Christine Feehan's Blog, page 23
April 26, 2016
The Importance of Family, Community and Sisters of the Heart
Lissa, the heroine of Fire Bound, is special to me. She is as secretive and quiet as she is loyal and fierce. She exemplifies the element she is bound to; fire. You see fire, know it’s warmth and importance, but it’s easy to take it for granted and that’s when you get burned. Lissa has kept a secret from the women she calls her sisters because that secret is dangerous. She’s already lost her parents, she would do anything to keep her sisters of the heart protected, even from herself and her secret double-life.
Casimir is a man of secrets as well. Also orphaned, he has only his brothers as family. So when they ask him to watch over Lissa when she leaves for Italy he agrees. But, he is also bound to fire, his magic gifts as dangerous as Lissa’s. So when the two realize they need to work together things heat up, as you can imagine.
I love how the two are a perfect a compliment for each other. They both know the need for secrecy, double-lives, alias, disguises. They know how to kill and how to survive. Threaten what they love…who they love, and their magic becomes combustible.
Fire Bound
They are two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together.
Casimir is a man of secrets as well. Also orphaned, he has only his brothers as family. So when they ask him to watch over Lissa when she leaves for Italy he agrees. But, he is also bound to fire, his magic gifts as dangerous as Lissa’s. So when the two realize they need to work together things heat up, as you can imagine.
I love how the two are a perfect a compliment for each other. They both know the need for secrecy, double-lives, alias, disguises. They know how to kill and how to survive. Threaten what they love…who they love, and their magic becomes combustible.
Fire Bound
They are two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together.
April 22, 2016
Heroes, Anti-Heroes and Guys Who Just Need Their Ass Kicked Part 2 of 5 - Sea Haven
Sea Haven
Drake Sisters Series and Sisters of the Heart Series
Sea Haven is my home away from home. It’s a fictional community made up of so many wonderful small towns I’ve been to in my life. So, when I started writing the Drake Sisters I knew this town would be a central part of the story and I asked myself, “What kind of people live in Sea Haven?”
What draws men and women to a town like this? The small community feel where people know each other, help each other and look out for one another appeals to a variety of people. But, when it came to my heroes I thought that, these men, came there to find peace they could not find elsewhere. To escape a troubled past. To sooth their troubled souls. Many of the heroes in the Drake Sisters series are just these sort of men. They are hardened by life, trained in the military, law men, men who enjoy peace and are willing to do anything it takes to keep their little part of the world safe.
As the Drake Sisters series wound down and the Sisters of the Heart stories began I found that I just couldn’t let go of those men and women from the previous books and we do get to see some of them in the new series. I think Sea Haven gets in your blood and you never want to leave.
Later on in the Drake Sisters series though we are introduced to the Prakenskii brothers, Russian assassins trained since they were boys. They, like the Drakes, have special powers. They are darker, harder, more violent men. But, regardless of the reasons they came to Sea Haven, these men find home here.
I wanted to get across that there’s a place and a person for you, no matter how broken you are. No matter your past, you can overcome it, be a good person and be welcomed into the heart of a community and the heart of a woman willing to accept and love you. As the Sisters of the Heart series begins to come to a close I wanted to bring the final Prakenskii brother into the fold in a way that would keep us in Sea Haven. With him, he will bring another set of characters who need a home, a community and family and are willing to fight to have it.
Fire Bound
In the end, we all long for family and love. For some, they must first see that it is real, be embraced by it, accepted. And when that kind of love is offered freely and fills the void that was once only darkness, a light begins to shine, like the beacon of a lighthouse, keeping you safe and bringing you home.
Drake Sisters Series and Sisters of the Heart Series
Sea Haven is my home away from home. It’s a fictional community made up of so many wonderful small towns I’ve been to in my life. So, when I started writing the Drake Sisters I knew this town would be a central part of the story and I asked myself, “What kind of people live in Sea Haven?”
