How Can Something So Good...Be So Bad?

Our heroes and heroines all have them: a weakness or fatal flaw. An Achilles heel. A failing in their character that takes an otherwise mighty character to their knees. With Achilles, it was literally his heel. (though he had some significant personality flaws as well.) With Oedipus, it was his pride. In my new book 'Toxic,' chocolate is the culprit. My heroine Briony Theale has an overwhelming love for chocolate. In fact, her weakness kicks off the major events in the story and nearly undoes her romance before it truly begins. Unfortunately, her hero Rico Montgomery also has a weakness: her beloved chocolate is a toxin to him. So when Rico's wolf comes across Briony's chocolate....yeah. Not good.

However, Briony is not a tragic heroine and all is well in the end. I promise.

There is often a temptation for an author to make a a lead character too perfect. I want to make my heroes the most wonderful, flawless characters ever to grace the pages of a book. They never lose their tempers, make a poor judgement call or lose a fight. During sex, they are always in perfect control, knowing what their partner wants. Heck, they probably never fart in bed either.

And heroines, well, I want to be my heroines. Seriously, I've never written a heroine without projecting myself into her life. Growing up, I wanted to be a vet. Like Briony, I have a real weakness for chocolate. Unlike Briony, one of my many flaws is a crippling weakness in math. I never had the chops for the hard science major it would have taken to be accepted into vet school.  Briony lives where I want to live, and she even looks like I wish I looked.

But you know, perfection is boring. Yes, Rico is a big, buff werewolf. He's her dominant, but he's many steps down the ladder from Chase, the Pack's alpha. He questions his journey in life; as a child he was removed from the Pack and grew up far away. As an adult, he's returned to find a new power structure and he's not sure where he fits. He's not completely comfortable as a wolf. And face it...the only reason he stumbles across her chocolate is because he dumped her trashcan. Yeesh.

Briony is self-confident and talented, but she's sure the extra weight she carries keeps her from standing a chance with Rico, even after he kisses her. She's not as competent as her mother or as brilliant as her brother. She's beautiful, but even misses that because she compares herself to others.

In Toxic, Briony and Rico share a weakness for chocolate. They both exhibit rather poor impulse control which creates the initial conflict that kicks off the story. If they'd been perfect people, none of the story would have happened. They'd have experienced a calm, dignified and very boring courtship that wouldn't have made for much of a story. Even the supporting characters have their fatal flaws...Chase is judgmental, Sage has a violent temper and Dionne is a bit too ready to go on the offensive. So while a character's strengths bring them up above the norm, often it's their flaws that throw them into conflict.

And that's when things get interesting.

Truckee Wolves: Toxic is related to Educating Evangeline and Hunting Holly from the Doms of Dark Haven anthologies. It was previously released elsewhere and has been greatly revised and expanded. 


Belinda is an award-winning author who writes in multiple genres...sometimes at the same time! She lives in far Northern California with her family and a motley pack of Siberian Huskies who provide her with unending sources of story ideas.

You can find Belinda's Loose Id books (including Toxic) here:
 http://www.loose-id.com/authors/a-f/belinda-mcbride.html

Please visit Belinda's webpage at: http://www.belindamcbride.com

To Sleep...

My first professional writing job was to adapt the novel Dracula into a stage production for a theatre festival. I spent weeks delving into the lore of the vampire, reading and re-reading the novel and doing my best to dig the latent Victorian sexuality from between the lines. By the time the play was up and running, I’d pretty much had it with bloodsuckers.

So… Fast forward. I’ve got this silly idea for a character…a vampire with insomnia. Like I said, it seemed pretty silly. I shelved the character idea until last spring when a call came from Loose Id. They wanted stories to celebrate Coming Out Day in October. I really didn’t think about writing anything for it until a certain someone encouraged me to submit a proposal…three days before the call closed. (Thanks Treva!) That’s when I remembered my poor insomniac vampire and the silly idea suddenly became rather poignant. That’s when Oliver Bleu was born…selfish, romantic and doomed by his inability to slip into the oblivion of the undead.

Sleep is such an elemental, basic survival need. We need those hours of dream state, not only for our sanity, but simply to stay alive. Before his tragic death, actor Heath Ledger complained of insomnia. I’ve suffered with it for years, almost every summer. I’ve used sleep medications, self-hypnosis, and behavior modification. I’ve also self medicated with drugs and alcohol. Finally, I reached a crossroads. I decided to submit to the demon and see where it took me.

Yes, I still suffer insomnia, but no longer feel like its killing me. If I can’t sleep, I get up and continue on with my day. I sleep when my brain and body are both ready for it. If I go to sleep at midnight and wake at three in the morning, I get up and work. As it generally doesn’t continue more than a month or two, I can manage with frequent naps and deep relaxation. I am very fortunate, because I remember the feelings of despair that came from watching the clock.

