Kristen Ashley's Blog - Posts Tagged "three-wishes"
Formula
Beware: Kristen Contradiction
In an earlier blog, I waxed on about throwing out all the rules and writing for yourself. Now, I’m going to wax on about formula. I didn’t lie in my past blog, I do not follow any rules, I do write for myself (caveat: mostly and the mostly comes with listening to readers but that’s for another blog) but that doesn’t mean I haven’t created my own set of rules and I stick to them like crazy glue.
I used to be a reader. One thing I miss, being a writer, is that I write more than I read. The last book I read was the fabulous Dennis Lehane’s equally fabulous Shutter Island. This was nearly two years ago. This is sacrilege. I start books again and again and get sidetracked by my own work. I used to read four to six books a week, mostly romance but pretty much anything. I felt lost if I didn’t have a lineup of books waiting for me to read.
I’m gonna need to work on this.
Dedicating myself to writing I’ve lost this habit but reading so much from a very, very young age, I knew what I liked. Definitely. And this is from a woman who, from day to day doesn’t even know who she is. Am I a Harley chick? A fashionista? A domestic goddess? Bottom line, I’m all of those and every day I’ll try on a different me depending on my mood.
But my books – that’s something else. My books, I know what they are. My books, I know what their foundation will be. My books have four basics. And those I’ll share with you.
First, a hot guy. Uber hot. Off-the-scales hot. Great bodies. Tall. Deep voices. Confident. Alpha to extremes. High libidos. They know who they are. They don’t often say I’m sorry. They show little to no weakness and if they have one, it is for their woman.
This is not to say they are perfect. They aren’t.
Tate in Sweet Dreams is kind of a jerk and says things he very much should not when his short fuse catches light. In fact, I wrote Sweet Dreams because I wanted to explore the idea of a woman falling in love with a man who, on the face of it, is kind of a jerk but who, deep down, is so worth loving it isn’t funny.
Joe in At Peace has a tragic back story that forces him to protect his emotions and in doing so he deliberately hurts his heroine (and her daughters). Again, this was what I challenged myself with in At Peace . In my books, the hero usually knows what he wants and goes all out to win his girl. I wanted to explore the idea of the hero struggling to maintain distance and pulling against his feelings for his woman as well as the idea of forgiveness. I think it worked and I probably think this because Joe is my all time favorite hero of any book, mine or others. And, like I said, I’ve read a lot
And Nate, in Three Wishes is damaged and makes bad decisions both because of his inner conflict and then in an effort to protect the woman he loves. But Chapter Thirteen of Three Wishes is one of my most favorite chapters that I’ve written. To this day, I get goosebumps reading it. Ah, my sweet Nate.
But, that said, these traits only serve, in my mind, to make a hot guy even hotter and they do because I work hard to make them do so.
Second, well-rounded ancillary characters. Nothing defines a main character as much as the people that surround them or gravitate to them. I put as much thought into my secondary characters as I do into my hero and heroine. They have histories, they have personalities (very strong ones), they have opinions and they have to be someone the reader would want in their own life. I will tell you, from my Rock Chick Series I often wish Daisy, Tex, Shirleen and Duke were real, living, breathing beings because I could use having them around. And I think every girl needs a Mrs. Truman from Penmort Castle . Not to mention every girl needs a friend like Elvira from Mystery Man even if it was just to make her laugh. And it might make me a little insane, but I wish Ryker from Golden Trail was my bestest bud, no joke. The dude is scary but he’s loyal and he’s hilarious.
Third, humor and this ties with the second rule because my ancillary characters often provide light (or heavy) relief. I want my readers to smile when my words hit their eyes. And I want them to chuckle. And, if I can swing it, I want, more than once in one of my novels, for them to laugh out loud. Some of my writing is very light and meant to be a joyride, not deep, not meaningful. Other works can be more intense, even raw. But always, sometimes more often than not, I give my readers a break and a smile. Or, I hope so.
