HEARTICLES: Articles with Heart

A gentleman romance reader recently emailed to say how much he enjoyed the ‘blowing the curtains’ scenes in my story, ‘ A Piece of My Heart .’ That’s to say, the love scenes. The term comes from film—the viewer follows the couple into their bedroom, then the camera pans to an open window, curtains billowing. Sex between the couple is implied but not shown. I’ll start by defining the traditional differences between romance, erotica, and porn: Romance – Romance is and has always been about the monogamous relationship between two people. The story follows the growth of the relationship and their love for each other; it’s in their hearts, in their words, in their actions. Their love is not necessarily exhibited sexually, but it has to be exhibited emotionally. And by the end, there must be an HEA...Happily Ever After. Erotica – Erotica is about suggestion, titillation, and letting your imagination fill in where the author left off. It’s about arousal, sexual desire, the use of the ...

One of the great lessons I’ve learned while living in Ireland has been the importance of research when writing a setting-specific story. While most people won’t have the opportunities I have by living in another country, it doesn’t mean stories can’t have a rich setting. Here are the top five things every writer should make sure to think about when writing a setting-specific story. Forgive me if I use Ireland a lot here. I’m a bit biased! Location – It doesn’t matter if a story is historical or contemporary, it has to have a setting. Without a location, the story won’t have legs to stand on. One doesn’t have to go into huge detail about where the story is set either, as we already heave preset ideas in our heads thanks to Hollywood. Suggest Ireland and one thinks of patchwork hillsides and forty shades of green. Say Scotland and automatically we think of men in kilts. Japan and we think of cherry trees and Geisha. Little things sprinkled throughout a story enhance the setting without ...