What draws men and women to a town like this? The small community feel where people know each other, help each other and look out for one another appeals to a variety of people. But, when it came to my heroes I thought that, these men, came there to find peace they could not find elsewhere. To escape a troubled past. To sooth their troubled souls. Many of the heroes in the Drake Sisters series are just these sort of men. They are hardened by life, trained in the military, law men, men who enjoy peace and are willing to do anything it takes to keep their little part of the world safe.
As the Drake Sisters series wound down and the Sisters of the Heart stories began I found that I just couldn’t let go of those men and women from the previous books and we do get to see some of them in the new series. I think Sea Haven gets in your blood and you never want to leave.
Later on in the Drake Sisters series though we are introduced to the Prakenskii brothers, Russian assassins trained since they were boys. They, like the Drakes, have special powers. They are darker, harder, more violent men. But, regardless of the reasons they came to Sea Haven, these men find home here.
I wanted to get across that there’s a place and a person for you, no matter how broken you are. No matter your past, you can overcome it, be a good person and be welcomed into the heart of a community and the heart of a woman willing to accept and love you. As the Sisters of the Heart series begins to come to a close I wanted to bring the final Prakenskii brother into the fold in a way that would keep us in Sea Haven. With him, he will bring another set of characters who need a home, a community and family and are willing to fight to have it.
Fire Bound
In the end, we all long for family and love. For some, they must first see that it is real, be embraced by it, accepted. And when that kind of love is offered freely and fills the void that was once only darkness, a light begins to shine, like the beacon of a lighthouse, keeping you safe and bringing you home.
March 28, 2016
Heroes, Anti-Heroes and Guys Who Just Need Their Ass Kicked Part 1 of 5
Over the next few weeks I will be posting my thoughts on the types of heroes I write for each series.
Ghostwalkers
I love a good hero or even anti-hero as much as the next person. Dark, mysterious and bad-ass make up the majority of the heroes I write, in any of my series.
Each series has a different kind of hero since each series highlights a different kind of world for those characters.
My Ghostwalkers are military men who were experimented on and had their natural psychic abilities enhanced. But, at their core they are military and they have traits you would associate with a solider. They want order, organization, they are suspect of anything out of the ordinary, they are honorable and trust mainly their own team. They swear, they’re hard, they fight, they kill. They are strategic and they go after an enemy with precision.
These are alpha heroes. They’re bossy, like their way and expect orders to be followed, especially theirs. If you’re looking for a beta hero, or a touchy-feely kind of hero, these are NOT them. They will take charge and push you if you let them.
Their heroines are women who were genetically enhanced. These women are sometimes abused, always mistreated to an extent, some are tortured and some are trained to kill. Some are abandoned and left to die. They are survivors with a lot of internal conflict regarding acceptance and trust. They are looking for a balance, needing help to adjust to a more normal life, needing guidance, but also needing someone worthy of their trust and loyalty. Some may be unsure of relationships and some may fight having one. Some may feel unwanted, unloveable, unworthy. But, in different ways, the heroines are equal to the heroes.
It is when two shattered lives find that their pieces fit that true love can exist even for the hardened, abandoned and unusual.
Ghostwalkers
I love a good hero or even anti-hero as much as the next person. Dark, mysterious and bad-ass make up the majority of the heroes I write, in any of my series.
Each series has a different kind of hero since each series highlights a different kind of world for those characters.
My Ghostwalkers are military men who were experimented on and had their natural psychic abilities enhanced. But, at their core they are military and they have traits you would associate with a solider. They want order, organization, they are suspect of anything out of the ordinary, they are honorable and trust mainly their own team. They swear, they’re hard, they fight, they kill. They are strategic and they go after an enemy with precision.
These are alpha heroes. They’re bossy, like their way and expect orders to be followed, especially theirs. If you’re looking for a beta hero, or a touchy-feely kind of hero, these are NOT them. They will take charge and push you if you let them.
