How Do You Like Your Endings?

Photo by Leah Jones (creative commons)

This week I raced through the book Goodnight Tweetheart  by Teresa Medeiros. My friend Ashley March recommended it and the premise intrigued me--a whole romance novel composed mostly of tweets. My husband and I met online through chat (back when people still used AOL) and so of course, that kind of romance is something close to my heart.

The book was fun and full of pop culture references (many from the 80s and 90s) that I could relate to. I found myself laughing a number of times. However, this story is a poignant one and takes a turn 2/3 of the way through that deepens what started as a light-hearted story.

It was wonderfully written and I really enjoyed the book, but when I got to the end, things were left on a hopeful note but not a fully wrapped up one. And I was left turning the pages, dying for an epilogue. I even went to the author's website to see if there was "bonus" content that gave us more. 

Now this was an artistic decision and a testament to how good the story was because I was emotionally attached and wanted to know more about these characters. But it got me to thinking about endings.

I am an unapologetic happy ending whore. I like my stories wrapped up and riding into the sunset by the end. I don't necessarily need the big wedding or anything, but I want to be left with the sense that these two people will be together and will have a happy life. 

If someone pulls a Nicholas Sparks on me and kills off a main character in a romance, I'm ready to wield a pitchfork. Hence the reason I like to read romances where I'm guaranteed my happy ending.

And maybe it's just me, but I kind of want it spelled out for me. I don't want to be left wondering if the couple is going to make it. And not just that, but I want to see the big "we're so in love and everything is going to work out" moment. So that was the only reason I gave this book 4 instead of 5 stars. One extra chapter at the end and I probably would've rated it a 5. (Regardless, I highly recommend it for a great read.)

Now if I go into a book knowing that it's not a happy ending kind of thing, I'm okay. I'm prepared. I mean, I didn't go into watch Titanic and expect it to be rainbows and sunshine. But I do tend to gravitate towards genres that are going to give me my happy at the end. And I can't imagine writing a non-HEA story.

So how do you feel about endings? Are you a happily ever after whore like me or do you prefer more open-ended finales? Have you ever read a book where you just needed a little more to get closure?

What Makes the Chronic Finisher Stop Reading

Photo by Rennett Stowe

So up until about a year ago, I had this problem when I started reading a book. Once I peeled back the cover of one, I was compelled to finish it. No matter if I was fully enjoying the book or not. It felt like starting a book was like signing some contract. I bought this book. I've chosen to read it. And now I must read it all. I was the Chronic Finisher.

But then a lot changed in my life. I got a book deal and started writing on deadline. My then angelic two year old turned into an intense three year old. And my reading time shrunk to this minuscule sliver of time. So I found myself putting down books that didn't capture my interest. And then I wouldn't get any reading done because I felt like if I was going to read, I needed to finish whatever book I had started. But I wasn't into that book so didn't pick it up at all.

Well, finally, I came to the conclusion that I had to put the Chronic Finisher in rehab. I was missing out on good books by forcing myself to read ones I didn't love. My reading time is too short and my TBR pile too big to be doing that. So lately, I've been giving myself permission to give up on a book if it hasn't grabbed me by page 50 or so. (I know many of you are less forgiving than that, but three chapters or 50 pages feels about right for me. I give it a shot in case it's a slow starter.)

And each time I put down a book in the DNF (did not finish) pile, the writer in me wants to evaluate WHY I didn't feel compelled to finish it. What was bad enough to defeat the chronic finisher? Here's what I've discovered.

What Makes Even the Chronic Finisher Put Down a Book:

1. Didn't connect with the characters

If I can't relate to the hero or heroine at all or if I don't like them, I find it next to impossible to get into the book. I must be emotionally connected by chapter 3 at the very latest.

2. There was no chemistry or not enough build-up between the hero and heroine in a romance.

Obviously, I write sexy romance and enjoy reading it. But nothing will bore me quicker than throwing two people together when there hasn't been any tension or chemistry set up beforehand. This doesn't mean you can't have the characters get together quickly, but the author better have done a fabulous job building up that tension. (Liberating Lacey by Anne Calhoun comes to mind for a great example of how to do this right. The characters have a love scene very quickly, but the setup and chemistry are FABulous so it feels like the right time.)

3. This feels familiar...

Tired plots and clichés. Lately, this has happened most in the YA paranormal genre for me. If a book is going to have a girl meeting dangerous, mysterious new guy--there better be a helluva twist to make it different from all the other stories out there like that. (Good example of how to twist a popular trend: Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy.)

4. The BIG secret is the only sense of tension in the book.

I am fine with a secret in a plot. That can be great. (And by secret, I don't mean twist we don't see coming. That's something different. I mean we, the readers, know there is a secret.) But what I will not put up with for long is a book that drags out revealing what the BIG secret is to the reader for no apparent reason but to pull you along. This is when characters keep almost revealing what the big, bad thing is, but then someone walks into the room and interrupts them. Gah! I'm much more a fan of where the reader may know the character's secret early on, but the hero or heroine is keeping it from another character for good reason.

5. *Yawn* Boring....

This one is obvious I'm sure, but I need a book to hook and excite me. If I'm at page fifty and I don't give a crap what happens, then you've bored me. You should have me by chapter one. If the book goes on and on with description and setting up characters and not giving me any true action or conflict, I'm bored. Maybe that's a result of our fast-moving culture, but it is what it is. A book is entertainment, so entertain me. Dance, monkey, dance. :)

All right, so those are my top five reasons for putting down a book. What are some of yours? How long do you give a book to hook you? Are you a chronic finisher?

