Love and Torture

At Amazon

This week my friend Polly Iyer, who writes romantic suspense, is my guest. She's the author of Murder Déjà Vu, InSight, and Hooked, with another soon to be released.

This is Valentine’s Day, so I’m going to write about love. And torture. You may not think those two things go hand-in-hand, but in my books, they do. My critique partners knew that when they started one of my stories, my characters would suffer unimaginable hardships. I couldn’t help it. I had to put them through hell before they found love at the end of the book. And I mean hell.

Psychologist Abby is blinded by her schizophrenic ex-husband before she meets Luke, the cop who lost his hearing on the job. Wealthy architect Reece spent fifteen years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit before meeting the ex-wife of the unscrupulous DA who wants to send him back to prison by any means he can. Tawny, the ex-call girl with a PhD in art history, is blackmailed into going back into the life by a hot sex-crime investigator. Former child psychic turned entertainer Diana is the target of a man who went to prison because of clues she unearthed as a child. Oh, and he’s psychic. Not only do these characters have to overcome their personal baggage, they have to dig themselves out of the holes others have created for them. Namely, me. Is it manipulation on my part? Sure. But they find love at the end—justification, in my mind, for their torture. See? I’m really not a bad person.

At Amazon

Since this is Valentine’s Day, I want to share another kind of love: personal love. Not my family. That goes without saying. No, my self-indulgent love of writing. My greatest joy at this point in my life is sitting in my home office and banging out twisted stories where my characters extricate themselves from one threatening situation after another. It took a long time before I was comfortable telling people I was a writer, and now I’m proclaiming it in black and white. I still have to force myself to think it, write it, and say it, fearful readers will find out I’m a fraud.

I know this is a “love” day, but along with the love of writing comes other things I don’t love, so forgive my digression. I don’t love the PR involved in getting my name out there. The blatant self-promotion makes me uncomfortable. I know it’s part of the package, but I don’t have to like it, nor do I do it well. There’s a fine line separating the right amount of promotion with overkill, and we’ve all seen that. It’s a turn-off, and a writer has to be careful not to cross the line. I like Facebook—it’s fun, and I’ve met some great people. I tweet, but I haven’t caught on to it yet to make much of a difference. It’s time-consuming, and I’d rather write. I don’t have a blog. Maybe I should, but I can’t imagine I have anything to say others haven’t said better. I’ve probably made my point with this blog post. I rest my case.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone. Love someone tonight, even if it’s on a page of your book.

Polly Iyer was born on the coast of Massachusetts and now resides in the beautiful Piedmont region of South Carolina in an empty nest house with her husband and a drooling mutt named Max. She’s been an artist, importer, designer, and store owner, but writing is her passion. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. Her stand-alone novels can be found on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can learn more about her at: http://PollyIyer.com

Murder Déjà Vu is free on Amazon Feb 14-16. Yes, that’s today. After wealthy architect Reece Daughtry spent fifteen years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, someone’s framing him again. This time he won’t be railroaded. He goes underground to find the killer, or die trying.

Those Kisses! What makes them memorable?

What are some of the greatest kisses you can remember—on-screen or off, if you care to tell? What made them stay with you?

Some screen kisses have been truly memorable. Who could forget the surprise and joy in Adrian Brody's Oscar night kiss of Halle Berry? He certainly did it well, holding her so carefully while bending over her. Such exuberance! Didn't it make you smile?

For sheer romance, there was the not-quite-kiss between Daniel Day Lewis and Madeline Stowe in Last of the Mohicans. Her expression and pose made that memorable, but it didn't hurt that he was the one holding her.  Be still, my heart! 

What about Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh in Gone with the Wind? What were the emotions in that kiss? Love and lust come to mind. He loved her, wanted her, and admired her spirit. Scarlett, having set her heart on Ashley Wilkes, could never admit to wanting Rhett, not until it was too late.

Kisses come in all kinds, romantic, tender, passionate, and everything in between. They can be fun, compassionate, or overflowing with love. They depend on so many things to make them memorable: the circumstances anand the persons involved are first. The kiss itself is important. What makes a kiss special to you? How do you describe it? Or do you avoid the specifics? Post some of yours. I dare you. I'll go first.

Here's a tender kiss from Cold Comfort. He turned and pulled her into his arms, kissed her swollen eyes. "I'll bring you back. I promise."

One with more passion: When she kissed him, snaked her tongue between his lips, he drew her against him, could feel the pounding of her heart.

Another from Haunting Refrain. He held her head between his hands and tilted it back, tracing the line of her throat with gentle kisses.

Searching for the word kiss in my manuscripts turned out to be an interesting exercise. Try it. You may learn something about your writing. Are they similar? Varied? Does the mood change?

Come on, share your thoughts. YYY