Not at First.

How do I write romance?

First, I always start with a character (or two). I don’t decide on a trope up front. In fact tropes are never part of my planning process.

While writing the Illusions historical romance series, I found myself wondering, what would have made Amelia’s mother marry Mr. Hatton? And Lady Cecily Ballantyne was born. She met Mr. Hatton while she was looking for a way to support her five-year-old daughter, Amelia.

I didn’t realize I had a Pygmalion or “My Fair Gentleman” thing going until I had written four chapters. Mr. Hatton was An Honorable Man.

But that Pygmalion theme became the basis of their bargain. He would provide work, and she would help him refine his manners so he could enter society. It became a match made in heaven!

Lady Cecily had an intriguing best friend, Lady Jaminna (Minna) Capener.

She was already married and the mother of a young son when we met her in An Honorable Man. But she was such a delight that I wanted to find out how she met and married her miserly husband.

If there is a little bit of ‘The Matchmaker‘ or “Hello, Dolly” in there, I only saw it after I’d already written chapter one. But once I saw it, I embraced it. They are perfect for each other.

 

Lady Corinna Capener made her first appearance in Minna and the Miser. She was a serious minded thirteen-year-old. The younger daughter of the miser in that story. And she was especially interested in influential women in history.

AI inspirations cover (cover reveal next week!)
 
So when I began writing her novel, Dear Lord Wycliffe, (an epistolary novel), it was her need for information that guided her actions, not any idea of a trope. If she had grown into a “bluestocking” while I wasn’t watching, what could I do but go with it?

 

And if Lord Wycliffe is a little older than she is, say thirteen years, that isn’t really enough years to be considered a May/December romance. He just needs to be convinced of that.

AI Inspiration Cover only

Now, I’m in the middle of writing Philippa’s Story, Brother’s Knot. (October/November release). During a dinner party in Dear Lord Wycliffe, we met Captain Archie Broadbent. I planned that he would be the main male character in Philippa’s book. Really! 

But then on the way to a house party, she met his brother, Lord Thornwood. I would never plan a love triangle trope. Not in a million years. 

But here I am with Philippa torn between two men. And involving herself in a little intrigue on the side. And I’m having the best time.

 

 

So what trope will I be writing for Delia? She’s next. I don’t know. That’s not where I start. Romance always begins with the characters.