Guest Blog: Author, Carrie Lofty

In the sequel to WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS, Meg of Keyworth’s troubled sister Ada travels to the Kingdom of Castile.When it comes to temptation…Turning his back on his old life as a rogue, Gavriel de Marqueda has joined a monastic order in Spain and taken a vow of chastity. Before he becomes a monk, he must pass one final test: help a woman who has lost her way. But when he lays eyes on Ada of Keyworth, he is tempted beyond measure by her sultry beauty and dangerous curves…

Rules are meant to be broken…

Far from her home in England, Ada has been battling inner demons for more than a year. When she discovers that her only friend has abandoned her, she has no choice but to grudgingly accept Gavriel’s help. But Ada is not fooled. Though Gavriel wears the robes of a monk, Ada sees that he is a virile man who looks at her with a hunger that matches her own–one that begs to be satisfied again and again….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today, I have author, Carrie Lofty here telling us five things that surprised her while writing, Scoundrel’s Kiss. She has also generously offered to give one lucky person a copy of Scoundrel’s Kiss – if the winner is in the US or Canada it will be a signed copy, if the winner is anywhere else it will come from Book Depo.

And now….Here’s Carrie!

Five Surprising Things

 

I could talk about the surprising historical facts I learned while writing SCOUNDREL’S KISS, or about how it feels to write under deadline for the first time in my professional career. But instead, I’d like to talk—without resorting to spoilers!—about elements of the plot that took me by surprise.

My method of drafting a novel begins with characters and setting. Once I have those things under control, knowing them inside out, I begin writing. Call me a prepared pantser! What I love about this method is that I don’t feel completely freaked out by blank pages, but I also get to look forward to elements of the story that will take me by surprise. Here are the five that tickled me the most.

1. Every tragedy needs comedy.

This might not come as a surprise to some authors—for example, Shakespeare! But I learned early on that I needed comedic voices to balance the drama of Ada and Gavriel’s rocky courtship. That’s where Fernan Garza (a reluctant monk) and Blanca de Yepes (a young runaway) came in. They were able to leaven the story when the mood became too bleak.

2. Even clowns cry.

Those same comedic figures revealed surprising facets of their personality. I thought they were just hanging around for laughs, but it turns out they had important, rather dramatic backstories. Rather than argue with the inner workings of my brain, I let them run!

3. No one’s perfect.

I also thought that Gavriel had his head sorted out, but oh, I was terribly wrong. Putting him in charge of curing Ada of her opium addiction was, well, perhaps not the best idea…

4. Surprise villains!

I knew that Gavriel’s father was responsible for shaping my troubled hero—and not in an after school special sort of way. Gavriel was hardened and warped by his father, and I fully expected that absent villain to make a return appearance. What I didn’t expect was a second villain to make trouble for my young lovers.

5. Have a little tenderness.

Early on, I imagined Gavriel and Ada would suffer through a contentious courtship, one full of conflict and seduction as they each tried to get their way. What I hadn’t banked on were moments of genuine tenderness. She relents a little, just when her stubborn pride threatens to cut him off completely. And he reveals glimpses of his past that help ease her shame and despair.

Who knew? Certainly not me! And here I thought I was in charge of this crazy ride…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To read an excerpt of Scoundrel’s Kiss and view the book trailer, click here. To purchase a copy of Scoundrel’s Kiss now click here.

Contest:

To enter the contest all you have to do is leave a comment in here about something that surprised you recently.

Contest ends Friday, January 22, 2oo9.