The Lover: the journey continues!
The Lover is my third "single title" novel. Strangely enough . . . or perhaps not . . . the idea grew out of research I came across while writing The Lady's Tutor. I was intrigued by the thought of night houses, hotels of sorts . . . NOT brothels . . . where not only prostitutes, but lovers could rent a room by the hour. In France these hotels were called "maisons des rendezvous," or houses of rendezvous.
I knew my hero would be a male prostitute named Michael, or more specifically, Michel (Michael in French) des Anges. (Voir les anges is a French term for orgasm; Michael is literally named for his ability to give women sexual satisfaction.) However, when I sat down to write the book, my muse balked at writing a story with a hero named Michael. I know so many Michaels in real life; alas, nary a one of them is a beautiful, violet-eyed gigolo. I simply couldn't create such an extraordinary character with such an ordinary name. Gabriel has always been a favorite name of mine, so I renamed Michael "Gabriel." Only to have Gabriel jump out of the pages and say, "I am Gabriel; Michael is Michael."
Suddenly my simple story of a historical gigolo became much more complex. But wait a minute. Did gigolos . . . a term coined circa 1920 . . . really exist prior to the twentieth century? Homosexual male prostitutes did--there's all kinds of documentation about m/m sex for hire--but what about heterosexual male prostitution?
I read over a dozen books that suggested it had, indeed, occurred, but not until I was thumbing through Frances Grose's A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue did I actually find terminology for these men. (My favorite is 'petticoat monger;' 'stallion' is still in use today.)
Okay. The names, characters and story were laid out, but there was still a major stumbling block: I wrote The Lady's Tutor using a traditional writing style; very straight forward. I knew this wouldn't work for The Lover. Michael and Gabriel--one man trained to please women, the other trained to please men--are two very complex and dangerous individuals. The very urgency surrounding their circumstances demanded that I convey this danger and urgency through the writing. It is a style frequently used in thriller/action genres--short, high-impact sentences--and what else, really, was The Lover but an erotic romantic thriller? Hence the opening, which laid the groundwork for the remainder of the book:
It was a risk, writing The Lover as I did. I knew many readers who loved The Lady's Tutor wouldn't like the staccato-like writing. I also knew there were scenes in it that would greatly disturb gentle readers. When I sent it off to New York, I was quite certain my editor would toss it in the trash. The next night, I was drinking a glass of wine (okay, more than one) and whining to Don that I had probably murdered my writing career. When he asked why (due to time constraints, he had not read The Lover), I told him about the Andrew Marvell scene. He grimly agreed, "You are finished."
After all these years together, he knows just the right words to boost my morale! :-)
Unbeknownst to me, however, I had forgotten to turn on the upstairs phone that morning. While I was crying in my wine, so to speak, my editor called and left a message. She had received the manuscript that morning, and had stayed late at the office to read it. Fortunately for my sanity, I went downstairs to check my computer and saw the flashing red light on the telephone indicating I had voice mail. My editor loved the book! I drank the rest of the wine in celebration.
A writing career is very much like a roller coaster ride . . . lots of ups and downs.
Michael and Gabriel--mes deux anges--will always hold a special place in my heart. I think, in some ways, Anne is my most courageous heroine. She knew what she wanted, and in the end, she was willing to pay the price.
The Lover was my first single title release to hit the USA Today Bestseller list, and has thus far been published in six countries.
I knew my hero would be a male prostitute named Michael, or more specifically, Michel (Michael in French) des Anges. (Voir les anges is a French term for orgasm; Michael is literally named for his ability to give women sexual satisfaction.) However, when I sat down to write the book, my muse balked at writing a story with a hero named Michael. I know so many Michaels in real life; alas, nary a one of them is a beautiful, violet-eyed gigolo. I simply couldn't create such an extraordinary character with such an ordinary name. Gabriel has always been a favorite name of mine, so I renamed Michael "Gabriel." Only to have Gabriel jump out of the pages and say, "I am Gabriel; Michael is Michael."
Suddenly my simple story of a historical gigolo became much more complex. But wait a minute. Did gigolos . . . a term coined circa 1920 . . . really exist prior to the twentieth century? Homosexual male prostitutes did--there's all kinds of documentation about m/m sex for hire--but what about heterosexual male prostitution?
I read over a dozen books that suggested it had, indeed, occurred, but not until I was thumbing through Frances Grose's A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue did I actually find terminology for these men. (My favorite is 'petticoat monger;' 'stallion' is still in use today.)
Okay. The names, characters and story were laid out, but there was still a major stumbling block: I wrote The Lady's Tutor using a traditional writing style; very straight forward. I knew this wouldn't work for The Lover. Michael and Gabriel--one man trained to please women, the other trained to please men--are two very complex and dangerous individuals. The very urgency surrounding their circumstances demanded that I convey this danger and urgency through the writing. It is a style frequently used in thriller/action genres--short, high-impact sentences--and what else, really, was The Lover but an erotic romantic thriller? Hence the opening, which laid the groundwork for the remainder of the book:
Death.
Desire.
Michael did not know which of the two had brought him back to London.
He sat and waited for both.
It was a risk, writing The Lover as I did. I knew many readers who loved The Lady's Tutor wouldn't like the staccato-like writing. I also knew there were scenes in it that would greatly disturb gentle readers. When I sent it off to New York, I was quite certain my editor would toss it in the trash. The next night, I was drinking a glass of wine (okay, more than one) and whining to Don that I had probably murdered my writing career. When he asked why (due to time constraints, he had not read The Lover), I told him about the Andrew Marvell scene. He grimly agreed, "You are finished."
After all these years together, he knows just the right words to boost my morale! :-)
Unbeknownst to me, however, I had forgotten to turn on the upstairs phone that morning. While I was crying in my wine, so to speak, my editor called and left a message. She had received the manuscript that morning, and had stayed late at the office to read it. Fortunately for my sanity, I went downstairs to check my computer and saw the flashing red light on the telephone indicating I had voice mail. My editor loved the book! I drank the rest of the wine in celebration.
A writing career is very much like a roller coaster ride . . . lots of ups and downs.
Michael and Gabriel--mes deux anges--will always hold a special place in my heart. I think, in some ways, Anne is my most courageous heroine. She knew what she wanted, and in the end, she was willing to pay the price.
The Lover was my first single title release to hit the USA Today Bestseller list, and has thus far been published in six countries.
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Another angel, hmmm, Rane? You don't want to read about further adventures with Michael and Gabriel? . . .LOL I get a lot of requests to write another angel book. Maybe someday I'll come up with a story worthy of mes deux anges.
Wow. I'm honored you hold all other erotic romances up to the standards of TL and TLT. Thank you!