>Personal preferences
My preference is to have open door love scenes in both what I read and what I write. Not always, but generally. If you notice, I said LOVE scenes, not just sex. In a romance, love scenes have emotion, tenderness, and feelings growing because it’s a story of two people falling in love, the ups and down, trials and conflicts or meshing two people into a couple. I’m a big fan of emotional conflicts. I also like a little humor here and there because too much angst is tiring.
Friends and family and even setting factor hugely in my books because no one lives in a vacuum. Even an orphan and former foster child grows up to have co-workers and friends in their life. (Claire – current heroine in KiTA.) I enjoy having secondary characters who both enrich and complicate my hero and heroine’s lives. In addition, the interaction is a great way to show personality strengths and weaknesses, and divulge backstory in small doses.
I love the traditional plot lines of secret babies, marriages of convenience, friends to lovers, bad boy/good girl (and vice versa). I like my heroes alpha, but not overbearing and mean. I like strong-willed and soft-hearted heroines.So, taking all this into consideration, I settled on Silhouette Special Edition as my target line. (How nice that I like to read them too!) Their guidelines say:
Sophisticated, substantial and packed with emotion, Special Edition demands writers eager to probe characters deeply, to explore issues that heighten the drama of living and loving, to create compelling romantic plots. Whether the sensuality is sizzling or subtle, whether the plot is wildly innovative or satisfyingly traditional, the novel’s emotional vividness, its depth and dimension, should clearly label it a very special contemporary romance. Subplots are welcome, but must further or parallel the developing romantic relationship in a meaningful way. *
Sounds right up my alley, don’t you think? That was my conclusion.
So you see there’s a lot of factors that were taken into consideration in this decision. The fit feels right, I love the stories about the people my mind creates and the lives they live in their quest to find love, and that’s why I write what I write.
* http://www.eharlequin.com/cms/learntowrite/ltwArticle.jhtml?pageID=021101wu18001
CAROL BURNSIDE / ANNIE RAYBURN 
>Carol,It does sound right up your alley. And I see your meter has been updated and you are finished with your wip!Congratulations!!!
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>Nope. That’s the first one (ASW) in the trilogy. I’m still working on KiTA. You need to post a link to your e-mail in your profile. I’ve checked your blog and the FAITH blog. Now I’m going to check my e-addy book and GRW records.
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