Their heroines are women who were genetically enhanced. These women are sometimes abused, always mistreated to an extent, some are tortured and some are trained to kill. Some are abandoned and left to die. They are survivors with a lot of internal conflict regarding acceptance and trust. They are looking for a balance, needing help to adjust to a more normal life, needing guidance, but also needing someone worthy of their trust and loyalty. Some may be unsure of relationships and some may fight having one. Some may feel unwanted, unloveable, unworthy. But, in different ways, the heroines are equal to the heroes.
It is when two shattered lives find that their pieces fit that true love can exist even for the hardened, abandoned and unusual.
March 22, 2016
A Little Town Called Sea Haven
You may think it all started with the Drake Sisters series, but actually it happened before that. I discovered Sea Haven, the fictional town by the ocean that homes both the Drake Sisters and the Sisters of the Heart.
I lived, for a very long time, in Lake County, California on Cobb Mountain. I loved it there and the small town feel of it. My children went to school and most were raised there. My career took off while I lived in that house and at that time my big dream was for a remodeled kitchen and the ability to send my children to college. Last year, that house burned to the ground in the Cobb Mountain fire that took hundreds of homes. Few things of mine were still there, but it was our family home that we still owned and it breaks my heart to think that it is gone. But, the memories are still there. The closeness of sisters, the small town feel where everybody knew everybody and secrets were harder to keep the longer you lived there.
I moved to a small town on the coast, near the Redwood trees. I can see the ocean from my living room window on a clear day and walk in the forest on my property. Several small towns surround me and those towns, plus the small-town feel and experience of Cobb Mountain, make up Sea Haven. Sea Haven is all that I love about small towns and its people, about the ocean and the woods.
Sea Haven is nearly a character all on its own, but it’s the community of Sea Haven that make it come alive and give it character. People know you and ask about you when you walk into the grocery or go get your hair or nails done. The artisans, inspired by the beauty surrounding them, are plenty and talented and I know so many of them by name now. People care about keeping their community clean, their children safe and the people active in all that goes on around them. You almost feel as though you have stepped back into time when helping your neighbor was a priority, generosity was commonplace and laughter was contagious.
Sea Haven exists, in parts, everywhere. I have been there. Perhaps not visiting a town by that name, but by visiting many small towns along the coast that make up this beautiful place I write about. Towns like that still exist throughout American, and I imagine, throughout the world.
Fire Bound
I lived, for a very long time, in Lake County, California on Cobb Mountain. I loved it there and the small town feel of it. My children went to school and most were raised there. My career took off while I lived in that house and at that time my big dream was for a remodeled kitchen and the ability to send my children to college. Last year, that house burned to the ground in the Cobb Mountain fire that took hundreds of homes. Few things of mine were still there, but it was our family home that we still owned and it breaks my heart to think that it is gone. But, the memories are still there. The closeness of sisters, the small town feel where everybody knew everybody and secrets were harder to keep the longer you lived there.
I moved to a small town on the coast, near the Redwood trees. I can see the ocean from my living room window on a clear day and walk in the forest on my property. Several small towns surround me and those towns, plus the small-town feel and experience of Cobb Mountain, make up Sea Haven. Sea Haven is all that I love about small towns and its people, about the ocean and the woods.
Sea Haven is nearly a character all on its own, but it’s the community of Sea Haven that make it come alive and give it character. People know you and ask about you when you walk into the grocery or go get your hair or nails done. The artisans, inspired by the beauty surrounding them, are plenty and talented and I know so many of them by name now. People care about keeping their community clean, their children safe and the people active in all that goes on around them. You almost feel as though you have stepped back into time when helping your neighbor was a priority, generosity was commonplace and laughter was contagious.
Sea Haven exists, in parts, everywhere. I have been there. Perhaps not visiting a town by that name, but by visiting many small towns along the coast that make up this beautiful place I write about. Towns like that still exist throughout American, and I imagine, throughout the world.
