I’m not really sharing anything new with you. If you’re a reader of Brava romances you already know this even if you don’t realize it…but for others who haven’t tried us out, I thought I’d share the truth about what separates Brava romances from the rest….

Nope — it’s not the sex.  To be honest, that was my first answer when I was asked to write a trilogy of historical romances for the Brava imprint by (the late and great) Kate Duffy. When she called me to talk about my trilogy, I explained that I didn’t think I could write erotic romance.

Well, if you knew Kate, you know it didn’t take her long to disabuse me of my mistaken perception and explain the REAL difference between Brava and other (historicals, in my case) romances.  And it’s helped me craft stronger stories….because….as Kate asked,

“If sex is a given, what else is going to make the story emotionally compelling and strong? If the questions of ‘will they’ or ‘won’t they’ or ‘when will they’ are taken away, what will hold the story and the conflict together?”

That gave me lots to think about — and Kate was right (I know, I know!) — once the conflict doesn’t hinge on whether or not the hero and heroine will make love, all bets are off! The challenge is to create characters with incredibly strong conflicts – lots of really good reasons why they can’t be together, of why they should not and could not fall in love. Well, when I need to work on getting a really strong conflict as the heart of my stories I refer back to notes from two writing workshops I’ve taken to help me crystalize mine…one by Madeline Hunter and another by Delia Parr. Conflict is easy, these two wonderful, talented writers say, if you just do this…

Madeline says to give the heroine a goal, an unmutable goal, and then make the hero’s goal to not allow the heroine to accomplish hers. In other words – the heroine needs to do or get something and the hero must (MUST) stop her from doing or getting it. And neither the heroine’s need or the hero’s can be flimsy or easily-resolvable. Hmmmm….interesting idea of how to create conflict.

Delia suggested giving the hero the worst possible woman as the heroine. –someone completely the opposite of what he wants (or thinks he does!). I used this in an earlier book when I gave the handsome, tempting, womanizing hero who loved women and sex a heroine who was (disguised as) a nun! Just think of the possibilities?!

So as I was planning out my STORM trilogy for Brava, I decided to use a bit of both of those strategies — my heroes have been gifted and cursed by the Sith/Fae and the only person who can lift the curse and control the gift is a woman who is his enemy or whom he has betrayed! Oh, baby, baby, just think of the conflict!  The heroes’ very lives depend on their forging a relationship with people who would rather see them dead…or worse.

In A STORM OF PASSION, the heroine is hunting down the hero who she believes to be responsible for the massacre of her entire family…and he was!

In A STORM OF PLEASURE (being released next month) the heroine needs the hero to use his ability to hear the truth to save her brother from execution…and his words instead condemn him.

And, in MISTRESS OF THE STORM (coming in July 2011), the heroine needs to convince the hero to cooperate in order to save her younger sister…and he ends up betrothed to the younger sister.

None of those stories take or will take the easy way out — these are men and women who should not be together, who are enemies in many respects, people who can barely believe or trust the other and yet they do fall in love and they do get their happily-ever-after…because this is romance after all. But there are times in each of these stories when readers will have a moment or two of fear that maybe, maybe they won’t or can’t be together?

Well then, Bravas are about conflict and emotion and tension and great stories and characters. . . But don’t forget about the other part of Kate’s description — ‘if sex is a given’. So, yes, there is a heightened level of both physical and sexual tension in Brava romances! There will be love scenes, they may be often and they may be ‘strident’ as Kate told me, but they will be critical to both enhancing the story and deepening the conflict… Oh, yes, these books are sexy!

So, dear readers, if you’re looking for stories with great characters, strong conflicts and sexy scenes, Brava romances are right for you! I hope you’ll give us a try…and in a bit of shameless self-promotion, I will even suggest mine to you – A STORM OF PLEASURE hits the shelves and online in just about a month!