C’Mere… Let Me Whisper in Your Ear.
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
I saw the look in his eye when I glanced at him from over the crowded room. It started out so quietly before it grew into a wildfire. His eyes were like black diamonds, sparking with his fury. It was unbelievably bad luck for him to be here of all places. There would be hell to pay later in the game but for now, I couldn’t think about anything else. My eye was on the prize.
I returned his stare, unblinking even as goosebumps raced down my arms. He held my gaze for just a second longer than he normally would and fear prickled down my spine. He knew. My heart stopped at the thought and my knees knocked together. I held my breath as I tried to gather my composure..
“… wouldn’t you agree?” Cold fingers grazed my upper arm and five pairs of friendly eyes stared in my direction. I blinked as though I were seeing my companions for the first time tonight. I licked my lips anxiously as I struggled with my words.
“I- I’m sorry.” My voice carried a little louder than I’d wished and Kiki’s eyes widened when she turned to look at me two social circles over. I heard her start to excuse herself as well before I shook my head slightly to signal her off. “Excuse me. I need a bit of fresh air.”
I didn’t wait for a reply before I slipped quietly between guest and headed out to the terrace. I watched the french double doors from over my shoulder as I leaned against the stone rail. No one seemed to notice I left the party in a semi-hurry. The breeze brushed over me and I suppressed a shiver. Indian summer had held out for as long as she could before giving away to the chilly autumn air and I silently cursed my stupidity of wearing a black sleeveless dress. I rubbed my hands over my arms to give them an extra burst of warmth before heading out into the perfectly manicured garden.
___
A lot of romantic suspense writing is all about keeping secrets until the big reveal. You get to reveal bits and pieces along the way but my favorite part of this type of writing, and especially first person is that I’m the only one who really knows what’s going to happen and how’s it’s going to work out. Secrets require a lot of trust between two people. Someone who tells the secret and someone who keeps it. I like to think this is how romantic relationships are built up throughout the story line, not to mention getting to know someone you can’t stand in the beginning and then falling head over heels for them accidentally.
This isn’t true of Sadie. Sadie marches to the beat of her own drummer. She likes her life – the double one that she leads – just the way it is and having a permanent fixture in her life isn’t an option in the first book. Or the second one. Not really getting close to it in the third either. I mean, she has a working relationship with one guy and something more but not sure what it is with another. Sadie doesn’t trust anyone, especially herself and I’d like to think I’d take her on the journey to find that trust inside of herself so she can move forward. Sort of like how people tell you- You have to learn yourself before someone else can love you the way you deserve to be loved. This is a lesson that Sadie needs to learn to move on.
I liken keeping secrets in my WIPs to keeping a diary as a kid. It’s nearly the same concept. I had this pretty white diary with little flowers on it. It was a cheapo that I begged for at Christmas time. The diary had the fold over and you slid the lock home. I had a little brass key, no bigger than your thumbnail that I kept on a tattered old blue ribbon. It might have been a hair ribbon for a doll. I might have taken it from my best friend. I’m not sure. But I kept it hidden behind my clothes hanging up in the makeshift closet and my diary was hidden in the tiny crack of space between the ceiling and the top shelving for the hanging bar to insure ultimate secrecy.
I had this diary for years. It was my private stash of everything I ever thought of and filled mostly of thoughts about how I was going to marry Rob and have lots of babies and live in a tree house. This is all irrelevant. The jist of the diary is that it’s the mind that you wish you could keep. And secrets in a story are like that. Everything in the world eventually gets revealed and sometimes it’s not at the right moment, but most things are within your control. Everything can hinge off how you walk and talk through secrets and handle the truth. Trust, truth and secrecy go hand in hand. And for your main hero and heroine (and all those sub characters who function from what happens between the hero and heroine) they must have these to make the story work.
Secrets are what keeps the world turning and are the bread and butter of all books. No matter what brand you write or buy. They weave in and out of your plot, your characters, subplots, voice- you can’t escape. It’s how you get a functioning black moment at the end. You can be lying to yourself and suddenly it becomes so clear… all along you were lying to yourself and the truth was right in front of your face the whole time.
How do you know what type of secret is the right one to keep and the right one to tell while writing? Do some secrets just show up out of the blue? Readers, what are the best secrets kept by the hero and heroine that you like to read in the big reveal?
