The Bitchy Manuscript

Trompe L’oeil is finally here! Which I’m thrilled about. But it was a struggle to get here. Almost exactly a year ago, I was blogging about how many difficulties I had with it. There were a number of things I did differently for this book, all of which combined to make the process more painful than I expected. Don’t get me wrong. I love writing. I love meeting new challenges and expanding my horizons, stretching my boundaries. But doing so many different things at the same time was… perhaps not the wisest thing I could have done for my psyche.

When I start a story, I usually imagine a scene somewhere in the middle of the book, and I have to figure out who the people are, how they got there, and how they’re going to get their happily ever after. For this one, I came up with the overall concept first. And oh boy, from a couple of paragraphs, it seemed like a great idea. I still think it is a great idea, but I didn’t anticipate how difficult it would be having two people fall in love when they can’t interact… at all… with each other. Tricky, tricky…

Part of the pertinent back story occurs during the Great Depression. I have a history degree, where I specialized in the medieval era. I have ZERO knowledge of the Great Depression. So, that meant a bunch of research I hadn’t anticipated. Oh, and one hero is a painter. I also know zip about art.

I ALWAYS write linearly. One scene after the other, all the way through. This one, no. For some reason, I chose to pop around. Write a scene near the beginning. One near the end. It messed my head up something fierce.

Then there’s the title. Trompe L’oeil. I’m glad Loose Id agreed it was a good title for the book, but I worried about it. I still worry about it. Despite not being an artist, I’ve been familiar with the term for a while. It means trick of the eye, often referring to an optical illusion a painter has created by manipulating perspective. I’ve never felt so strongly that a title fit a manuscript of mine. But, is it off-putting for readers? I sincerely hope not.

And, not least, the story isn’t a typical romance. It’s not a typical voyeurism story either, but that was the word which prompted the idea. There’s a love story. There’s a happy ever after. But the path to get there? Bends a few rules governing reader expectations for erotic romance. I hope people will understand that the very thing that makes the romance atypical is also the very thing that makes the story so potentially tragic. It’s the biggest obstacle in the book, the biggest conflict for the lovers. So, despite the hassle the story gave me, I'm hoping people will understand, give me a little latitude, and love the book like I do.

Anyone got any stories like that? The ones that take it out of you, even though you weren’t expecting it?

KC Burn