And last, the heroine has to be someone female readers can identify with. This is the most difficult part and, from feedback I’ve received, hit and miss because there are so very many nuances to women (and sometimes we don’t give each other a break) that we often cannot take ourselves out of our own experiences to understand those of others… or set aside reality and understand that the words in their hands are pure fiction. No, strike that, with my books… fantasy.
Case in point, my favorite heroine in the Rock Chick Series is Ava of Rock Chick Revenge and this could be because Ava worked hard to take off a lot of weight and I used to carry a great deal of extra weight and did the same. And every day I struggle with the image I see in the mirror as, every day, I struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle… like Ava. And yet, feedback from readers was that Ava’s issues with self-confidence were grating and some thought even stupid. They didn’t like her. I was actually shocked about this. Seeing as I rooted something deep in me in Ava, of course, I would think the entire sisterhood would get it. They did not. But, c’est la vie. There are others who did get it and were pleased as punch Ava hooked her hot guy who also happened to be the boy she loved since she was a little girl. And, gotta say, seeing as Rock Chick Revenge is my favorite Rock Chick , I agree.
Nevertheless, creating a heroine who women identify with or at the very least want to cheer on is the most difficult endeavor for me as a writer and the most important part of my formula. My girls in my books are not perfect (sometimes far from it) and that is the point. Because if you love someone, you do not do it because of their strengths and despite their weaknesses. You do it because they are everything they are.
And a beautiful fantasy is that each of us girls could find a hot guy who will love us because of everything we are.
So, to create these beautiful fantasies, I use this formula and it works for me. Every time.
In an earlier blog, I waxed on about throwing out all the rules and writing for yourself. Now, I’m going to wax on about formula. I didn’t lie in my past blog, I do not follow any rules, I do write for myself (caveat: mostly and the mostly comes with listening to readers but that’s for another blog) but that doesn’t mean I haven’t created my own set of rules and I stick to them like crazy glue.
I used to be a reader. One thing I miss, being a writer, is that I write more than I read. The last book I read was the fabulous Dennis Lehane’s equally fabulous Shutter Island. This was nearly two years ago. This is sacrilege. I start books again and again and get sidetracked by my own work. I used to read four to six books a week, mostly romance but pretty much anything. I felt lost if I didn’t have a lineup of books waiting for me to read.
I’m gonna need to work on this.
Dedicating myself to writing I’ve lost this habit but reading so much from a very, very young age, I knew what I liked. Definitely. And this is from a woman who, from day to day doesn’t even know who she is. Am I a Harley chick? A fashionista? A domestic goddess? Bottom line, I’m all of those and every day I’ll try on a different me depending on my mood.
But my books – that’s something else. My books, I know what they are. My books, I know what their foundation will be. My books have four basics. And those I’ll share with you.
First, a hot guy. Uber hot. Off-the-scales hot. Great bodies. Tall. Deep voices. Confident. Alpha to extremes. High libidos. They know who they are. They don’t often say I’m sorry. They show little to no weakness and if they have one, it is for their woman.
This is not to say they are perfect. They aren’t.
Tate in Sweet Dreams is kind of a jerk and says things he very much should not when his short fuse catches light. In fact, I wrote Sweet Dreams because I wanted to explore the idea of a woman falling in love with a man who, on the face of it, is kind of a jerk but who, deep down, is so worth loving it isn’t funny.
Joe in At Peace has a tragic back story that forces him to protect his emotions and in doing so he deliberately hurts his heroine (and her daughters). Again, this was what I challenged myself with in At Peace . In my books, the hero usually knows what he wants and goes all out to win his girl. I wanted to explore the idea of the hero struggling to maintain distance and pulling against his feelings for his woman as well as the idea of forgiveness. I think it worked and I probably think this because Joe is my all time favorite hero of any book, mine or others. And, like I said, I’ve read a lot
And Nate, in Three Wishes is damaged and makes bad decisions both because of his inner conflict and then in an effort to protect the woman he loves. But Chapter Thirteen of Three Wishes is one of my most favorite chapters that I’ve written. To this day, I get goosebumps reading it. Ah, my sweet Nate.
But, that said, these traits only serve, in my mind, to make a hot guy even hotter and they do because I work hard to make them do so.
