New Cover

I'm off to Kew Gardens today with the family, but while I'm gone leave you with the cover of my August release, Break Up to Make Up. I think this is my favourite cover so far.

Although Nick and Adele's story has a tragic undercurrent, the cover really epitomises Nick's cheeky personality and how happy they can be when things are going right for them. Of course, when the story starts they haven't seen each other for almost a year and neither of them is sure whether they are 'separated' or just having a really long cooling off period after a massive fight...

Romantic Novel of the Year Awards Lunch

I had a great time at the Savoy yesterday they Romantic Novelists' Association’s award lunch yesterday. Two prizes were given out: the Romantic Novel of the Year and the Romance Prize (for shorter Romantic fiction). And since I was told off (twice!) for not blogging much recently, I'm going to give you all the details whether you want them or not!



I met my writing buddy Liz Fenwick for a drink (non-alcoholic, thank you very much) and a chat before we went to the Savoy. Liz is moving away soon (sniff!) so it was good to have a chance to catch up before she disappears off to some far-flung place on the globe. We walked through the park to the River Entrance of the Savoy and discovered we had to dart through an obstacle course of sprinklers along the way. Thankfully, we made it to our destination without getting watered.

Once we got there, the posh shoes went on, the all-encompassing handbags (now containing comfy, not-so-posh shoes etc) got checked into the cloakroom and we went in search of the bar. I was very relieved to hand my New Writers' Award trophy back. I had been terrified I would either lose it, forget it or squash it and for ever be in the RNA's bad books. Let's just say I've been having a few scatty moments in the last fortnight and it is not impossible that either one, or all three, of the possibilities are mentioned could happen to that trophy while it was in my custody.

We sat down to lunch (I really feel that, since we were at the Savoy, perhaps I should say "luncheon") at 12:30 p.m. The ballroom there is beautiful. Huge chandeliers hang from the ceiling and there were candles on every table. The walls are the colour of clotted cream with ornate plaster moulding in white. And all around the room are what look like doors which are in late with mirrors to reflect the light. Definitely the grandest place I've ever had lunch.

On the menu was:

• Onion and tomato tart tatin with orange and melted goat cheese.
• Stuffed breast of chicken with wild mushrooms, potato cakes with almonds, mousseline of spinach (more about that later), baby winter vegetables.
• Treacle and raspberry tart with vanilla ice cream.
• Savoy blend coffee and petit fours.

I was sitting next to Natasha Oakley, who was nominated for the Romance Prize for her wonderful book "Accepting the Boss's Proposal". We chatted about the joys of Magic Knickers and wondered what on earth mousseline of spinach was. We weren't even that sure when the main course arrived. I'm tempted to believe it was a smudge of green stuff that was underneath my chicken, but Natasha was sceptical.

The Romantic Novel of the Year went to Rosie Thomas for her book "Iris & Ruby ". The judging panel said it had been a very hard decision, but had settled on this novel because of its emotional intensity.

The guest speaker was Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, wheelchair athlete. She has 11 gold Para-Olympic medals and has won the London Marathon six times. Not only is she is a very accomplished sportswoman, but she is an avid reader. She said when she was asked to be on the judging panel for the Romantic Novel of the Year she expected the books to be of the sort that made up maybe 25% of her reading. She was surprised to find that actually it was more like 95% of the sort of books she usually readsa , and it opened her eyes to what a broad genre Romantic fiction is.

The Romance Prize was awarded next and it went to Marrying Max by Nell Dixon, published in the People's Friend Story Collection. Nell was flabbergasted and overjoyed all at the same time. She really hadn't been expecting to pick up the prize, as she had written the only non-Mills & Boon in the bunch. I was really pleased for her. Nell is a lovely lady and she deserves every bit of her success.

Time flew by and before I knew it things were winding down. I managed to say "hi" to fellow new M&B authors Heidi Rice and India Grey before everyone drifted off in separate directions. I had a quick drink and a chat at the bar with some of the M&B editors. By then my feet were screaming and I gave in and got my comfy shoes from the cloakroom. Bliss. As an added bonus on the way to making my feet go "ahhh", I met Julie Cohen and her adorable son in the cloakroom. I've read a lot about him on her blog and it was nice to meet the famous young man in person. He certainly is a cutie.