Fire Bound
March 14, 2016
Men of the Monastery: Dark Promises
High up in the Carpathian Mountains sits a monastery that is both sanctuary and self-imposed prison to ancient Carpathian warriors. These men know they are dangerous. They hope to keep others safe and prolong their existence by remaining within the walls of the monastery and keeping their darkness at bay. They are men, not of humanity, but of honor; not of this world, but of one long gone. The ways of the world are not known to them. Their savageness, needed to protect the world from evil vampires, is now their downfall. Who could love them, even if a lifemate was found? Who could overcome their savage nature, understand their break from humanity, accept their darkness enough to bring them into the light?
I created the monastery and the Carpathian warriors in it because I thought it would offer a unique hero, or heroes, to the Carpathian world. These are men who never served the new Prince. We don't know how old they are and how they felt about Mikhail's father. All we know is that they served as warriors who fought evil and kept us safe. They gave of themselves knowing it could kill them. Knowing they could be sacrificing their chance at finding a lifemate. And to ensure they remain honorable now that they have slipped into such darkness they are nearly savage, they shut themselves away to protect those around them.
I know there will be some people who will not care for the monastery Carpathians. They are too savage, too primal and lack even empathy. They feel nothing. They go entirely on instinct and what they remember of feelings. And therein lies the opportunity for me to create amazing heroines. The women who become lifemates to these men will have to have great courage and selflessness. They will need to be strong in ways they never imagined.
Dark Promises gives us a look at some of these men. We get a chance to look within the walls of the monastery. We have an opportunity to see the struggles of these men and just how far outside humanity they have come.
Who will save these men? Who would care for such savage warriors? Who would give of themselves to bring them back from the darkness. And if they cannot be saved, what should be done with them? It's these questions that I think make the monastery and its inmates so intriguing.
Dark Promises
I created the monastery and the Carpathian warriors in it because I thought it would offer a unique hero, or heroes, to the Carpathian world. These are men who never served the new Prince. We don't know how old they are and how they felt about Mikhail's father. All we know is that they served as warriors who fought evil and kept us safe. They gave of themselves knowing it could kill them. Knowing they could be sacrificing their chance at finding a lifemate. And to ensure they remain honorable now that they have slipped into such darkness they are nearly savage, they shut themselves away to protect those around them.
I know there will be some people who will not care for the monastery Carpathians. They are too savage, too primal and lack even empathy. They feel nothing. They go entirely on instinct and what they remember of feelings. And therein lies the opportunity for me to create amazing heroines. The women who become lifemates to these men will have to have great courage and selflessness. They will need to be strong in ways they never imagined.
Dark Promises gives us a look at some of these men. We get a chance to look within the walls of the monastery. We have an opportunity to see the struggles of these men and just how far outside humanity they have come.
Who will save these men? Who would care for such savage warriors? Who would give of themselves to bring them back from the darkness. And if they cannot be saved, what should be done with them? It's these questions that I think make the monastery and its inmates so intriguing.
Dark Promises
February 22, 2016
Writing is my Life
I have people ask me how it is I can write so many books a year and I promise you it’s not magic. It’s a mix of hard work, dedication and the fact that I can’t NOT write.
I have written most of my life. Even when I was very young. Books have always been magical to me and I love reading just as much as I love writing.
Writing is where I go for peace and contentment. It’s my addiction and sometimes my salvation. It’s my work and my hobby.
If I never published another book I would still write. I have more stories in my head than I could ever put to paper, but I endeavor to get them out and give them life.
I’ve seen people comment that I don’t write my own books and I have to laugh. Who do they think writes them? Because I assure you every single word in my books are mine alone.
I have written most of my life. Even when I was very young. Books have always been magical to me and I love reading just as much as I love writing.
Writing is where I go for peace and contentment. It’s my addiction and sometimes my salvation. It’s my work and my hobby.
If I never published another book I would still write. I have more stories in my head than I could ever put to paper, but I endeavor to get them out and give them life.