I saw the look in his eye when I glanced at him from over the crowded room. It started out so quietly before it grew into a wildfire. His eyes were like black diamonds, sparking with his fury. It was unbelievably bad luck for him to be here of all places. There would be hell to pay later in the game but for now, I couldn’t think about anything else. My eye was on the prize.
I returned his stare, unblinking even as goosebumps raced down my arms. He held my gaze for just a second longer than he normally would and fear prickled down my spine. He knew. My heart stopped at the thought and my knees knocked together. I held my breath as I tried to gather my composure..
“… wouldn’t you agree?” Cold fingers grazed my upper arm and five pairs of friendly eyes stared in my direction. I blinked as though I were seeing my companions for the first time tonight. I licked my lips anxiously as I struggled with my words.
“I- I’m sorry.” My voice carried a little louder than I’d wished and Kiki’s eyes widened when she turned to look at me two social circles over. I heard her start to excuse herself as well before I shook my head slightly to signal her off. “Excuse me. I need a bit of fresh air.”
I didn’t wait for a reply before I slipped quietly between guest and headed out to the terrace. I watched the french double doors from over my shoulder as I leaned against the stone rail. No one seemed to notice I left the party in a semi-hurry. The breeze brushed over me and I suppressed a shiver. Indian summer had held out for as long as she could before giving away to the chilly autumn air and I silently cursed my stupidity of wearing a black sleeveless dress. I rubbed my hands over my arms to give them an extra burst of warmth before heading out into the perfectly manicured garden.
___
A lot of romantic suspense writing is all about keeping secrets until the big reveal. You get to reveal bits and pieces along the way but my favorite part of this type of writing, and especially first person is that I’m the only one who really knows what’s going to happen and how’s it’s going to work out. Secrets require a lot of trust between two people. Someone who tells the secret and someone who keeps it. I like to think this is how romantic relationships are built up throughout the story line, not to mention getting to know someone you can’t stand in the beginning and then falling head over heels for them accidentally.
This isn’t true of Sadie. Sadie marches to the beat of her own drummer. She likes her life – the double one that she leads – just the way it is and having a permanent fixture in her life isn’t an option in the first book. Or the second one. Not really getting close to it in the third either. I mean, she has a working relationship with one guy and something more but not sure what it is with another. Sadie doesn’t trust anyone, especially herself and I’d like to think I’d take her on the journey to find that trust inside of herself so she can move forward. Sort of like how people tell you- You have to learn yourself before someone else can love you the way you deserve to be loved. This is a lesson that Sadie needs to learn to move on.
I liken keeping secrets in my WIPs to keeping a diary as a kid. It’s nearly the same concept. I had this pretty white diary with little flowers on it. It was a cheapo that I begged for at Christmas time. The diary had the fold over and you slid the lock home. I had a little brass key, no bigger than your thumbnail that I kept on a tattered old blue ribbon. It might have been a hair ribbon for a doll. I might have taken it from my best friend. I’m not sure. But I kept it hidden behind my clothes hanging up in the makeshift closet and my diary was hidden in the tiny crack of space between the ceiling and the top shelving for the hanging bar to insure ultimate secrecy.
I had this diary for years. It was my private stash of everything I ever thought of and filled mostly of thoughts about how I was going to marry Rob and have lots of babies and live in a tree house. This is all irrelevant. The jist of the diary is that it’s the mind that you wish you could keep. And secrets in a story are like that. Everything in the world eventually gets revealed and sometimes it’s not at the right moment, but most things are within your control. Everything can hinge off how you walk and talk through secrets and handle the truth. Trust, truth and secrecy go hand in hand. And for your main hero and heroine (and all those sub characters who function from what happens between the hero and heroine) they must have these to make the story work.
Secrets are what keeps the world turning and are the bread and butter of all books. No matter what brand you write or buy. They weave in and out of your plot, your characters, subplots, voice- you can’t escape. It’s how you get a functioning black moment at the end. You can be lying to yourself and suddenly it becomes so clear… all along you were lying to yourself and the truth was right in front of your face the whole time.
How do you know what type of secret is the right one to keep and the right one to tell while writing? Do some secrets just show up out of the blue? Readers, what are the best secrets kept by the hero and heroine that you like to read in the big reveal?