The day ended up with a bit more "socialising" in a pub close to the Savoy. I must admit, I wimped out and went home early, leaving the drinking to those who had more stamina than I, but it was great to chat to people I'd seen in passing all day but hadn't had a chance to speak to.

Now, after a very glamorous and social day, I'm back to my normal writing life – no makeup, a tracksuit and no one to talk to but my voice recognition software. Yes, the writer's life can be solitary, but when we get together we know how to party.

Finally!

It’s almost time to give my trophy back. Last May I received the RNA’s Joan Hessayon New Writers’ Award for my first book, Blind-Date Marriage. As well as the huge confidence boost and the prize money, I got to keep a lovely little silver trophy for the year. And finally I have somewhere nice to display it! A couple of days ago, we had a fireplace put in and now I have a mantelpiece! Look!

The trophy looks a bit titchy, but I don’t care. It’ll have a place of honour for the next few days until I have to package it up and send it back to the RNA in preparation for the next recipient.

For a list of contenders, check here.

Catching Up

Okay, I know I've been completely neglecting my blog recently, but I have a really good excuse or two. Honest.

First of all, it's been the Easter holidays and, with the kids off school, it's been really hard to get anything done. Secondly, I had a complete panic about my books for the second round of RITA® judging, which went astray in the post and almost didn't make it before the deadline. We're not going to talk about how many times I woke up at 4 a.m. in a cold sweat thinking how tragic it would be to final but not be allowed to go further in the competition because my books arrived late.

So, it's time to catch up:

Winners of my competition are:

• Ray-Anne
• Marcy
• Donna

If Marcy and Donna (yes, you, Ms Alward) can email me at fiona@fionaharper.com with their snail mail addresses the books will be on their way shortly. You can also let me know if you would like a UK edition or a US edition. The only difference is being the covers and the print size – the UK version has larger print.

A Celebratory Competition

Thank you to everybody who stopped by my blog to congratulate me on my RITA nominations! I've made up my mind and I'm planning to go to Dallas in July. I'm busy trying to calm down about it all, I really am, but the adrenalin rush just keeps on going... In the meantime, I thought I would run a little competition.

I'm having lots of fun with my voice recognition software. Most of the time it's really accurate, but occasionally it fouls up – normally when I talk too fast (Who? Me? Never!) or don't speak clearly enough. I've also discovered it's a really bad idea to try and dictate when you have the hiccups!

Here are some examples that have made me giggle:

• "send an e-mail to my editor" became "send an e-mail to my head"
• "Hi Meg" became "hind legs"
• "She rummaged in her bag" became " she vomited in her back"
• "hiccups" (see above) became "he cuts"
• "I'm an auntie" became "I'm a Nazi" (I promise you, I'm not - although my children may have something to say about that...)
  

So, my competition to win copies of my current release Her Parenthood Assignment is to guess what I actually said when my voice recognition software wrote the following:

"... half a chocolate muff in wrapped in a paper Soviet."

E-mail me at fiona@fionaharper.com with your answers and I'll pick three out to win a book! Closing date is 6th April. I'll announce the winners and collect addresses then.

Latest news

Each year the RWA (Romance Writers of America) holds a contest for romantic fiction called the RITAs. I kind of see it as the Oscars of the romantic fiction world. I could be wrong about that, but it seems to be the biggest, glitziest do there is.

Anyway, yesterday I got a phone call from America, telling me that Blind-Date Marriage had finaled in two categories: Best First Book and Best Traditional!

I would like to say I received the news with consummate grace and professionalism, but unfortunately I can't. I yelled "no way!" down the phone. Classy, huh?

Now I'm trying to work out whether I should make the trip to Dallas to be at the awards ceremony in person. Should I?

Her Parenthood Assignment: the Setting

And now for my favourite bit – the setting of Her Parenthood Assignment. South Devon is a popular tourist spot, full of holiday cottages and hotels. It's not hard to see why. The scenery is stunning: rolling hills, dramatic coastlines and chocolate-box villages.

The lovely town of Dartmouth is mentioned frequently in the book as it is the nearest real town to my fictional setting. This is the view from Dartmouth over the river to Kingswear.

I've been visiting the area for more than 20 years, first on family holidays (my father had a boat moored in the River Dart during my teenage years) and now to visit family who have moved down there.

The first location in the book, where Gaby finds herself on the wrong side of the river, is based on Greenway Pier. It was a favourite spot of another writer – Agatha Christie owned Greenway, a fantastic white house on the hillside. It's now owned by the national trust and open to the public.

