Tag: cleanromance (Page 2 of 2)

Scary Romance Short Story?

September 29, 2022 / Gigi Lynn

Is it possible? If you’ve read a scary romance (story, novella, or novel), please tell me the title/author, especially if it was a good story.

My local library has a yearly scary story contest. The only rule is that the piece has to be eight pages or less.

I didn’t plan to write a scary story; it’s not really in my wheelhouse, but my all my fellow writers in my writer’s group were talking about it. Many of them write fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and horror-genres that lend themselves to a little scary. But someone suggested I try a gothic romance. I haven’t been able to forget about it since. Now I have four ideas, so I’m taking a little break from my latest novel and writing a few short stories. The only problem is I’m not sure I will be able to keep any of them to less than eight pages. So watch for a gothic story from me here on the site in October.

And, I’d love to read your scary story. If you’d like, I’ll post it here. Embrace the season with me and let’s all challenge ourselves to try something new!

Photo by Georgi Kalaydzhiev on Unsplash

How About a Little Sneak Peak?

September 2, 2022 / Gigi Lynn

In The Lies We Tell, when Amelia sees the young girls at the brothel, this refined lady acts in a way that is so outside her nature it surprised me. I wanted to explore what would make her unable to walk away from these poor girls. This question was the impetus to write my current Work in Process. Right now I’m calling it An Honorable Man. It’s a fun reverse Pygmalion story. Cecily (Amelia’s mother–And Amelia makes an appearance as a five year old) is helping Mr. Hatton make himself over so that he can enter into society.

I can’t believe how much I’m enjoying this story. Would you like a sneak peak?

I have a new page on the site. It’s called Free Romance Reads. If you’d like access, go ahead and sign up for my newsletter. You’ll get a free story, “One Stormy Day,” and I’ll give you the password to the page where I will be loading the first chapter of An Honorable Man. As time goes by, I will be adding other sneak peaks, deleted scenes, short stories and such.

I’m Teeming with Ideas for New Romances

August 22, 2022 / Gigi Lynn

When I first began writing, I had a character. Liza got into a mess, or she had to get her neighbor and father out of their mess. I had one book in my mind. Sometimes I worried a little that I would be a “one book wonder.”

Then Liza went to a ball and talked with a tipsy Amelia. I loved that scene. Amelia made an impression. She talked herself right into the second book. What a relief! And then toward the end of that first book, I met Sidonie. She was so engaging. Suddenly, I had a series. (I added two novellas somewhere in there too).

Then I had an idea for a short story, a prequel about Amelia’s mother. Except my short story wants to be a novel–I’m working on that now, a little more than half-way through. I do believe this will be the last book in this particular series. But did I only have one series in me?

person writing on a notebook beside macbook — Photo by Judit Peter on Pexels.com

I’ve discovered that there is something about writing, at least for me. The more I write, the more ideas come to me. I have three sisters that I can’t wait to write about. One of them needs to marry into money. Sometime soon I think I must do a spin-off series beginning with a book about Madeleine (The French agent that we meet in The Masks We Wear). I have a stand-alone knocking around in the back of my brain–a forced marriage, and some men recently returned from the war who meet once a week to play cards showed up in my brain and are waiting for romance.. The ideas just keep coming. I keep making notes and suddenly I have plans for the next year and a half. I can’t tell you how excited, and relieved I am to know that I have more than one book or one series in me.

I can’t wait for you to meet all the people who are now floating around in my brain just waiting to have their turn to tell their stories.

Do you follow the pattern?

March 27, 2022 / Gigi Lynn

Do you read the directions before you begin putting together the furniture or toy?

Someone wrote those patterns or instructions. And chances are good, they knew more than I about that process. So, I always plan to follow the directions.

But then a random thought intrudes. An idea takes root. This costume might look better with a different sleeve and maybe a different neckline. Could I meld these two patterns?

This quilt is lovely. I am going make it, but what if I put a Dresden Plate in the center, you know, make it a medallion quilt?

This recipe looks delicious, but I don’t have (or don’t like) this ingredient. What if I added this instead?

I seem innately unable to follow the directions.

In story writing there is a pattern. Story beats or plot points. There is pacing, three act structure—the list goes on, and on. These things make sense. People who know more than I have researched, noted, and written instructions about how to effectively tell a story. And publishers and agents have long experience to tell them what will sell—what people like to read.

But I have this character who appears in my mind. She (or he) begins her journey. She doesn’t care about plot points or story beats. She just wants what she wants or finds herself in the middle of a mess. As an author I know I need to create that character arc. I need to have a beginning, a middle and an end, but then a random thought intrudes. An idea takes root.

What if?