How'd you like my title? Did I, or
didn't I?
Nah, it just might seem like it.
Maybe readers would really like to read about two poor people starving together
that fall in love (I'm sure there's a boatload of authors who can do that
too!). Authors writing about Big Buckaroos have been given a hard time of late
because we're all writing about millionaires.
But that's simply not rich
enough. Why be constrained by any figure? Billions are not easily
quantifiable. A billion bucks is big:
Really? Yeah!
There is something so primal and
hot about being in that infinitesimal percentage of peeps who actually fall
under that fiscal rarity, that writing about it is intriguing. Just the sheer lack
of concern about money as a concept is a perspective shift from our normal
mindset that we just have to vicariously know what it'd be like.
THE TOKEN, my newest dark romance
series, falls under this. Though my hot dude actually invented something so fundamentally
cool and important that he made his money from his innovation. However, it
did change him. He meets my heroine and sees something of what he used to
hold precious inside her—and he wants it. But she can't be bought.
She wants him for different
reasons. And—surprise! It's not his money. Some readers might get angry
that we're using the “rich” formula. It works. It's been fun to write it
because I'm not, and [most] readers like to read about being rich because
they're not either.
What's really cool about this
win-win formula? Besides researching amazing transport, loft penthouses and
designer clothing (that's the really sucky part, let me tell you), is the woman
gets to experience it all. The heroine gets to be treated to the
unimaginable... the exquisite. And my heroines are hard-working, smart,
disadvantaged and artistically gifted (for the most part).
So here's the run-down on a
“formula” with heart: billionaire Alpha hunk with porcupine exterior meets
fragile, gifted and underprivileged girl, who has been self-reliant and now has
a chance at the reward she always deserved, with the man of her dreams.
Cue the white knight with more
muscles than a Spartan, the looks of a Greek god, who possesses the eternal
river of money. Toss in danger, intrigue and chemistry that sears our eyes when
we read it and—that—is the formula that works. Want a few examples? FIFITY
SHADES of GREY and TWILIGHT (though the latter were only millionaires),
follow the “formula.”
Some of the above precepts have
been used over and over again after these successful publications with new
stories and done very well, because this formula is buried inside.
Nobody can copy—our voices are too unique. It's actually fun to see all the
unique ways authors have repurposed this theme into something different. I have
not read many of the “billionaire” reads. I have seen the glut of them
in the top 100. As I write this, EX GAMES, an erotic romantic novella trilogy
just reached the NYT bestseller list, thanks (in my opinion) to the “softening”
of the audience by HM Ward for shorter works. Ward gave us THE ARRANGMENT and
with each subsequent installment The Formula was employed, enjoyed and remains
successful. Hugely successful. Writers like Cooper and Ward knew that they
could release enough of a story sequence, quickly enough, to engage the reader.
And they have.
My first novella serial was 8
volumes deep. Volume one pubbed in September of 2011, with the final
installment released in November of 2012. The Druid Series is what gave me the
confidence to branch out from my dark paranormal erotics into just “plain” dark
romance. I have incorporated some of TF into my own work, but voice, narrative
and just regular story telling make it whatever it has become now. These series
are organic and morph into something more along the way.
As long as it has our HEA....
What's not to love?
Nothing!
Leave a comment for a chance to win one of my books and some swag!
Leave a comment for a chance to win one of my books and some swag!
Marata Eros (a pseudonym for Tamara Rose Blodgett), is the NEW
YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author of dark, romantic new adult novels,
including A Terrible Love and its companion novel A Brutal Tenderness. A
passionate writer who loves interacting with her readers, Marata lives in South
Dakota with her husband. She is currently writing volume six of her serial new
adult dark romance, THE TOKEN.
Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/MarataErosNewsletter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarataEros
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marataeros/
***Marata's winner is Mary Preston! Please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your details!***
***Marata's winner is Mary Preston! Please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your details!***
3 comments:
You know, I remember reading my first romances from Harlequin Presents precisely for the appeal/fantasy of such a situation. Now that I am older, I still find that storyline appealing though I prefer much spicier than what I read when I was younger. You are right, storylines that are tried and true can be kept fresh by author voice.
I do like your title. I think it's fun to read about lives that are always going to be beyond our reach.
Email sent thank you!!
Post a Comment