When I wrote the opening scene, I had an idea that they should be a bell to call the ferry. When I went searching for pictures of the area in my local library, I discovered there was actually a bell on Greenaway Pier. A fact I had long forgotten but had reached out of my subconscious when I started to write. I wonder what else is tucked away up there that I've forgotten about.

The village of Lower Hadwell is based on the real village of Dittisham on the banks of the River Dart, just across the river from Greenway. It has a horribly steep hill – so bad you have to turn round and walked backwards to stop your calves aching when you get near the top. I spent many happy hours on the pontoons catching crabs with fishing lines baited with strips of bacon and now when we visit, my children do the same.

As for the Old Boathouse, it's a fictional house, based on a real cottage I saw on a flyer for English Country Cottages, a holiday-home letting company. Click here if you want to see the details. I'm almost tempted to rent it for a week and live in Luke and Gaby's house. It is actually in Stoke Gabriel, further upstream from Dittisham. In my imagination, I made it larger, further away from the town and with a jetty out front. Initially Gaby was going to be called Emma but, after I found the picture of the boathouse in Stoke Gabriel, I changed her name to Gabrielle. It seemed fitting.

Her Parenthood Assignment: the heroine

I'm sorry to say that I can't post a picture of Gaby here. I only have a fuzzy idea of what she looks like. Although, if I saw a photo that matched my vague idea of her, I'd know it in a second.

She describes herself as ordinary. She has brown, not-sure-what-the colour-it-wants-to-be hair and brown eyes. And when Luke first sees her, he thinks of her as being pretty ordinary too. I see her as having a kind of quiet beauty. The sort that creeps up on you bit by bit until you realise the person standing in front of you is actually quite stunning. The fact is, as Luke gets to know her, the beauty of her warm and giving personality shines out and captivates him.

Gaby is escaping from the wreckage of her marriage to super-controlling, city-slicker David. Since childhood she's been the person other people have wanted her to be. She described her old life as like being as suburban version of Frankenstein's monster. She looked the part, with all the right pieces in the right places, but somehow the spirit was missing.

She arrives in Devon, a super-nanny sent to help Luke Armstrong with his troubled daughter, Heather. The last thing she needs is to get involved with another controlling man who just can't seem to keep a lid on his temper. However, as she becomes embroiled in Heather and Luke's lives, she empathises with Luke for the horrors he must have endured in prison and starts to see glimpses of a wonderfully warm and caring man underneath the gruff exterior.

But, as they reveal their feelings for each other, Gaby's old insecurities surface and she starts to unwittingly sabotage their relationship. If you want to see Luke and Gaby in action, pop over to my website and read the excerpt here.

Her Parenthood Assignment: the hero

Luke Armstrong is prematurely turning into a grumpy old man. But then again, he's got a lot to be grumpy about. He spent five years in prison after being wrongly accused of his wife's murder and now he's been set free on appeal he's trying to rebuild his life with an 11-year-old daughter who can't even bring herself to call him anything but "Luke".

When I started writing Her Parenthood Assignment Luke looked a little bit a cross between Rupert Penry-Jones, who plays Adam in Spooks (MI5 in the USA) and actor Jeremy Sheffield. As the book developed, Luke took on his own identity within my head and have not been able to find a picture that matches him exactly, but the guy on the front cover is pretty close!

Five-star review

I've just discovered that Her Parenthood Assignment received a five-star review at Cataromance. Here's a snippet:

Her Parenthood Assignment is a well-written tale which will tug at your heartstrings and tickle your funny bone with its captivating blend of dramatic scenes, hilarious one-liners and potent emotional intensity.

Obviously, I'm rather chuffed about this. If you want to read the whole review click here.

The missing prologue

This is the prologue to the second draft of 'Her Parenthood Assignment' which was cut in the final round of edits:

‘They’ve reached a verdict.’

Luke Armstrong peeled his gaze from the floor and looked at the uniformed man standing in the doorway. For weeks he’d sat in the courtroom and watched it all play out. Witnesses fidgeted, jurors frowned, lawyers attacked and counter-attacked, but none of that mattered now. It had only been a prelude to this moment.

So much hung on where the scales of justice finally tipped. His and Heather’s lives would be defined by the clipped reply of the jury foreman. They had to make the right decision. His wife’s murder could not go unpunished.

