My Harlequin Experience - The Kinkiness Within

Okay. I’ll be the first to admit that I am not an erotic writer. My face burns up just thinking about it. It took me a long time to even decide to write sex scenes into my novels. To be honest I’m more about the romance within a novel than the sex, but sometimes the characters making love helps to emphasize the romance. For me the characters dictate the story and in my last five novels they told me that they wanted to get it on.

I’ve been talking about my initial drafts of A PerfectCaress. Once I lightened the story, and actually put in a conflict, my very patient editor at the time told me that some of the scenes were more kinky than romantic. Now this shocked me because I’m one of the least kinky people you will ever meet.

It turned out that I may not be kinky, but Lanelle’s best friend Toshia was. Let me tell you a little bit about Toshia – she’s one of the funniest characters I have ever written in my life. The woman had no filter and I loved that about her. I had actually based her and her job on one of the women I used to work with years ago. This woman was honest, funny, sexually aware, and didn’t give a rat’s ass about what anyone thought about her because it didn’t matter. Even to this day I think about her and laugh.

In drafts one and two of A Perfect Caress, Toshia throws and anniversary party and tricks Lanelle into inviting Dante to the party. Toshia has a Candy Shop  at the party (we’re not talking Twizzlers and gummy bears here- aka sales of sex toys) and things get a bit kinky in the scene- at least verbally.

In the third draft I toned down Toshia’s wild ways and remove the Candy Shop – a scene that I found both hilarious and embarrassing for Lanelle. Toshia is still funny and a bit unfiltered in the published version of A Perfect Caress, but she isn’t as scandalous as she used to be.

Can kinkiness be romantic?

My Harlequin Experience - Episodic Story– No Thanks or Yes Please?

Last week I mentioned the darkness of my first draft of A Perfect Caress. Along with the instruction to lighten the story, my editor (a true genius really because she saw the potential in me) told me that the novel was episodic. She said there wasn’t much going on beside a couple of hospital scenes, an anniversary party, and the trip to Italy.

My response was Huh? And then I had to go look up what episodic meant and I learned that my book consisted of episodes of things happening, like a television series. Clarity hit me then. I had not conflict in the story, nothing to drive the novel forward. To keep the reader interested to see what was going to happen. My GMCs (Goals, motivations, and conflict) didn’t really exist. 

Deep, heaving sigh and then a bit of hyperventilation.

Into the writing den for an intense revision. Out with the episodic (and dark), and in with the conflict to engage the reader into reading the whole book.

Be aware that episodic writing works for some writers. I read a book by Beverly Jenkins (Breathless – I loved it) recently where I kept waiting for the conflict to hit. It never did, but I still found the story to be amazing. Go figure.

Have you ever read an episodic book that you couldn’t put down? Or that you just had to put down because you felt there wasn’t a point?

My Harlequin Experience - The Darkness Within

If you ask anyone who knows me about the kind of movies I like to drag them to, they’ll tell you Romantic Comedy or Action flick. If you ask them what kind of books I like to read- they may roll their eyes and say something like, “Duh, Romance.” It’s who I am. A lover of romance. A lover of light, happily-ever-after stories where the characters don’t suffer extensively within the story, but have gone through just enough  turmoil in their lives for the story to have been one of a person who has actually lived a full life.

I watched the movie with my
eyes closed.

I’m not a fan of thrillers or horrors (books or movies) although every once in a while I’ll go to see a thriller, but never alone. Why? Because I find that life is not an easy thing to go through, and when I enter the world of fiction I like to escape into happy, beatuiful places. As the group REM put it – Shiny happy people hold hands.

And then I met Debbie Christiana, Jami Gray, and bloggers like Brazen Babes Review who introduced me to the dark side of romance. And I liked it. Urban fantasy and paranormal are now two of my favorite sub-genres. But I also fell in love with darker contemporary romance where I shuddered at what the hero or heroine had overcome to get the point in the life where we met them.

How much in love with the dark side did I fall? So far that my subconscious didn’t realize it was writing a dark romance until the very first editor I encountered at Harlequin, the one who snagged me into the Kimani family, pointed it out to me.

When I submitted my first draft of A Perfect Caress (then called The Dream Maker), it was a little dark. Romantic— yes. Hopeful— yes. Happily-ever-after­­— definitely. But dark, as in where in the world did I get the idea to torture my heroine so grievously?

In the first draft Lanelle was an only child whose parents had died in a car accident when she was a teenager. She was taken in by her mother’s best friend who had once promised her mother that she’d take care of Lanelle if something happened because there was no one else to do it. Although her new guardian cared for her, Lanelle never felt the same kind of love she showed her own children, which made her miss her own parents even more.

When one of her male high school classmate gave her attention, she fell into it and translated it as love. They were married right out of high school and that’s when their relationship changed. He became physically and psychologically abusive and alienated her from everyone she knew. Her best friend Toshia refused to be driven away and stayed by her side the whole time, encouraging her to leave the man. Six months pregnant, Lanelle decided to finally leave him.

