HEA - what's that all about?

HEA - what's that all about? by Clare London

I’m currently celebrating the release of my new book FLYING COLORS. It’s the fifth book in a kind-of series, starting with True Colors, through 3 sexy shorts called Ambush, Payback and Switch, and now Flying Colors. All the stories feature erotic romance, and elements of sexual tension, drama,theft, danger, angst, joy, misunderstanding, confession and reconciliation. And – of course? – an HEA.

Now most of us know what HEA stands for – Happy Ever After. It’s the mainstay of many a romance novel. And as an author, I love to bring my characters together by the end of the book. Most of my stories are get-togethers, where two apparently unlikely-matched characters are originally at loggerheads, but are forced to work together, and gradually find desire and admiration overcoming their prejudices. With more than a tad of erotic tension, shared danger,and intimacy along the way. *Happy sigh*.

You see, I have an HEA of my own in real life, so I hope I know what I’m talking about. But does that really transalet into fiction? Is an HEA either realistic or achievable? Does life for the protagonists really stop on page 200 with a declaration of love and (probably, for me) another tumble in the hay?!

Hell, I hear you say, no!

Of course, we all know that love - REAL LIFE love - is a journey, not a specified number of chapters. It requires time to mature. The deepest feeling doesn’t always cancel out all the past misunderstandings – or the future ones. A rewarding, fulfilling sex life rarely happens after just one night. Has anyone else had their fair share of bumped noses and awkward wriggling and unstoppable laughter as you get used to each other? The road to HEA is one to travel together, to build shared experiences, to strengthen the core values that made you go gooey for each other in the first place, to create the whole new delight that is a pair.

And all of that has to take place within an author's framework of suspense - crime - villainy - injury - mystery ... ? I'd need a LOT more word count LOL.

So sometimes the end of my book is really only a beginning. The characters are together, but it’s not the end of their adventures and/or struggles. I may not even let them declare love, because in my genre, some of my characters are – you know – tongue-tied men LOL. But I’m sure the readers know where things are going! Even though our characters are *obviously* mad for each other, there are things to sort out before they can really understand and enjoy it to the full. So often, that’s only just beginning as the book fades reluctantly towards “The End”.

But – you may also say – I love my HEA! This is fiction, this is my escape, my pleasure, my vicarious pleasure. Don’t let TOO much reality get in the way.

And that’s why I write it – because I agree wholeheartedly :)

Thanks for dropping in!

(a version of this post also appeared on another blog earlier this month, forgive me if you already read it there but I wanted to explore the theme some more :)) 
 
Clare London  
Writing ... Man to Man 
 
         

To Sequel...or not?

So... Our New Book has been read, and it was great. It brought tension and romance and excitement and mystery into our lives for a while - now we can shut the book, or turn off the e-reader, take a deep breath and relax into the memories.

Or do we think ... what happens next?? What happens after the last page is turned? Do we care, either as authors or readers?

I recently hosted a joint blog post with a fellow author A. B. Gayle about Sequels and Spin-Offs. We both write mainly romance and it's all about creating sympathetic Main Characters, a plot conflict (either external or internal), a romantic journey and resolution of that conflict. Pop in some sexy smooching, in my case, too :). And then - the Happy Ever After!

But when readers say - I wanted more! / I wish I knew what happens to them after that / What about Secondary couple C+D? / How can you leave it there??? ... what's to do? A.B. is writing a sequel to her latest novel right now. I've never actually written sequels, but I am considering a spin-off for two secondary characters in my erotic m/m romance novel True Colors.

But SHOULD we? Isn't it just that the readers enjoyed the characters and that's why they'd welcome reading about them for longer - NOT that it means we should write more? Or did we leave trailing plot lines? Frustrating romantic entanglements? A sense of unfinished business?



As A.B. and I see it, there are a few different options:
1. The Epilogue where the author makes sure all loose ends are neatly tidied up.
2. A short story, published separately, showing the characters living happily together. Holiday themed stories that authors write involving their popular characters are an example of this.
3. A follow up story where unresolved external issues from the past intrude.
4. A sequel where the nature of their personality differences or their living conditions provide new / unexpected conflict. (the factors that can tear them apart)
5. Ongoing books in a series where their jobs and/or world allows for ongoing adventures that are as interesting and significant as the parallel romance plot which develops over the series.
6. Spin Offs involving minor characters in the first book which show the ongoing relationship of the initial characters in their own secondary role.

Each of these has a place depending on the characters and circumstances of the initial book.

My opinion is that a book should stand on its own as a rewarding story, whether it's part of a series or not, and that there should always be a full, new story to tell in the next one. But I've liked revisiting characters occasionally - and we put enough love and attention into them the first time around, it's sometimes difficult to let them go! And there are MANY successful series published now, including those from the NYUS authors.

But do we run the risk of losing the tension of book#1 / disappointing readers' expections, already racked high from their enjoyment of book #1 / disappointing ourselves as authors, craving new challenge rather than revisiting existing?

Or is it one hell of a blast to dip back into a favourite character's life, and share it with your readers?

Is it a case of listening to the Clamour For More - or Quit While You're Ahead? :)

This is a non-judgemental and hopefully entertaining post - but I'm very interested to hear what you say!

Clare :)

The full text of the blog post I did with A. B. Gayle is here.

The "Keep Calm" pic is with credit to keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk.
Pic from "Oliver!" is with credit to the copyright owners.


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Clare London, Author
Writing ... Man to Man
   
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