by Maureen L. Bonatch
As
Valentine’s Day approaches, every store and commercial is emphasizing that it’s
time for romance. Time to tell and/or show your loved one how much you care.
This time of year often turns our thoughts to love stories, and we may wonder how the story began.
How Hard Can it Be?
Many years ago, in the mind of a naïve writer, I picked up a
pen (rather, put fingers to the keyboard)
and wrote a romance novel.
A contest and a deadline spurred me to chase my
dream of writing. This started out as straight romance- with no paranormal elements
involved- and kind of fell short on several accounts. (As I have reworked this manuscript, I discovered my love of paranormal
and it helped bring the story to life.) However, I didn’t know that, I thought it was fabulous!
Like
the first time I tried to sew a teddy bear in junior high. I thought that
hideous monstrosity (despite copious
amounts of help from the Home Economics teacher) was perfect too, and
promptly sent it off as a gift to my nephew who lived out of state. (In reflection, I must ponder whether his
mother thought it might be some type of voodoo threat, rather than a gift sewed
with love and poor skill.)
The frightful excuse for a stuffed “bear” came home to visit with my nephew years later. I
looked on it with fresh eyes—no longer blinded by the delight of completing
the project—and was horrified. I attempted to bribe my nephew so I could destroy
the hideous stuffed entity my nephew told everyone his aunt made.
Facing the Music
So…I
digress…I took my fabulous first story and entered the first 3 chapters in a
contest—and I didn’t win. Then I paid to have a critique of the entire story—and received pages of notes back.
To summarize-—one of the biggest problems
with my story was my hero. In the eyes of the ‘romance world’, he was no hero. I thought he was funny and
realistic. The critique implied that he was a bit of an asshole.
She didn’t
say it quite like that. Instead, she worded it nicely, emphasizing that this
was romance. Nobody wanted a man who had no viable income, appeared totally
self-absorbed and dripped sarcasm to the point of rudeness. Apparently, women were
not looking to escape reality with a man like my hero. He was not the man of
fantasies—perhaps he was too much like the man already lying on many women’s couches.
Somebody for Everybody
My bear was nowhere
near perfect, and needed a lot more
work. Okay. Let’s be honest, nothing would’ve saved that stuffed miscreation. Nevertheless,
my nephew loved it because I made it with love—poor sewing skills—but
heartfelt intentions.
Same thing
for my first manuscript, and for any real-life romance. Nobody is perfect, but
if you love someone, you tend to overlook, or ignore the flaws most days and
find the gem buried within the stones.
I continue
to carve away at the first manuscript, (sprinkling in some paranormal and a
much more loveable hero) because I love the story and I can’t rest until I
bring it to the world.
I hope you find a way to show your special valentine how
much you care and stir the magic in your relationship.
Need Some Ideas for Valentine’s Day? I Have Some for You Right Here
Looking for
a short sweet magical read? Forget Me Not—and all the Candy Hearts Romance
stories are 40% off now at The Wild Rose Press to get you in the mood for love.
Maureen Bonatch dreamt of becoming a Solid Gold Dancer. When
the show ended, she followed other paths. Surviving twins gave
her confidence to belly dance, declare herself a tequila connoisseur and biker
babe to her alpha hubby. She lives in small town Pennsylvania and her love of
the four seasons—biking, sweat pants, hockey and hibernation—keeps her there.
While immersed in paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine,
wine, music and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line.
Check out her Amazon Author Page right here for
all her Books
Find Maureen:
