NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS

A group blog featuring an international array of killer mystery, suspense, and romantic suspense writers. With premises and story lines different from your run-of-the-mill whodunits, we tend to write outside the box. We blog several times a week on all topics relating to romantic suspense and mystery, our writing, and our readers. We welcome all comments and often have guest bloggers. All our authors can be contacted separately, too, using their own social media links.

We find our genre delightfully, dangerously, and deliciously exciting - join us here, if you do too!

NOTE: the blog is currently dormant but please enjoy the posts we're keeping online.


Julie Moffet . Cathy Perkins . Jean Harrington . Daryl Anderson . Nico Rosso . Maureen A Miller . Sandy Parks . Lisa Q Mathews . Sharon Calvin . Lynne Connolly . Janis Patterson . Vanessa Keir . Tonya Kappes . Julie Rowe . Joni M Fisher . Leslie Langtry

Friday, November 4, 2016

LOVE SCENES AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS


            Several weeks ago, I read a Dear Abby column which was so entertaining I saved a copy of it to share with you today. The Dear Abby reader in question said she was a happily married professional woman who writes “romance novels . . . as a hobby and side business.”

So far, so good.

The problem is her husband reads her love scenes and becomes “sullen, withdrawn and angry.” He thinks everything she writes is linked to an old boyfriend or actual event. His jealous behavior has her so upset that she asks Abby, “Should I give up writing or should he learn to deal with it?”

Abby’s answer is a hoot:  “The man of your dreams shouldn’t sulk. If he can’t accept that what you write is fiction, tell him to quit reading your books.”

Now I realize most if not all of us here at NYUS are not writing romance novels as such. Nevertheless, a little romance does creep into our plots from time to time—a kiss, a rapid heart beat, an illicit backseat encounter, a secret dinner meeting, an occasional tryst. The list goes on. After all, we’re writing about human experiences not crime in a vacuum.

So when my husband comments about a sexy scene I’ve written I respond in one of two ways:

a)                       I throw my hands on my hips and ask, “Does Stephen King have a basement full of corpses?” Or,

b)                        “Darling, you’re the model for every love scene I ever wrote.”

You’ll have no trouble figuring out which one is the more popular reply.

Have you, as a writer, ever encountered a jealous reaction from a spouse or significant other for a love scene in your book? If so, how do you handle it? Or him?

 

 

6 comments:

Marcelle Dubé said...

Jean, I can honestly say that I never encountered a jealous reaction from my spouse regarding my writing. Principally because he never read anything I wrote.

He's no longer my spouse.

Anne Marie Becker said...

I enjoyed this post, Jean. I totally, completely write romance. And suspense. Romantic suspense has to be about 50-50 on the romance and suspense elements, and it's a difficult balance. As to the intimate scenes, my husband doesn't get jealous—as long as I promise to use him as a guinea pig when I need to do research.

jean harrington said...

Marcelle, your answer is funny. "He never read anything I wrote." A lot of writers say that same thing.

Anne Marie, when the female in your love scenes really enjoys the experience, tell your significant other he was the model for that one. He'll love it! But you've probably figured that out already.

Rita said...

No. I didn't start writing until after DH died.

jean harrington said...

Oh, Rita, there's an untold story there.

Clare London said...

A lovely post and comments LOL. My Hubby doesn't read my books either, and did once ask if I wrote romance because there wasn't enough already on my life! I reassured him there *was* - I just made up extra for the readers :).

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