Sappy Sunday: Sleepless In Seattle

Welcome to Sappy Sunday, where I'm unrepentant in my love for the sappy. Today I'm featuring one of those movies that I can watch over and over again. If I'm flipping channels and this is on, I can't seem to turn away.

And what's so interesting about this romantic comedy is that the hero and the heroine's love story doesn't start until the end of the movie. There's this unwritten rule in romance that the hero and heroine need to meet by chapter one (or the first few minutes of the movie) and this movie breaks that rule in spades. Proof that breaking the rules can work really well when done right.

If you haven't seen this one (how is that possible?), get thee to Netflix--stat!

Some favorite quotes (courtesy of IMDB):

Sam Baldwin: Didn't you see Fatal Attraction? 
Jonah Baldwin: You wouldn't let me! 
Sam Baldwin: Well I saw it and it scared the shit out of me. It scared the shit out of every man in America. 

Annie Reed: Now that was when people KNEW how to be in love. They knew it! Time, distance... nothing could separate them because they knew. It was right. It was real. It was... 
Becky: A movie! That's your problem! You don't want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie. 

*The one above defined me at the time. Guess that's why I decided to write books, lol. 

Dennis Reed: Annie, when you're attracted to someone, it just means that your subconscious is attracted to their subconscious, subconsciously. So what we think of as fate is just two neuroses knowing that they are a perfect match. 

Sam Baldwin: I'll tell you what I'm doing this weekend, I'm getting laid. It's the 1990's and nobody's getting laid. I'm the only man in America who's getting laid this weekend and I haven't been laid that much. Six girls in college, maybe seven. 
[sees Jonah standing in the doorway] 
Sam Baldwin: How long have you been standing there? 
Jonah Baldwin: Forever. 
Sam Baldwin: What did you just hear me say? 
Jonah Baldwin: Six girls in college, maybe seven. 
Sam Baldwin: Seven... EIGHT! Mary Kelly. 
Jonah Baldwin: [holds Annie's letter] This is the one I like! 

And my favorite scene (sorry for the subtitles at the bottom, couldn't find one without):

Aww, now aren't you all warm and fuzzy? :) Anyone else have an unhealthy affection for this movie?

What I Write: It's Not About Handcuffs

Yes, this is Jared Leto. Yum.

(Photo of the "Hurricane" video via VH1)

Most of you know (or have figured out from that smoking hot book cover up there in the right hand corner) that I write erotic romance. And specifically I write in a subgenre of erotic romance--BDSM erotic romance.

What is BDSM? For those of you who aren't quite sure...

From Wikipedia (because they can summarize better than I can):

BDSM is a continuum of erotic practice and expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym, BDSM, is derived from the terms bondage and discipline (B&D or B/D), dominance and submission (D&S or D/s), and sadism and masochism (S&M or S/M). BDSM includes a wide spectrum of activities, forms of interpersonal relationships, and distinct subcultures.

For those of you that are already eroRom readers, I'm sure you don't bat an eyelash that I write in this genre. BDSM is a huge, highly popular subgenre in erotic romance. But for those of you who haven't read much in the genre, the idea of BDSM may be a bit intimidating or too "out there." Images of leather-clad people wearing heavy eyeliner and dog collars may flit through your mind. You may be thinking, "Why on earth would I want to read about that? And how can this be a romance novel?"

But believe me, the types of stories in this subgenre run the gamut. If you want the extreme, it's out there. But also out there are stories about every day people who happen to like things a little (or a lot) edgier in the bedroom. Characters who discover that something about this kind of relationship with another person feeds something inside them.

This is not a case of--oh hey, let's throw in some handcuffs and call this book BDSM. These stories are about people who on some soul deep level crave things like power exchange in the bedroom. Or at least that's how I write my characters. I write from the perspective that this is part of who they are--either because of life experiences or genetics or whatever. (*sings Lady Gaga's "Born This Way"*)

For instance, my heroine in CRASH INTO YOU, discovers she likes being sexually submissive early on in her adulthood, but then she's brutally attaked and raped. Now, ten years later, she's terrifed of giving control to someone else, yet the part of her that craves sexual submission is still in there. She's just tamped it down because even the thought of it sends her into a panic attack. (Of course this means I--evil author--had to put her in a position  where she had to face that fear.)

But she's not some alternative character that only people in the BDSM lifestyle could relate to (though there would be nothing wrong with it if she was.) She's a smart, successful social worker with a "normal" life. If you've never read erotic romance and you pick up my book, it's not going to feel like some "out there" genre. It's going to read like a romance because that's what it's about--love. (Don't believe me? You can read chapter one here.) Of course, there will be super hot sex scenes that include things you won't find in a non-erotic book, but hello--who wants to miss out on that? :)

So if you've never read "this kind of book", I encourage you to try it and not be intimidated. You will find more of the familiar than unfamiliar in them. (Here's a suggestion for what to try if you've never read BDSM romance.) And you never know, it may give you some ideas to try out with your own significant other. ;)

Oh, and because it's now in my head, a little Gaga for you...

 So, are you an erotic romance reader? Have you read a BDSM story before? If so, what are some of your favorites? If you haven't read one, are you at all intimidated by the genre? What would make you give a book in this genre a shot?