In novels in general, there has to be conflict. Between two characters, between a character and an external factor, sometimes even between a character and herself.

In romance novels, that conflict interferes with the development of the romantic relationship. For me, it’s necessary to have something standing in the way of the characters’ happy ending; otherwise, it just isn’t that interesting a story. Of course in romance there has to be a happy ending. That’s part of the definition of the genre. However, that ending doesn’t have to come easily.

Real life relationships don’t come easily. In my own case, there were several obstacles to my relationship with my new husband. Most of the obstacles were me, myself, and I. Coming from a first marriage in which, let’s just say, I wasn’t treated right put me in a place where I didn’t trust any man enough to completely let him in.

I think in many real-life relationships, trust issues stand in the way. Other than small children, I’ve never met anyone who fully trusts anyone. Letting someone in, allowing yourself to be completely vulnerable to a partner, is more than some people can ever manage. Even those who are capable of it take a while to get there.

When I write, I try to create realistic characters and realistic actions and reactions. Which is why the heroines in my two Pink Petal Books releases, Beginner’s Luck, which came out last fall, and Eternal Love, which will be out July 1, find themselves having difficulty trusting their partners. Kyla, the heroine of Beginner’s Luck, is a couple years out of an abusive marriage, and although she and Alec have been together for several months, she’s still learning to trust him. In Eternal Love, the heroine Gwen also had an abusive relationship. Her inability to trust Rhys, however, also comes partly from his insistence that he’s over nine hundred years old and has loved her soul through nine incarnations.

The thing about trusting someone else is that it heavily involves being able to trust yourself. To know that you’re making the right choice, and to believe that you can choose someone who won’t hurt you. In real life, you have to learn to trust yourself first, and then to trust your partner. That’s how you learn and grow.

In a novel, the characters have to learn and grow over the course of the story. Conflict happens, and they overcome it. In my novella and novel, the heroines face the conflict of their own distrust, and they work hard at getting past it to have the happily ever afters they deserve.

Read about Karenna’s books at Pink Petal Books: http://pinkpetalbooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=37

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 20th, 2010 at 3:35 pm and is filed under Fantastic Friday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.