If You Like It - Ask for More!

For me, writing is all about new discoveries, mostly about myself. Sometimes a character says something completely unexpected and I have to stop and wonder, "Where did that come from?" Or a plot takes a dark twist -- or a funny one -- and I think, "Wow, how long has that been simmering on the back burner?"

Other times it's a more mundane discovery -- like learning that I actually can write a steamy sex scene sitting in the corner of the playground at the burger joint. (But remember in grade school, when you used to have a second sheet of paper to cover your work on tests? That's a good thing to have handy in Playland.)

The most important thing I learned while writing my new release, First Taste, is that I take requests. Or at least suggestions.

After The Flavor of Summer was released last year, I got a lovely e-mail from a fan named Deb. Among other things, she said that she thought bossy Ellen could be more human "if someone took her in hand". Hmmmm ... now there was an intriguing idea.

From there, it was all about learning/inventing the character. Why was Ellen so bossy? Why, at 28, was she such a sexual wet blanket? We knew that Ariel had slept with Ellen's boyfriend back in high school; what was all that about? How would someone as stiff and stuffy as Ellen celebrate Valentine's Day? Or would she just try to ignore it?

What would it take to break through Ellen's icy shell and let her enjoy herself?

They were all questions I've never thought twice about when Ellen was just a background character in someone else's romance. But once she came into focus, Ellen turned out to be just as interesting as Ariel. My reader had led me to a whole new story. (And now that I'm re-reading her e-mail, she had a lot of other intriguing ideas, too!)

Learn about your character, learn about yourself. Thanks, Deb!

First Taste by Lyra Marlowe is now available from Loose Id!