July 22nd, 2008
The Chase

Last week was a busy one for me. I finished the first draft of Witch Fury, and I completed all the edits on Witch Heart. *whew* Except for the final proof read, I don’t have to worry about Witch Heart anymore. Witch Fury still needs a lot of work, though. That book will go through at least two more drafts before I send it off to my editor.

Yesterday I also started plotting a new novella. I’m itching to begin writing it, but I need to map it out a little more before I dive in. That’s what I plan to do today. I need to delve a little deeper into my characters and find out what makes them tick. I have to decide whose story it is primarily–the hero or the heroine’s?

By the end of the day I’ll probably know a lot more about how the “chase” will go.

There’s a common thread that runs through all romance novels, no matter the sub-genre. Usually either the hero or the heroine is doing the “chasing”. Nine times out of ten, it’s the hero chasing the heroine. Generally that’s because most romance novels focus on the heroine–it’s mostly her story, her journey–and she’s the one with the most emotional baggage. That baggage prevents her from jumping right into a relationship with the hero. He needs to pursue her and convince her that she loves him and will be happiest with only him.

It’s not always the hero doing the chasing, sometimes it’s the heroine. And in some books neither of them wants a relationship, but it ends up happening anyway. But I mostly seem to read stories in which the hero chases.

I tallied up my own novels and found they range the spectrum. When I write there tends to be a natural “chaser” who emerges, and that chaser tends to be the character who has the least amount of personal baggage. Or sometimes, like in Witch Fire, they both resist–but falling in love happens despite them.

So, here’s my question for you–what sort of story to do you most enjoy reading? Do you like it when the hero is the one to pursue the heroine or vice versa? Or do you enjoy a mix? What scenarios do some of your favorite romance novels feature?

One comment to “The Chase”

  1. First congrats on the edits and drafts and good luck with the future drafts. I’m a big fan of the series and look forward to future reads.

    Chasers.. hmm I like it when the hero chases the herione. Maybe cause I’m a chick but I like to see the guy go after the girl he wants. But I wouldn’t mind reading where the Herione chases. Guess it all depends.

    Happy Friday 🙂




Leave a Comment

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>