Second, well-rounded ancillary characters. Nothing defines a main character as much as the people that surround them or gravitate to them. I put as much thought into my secondary characters as I do into my hero and heroine. They have histories, they have personalities (very strong ones), they have opinions and they have to be someone the reader would want in their own life. I will tell you, from my Rock Chick Series I often wish Daisy, Tex, Shirleen and Duke were real, living, breathing beings because I could use having them around. And I think every girl needs a Mrs. Truman from Penmort Castle . Not to mention every girl needs a friend like Elvira from Mystery Man even if it was just to make her laugh. And it might make me a little insane, but I wish Ryker from Golden Trail was my bestest bud, no joke. The dude is scary but he’s loyal and he’s hilarious.
Third, humor and this ties with the second rule because my ancillary characters often provide light (or heavy) relief. I want my readers to smile when my words hit their eyes. And I want them to chuckle. And, if I can swing it, I want, more than once in one of my novels, for them to laugh out loud. Some of my writing is very light and meant to be a joyride, not deep, not meaningful. Other works can be more intense, even raw. But always, sometimes more often than not, I give my readers a break and a smile. Or, I hope so.
And last, the heroine has to be someone female readers can identify with. This is the most difficult part and, from feedback I’ve received, hit and miss because there are so very many nuances to women (and sometimes we don’t give each other a break) that we often cannot take ourselves out of our own experiences to understand those of others… or set aside reality and understand that the words in their hands are pure fiction. No, strike that, with my books… fantasy.
Case in point, my favorite heroine in the Rock Chick Series is Ava of Rock Chick Revenge and this could be because Ava worked hard to take off a lot of weight and I used to carry a great deal of extra weight and did the same. And every day I struggle with the image I see in the mirror as, every day, I struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle… like Ava. And yet, feedback from readers was that Ava’s issues with self-confidence were grating and some thought even stupid. They didn’t like her. I was actually shocked about this. Seeing as I rooted something deep in me in Ava, of course, I would think the entire sisterhood would get it. They did not. But, c’est la vie. There are others who did get it and were pleased as punch Ava hooked her hot guy who also happened to be the boy she loved since she was a little girl. And, gotta say, seeing as Rock Chick Revenge is my favorite Rock Chick , I agree.
Nevertheless, creating a heroine who women identify with or at the very least want to cheer on is the most difficult endeavor for me as a writer and the most important part of my formula. My girls in my books are not perfect (sometimes far from it) and that is the point. Because if you love someone, you do not do it because of their strengths and despite their weaknesses. You do it because they are everything they are.
And a beautiful fantasy is that each of us girls could find a hot guy who will love us because of everything we are.
So, to create these beautiful fantasies, I use this formula and it works for me. Every time.
That...Favorite...Scene
I don’t know about other authors, if they love all the moments in their babies equally. I know that I’m always totally obsessed with the book I’m writing. And when anyone asks me my favorite book, or hero, I always say, “I love the one I’m with,” because it’s the truth.
I’d have a different answer if anyone asked me what the favorite scene is that I’ve written. Indeed, if I was told I could only ever ask my readers one question about my books, I’d not ask their favorite book, hero, heroine or quote.
I’d ask their favorite scene.
I recently devoured Joey W. Hill’s TRULY HELPLESS. Fortunately, I’m friends with Joey so I can bore her insane by writing long emails about what I adored about the book or snatching up my phone and sending short ones when something has just thrilled me…or gutted me.
But in sitting down to write this blog post, I can say, straight up, what my favorite scene in Joey’s book was. There are high-up contenders but still one clear winner (and I won’t spoil it by explaining it…but it involves a kitten).
The same could be said, until recently, for all my books. I’ve published fifty-four, written fifty-seven, and for years, over a decade, the top of the list for me in pride that I’d been able to wring that beauty out of words always fell on one single scene.
You see, I’m relatively certain I can say that many authors labor over their words for a variety of reasons, and not just grammar and punctuation. Are we telling the story in a way, not just that it can be understood, but felt? Are we being true to our characters, drawing the best of them out at the same time allowing them to give themselves to their readers honestly? Are we being that conduit to allowing our readers the freedom to fall in love?