I’ve seen people comment that I don’t write my own books and I have to laugh. Who do they think writes them? Because I assure you every single word in my books are mine alone.
February 17, 2016
Writing Romance and Proud of it!
There still seems to be this stigma about romance books that I guess I’ll never really understand. There are romances in literary fiction, thrillers even in horror novels, but if the main focus is on the couple there seems to be people out there who feel it’s not as respectable.
Here’s a newsflash. Relationships are NOT easy. Love is NOT easy. Love has so many pitfalls, facets, expression and emotion that thousands of non-fiction books are written each year just to help us understand it, save it, work through problems with it or find it. So, writing about a relationship and having the characters well developed as they start out a relationship takes some thought. Some planning. Some creative thinking. And some hard work.
I realize some people think “happily ever after” is unreal, but if it were so unreal this world would be drab and gray and sad. Call me an optimist, but I believe people find their true love. I believe that people can fight for love and find each other in the end.
I am proud to write romance. I am glad I’m an optimist and that, at least in the worlds I create, love does conquer all.
Here’s a newsflash. Relationships are NOT easy. Love is NOT easy. Love has so many pitfalls, facets, expression and emotion that thousands of non-fiction books are written each year just to help us understand it, save it, work through problems with it or find it. So, writing about a relationship and having the characters well developed as they start out a relationship takes some thought. Some planning. Some creative thinking. And some hard work.
I realize some people think “happily ever after” is unreal, but if it were so unreal this world would be drab and gray and sad. Call me an optimist, but I believe people find their true love. I believe that people can fight for love and find each other in the end.
I am proud to write romance. I am glad I’m an optimist and that, at least in the worlds I create, love does conquer all.
February 8, 2016
Sex, Sex and more Sex
Yes, there’s sex in my books. Some of the books have more than others. Some have sex that’s more erotic than others. I write romance. And, frankly, I think there’s nothing wrong with sex. It’s a part of nature. It’s human. It’s a way to express how you feel for someone. Or a way to show them that you want to take care of them.
I know some people skip sex scenes and some of them love intimate scenes. Both of those reactions are absolutely fine and correct because they are personal choices.
My leopard books are particularly wild and erotic. They have to be. I do extensive research on leopards and the characters, who shift into leopards, would need to possess some of those traits. They are passionate. And they are animalistic in the way they behave. It makes sense for the sex scenes in these to be more erotic and intense.
My Sea Haven books, the Drake Sisters and the Sisters of the Heart also have sex in them. And yes it is also passionate. But, it’s not raw, wild sex in the same sense as the leopard books are.
Sex has to make sense according to the character. Who they are, what they believe, what they feel, their life-filters, their situation. I don’t put in sex just for the sake of having sex in my books. It is meaningful. It adds to the overall story of the characters. It’s there for a reason; to be part of a beautiful story of love.
I know some people skip sex scenes and some of them love intimate scenes. Both of those reactions are absolutely fine and correct because they are personal choices.
My leopard books are particularly wild and erotic. They have to be. I do extensive research on leopards and the characters, who shift into leopards, would need to possess some of those traits. They are passionate. And they are animalistic in the way they behave. It makes sense for the sex scenes in these to be more erotic and intense.
My Sea Haven books, the Drake Sisters and the Sisters of the Heart also have sex in them. And yes it is also passionate. But, it’s not raw, wild sex in the same sense as the leopard books are.
Sex has to make sense according to the character. Who they are, what they believe, what they feel, their life-filters, their situation. I don’t put in sex just for the sake of having sex in my books. It is meaningful. It adds to the overall story of the characters. It’s there for a reason; to be part of a beautiful story of love.
February 2, 2016
How Spoilers Can Ruin a Reading Experience
Even though I may think everyone has seen the movie Psycho, or must at least know about it, I would not, for the life of me, give away the ending. Same goes for The 6th Sense or any other movies or books with great plot twists. And even though we know that romance books inherently end with a “happily ever after” I wouldn’t tell someone HOW the couple got together.
