SimonSays.com

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I am curious to know the direction in which you see your future writing taking and have current events had any impact on your writing?
Right now because of September 11th and the resulting war in Afghanistan, there is an increased popularity with military personnel, police officers and FBI agents. Seemingly ordinary people doing heroic things. You see this reflected in everything from bestselling novels to upcoming movies and the most popular toys sold this Christmas.

Or have current events had some other affect on what you are writing about?

Best wishes,
Gretchen

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Gretchen, you're so cute...I can almost see you preparing this delicate, carefully phrased, thought-provoking message.

Here's the best answer I can give you. Although 9/11 had very extensive effects on everyone, including me, I don't think it has or will have a distinctive effect on my writing.

However, as it happens, two of the primary characters in STWOM are NYC detectives.

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Although some heroes such as Matt and Cole had humble beginnings all your main men are incredibly wealthy men.

I've never seen you as a follower of trends but rather a maker of them with your writing. However I am wondering if you have been tempted at all to follow this movement towards the seemingly ordinary and not necessarily wealthy hero and incorporate such a man in your writing?

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Over the last decade, I've often thought about creating a hero who is an ordinary man doing an extraordinary thing. But the reality is that I think my talent is better suited to writing about *extraordinary* men doing extraordinary things.

Other authors do what you suggested very well. However, I think I would subconsciously keep trying to make the ordinary man into an extraordinary one. I like extraordinary men for my heroines and my readers. I just can't help it. And since readers identify with my heroines, I don't want them to ever have to worry about paying for new tires on the car after they join their lives with my hero. I know what hard reality is, all of us on this board know what it is. The funniest thing about this subject is that I truly excel at writing angst; it comes naturally to me. The first draft of nearly every book I've ever written has been filled with it--after all, it's built in natural conflict. Then I go back and take it out in the rewrites so we can better enjoy the story. My editor of 20 years, Linda Marrow, and I were laughing about that at 2 AM a month or so ago.

I frequently create characters so dark and troubled that I can't stand spending time with them--but it's great contemporary reading.

For a small example, in the first and second draft of Paradise, Lisa Pontini had a deep-seated sense of jealousy and insecurity about Meredith...a very understandable and realistic one. In those original drafts, she died of a drug overdose as a result of it.

It was great stuff--very intense. It was also depressing, and I couldn't stand working with Lisa or it. I've known enough misery in my life, I don't want to inflict it on anyone else. Or myself.

As another example, I never wanted to read or write a western romance. When I think of horses, I think of manure, moldy straw and horse sweat. I think of sweltering in July in an English riding habit made of wool, sitting atop a horse with a body temperature that must exceed 200 degrees.

I do that because my father as a hobby, late in life, decided to own and show 5 gaited American Saddlebred horses. My younger sister and brother were very enthusiastic--for the first two weeks. I was 25 when he bought them, and I was never enthusiastic. Guess who ended up riding in the show rings with my father? Did I mention, I'm allergic to wool?

If you notice, the only child I've ever included in 13 novels was Courtney Maitland, and she didn't belong to the hero if you recall. She was his sister.
I love children. I know a whole lot about children. That's why I don't think they're conducive to romance, especially when romance is forming.

So the answer to your question is that I will probably always write about "extraordinary" heroes--and extraordinary will probably always include great wealth.

Did you ever read TENDER TRIUMPH. Now there was a hero was wasn't wealthy; in fact he was impoverished until the end of the book.

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Lisa Potini...she died of a drug overdose as a result of it.

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Judith, I would have been horrified. Although I'm sure the original draft was wonderful (and I wouldn't mind reading any others you have lying around the house), I am truly grateful you allowed Lisa to live. That little spitfire is one of my favorite characters.