Writing erotic romance includes, inevitably, points of attraction. Have you ever looked at a real couple and wondered whatever brought them together and what keeps them together? It's not enough to say, well, he's hot or she's gorgeous, or they both like ten pin bowling. I read somewhere or other that smell (pheromones) plays a part. Looking at the kind of romance where characters get together quickly and seem likely to stay together it's important to know why. Sometimes this is obvious (to author and reader) in retrospect. Here are some points I've noted retrospectively.
1. The hero loves dominant women. He's observing the heroine (to whom he's been sent an introduction) from a safe vantage point. She becomes aware someone is staring at her, and, assuming it's her brother, who facilitated the introduction without her knowledge), she snaps at him, telling him to stop loitering, and that he's forgiven. The hero greets her. Why? It's not stated, but clearly, he now knows she's dominant AND forgiving. Oooh, he'll have a bit of that thanks.
2. The hero is strongly drawn to the colour green. When he meets a woman who wears green a lot and who even drives a green car, he's halfway to being a gonner. His first overtures are met by the threat of pepper spray, so he offers to stand her coffee or a bowl of soup. Soup? As another character observes: "It’s difficult for a woman to think about mayhem and violence when she has a meek fairy man feeding her soup.”
3. In another story, (Horizontal Bunny Hop,) the heroine has got HERS, but she notes the hero is still unsatisfied. She tries to assist to no avail. She finds out he has unusual requirements, which she finds interesting, but not distasteful. Result: both partners happy and each now knows the other is generous, accommodating and FUN.
4. The hero and heroine are physically compatible. The hero mentions his ambition. He then says, "aren't you going to ask me why?" The heroine responds with, "surely that's obvious," and tells him exactly why. This is something his own family doesn't "get". She gets him. In return, he knows just how to unwrinkle a wrinkle in her psyche that's been bothering her since she was 15. They "get" one another.
These are just a few points of attraction. There are so many more. The characters are hot. Great. We expect that. But what is it that makes these hot, fast-falling lovers love?
Lark Westerly's series from which these situations are taken is available here. Check out extasybooks.com for lots of other books and stories. See who falls for whom, and then discover WHY. Oh, and why not tell us the WHY of your favourite couples in the comments?
ABOUT THE BLOG
Who are we? The Love Weavers are a bunch of writers. We all write for Extasy Books and/or Devine Destinies and a lot of us write in other places as well. We write in multiple genres for general and adult readership. Many of our books are love stories of some kind or another, and we enjoy looking at love in all its wonderful variety.
The purpose of this blog is to tell our readers something about our craft, our passion for stories, how we build our worlds, what characters we choose and why, how we use clothing, food, music, weather, colour, themes, symbolism, history, science, and (okay) love to bring these stories to life.
Some of our posts are suitable for general readers.
These will have a big G at the top. (G)
Some of our posts are suitable for adults only.
These will have a big AO at the top. (AO)
Welcome to The Love Weavers' blog. We can't wait to share the love.
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