Tropes. What are they? They’re what helps us recognize what a story will be about. They also help us identify whether or not we’ll like the general plot that the author has created. Or as Wikipedia says: The word trope has also come to be used for describing commonly recurring literary and rhetorical devices, motifs or clichés in creative works. Here’s a small sample of tropes in the romance genre. I bet you’ve read or can recognize them all.
Secret baby Friends to lovers Enemies to lover Office romance Opposites attract May/December Amnesia Billionaire Mistaken Identity Fake Engagement Tropes get a bad rep, especially from outsiders to the romance novel world. People set them up as a way to show how romance novels are all the same. But I disagree. First, although the general idea may be the same, no two novels are alike. You can ask five different authors to write you a secret baby romance, and you’ll wind up with five very different stories. One of them might have an alien baby. One of them might have a single dad. One of them might have a woman who found an alien baby abandoned by its single dad. Second, tropes are everywhere, not just in romance. Good looking fella who goes on a quest for treasure and artifacts, facing danger along the way? The Mummy. Or Raiders of the Lost Ark. Or National Treasure. Or Three Kings. Or… well, you get the idea. For creative types, tropes are a great way to build the foundation for the book, movie, or play that will spring forth. For readers, they offer a sense of familiarity. They let us know if it’s something we’ll enjoy. For example, when I’m book browsing, I can tell right off from the back cover copy if it’s the type of story I like or like to avoid. Some of my favorites to read are hurt/comfort, friends to lovers and forbidden love. As I plan out my stories, I definitely think about what tropes will be included in the plot. Because I love tropes. I'd roll around in them like a puppy in clover if I could. If nothing else, they at least give me a starting point to build from. What are some of your favorite tropes? Which do you think are over-done in the romance world? Are there any you'd like to see more of or wish would disappear off the face of the earth? Let me know in the comments! *Repost from 2014 Thanks for reading! Love, Christa www.ChristaTomlinson.com Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, BookBub View my titles on Amazon
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An Officer’s Submission is now live! That’s right, it released this past Thursday. So if you haven’t snagged your copy yet, head on over to your favorite online bookseller and snap it up! Today is the last day that it’s on sale for .99. Still need to read the first three books in the series? Don’t fret, they’re on sale for .99 too.
Of course, I’m already hard at work on the next (and last?) in the series. But I can’t mention who it’s about just yet, because I don’t want to give away any spoilers. Once a few weeks have passed I’ll share that with you. I’m excited to write this guy’s story. When I first published The Sergeant, I had plans for what I wanted to do with the series. Those plans changed and I abandoned that original idea. I was going to end the Cuffs, Collars and Love series with An Officer’s Submission. But then as I wrote the last few chapters of The Detective’s Pleasure, I looked at one of my characters and realized he needed his own story. So far I’m 21,000 words in and really like where it’s going. So hurry up and read An Officer’s Submission so I can tell you all about it! An Officer’s Submission is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo. It’s is .99 this weekend only. Buy links are below. Be sure to let me know what you think once you’ve read part two of Logan and Clay’s story. Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/j8o49hu B&N: http://tinyurl.com/hakngru Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/zk6ptrz Thanks for reading! Love, Christa www.ChristaTomlinson.com Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, BookBub View my titles on Amazon That's right, folks. It's finally time. An Officer's Submission, part two of Logan and Clay's story from The Sergeant, is now available. I'm so excited! Book birthdays are always awesome, but this one in particular makes me happy.
