The Sheikh, Polishing, New Ideas and Shoes
And maybe we’ll even talk about more than that. I don’t know, I’m winging it today. *g*
I have sent the sheikh, and in the grand tradition of Ms. Jackie Ashenden, I am trying to NTAI. And I hear, if you’re going to NTAI, you need shoes. So I bought shoes. Online. And I hope they fit. As I mentioned a couple of posts back, I’m only 5’7, but my feet think I’m 5’11 and have grown to an appropriate size. So I’m banking on the fact that I can cram my feet into these tens. But anyway…
I’ve got a germ of a new idea with a heroine who is…well she is something very different from the heroines I usually do. She’s beautiful, she knows it, she works it. She has great confidence in that beauty and it’s her shield between herself and the world. She knows that it makes her intimidating, a force to be reckoned with, and she embraces it. Once I hit that idea I knew she needed to be ruffled. She’s a perfectionist with the best manicure and her roots never show, and she needs a hero who can really shake up her life and make her face the things she’s hiding beneath that glossy outer layer.
Fortunately, I’ve had a taker. He thinks he knows just how to handle her, and I’m more than willing to let him have at it. So we’ll see what unfolds…
And then, there’s a MS I wrote right before I got The Call that I’m thinking I might polish up. It’s very close to my heart and I’m not entirely sure why, but it is. So I’m nervous about. It’s one thing to send a project that you’ve gained a little distance from, quite another to show one you feel wrapped up in still. Makes you feel like you might be exposing yourself and that can be tough.
But, with the encouragement of my CPs I am moving forward with polishing it.
I have a question for all of you: Do you prefer a darker back story? Or does it bum you out?
Comments
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I love a dark backstory as long as it’s not exploitative. Dark is great as long as it’s not just to be dark.
That’s a very good point, Anna. You don’t want to do dark just to do dark. I like dark, but my fear is, I might be relying on it to create that midpoint drama, but then, if people like it….why not? 🙂
I just wanted to sympathize. I’m 5’7″ and wear a 10 too. I feel your pain!
Thank you, Jessica. We should be taller. Or our feet should be smaller. I actually think my feet are a little bigger than a ten, but you can’t find shoes bigger than a ten. Though I got a great tip from the very tall Lisa Hendrix: Go to San Francisco and buy the shoes the drag queens where. Let’s face it, they probably have better taste in shoes anyway. 😀
Yay on the sheik and LOVE the shoes! You just reminded me that I’m about to send my mss and I’m going near the shops tomorrow… oooh!
Congrats on sending the Sheikh off…I bet that feels great. 🙂
Your new heroine sounds wonderfully perfect – can’t wait to hear how she gets knocked back on her heels…
And I’m okay with dark back stories. It’s romance, so no matter how dark it gets, it always ends on a high note, which is what matters to me. 😉
Oh, thanks Rach!! Yeah, I plan on wearing them at Nationals. 🙂 Congrats on subbing! Yay you!
Jamie, that’s the plan, to knock her straight off her heels! Of course…he doesn’t want to get knocked for any sort of loop…he just wants to ruffler HER. But best laid plans…
Love it, love it, love it. Can’t wait to see how your new idea turns out. Good luck with polishing too. I love a dark backstory. I love the emotion that comes with them, so the darker the better for me 😀 Make ’em work for it 😉
Lacey, you’re SUCH a bad influence on me. Bwahahaha…I’m definitely leaning towards giving my gorgeous heroine some dark stuff in her background…will have to see what my ed says though. 😀
And you know I love to make them work for it!
Niiiiice shoooooes!!! I have to say, I haven’t bought any NTAI shoes for a while. Great Uncle Visa has been most parsimonious about it. I’m sure I can talk him round though. 😉
As to backstory, I loves me some dark pasts. It does make the character journey more intense and emotional.
Yes, and I *do* love heavy emotion. Contemplating my heroine still…she’s hiding her imperfections from me too…beast.
Why hasn’t Great Uncle Visa been playing nicely? That’s not right! Mother’s day is coming up too! That’s ACTUALLY what my shoes were for…and also bought my first Nora book.
I personally love a dark back story and mine tend to be on the darker side of dark 🙂 I think it works if you show how love redeems and heals whatever the situation in the back story is, which of course it does 😉 The hard part for me is making the hero or heroine (whoever has got the Issues) not seem selfpitying. I’m writing a tortured hero right now (the title, given by my ed, is The Tortured Rake) and it is hard not to get mired in all the angst.
Love the shoes… I am 5’11” and my feet have spread/grown since having children, so you can just imagine the size of my feet!!
I like dark back story – makes the stakes higher and usually the story is more intense and emotional. Also like shoes.
Kate, 5’11? Come stand next to me. 🙂 Actually, one of my best friends is 5’11, which is fantastic because my other friends are shorties. seriously. one of my bridesmaids was 4’10.
Love, love the title! And yeah, dark back story is so much fun. I really do love the intensity that it adds…I have two ideas for my heroine…one is bad, the other is worse…for her, they’re not bad ideas. 😀
Anne, nice to hear from someone else who loves teh character torture. And thanks. The shoes are due here any moment!!
Eep!
Hehe…my shoes are here! and they’re so cute!! But tall. I am an amazon in them. And I need to learn to walk in such tall heels! But they’re surprisingly comfy!
Darker is good. Redemption even better. 🙂
That’s very true, Lori! Kate and I were both talking about how redemption is a major theme running through our books. That’s one thing I love about dark back story. There’s just SO much to work with. So many things for the characters to overcome before they can really move out of that darkness. Very rewarding in the end.
LOVE your NTAI shoes, they’re fab! Hope the Sheikh is good to go after your hard work 🙂
NTAI?
Now Twirl and Impress?
Not Too Ancient, Ida?
Never Timeshare Archaic Igloos?
Thank you, Jo! They’re cute. And if I had cuter feet, I would totally take a pic and post it. Sadly, as I mentioned before, I have size tens. 🙂 And they’re not cute size tens. And I hope he goes down well too! (er…I hope my ed likes him…)
Jane, Not Thinking About It and I had to ask too, and now I felt obliged to use it! 🙂