Joining the Party, Or How I Wrote My Romance Novel: Part II
“Shadows of Love” took place anywhen, near Chicago. Since I wanted to tell Rudella and Piri’s story before they met, and I got it into my head to not label years, “Like Red on a Rose” also became a history lesson. Giving summaries of historical events that happened ‘round the time of each chapter allowed me my strange indulgence, as well as reminded readers of what we’d been through. Some events were massive, others were pop culture happenings. The notion of art being timeless baffled me since all art is dated, and people cried “timeless” but really meant “mid-20th century”. Because it took place in the real world, I had no problem with my novel being of its time.
Another holdover from “Shadows of Love” was how Rudella and Piri looked, and how they didn’t. Addressing the last first, I didn’t want to be too specific in the novel since I didn’t want to restrict myself whenever it’s time to cast the film. So Rudella and Piri were Korean and Mexican, but I didn’t have any details apart from the latter missing an eye since that’s already established. Rudella was always a mortician, but I wanted Piri to take the bigger journey which was why she’s a waitress instead of her gig in the film.
In the planning, I knew I wanted the gals to have very different lives. Partially for variety, partially to keep from boring myself. I liked the idea of Rudella having a suburban life and problems, and Piri having an urban life and problems. Those differences allowed me to write about things I couldn’t have if both came from the same world. Things you’ll read about in “Like Red on a Rose”. I can say that Rudella being suburban allowed me to be pop culture-centric, and Piri being urban allowed me to be more topical. And I didn’t want them to be mouthpieces or wish fulfillments. They could be (very) opinionated, but I didn’t always agree with them. Nor should I. Or you.
Because I allowed for pop culture, it would’ve been easy to drown the reader in it. Some might say they still needed mouth-to-mouth, but I tried hard to make sure the references were needed. They had to be character-specific; anything that could’ve existed by itself went away. I have to admit, there’s another reason for the dirty pop. I felt that certain “tastemakers” weren’t doing their job, and I wanted to remind the world of things beyond the usual top-ten lists. Not in a hipster way, though. Being obscure and waiting for applause was fucking stupid. Ditto writing for applause, period. If certain groups liked what you created, great, but don’t pander. Anywho, the pop nods were also my attempt to get at least one or two people interested in supporting the arts. Whatever a character watched, read, or listened to, they bought first. Or got it from a library.
Writing “Like Red on a Rose” took longer than I thought because I didn’t do enough character homework in the planning. I assumed that since I wrote “Shadows of Love”, I had enough of a handle on Rudella and Piri to last hundreds of pages. More fool me. I won’t say how long it took; not out of shame, but because I don’t want authors to compare themselves to me. If I took longer than they did to write their novel, I might get their snide blathering. If I was quicker, I might get their anxiety.
Do I have problems or regrets with my novel? Sure, but they’re very small. I’ll wait a few months before saying what they are since I want everyone to develop their opinions first. Then I’ll be one among many, not The Keystone. Goals? Apart from the usual starving author ones, I hope it starts conversations since there are things between covers people should check in with each other about. Conversations, not opinionated diatribes. I also hope readers fill the intentional blanks and build their own headcanon, making sure to not speak for me. As you can tell, I don’t have issues speaking for myself.
Enjoy the misadventures of Rudella and Piri (paperback soon).
