On Writing Romance_ How to Craft a Novel That Sells - Leigh Michaels [70]
In this selection from her single-title historical The Warrior, Claire Delacroix shows her villain justifying any means to gain control of an important relic—because it will establish his claim to take over his enemies' land:
At the original site of Inverfyre, Dubhglas MacLaren worried the scarred flesh where his eye had once been. ... He ... stood outside the burned wreckage of the chapel, the wind tousling his hair as he gazed upon the splendor of the new Inverfyre.
Soon it would be his own.
Hopefully, his man ... would discover the location of the Titulus Croce, for Dubhglas would need the relic to be invested as Laird of Inverfyre. His possession of it would prove the legitimacy of his claim to the common people. ...
In Dubhglas's mind, this relic is important enough to kill for. Though we as readers don't agree with his reasoning, we understand why he feels that way; Dubhglas is a scarier opponent for the hero and heroine because it's clear that he won't be easily stopped.
The Other Woman
Not every romance novel includes an Other Woman who competes for the hero's attention and love, but many do. She might be a current girlfriend or an ex-wife, a co-worker, a friend, or someone he's never paid attention to at all. The Other Woman provides opposition to the heroine and adds an extra level of interest.
Like the villain, the Other Woman is more effective if she's at least somewhat sympathetic—at least in the beginning. If it's instantly obvious to the readers that she's a complete bitch, how could your supposedly intelligent hero ever have fallen for her? And if she's clearly a self-centered liar, why does your supposedly intelligent heroine believe her? But if she starts out as a reasonable person, it will be even more shocking when she ultimately reveals her inner Hastiness.
And if you give the Other Woman not only some redeeming characteristics but a reason for her interference (not just a desire to make the heroine miserable), you'll create a much more interesting and believable scenario.
The heroine should never descend to the Other Woman's level, but she should be able to put the Other Woman in her place—as does Melody, the heroine of Annette Blair's single title The Kitchen Witch.
"Witch," Tiffany said, almost, but not quite, beneath her breath. ...
"Shark," Melody said, in the same low biting manner.
Tiffany stiffened, and Logan began to cough.
"Over there," Melody said. "In the aquarium, isn't that a shark?"
Melody makes her point and puts Tiffany on notice not to attack her again, but because she hasn't exactly called Tiffany a name, she hasn't sacrificed her standing as a heroine.
Though the Other Woman can play a pivotal part in the romance, she is a secondary character, and she shouldn't take over the story. Since she can sometimes be more fun to write about than the heroine, limit the amount of time the Other Woman and the hero are together without the heroine present. Avoid writing from the Other Woman's point of view, because going into her thoughts takes the focus off the heroic couple.
The Wrong Man
The masculine equivalent of the Other Woman is the Wrong Man—the one who's bad news for the heroine in one way or another. He might be her fiance, ex-hus-band, or the man she's dating when she meets the hero. The heroine may have dated him just once, but he continues to pursue her because he's convinced she's the only woman for him. Or, he might not be anything at all to her, but he'd like to be.
The Wrong Man comes in many varieties. He's not necessarily a bad man, he's just wrong for the heroine. He may be so devoted to his job that he has no real time for the heroine, or he might be so passive and dependent that he's more like a doormat than