Scarred heroes in contemporary romance

This is cross-posted at The Season where Bev is giving away a copy of Deirdre Martin’s Icebreaker to one commenter. The last week of December, I celebrated my final few days of holiday by dipping into the pile of books I’d bought myself for Christmas. Completely unintentionally, the two books I read were both contemporaries… Continue reading Scarred heroes in contemporary romance

Love lessons from contemporary romance heroes

This is cross-posted at  The Season. I’ve celebrated one Valentine’s Day in my entire life. One. It was in 2003, and my boyfriend (now husband) and I had been together for three months. He hated the idea of a manufactured day of love, and tried to explain that he didn’t think love was about exchanging… Continue reading Love lessons from contemporary romance heroes

Living vicariously through kick-ass heroines

This is cross-posted at The Season. I will never be a kick-ass heroine. Oh, I’ve had adventures and am proud of the things I’ve accomplished, but I’ve come to understand myself well enough to know my limits. I will never chase after a villain. In fact, the second I get nervous about a situation, I’ll… Continue reading Living vicariously through kick-ass heroines

How to write accents and speech patterns

I’ve written a couple posts about accents – specifically, about how to write a character who has a different accent to you, and some subtle differences in British and American English. Today I want to talk about an amazing debut novel that I think handles accents brilliantly – In for a Penny by Rose Lerner.… Continue reading How to write accents and speech patterns