On the day she was leaving her husband confronted her and shot her in the belly right before he shot himself in the head. She survived, but her babies and her uterus didn’t.

Yeah that was dark. I won’t even get into the numerous ways she tried to kill herself due to extreme depression before she found her calling as a nurse or that she’d decorated her home in various shades of gray.

If you read A Perfect Caress today (which I hope you will), that is not the story you’ll experience. Kimani stories have depth, but not darkness (at least not as dark as I had initially taken the story) and that’s okay because I love the way a Perfect Caress turned out. Are Lanelle and Dante’s lives all bubbles and lollypops? No because they have lived their lives, made their mistakes, and have come out stronger because of it.

Do you like a bit of darkness in your stories?

My Harlequin Experience

For the next three Original Nana posts I’m going to tell you about my experience when it came to signing with Harlequin Kimani (I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to add trademark symbols in there somewhere). I’m not going the traditional route and informing you about the submission process, the contract, editorial process, etc. No. I’d like to tell you about the changes I made to my first book with them, A Perfect Caress.

My experience with Harlequin has been interesting and enlightening. Enough for me to sign a contract with them for two more books in the series. Yay!

When I first signed with Harlequin I sent the following message to my good friend and fellow author: “I’ve sold my soul to Harlequin.” I didn’t say it with a joyous grin on my face either. One of the biggest publishers in the world is a demanding boss and when they sign you they want to bring out the best you can offer. This is a freaking lot of work. I mean a what the f^*k did I get myself into kind of situation. Especially in the beginning when you’re asked to make changes – lots of changes. Yes the changes made the story, better, but it was still a lot of work.

And then when things calmed down and I found myself in a friendly creative space all I could do was smile because I was a f^*king Harlequin author. Yes the road is difficult and like any relationship I had to give and take, but in the end it has been one of the best experiences of my life.

The Blurb

From the very first touch… 

The moment suave businessman Dante Sanderson brushes hands with Lanelle Murphy, he can't get her out of his head. The guarded beauty resists all of his polished attempts at seduction. To soften the pain in her past, she's dedicated her life and family fortune to helping others, not chasing sexy millionaires like Dante.

Something about Lanelle makes Dante want to open his heart like never before. He knows their encounters are destiny. Lanelle is sure their sparks mean another heartache is in the making. Yet her cherished new project—a state-of-the-art neonatal unit—brings them together. From charity ball dances to strolls in Milan, desire pushes her…right into his arms. But will Lanelle be able to seize this sweet second chance at love? 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Caress-Nana-Prah-ebook/dp/B01BBW9ZJM

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/a-perfect-caress

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-perfect-caress-nana-prah/1123346426?ean=9780373864805

GooglePlay: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Nana_Prah_A_Perfect_Caress_Mills_Boon_Kimani?id=TuTrDAAAQBAJ

Nana Prah + Harlequin = Oh My Goodness!

Back in January I mentioned on my New Year’s post that I had some fabulous news to share. If you haven’t guessed it from the title, I’m a Harlequin writer. I still can’t believe it.  The Kimani line has picked up one of my books – A Perfect Caress. It will be released on December 26^th of this year, but it’s available for pre-order now at Amazon.

Oh how I wish I could share the cover with you, but I can’t. I am sharing the blurb. Yes my characters went to Italy.

 From the very first touch…

The moment suave businessman Dante Sanderson brushes hands with Lanelle Murphy, he can’t get her out of his head. The guarded beauty resists all of his polished attempts at seduction. To soften the pain in her past, she’s dedicated her life and family fortune to helping others, not chasing sexy millionaires like Dante.

Something about Lanelle makes Dante want to open his heart like never before. He knows their encounters are destiny. Lanelle is sure their sparks mean another heartache is in the making. Yet her cherished new project—a state-of-the-art neonatal unit—brings them together. From charity ball dances to strolls in Milan, desire pushes her…right into his arms. But will Lanelle be able to seize this sweet second chance at love?

I’m looking forward to this adventure with Harlequin. It’s going to be good times had by all.

Review: Rancher to the Rescue by Jennifer Faye

The Blurb

Damsel in a wedding dress!

Jilted at the altar, celebrity chef Meghan Finnegan flees the scene—and the baying press—only to run straight into the muscled torso of Cash Sullivan.

The former rodeo champion knows what it's like to have your life crumble in the spotlight, so he offers Meghan a place to lie low at his ranch.

Fresh air, no paparazzi and the brooding rancher's lazy smile are making Meghan not want to leave her sanctuary. But she and her unborn baby can't stay here forever...can they?

  

My review

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Harlequin book and I’m glad I picked this one up. Meghan and Cash sizzled together. There were times I wondered if it was going be a sweet book or not. Ms. Faye has written a wonderful sweet romance that kept me turning the pages (or rather pressing the forward button) at a rapid pace.

I enjoy a man who’s heart is so big that it includes not. just the woman he’s attracted to, but also the baby he never got the chance to father. Plus he’s a cowboy, a hot one at that.

I give this book four out of five horse shaped chocolate bars.

I purchased this book from Amazon.com.