Revising Romance: Enhancing Character Arcs in A New Past

Funny how focus shifts. I began re-working A New Past to make a non-explicit versions of the story as a means to find some creativity for my other work. It has quickly become my primary focus for writing. I’m happy to say Book One is complete, and will be published under a different author name via Amazon on April first — No fooling

I’m half-way through books two and three, and no, that does not mean I’ve completed either of them yet. I’ve been working them in parallel, revisiting all of the explicit scenes to edit them down while fixing other minor errors in the original manuscript. 

One issue I’ve faced is the emotional connections between characters that has been strongly demonstrated through their physical love. Without giving too much away, let’s look at one example.

In Book Two, Paul and Jeryl begin a polygamous relationship with another character. If I remove that romance it has big implications later in Book Two as well as in Book Three. Cutting the relationship — which begins as a physical exploration of their own relationship reaching all the way back to Book One — changes significant story arcs.

That’s why it’s taking some time to re-write.

I have to soften the physical expressions of their new relationship, but keep the emotional attachments they both form, so the character arc can continue across multiple books. It’s a challenge, but one I accept. 

Look for updates soon on when all three books will be up on Amazon.

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