Yesterday, M Jane Colette and I were guests of Mike Deregowski on his show The Writers’ Block, talking about romance, erotica, and creativity. Click on the graphic below to check it out! (We start around the halfway mark.)
Category Archives: Miscellaneous
The Romance of Renovation Shows
Romance? Renovation shows?
Yes, really. Trust me on this.
A renovation show, especially a show like Home Town (on HGTV), is the house and family version of a romance novel. For those who haven’t seen it, Home Town is set in Laurel, Mississippi, and has woodworker Ben Napier and designer Erin Napier (the most delightful, sweet married couple ever!) renovating older houses for people who are looking to move to their town. It’s the epitome of sweet, feel-good television, and it’s become one of my go-to shows during this pandemic, when I need something to take my mind off of my current reality. It helps keep my anxiety in check, though that’s a whole other post!
A renovation show, like a romance novel, has a specific structure. There’s the introduction or first meeting of the house and the people buying it. There’s the plan, and the execution of that plan, the building up of the house, where everyone falls in love. And then, with very few exceptions, something goes wrong. There’s a black moment. It could be the discovery of termites (shudder!) or bats (cute but stinky!) or half your floor rotted away. Whatever it is, it can put the renovation in jeopardy, either through damage or cost. You know that things will work out in the end, but you don’t know how. And then, finally, the building is done, and the people who have bought the house get to see how it’s turned out, and everyone lives happily ever after in their gorgeous house.
A romance novel starts with the meeting of the two (or more) love interests. There’s the pursuing of the romantic relationship, the build-up, the falling in love. And then, there’s something to make the characters doubt their love, or something that gets in their way. And that black moment happens, where you’re not sure how things will turn out, or how they can possibly succeed. But you get to the climax, and love wins out, and everyone lives happily ever after.
See what I mean?
Do you have a renovation show favourite? Or perhaps a romance novel whose story revolves around a renovation? Let me know in the comments! I’m always looking for new shows or books!
RECOMMEND! Tiffany Sostar’s An Unexpected Light: Telling Possible Stories in Impossible Times online course
Look, everyone. It’s COVID-19. You’re stuck in isolation or self-quarantine, and you need something to do. You need new books to read.
And most of all, you need HOPE.
Hope that this pandemic will end. Hope that you will survive, that your life as you know it will continue.
An Unexpected Light is exactly the course.
From the website:
An Unexpected Light is a 6-month online speculative fiction course designed to respond to what often feels like a growing and inescapable sense of hopelessness and despair within individuals and communities. The goal of this course is to offer many invitations towards possibility, towards life. Combining narrative therapy practices with guided writing and curated reading selections, we will search for the unexpected light together.
The next session runs from April 2, 2020. Register here
The Romance Reviews Sizzling Summer Reads!
Check out The Romance Reviews for the month of June, and have a chance to win great prizes (including one of my books)!
I’ve been busy, and this is why…
Yup, I bought a motorcycle.
It’s a smaller model than what Alex rides in Betting on Love (hers is a 2013 Ninja Z1000, which is much, much bigger). It’s a 2010 Ninja 250r, just the right size for learning. This spring I took my motorcycle safety course from Too Cool Motorcycle School, and I got my motorcycle license in June. A couple of weeks ago, I found the bike on an online ad, and went to take a look. I loved it, and it’s the perfect size.
I will not be spending quite as much time writing during what remains of this summer, as I’m going to try to get a lot of riding in before the snow falls (or falls again, as we’ve already had one light skiff of snow here… pretty nutty for August). But if you’re looking for something to read in the meantime, The London Game was just released, and coming in January, my latest book from Bold Strokes Books, titled Midnight at the Orpheus, will be released. 🙂
So, I’ll be around a bit, but more than likely, I’ll be riding.
ARe Blast Summer Promo! All books in my catalogue are 25% off! #areblast
(includes The Le Chat Rouge series [The Paris Game, Moonlight & Love Songs, The Christmas Game], Betting the Farm, Vee: Vol 1, & Prohibited Passion.)
Yes, it’s been a long time.
I’ve been awfully busy. But coming in the pipeline are a few new things, including some book reviews, and most importantly, a special announcement.
That’s all I’m going to say about that for now 😉
Coming soon: The Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event!
This year, I am participating again in the Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event, hosted and organized by the excellent KT Grant. It starts on January 11th, and goes until the 31st. (My post will be on January 15th, in case you’re wondering.) Click on the image below for more information on the event, and join us!
THE CHRISTMAS GAME is free for the holidays!
From now until New Year’s Eve, grab a copy of my Le Chat Rouge novella, THE CHRISTMAS GAME, over at All Romance eBooks!
Alone in London on business just before Christmas, Marc Perron meets an intriguing young woman working at a bookshop. A light flirtation seems to lead nowhere, but the night before he returns to Paris, she knocks on his hotel room door.
Madelaine’s taking a risk, but no one’s ever looked at her the way Marc does, and she’s not about to pass up a chance to get to know him better. When he suggests a game of wagers, she can’t resist challenging him. And herself.
Their matchup is a fiery one and each wager tops the last, the sexual heat between them crackling. Neither want to lose the game, but Madelaine fears she might be losing her heart as well.
This novella is a part of the Le Chat Rouge series, but can be read as a stand-alone story.
One of my favourite quotes…
Self-knowledge is no guarantee of happiness, but it is on the side of happiness and can supply the courage to fight for it. (Simone de Beauvoir)