Now imagine a vampire, locked into his sleeping place during the hours of daylight. He’s unable to sleep, unable to move or speak or even take a breath. It would be a living hell. Every sunset Oliver Bleu rises weaker than he was when he lay down for the day. He’s fading slowly. His light is dying.

And then he meets his salvation…

Blacque/Bleu is available at Loose Id, LLC

www.belindamcbride.com

www.belindam.blogspot.com

An Uncommon Whore: The Journey

From childhood, I’ve been an avid reader, and the stories that made the most impact on me were frequently the fantasies that featured a heroic journey. The Tolkien Trilogy and the Hobbit are the first that come to mind, but there were other stories that feature heroes and heroines on a quest of some sort. That influence tends to show in some of my stories. I like taking characters out of their comfort zone and sending them down the road.

The journey is symbolic. I like to use the journey or quest to reflect the inner evolution of my characters. In Belle Starr, Belle goes on a hunt for a criminal. Later, that journey becomes a desperate search for her missing companion, the wolf Tucker. From the beginning of that hunt, to the end, she evolves as a character. Her priorities change, as does her entire perspective on life.

In my new release, An Uncommon Whore, the majority of the book takes place as Helios Dayspring and Griffin Hawke travel to their new home planet. At the beginning of the story, Helios is a fairly simple man. His needs and wants consist mainly of freeing himself from slavery and getting off the planet that he’s been trapped on. Beyond that, he has no goals, and few desires. As the journey continues, he becomes more complex, and while he stays true to the kind, clever man he is at the start of the book, by the time the journey ends, he is returned to his true destiny in life. Perhaps he’s a better man because of the trials that he’s experienced.

Captain Griffin Hawke was a bit of a challenge. Since the story is told from the point of view of Helios, he observes and documents the changes in Griffin. The Captain’s journey is largely emotional. His hurdles are those of trust, faith and self-worth. There is no doubt that he loves Helios, but Griffin can’t see any future beyond the end of the journey. He’s locked in the past and has no faith that their relationship will endure. While Helios has no memories at all, Griffin is crippled by too many memories. Time has crushed his dreams and hopes, and as the journey unwinds, he slowly rediscovers those dreams and once again begins to hope for a better life.

Every story is a journey of sorts. At the end of this story, we see that in reality, Helios' and Griffin's story is really just beginning.

An Uncommon Whore releases January 26 at Loose Id publishing.

Please visit my website: http://www.belindamcbride.com

Rituals

Recently, an interviewer asked me if I had any rituals before I started writing. I can't really remember offhand what my answer was; mostly it had to do with finding a quiet spot away from the normal distractions of our household. Maybe a little meditation to get me focused, but that was pretty much it. I can sit down and start writing cold, pretty much anytime or anywhere.

Well, that was a lie. Not an intentional one, but still, events of this night and morning have brought home to me just what a obsessive/compulsive person I am about writing. You see, I believe that writing is a craft that is powered by discipline. Yes, it's a creative art, but unfortunately, I don't run off inspiration 24/7. I'm moody and a bit lazy, and there are times when I'd much rather be outside playing than inside facing my computer. So I believe in discipline. But what I believe about myself isn't always true.

In November, I participated in NaNoWriMo, the big writing marathon that runs through the entire month. I did well, I believe I ended a bit over 52 thousand words. I completed 2 novellas and got a healthy start on a novel. Once I cleaned up one my novellas and submitted it last week, that left me facing some decisions on what to do next.

After a few days I picked my project, the sequel to Belle Starr. Fortunately, I did some early work on the book many months ago, so I'm not starting from scratch. I've got my story plotted, my characters developed and really, it should be a breeze.

Well, it isn't being easy.

I sit down, open the document and scan the work I've done. Then I take a break. That can be time on Facebook or Twitter. Maybe I'll catch up on email or write to my daughter. I'll do some "research." Usually that has to do with another project completely. I'll open another file and work on something unrelated, or go read a book. Then I return to the manuscript. This process continues for days. In the middle of the night, I get up and make muffins or go in the bathroom and search for grey hairs. Maybe take a bath and give myself a facial.

Anything...anything to avoid the manuscript that's waiting.

I finally figured out that there's not really a problem, this is simply a method of preparing my mind to turn itself over to the new book. Once I've finally submitted to the task at hand, I'll sit down and work steadily. Those hours and days that I've dithered haven't really been a waste; on some subconsious level I've been organizing my thoughts and diving into the characters. I'll go searching for music on You Tube or sorting through photos on stock photo sites. Sometimes I'll grab onto a line of poetry or a comment that someone makes in a movie. This is all fodder, setting the mood for the time to come.

Thankfully, these rituals don't always last for days on end, this is generally when I'm letting go of one story and family of characters and embracing the next project. As I sit here at 3:00am, I think that I'm nearly ready to let go of the last book and move on to the next. Of course, I'm writing a blog about my ritual of avoidance, so maybe I'm not as ready as I thought. But maybe tomorrow I will be.

Visit Belinda at her website: http://www.belindamcbride.com