It is rare, I would assume (the answer is never for me, I’m just telling a story), that we think, Are we crafting beauty? There’s too much hubris in that question, and anyway, that has to come naturally, rise organically from the characters and story, be inspired by them, or it won’t be real.
When that happens, usually it’s confined to a scene. Ah, but I would wish a whole book could contain that in every word, but that’s not often possible and tends to be a gift only the masters employ.
But seriously, I’ll take those scenes. Marius and Regina’s kitten scene in TRULY HELPLESS. The out-on-the-deck-at-the-costume-party scene in BIG LITTLE LIES. The coming-to-terms-with-just about-everything multiple scenes in WILD.
For me with my books, that golden scene has always been the meeting with the attorneys scene in THREE WISHES. Every time I read that, it takes me by the gut and twists in a beautiful, painful way. Honestly, I read it and it seems a thing not borne of me. Like it was created by someone else. But that was me. All me. And I’m damned proud of it.
There are other scenes that come close. The beach scene in LADY LUCK. The stairwell-and-ride-to-the-hospital scene in ROCK CHICK REGRET. Vi-getting-the-bad-news scene in AT PEACE. Both times Circe makes her speeches after Lahn blows it in THE GOLDEN DYNASTY. Lydia finding her way to speak to Josie and Jake in THE WILL. Tack running by Tyra’s stretcher in MOTORCYCLE MAN. Millie finally, after decades, sharing with Logan in the Compound and then Chaos fanning around to hem her in so she can’t try again to leave their brother…their family.
But Lily sitting across from Nate with Nate’s snide attorneys sniping at her while Nate remains cold and removed, Lily shrinking in hurt and fear, and then her attorney telling it like it actually was…and Nate’s reaction. God. Every time I read it, it’s like they’re real, I am them both and I can feel all the deep, ugly emotions of pain, betrayal and loss.
If the worst happened and some strange wind came and erased the dream I’ve been living since my books took off and all my books were blown away from memory, I’d hope and pray for just that one scene to remain. To remind me as a neurotic writer that I can do this.
Yes, that has always been that scene in THREE WISHES.
Until THE FARTHEST EDGE.
I do not say this lightly. The scene in THREE WISHES has held this top spot for me for so long, I thought nothing would skim past it.
But then…something did.
In taking on a new genre, exploring the titillating realms of deep erotica BDSM at the same time telling a love story based on profound levels of trust, I would never have guessed that Branch Dillinger would guide me to write something that I was not only shocked I could pull off, but immensely honored to be a part of.
The scene does not involve his heroine, Evangeline. She’s miles away.
It’s all about Branch, and I’ll say so myself, it’s a thing of beauty.
Needless to say, when I submitted the manuscript for edits, there’s always an anxiety about this, the first person besides you reading your work. And in all I’d explored in this book (and there’s a lot and it’s intense), I was most anxious about what my editor would think of that chapter…and that scene.
And you can’t imagine the joy, the utter bliss I felt when the entire chapter went by without comment…until that scene and the bubble popped up that said, “This scene is breathtakingly beautiful.”
Proof.
I’d done it.
But deep in the heart of me, I already knew I’d done it.
And in a few weeks, I’ll be giving it to you.
I love Evangeline. I love her for Branch. I love Branch. And I love him for Evangeline.
It seems almost heretical to say this, but most of all in the beauty I experienced with writing THE FARTHEST EDGE, I love it that Branch trusted me enough to give that scene to me so in turn I could give it to you.
I’d have a different answer if anyone asked me what the favorite scene is that I’ve written. Indeed, if I was told I could only ever ask my readers one question about my books, I’d not ask their favorite book, hero, heroine or quote.
I’d ask their favorite scene.
I recently devoured Joey W. Hill’s TRULY HELPLESS. Fortunately, I’m friends with Joey so I can bore her insane by writing long emails about what I adored about the book or snatching up my phone and sending short ones when something has just thrilled me…or gutted me.
But in sitting down to write this blog post, I can say, straight up, what my favorite scene in Joey’s book was. There are high-up contenders but still one clear winner (and I won’t spoil it by explaining it…but it involves a kitten).
