attention exclusively for a good 3-5 months. I get to know them; their likes and dislikes, their foibles and strengths. They charm me and entertain me, and at times, they make my heart wrench and lift my soul. I’m captivated by them and feel a sense of loss when my time with them is over.
My first book was SINFUL SURRENDER and James Rutherford was my hero; my first ever. For that reason alone, James will always hold a special place in my heart. But even as I wrote SINFUL SURRENDER my mind was on Alex Cartwright. I knew his story three years prior to writing his story, AN HEIR OF DECEPTION. I became even better acquainted with him in A TASTE OF DESIRE, especially when he was having fun tormenting my second hero, Thomas Armstrong.
But I knew Alex’s road to HEA would be littered with heartbreak and loss. I knew that Alex would—for a time—lose his wit, his dry sense of humour and a piece (tiny) of his humanity when he loses the love of his life. And because I knew the journey Alex was to take, he rose above the others in my affections.
I felt for Alex. I felt his loss. I felt his pain. I felt his anger and sense of betrayal and abandonment. Alex immediately became my favourite.
When AN HEIR OF DECEPTION, which I once hoped to publish with one of the New York publishers, was roundly rejected, I wasn’t deterred. I knew with 100% certainty that no matter what, I’d finish writing this book and it would be published. Of all the books I’d written thus far, Alex’s story above all needed to be told. In April I finished telling Alex’s story and let it loose on the romance reading public. Whew!
Now, I’m saying a sad farewell to my favourite hero, Alex Cartwright. Fortunately for me, I’m working on a connecting series, The Temptresses, so I’ll be visiting with him again even if it will only for a brief period.
What about you? Have you ever felt guilty about favouring someone over the other? Comment and enter to win a digital copy of AN HEIR OF DECEPTION. I’m giving away 3 copies. 🙂
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Giveaway!
Thanks so much to Bev for giving away three digital copies of AN HEIR OF DECEPTION! I know it’s been hotly anticipated by the number of people who find my blog by searching for that book’s title. 🙂
I’ll announce the random winners on Tuesday May 15th.
Here’s what you could win:
A man devastated by love
After three years of carousing and debauchery, Alex Cartwright, heir to the Duke of Hastings, has put his life back in order. Having embraced sobriety for two years, he has no intention of revisiting the past or risking his heart again. But the return of the very woman who introduced him to the darkest side of hell brings not only the painful, haunting memories of bittersweet love and abandonment, but the son he never knew he had…
A woman silenced by secrets
Threatened by the revelation of a secret that could destroy her family’s place in society and forever tarnish a dukedom, Charlotte fled England on her wedding day five years ago. Now, although it appears that secret is safe, when Alex discovers her other secret—their son—Charlotte has an altogether different battle ahead. She must now fight one love to hold onto the other—the man whose touch still makes her burn, for the child who is her very world.
Don’t forget, you can download a copy of Bev’s novella, ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE & SEDUCTION FREE!
I have two kids who are in college now and there were times each of them complained about how the other got away with something as they were growing up. I didn’t really take these complaints too seriously since they were usually brought as a diversion when when one of them was in trouble. I can’t think of anything where I favored one thing over the other.
I can’t think of a time when I favored one child over the other or person. I only had one son so there was not a problem there. Although the one child was spoiled rotten.
I teach at a small preschool. All of these kids are sweet but I do (in my own mind only!) favor a few of them over the others. They are just easier kids — no tantrums or crying to get their way, kind to their friends and respectful of our class rules. I do feel a bit guilty about it but I’m afraid this is just human nature. And, on my most challenging days, I remind myself that life would be too boring if all of us were rule followers!
Suz, as a former teacher myself, I can totally relate to this. When I quit teaching, there were kids I wanted to pack in my suitcase so I could take them with me, and others I couldn’t wait to get away from. Awful thing to admit, but usually the ones who annoyed me were the ones whose parents treated them like little gods who could do no wrong.
But things change, and I know that those spoiled kids can turn into real sweethearts, while easy kids can go very wrong. 🙂
I have to say that each one of my children is a very unique person . I don’t have a favorite, and couldn’t ever consider having such a thing. What I do see is that in each child there is a tiny smidge of myself that I can relate to, as well as a bit of their Dad and mostly, just Themselves. I’ve viewed my kids as individual people since they were born, and simply enjoyed the journey of parenting them and getting to know them as they have grown up a little more each day.
LOL. I totally can see how that one child could get spoiled rotten. My son is vying for that title himself. I fighting as hard as I can against giving it to him.
i have 4 big kids ages 14-18 and one 4 year old — i have no favorites but my kids are always saying my four year old gets away with everything! i think she might be a tad spoiled but it’s not because she’s the favorite — it’s just because i am older, more laid back , and hey a little TIRED!! LOL
My first love, who I though would marry me, dumped me for another woman. I fell in love a second time with my beloved husband of 39 years 3 years later. Two weeks before my wedding, my first love came back, said he had never forgotten me, and wanted me to marry him. I felt really guilty when I told him no and that I was soon to be married. I know it makes no sense, but I did.
Bev, I’m obviously not entering myself in the giveaway, but I totally understand what you’re talking about. The first hero I wrote has stayed with me and continues to be the hero against whom I measure my other heroes. He’s an English professional rugby player, and even though his story hasn’t been published I’m determined that it will be.
I’m really enjoying the hero in the manuscript I’m writing now, but I’ve only spent a couple of months with him so don’t know him very well yet. He’s definitely someone I look forward to getting to know better. 😉
Thanks for this post and the awesome giveaway!
The first two books in this series were wonderful, so I’m sure this one will be, too. Alex stole all the scenes he was in during Sinful Surrender & A Taste of Desire, so I imagine his book will be a great conclusion to the series.
I don’t feel guilty about favoring someone over another. Your books are great. I’m looking forward to reading Alex’s book.
I always feel guilty when there’s an event and im the host or part of the hosting family. I try to spread my time among everyone, all the diff groups. But i feel like ive neglected someone or spent too much time in one area..not enough to go around