(Trying to) Write a Heroine with Universal Appeal - Sabrina Philips

(Trying to) Write a Heroine with Universal Appeal
and how it reminded me to live in the moment...

When I sit down to plan a new book, there are certain questions I keep asking myself. Whether the story potentially has universal appeal (that elusive 'global voice'), is one that I ask particularly frequently. The reason being, aside from the fact that it's an essential part of Harlequin Presents, is that when I read a romance, I imagine myself as the heroine, and when I write one, I do the same, only even more so. As a result, I always have a slight fear about whether I might be writing a heroine only I can relate to, a sort of fictional version of myself, when I really want to be writing a heroine that as many women as possible can relate to.

It was a concern that arose particularly when I wrote my latest release, Prince of Montéz, Pregnant Mistress. I didn’t expect it to. The planning was very pragmatic. In my first two books, I’d shied away from writing love stories in which the hero and heroine haven’t met before the start of the book, convinced it was more difficult to show really deep, believable emotion in the short word count of a category romance if it wasn’t a reunion story, but I made up my mind that now I would give it a go. Plot wise, I decided that the best way of showing just how deeply attracted my heroine was to my hero from page one was to have her acting uncharacteristically (i.e. going to bed with him) early in their relationship.

However, another one of the questions I keep asking myself is Is this believable? and I decided, that even if my heroine met a drop-dead gorgeous man who she desired more than anyone she’d ever desired anyone before, she still wouldn’t go straight to bed with him unless she had good reason to act so recklessly. A reason like being in a highly emotional state already…

And so I decided to put my heroine (who at that point had nothing more than a name: Cally Greenway, and an occupation: art restorer) in a situation which would be a catalyst for her acting so out of character. And so my opening was born: it’s the night of the most glamorous art auction in London and a top gallery have promised her the job of restoring her favourite paintings the second they’ve won them at auction, but to Cally’s horror, they’re sold to a mysterious telephone bidder and she loses out on her dream commission!

In order to make the stakes even higher, I realised Cally would need to have everything riding on that moment for her to be so devastated when it falls through. I saw that she’d need to be the kind of woman who’d been working solidly to achieve her career goals, and that part of her emotional journey during the course of the book would need to be learning to chill out and live in the moment.

Which was exactly when I also realised, as I looked up from my computer screen in the middle of a Sunday night as I stressed about my plot and longed for the moment this book would be written and my deadline met, that entirely unintentionally I had invented a heroine who was a sort of fictional version of myself. (I was also a bit bemused that my own fictional character had just made me take a long hard look at myself!).

As well as making me take stock and realise that I needed to stop being so goal-driven and remember to enjoy the process of writing (something I'd started to forget in the exciting, chaotic and challenging months since 'the call'), I was also suddenly afraid that I’d egotistically created a heroine who would only appeal to me.

However, by chance, the following day, my fears were allayed. In my day job arranging wedding registrations, I often have to check any readings that couples have chosen to be part of their ceremony. My colleagues handed me one they had already checked to take a look at, because they thought it was particularly beautiful. It was The Station Essay by Robert J Hastings, a piece I’d never seen before. When I read it, I was both deeply moved, inspired, and relieved. Because by complete coincidence, it not only summed up exactly what I wanted Cally to learn in my story and what I could do with remembering, but it seemed to strike the same chord with everyone who read it.

Which was the reassurance I needed. I wrote Cally exactly as I had planned, and whilst she does remind me of myself, I hope everyone can identify with the need to live in the moment a little more too.

If you get a chance to read Prince of Montéz, Pregnant Mistress, I’d love to know if you saw a little bit of yourself in Cally, but for now, I urge you to read The Station Essay. I can’t reproduce it here for copyright reasons but you can read it here: http://www.thestationessay.com/. Please post below and let me know if it strikes a chord with you too! I'll give away a signed copy of Prince of Montéz, Pregnant Mistress to one lucky commenter.

Prince of Montéz, Pregnant Mistress, is out in the UK in November 2009 and North America in January 2010.

For another chance to win a copy of the book and some L’Occitaine goodies, please visit the contests page on Sabrina’s website www.sabrinaphilips.com.