The same could be said, until recently, for all my books. I’ve published fifty-four, written fifty-seven, and for years, over a decade, the top of the list for me in pride that I’d been able to wring that beauty out of words always fell on one single scene.
You see, I’m relatively certain I can say that many authors labor over their words for a variety of reasons, and not just grammar and punctuation. Are we telling the story in a way, not just that it can be understood, but felt? Are we being true to our characters, drawing the best of them out at the same time allowing them to give themselves to their readers honestly? Are we being that conduit to allowing our readers the freedom to fall in love?
It is rare, I would assume (the answer is never for me, I’m just telling a story), that we think, Are we crafting beauty? There’s too much hubris in that question, and anyway, that has to come naturally, rise organically from the characters and story, be inspired by them, or it won’t be real.
When that happens, usually it’s confined to a scene. Ah, but I would wish a whole book could contain that in every word, but that’s not often possible and tends to be a gift only the masters employ.
But seriously, I’ll take those scenes. Marius and Regina’s kitten scene in TRULY HELPLESS. The out-on-the-deck-at-the-costume-party scene in BIG LITTLE LIES. The coming-to-terms-with-just about-everything multiple scenes in WILD.
For me with my books, that golden scene has always been the meeting with the attorneys scene in THREE WISHES. Every time I read that, it takes me by the gut and twists in a beautiful, painful way. Honestly, I read it and it seems a thing not borne of me. Like it was created by someone else. But that was me. All me. And I’m damned proud of it.
There are other scenes that come close. The beach scene in LADY LUCK. The stairwell-and-ride-to-the-hospital scene in ROCK CHICK REGRET. Vi-getting-the-bad-news scene in AT PEACE. Both times Circe makes her speeches after Lahn blows it in THE GOLDEN DYNASTY. Lydia finding her way to speak to Josie and Jake in THE WILL. Tack running by Tyra’s stretcher in MOTORCYCLE MAN. Millie finally, after decades, sharing with Logan in the Compound and then Chaos fanning around to hem her in so she can’t try again to leave their brother…their family.
But Lily sitting across from Nate with Nate’s snide attorneys sniping at her while Nate remains cold and removed, Lily shrinking in hurt and fear, and then her attorney telling it like it actually was…and Nate’s reaction. God. Every time I read it, it’s like they’re real, I am them both and I can feel all the deep, ugly emotions of pain, betrayal and loss.
If the worst happened and some strange wind came and erased the dream I’ve been living since my books took off and all my books were blown away from memory, I’d hope and pray for just that one scene to remain. To remind me as a neurotic writer that I can do this.
Yes, that has always been that scene in THREE WISHES.
Until THE FARTHEST EDGE.
I do not say this lightly. The scene in THREE WISHES has held this top spot for me for so long, I thought nothing would skim past it.
But then…something did.
In taking on a new genre, exploring the titillating realms of deep erotica BDSM at the same time telling a love story based on profound levels of trust, I would never have guessed that Branch Dillinger would guide me to write something that I was not only shocked I could pull off, but immensely honored to be a part of.
The scene does not involve his heroine, Evangeline. She’s miles away.
It’s all about Branch, and I’ll say so myself, it’s a thing of beauty.
Needless to say, when I submitted the manuscript for edits, there’s always an anxiety about this, the first person besides you reading your work. And in all I’d explored in this book (and there’s a lot and it’s intense), I was most anxious about what my editor would think of that chapter…and that scene.
And you can’t imagine the joy, the utter bliss I felt when the entire chapter went by without comment…until that scene and the bubble popped up that said, “This scene is breathtakingly beautiful.”
Proof.
I’d done it.
But deep in the heart of me, I already knew I’d done it.
And in a few weeks, I’ll be giving it to you.
I love Evangeline. I love her for Branch. I love Branch. And I love him for Evangeline.
It seems almost heretical to say this, but most of all in the beauty I experienced with writing THE FARTHEST EDGE, I love it that Branch trusted me enough to give that scene to me so in turn I could give it to you.