All of those things are “Spoilers”, they spoil the experience for someone else. That person won’t get the opportunity to have a first-hand experience of the story, the way the author meant for it to happen, if someone gives part of that story away. It takes from the reader (or movie watcher), it takes from the storyteller and it takes from the story experience.
I understand people like to share their experience of a story and it’s so fun to do so. My online community has a place for each series, then each book, and people go there to discuss the books and characters. But, we always ask people to be certain they write “SPOILERS” if they are going to give anything away.
Reviews should also say if there’s a spoiler in them. It’s common courtesy. I do see reviews that warn people of spoilers and I really appreciate that.
Spoilers are just that, they spoil the experience. Maybe there needs to be a place specific for readers who have already read the book, like an online book club? Does anyone here know of a site that is only for book discussions AFTER the book has been read?
All of those things are “Spoilers”, they spoil the experience for someone else. That person won’t get the opportunity to have a first-hand experience of the story, the way the author meant for it to happen, if someone gives part of that story away. It takes from the reader (or movie watcher), it takes from the storyteller and it takes from the story experience.
I understand people like to share their experience of a story and it’s so fun to do so. My online community has a place for each series, then each book, and people go there to discuss the books and characters. But, we always ask people to be certain they write “SPOILERS” if they are going to give anything away.
Reviews should also say if there’s a spoiler in them. It’s common courtesy. I do see reviews that warn people of spoilers and I really appreciate that.
Spoilers are just that, they spoil the experience. Maybe there needs to be a place specific for readers who have already read the book, like an online book club? Does anyone here know of a site that is only for book discussions AFTER the book has been read?
January 26, 2016
Release Day and How It Feels
Spider Game released today. It's part of my Ghostwalker series which are very near and dear to me. I love writing this series and matching my alpha males to kick butt heroines. I love the science behind it all and all the research I do for these.
I have made so many trips to New Orleans and into the bayou for this series. So when you read the description of the bayou you can believe it's really like that. The sights, smells, flora and fauna. It's so intriguing to me.
I know I'm suppose to post things about the book and promote it, but you can get all that on Facebook and Twitter. I would really like my GoodReads blog to be different. It's more in line with what you find in my online community, for those who have joined up there.
I will tell you that no matter how many books I write, no matter how long I've been writing professionally, release day is special for me. It's part excitement, part nervousness, part curiosity. You work hard to bring those characters to life. And to make the places feel real to readers. And you hope the emotional journey as well as the adventure will thrill readers when they read it just like it did for me when I wrote it.
It never gets old, that feeling when a reader writes and says something in the book really touched them in some way. Or that the book helped them get through a rough time by allowing them to escape for a time. I do read my email. I do read comments left on social media. For that moment, I am connected to someone who shared a story, my story. And we shared an experience through those characters.
It's an exciting day for me and I sit here wondering how readers are feeling as they read the book. Spider Game
I have made so many trips to New Orleans and into the bayou for this series. So when you read the description of the bayou you can believe it's really like that. The sights, smells, flora and fauna. It's so intriguing to me.
I know I'm suppose to post things about the book and promote it, but you can get all that on Facebook and Twitter. I would really like my GoodReads blog to be different. It's more in line with what you find in my online community, for those who have joined up there.
I will tell you that no matter how many books I write, no matter how long I've been writing professionally, release day is special for me. It's part excitement, part nervousness, part curiosity. You work hard to bring those characters to life. And to make the places feel real to readers. And you hope the emotional journey as well as the adventure will thrill readers when they read it just like it did for me when I wrote it.
It never gets old, that feeling when a reader writes and says something in the book really touched them in some way. Or that the book helped them get through a rough time by allowing them to escape for a time. I do read my email. I do read comments left on social media. For that moment, I am connected to someone who shared a story, my story. And we shared an experience through those characters.
It's an exciting day for me and I sit here wondering how readers are feeling as they read the book. Spider Game
