Michele Stegman Guest Post: "What makes a book compelling?"

Fellow romance author Michele Stegman graciously agreed to come by this week with the following guest post on a topic we all need, "What Makes a Book Compelling." Here's a bit about Michele: "Michele Stegman has loved history all her life.  When she was studying history in graduateschool, one of her professors quipped that she put too much romance in herresearch papers.  She decided to put in more romance andwrite historical romances.
Her Fortune seriesis following the adventures of the Fortune family through piracy and war in the1700's.Michele wasnever interested in writing contemporary novels.  But one day she wasdriving along, thinking of nothing in particular, when the entire plot for MR. RIGHT'S BABY popped into her head.  She couldn't stop thinkingabout it and finally decided it was a book that had to be written."    


When Janet asked me to write about what makes a compellingbook for her blog, I had to do some thinking about it! 
The answer to this question is long and complex and certainlycan't be covered in one brief blog! But here are a few quick observations.
1.  Itcontains some universal truth.No matterwhat that truth is, it must be something we can relate to.  And the more universal the truth, themore people it will appeal to. "Even selfish people can sometimes make greatsacrifices for someone else," or "Wealth does not equal happiness," or "Motherswill do anything to protect their children," will appeal to more people than,"It's nice to have a good car," or "Being pretty helps make you popular."
2.  Itappeals to something deep within your personal psyche.  Most of ushave a favorite fairy tale.  Formany of us, it is Cinderella.  Welove stories where the heroine is rescued by a rich, handsome hero.  For me, however, Cinderella was not myfavorite.  Mine was Beauty and theBeast.  Even as a very young child,first and second grade, I made friends with the kids no one else liked.  It was as if I could feel theirpain.  So when I find a story wherethe hero is dark and wounded, maybe even a little scary, and the heroine bringshim out of himself and heals him, I put it on my "keeper shelf."    
Flowers From the Storm byLaura Kinsale, and A Rose in Winter by Kathleen Woodiwiss, are myfavorites. 
A book witha theme that speaks deeply to you will appeal to you.  Which explains why some people like a particular book andothers don't.   
And bookscan appeal to you at one time, and not later.  I have read books that I thought were wonderful.  Years later, when I tried to rereadthem, there was just no appeal there for me.  "Been there, done that."  I think at the time, that book was just what I needed.  It spoke to some current need that hasnow been healed or changed.  Butthere are also books I have loved all my life, like the Beauty and the Beaststory.
3.  Wecan relate to the characters. The longrunning cartoon series, The Simpsons, has been so popular because we can allrelate so well to the characters. Even Homer.  We are allselfish and like to "pig out" sometimes. We have those qualities in us so we can relate.  In Homer, they are exaggerated, butthey are in us all.  Many of us, asreaders, of course, relate most closely to Lisa.  She has few friends and she is always searching for a placewhere she can belong.  We relate tothese characters because of their faults and weaknesses, not because of theirstrengths.
It's hardto relate to heroes and heroines who have no faults.  Their faults don't have to be awful.  They shouldn't be criminals or cheatsor kick puppies.  But a heroine whohas self-doubts or is too over-confident is more appealing than a perfectwoman.   Again, we relate tothe faults in characters, and not as much to their strengths.
4.  StrongGMC.If youhaven't read Debra Dixon's GMC (Goal, Motivation, and Conflict) read itNOW. 
I hateconflict and confrontation.  Idon't like it when people fight. So I like things to run smoothly for my characters, as well.  WRONG.  Also BORING. The first couple of books I wrote got letters back from editors saying,"Not enough conflict."  I thoughtthey meant the hero and heroine had to fight, argue, yell.  Well, no.  I didn't understand conflict at all. 
JenniferCrusie said your characters can fight over a teacup, but it really isn't aboutthe teacup.  What do they reallywant?  What are they willing to doto get it?  What stands in theirway?  That's conflict!  That's GMC.
5.  Goodwriting.Goodwriting begins with the very first sentence of the book.  I remember reading the first sentenceof Outlander and a shiver went down my spine.  I knew this was going to be a great book.  That first sentence set the tone forthe whole book.
When Ifirst started seriously submitting to editors, I hated that they wanted thefirst three chapters.  I wanted tosubmit chapters 7, 9, and 12 because they were my best.  That's where the "good stuff"happened.   Well, duh, I soonrealized that the "good stuff" better start with the first sentence becausemost readers are not going to slog through six chapters of drek to get to thegood part.
For thefirst book I wrote that sold I had a really good scene in mind.  It was going to be the last scene inthe book.  But I kept tossing outstuff that came before that scene because I thought, "Well, I don't want towrite this stuff, why would anyone want to read it?"  Finally, that good scene became the very first scene in thebook.  I wanted to jump right intothe action so the first sentence of that book was, "One loop of the coarse ropethat bound Raven Winthrop to the mast of the pirate ship was about her neckchafing cruelly."
Of coursethere's a lot more to good writing than hooking the reader with the firstsentence, but this blog is long enough!
Thank you,Janet for hosting me today!
My pleasure! Informationabout Michele and her books can be found on her website where you can readexcerpts from each of her books: www.michelestegman.com. 
Hereis a little blurb about Mr. Right's Baby and links tobuy the book:

"Hewanted to marry her.  If she knew why, she just might walk away forever."
http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Rights-Baby-ebook/dp/B00655TAFA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1330019636&sr=1-1http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/102049