When I first self-published The Sergeant I had no clue what to expect. I hoped I'd sell 314 copies over several months. I ended up selling a few more than that, and the feedback I received from readers motivated me to write more. So now here we are, on book four (or 3.5 depending on how you count novellas). Logan and Clay had a little more to say and I was very happy to let them get it out on the page. I'd like to give thanks to everyone who has helped me along in my writing journey. I won't list any names because there's bunches and I like to keep these posts fairly short. So I'll just say thank you to everyone who encouraged me, gave me pep talks, sent me messages letting me know how much they love Logan and Clay, read for me, reviewed for me or, shared their love for the books with their reader friends. Thank you all so much. I have one more book in the series to write. Once you make it to the end of AOS I'm sure you'll be able to figure out who is getting a story next. I'm planning for a summer release for it. So stay tuned! An Officer's Submission is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com and Kobo. It's .99 for a limited time only. The rest of the books in the series are also on sale, so if you or a friend has wanted to try Cuffs, Collars and Love now is a great time! Hello and Happy Sunday! If you’re anywhere in the US, I’m sure you’re dealing with some chilly weather. I’m in Houston and it’s a rare cold day in March. I’m not pleased, I prefer it when it’s warm. Okay, enough about the weather. I wanted to do a small post on book series today. I thought it appropriate since I’m about to publish book 4 in a series (and the nerves are starting to hit!) and because the Romance Writers Chat Topic this week is book series. If you’re on Twitter, follow @RWChat and the #RWChat hashtag Sundays at 6 pm CST. It’s a lot of fun, you’ll get great tips and connect with other writers. First things first. Series. Why do readers like them? I can’t speak for all readers, but for me, I love them because I enjoy getting to be in a world for more than one book. It’s nice to finish a story and know that I get to revisit characters and further explore settings in following books. Some series focus on one couple, like Kate Aaron’s Free Men, while others stay in the same world but tell the stories of different couples. I like both formats. Annabeth Albert’s Perfect Harmony series is one that I enjoyed that has different couples in each book. As a writer, they’re great for several reasons. First, when we come up with story ideas we often end up with ideas for secondary characters. Writing additional books in the series gives us a chance to set all those ideas free. Sometimes we have a secondary character that gets really loud in our head, or one that needs to be redeemed, like Ryan in The Detective’s Pleasure, and they won’t shut it until they get their own book. Another reason writers love series is because it can be easier for us to write them. We already know the world and have some background on the characters, so the research and creation part can go a little faster. And of course, writers love series because we already have a built-in audience. If a reader enjoys book one in the series, she’s probably going to want to come back for books two and beyond. There is some danger in that however. I’ve experienced series fatigue with a couple of authors. It gets to the point where I’m just ready to move on and try something new. Or in series where there is an overarching series plot, it can take too long for the author to get to the point. I’ve had to tap out on a couple of series like this. I do love series where the author gets in, writes four or five amazing books, then gets out, leaving me with nothing but good thoughts for the world they created. Writing series can definitely be awesome for authors. So if you’re thinking of writing a series, or you’re smackdab in the middle of one, here are a few tips for you. 1. Start a series bible. Do this immediately. Do not pass Go and do not move on to the second book without a series bible. Record character’s names, physical descriptions and backgrounds. This is super helpful. You’ll think you remembered correctly that Mike has brown eyes, only to get an email from a reader asking what happened to his gray eyes. Record those facts, a summary of each book and other important details so that you can easily find them. You can create an Excel spreadsheet, a table in Word or go old school and have a binder full of info like me. 2. Have book covers that relate to each other. Your book covers don’t have to be identical. But they should definitely be similar. So if book one is painted art with a purple and gold background with a red dragon on the front, book two shouldn’t be slick black and white photography of a guy in jeans. Try to stick with a similar theme, style or color scheme. It will help your readers identify the books, and they’ll look super pretty when they’re all lined up together. Kate Aaron’s Free Men series has lovely coordinating covers. 3. Have the same general tone to each story in the series. Every couple is different and has a different story to tell. But if books one through three are about happy-go-lucky couples who fall in love after a meet cute, book four shouldn’t be a tragic love story where h and h are reunited after one goes to prison for ten years. That switch is jarring for the reader, and they’ll wonder what the heck happened to their beloved bubbly couples. 4. Don’t let characters take over stories that aren’t theirs. Readers want couples and characters from book one to make cameos in book two, etc. It’s like saying hi to old friends. But when a new book in the series becomes more about the characters from previous stories, it’s a problem. Some characters are loud and full of life on the page. It’s the writer’s responsibility to keep ahold of them and make sure they don’t steal page time from characters who are trying to find their own love story. 5. Know when to cut bait. There will come a time when you have to let a series go. Maybe you’re burned out on that world. If you are and don’t have any fresh ideas to share, let it go. Readers will pick up on it if you’re phoning it in. Or, maybe the readers just aren’t there for a series anymore. If you notice sales and readers for a series have dwindled to nothing, put that baby to bed. There’s not much sense spending the time, money and effort on something that you won’t see a return on. You can always revisit it later if interest is renewed. There’s lots more information out there on writing series. If you have any tips or thoughts to share, feel free to post them in the comments. I’d love to know what both readers and writers think about book series.
Yesterday I got a delivery in the mail, A box of the Cuffs, Collars, and Love books! I was so excited I literally ran with scissors to open it. This is my first time holding An Officer's Submission in my hands. That feeling when you hold your book for the first time is amazing. The box also included reformatted copies of The Sergeant. It was in desperate need of a makeover. The original version was double spaced with a small layout. With as long as the book is, it made for a very hefty tome! I've fixed those errors, so the updated version isn't so girthy. Whew! In other An Officer's Submission news, I'm sharing the first chapter of An Officer's Submission! You can read it below or go to Goodreads if you'd like to download it. Watch out, it's Not Suitable For Work. If you want to win a paperback copy of An Officer's Submission, enter on Goodreads HERE. And don't forget, part two of Logan and Clay's story releases March 16th. |
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