He felt strangely numb as he navigated the network of corridors that led to the courtroom. Why wasn’t his heart punching against his ribcage, his adrenalin levels in the rafters? There was only a sense of inevitability, like the eerie calm of a deserted beach waiting for a storm.

The future was no longer his to command. But then, it never had been. Not since the moment Lucy had been found in that hotel room.

The hotel room.

Just that thought alone should send a tremor through him, but there was nothing. Not a blip. He’d seen the glossy pictures of the crime scene, heard every grisly bit of medical evidence countless times over. It had taken on the surreal, impersonal quality of those late night forensic shows he used to enjoy so much.

He’d become desensitised. He’d had to. ‘Till death do us part’ was supposed to have referred to when they were old and grey, not when they when they were barely halfway there.

All that mattered now was his daughter. Heather needed every scrap of his love and strength if she was going to make it though this. He would have to be her rock while she grieved; he could do his own later when she had come to terms with the loss of her beautiful, vibrant mother.

The spectators' gallery of Courtroom Two was packed. Every seat in the high-ceilinged, panelled room was filled. All except the judge’s chair and the twelve empty spaces to his left. Seats reserved for the seven men and five women would decide the fate of his shattered family.

A plain door on the left creaked and an usher appeared. Every head in the courtroom swung round.

The jury were here.

Their faces had become as familiar to him as actors in his favourite television dramas. For weeks, day in, day out, he’d studied them. He didn’t know where they lived or what they filled their days with, but he felt like he knew them. He’d even given them nicknames.

The shuffling and whispering in the gallery hushed as they filed in. They weren’t in their usual order. The woman he’d labelled “The Redhead” led the way. The fact she’d been made foreman had to be a good omen. Not that he believed in any of that stuff. He used to laugh at Lucy when she’d read her horoscope. But he was desperate, and he’d cling to any sign of hope.

It seemed to take an age before they were all seated and the judge entered and started talking. The words were just background blah. All the time he kept his eyes on the Redhead, trying to gauge her secret.

Would her answer be one word, or two?

And then he heard the clerk say, ‘Would the defendant please rise?’

It took him a few seconds before he realised that was his cue to move. His legs didn’t seem to want to work, but somehow he hauled himself to his feet and looked the judge straight in the eye. He had nothing to be ashamed of. He was innocent, had said so all along. The Redhead believed him, he knew she did. He’d seen it in her eyes when he’d given evidence.

But now she wasn’t looking at him, none of them were, and he didn’t know if this was a good or a bad sign. He didn’t really hear what the clerk said next, because he was waiting for her to look up, waiting to see that look of understanding in her eyes. Then he’d know he was safe, that Heather wasn’t going to lose both her mother and father in the space of a few short months.

‘…and have you reached a verdict on which you all agree?’

‘Yes.’

‘And on the count of murder, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?’

The world stopped spinning. Luke certainly stopped breathing.

The Redhead tore her gaze from the court official and looked at him, her eyes filled with pain and sadness. She seemed to plead with him to understand. And he did.

A split-second before her lips moved he knew what she was going to say and his knuckles whitened on the rail in front of him.

‘Guilty.’

Her Parenthood Assignment - the inspiration

This was a bit of an odd book in terms of the starting idea as the original plot twist was axed by my editor and I had to completely rework the book.

A few years ago I was called to do jury service. I only served on one case and it was a fairly minor charge, but a difficult one to decide on. I couldn't sleep that night, even though I felt I had made the right decision, because I was very aware that I had changed the course of someones life. I wondered how I would feel if I had sat in on a really serious case, say a murder, and had convicted the defendant. Then the what ifs started coming thick and fast...

What if my gut instinct had told me one thing, but the forensic evidence had told me something else?
What if the verdict was overturned a few years later and I discovered I'd been wrong?
How would I feel? What would I do?

The seed idea for Luke and Gaby's story was planted. In my original draft, Gaby had served on the jury that convicted Luke of his wife's murder six years earlier. She was racked with guilt after he was set free on appeal and became determined to find out if he was okay. In a bit of an identity mix up, she ended up looking after his daughter. The conflict of the story centred around the fact that Luke hadn't recognised Gaby and the problems that were going to erupt when her secret was revealed.

I was itching to write the story over Christmas 2005 and had racked up seven chapters before my editor got back to me with a verdict on the synopsis I'd sent her. She very wisely picked up on the fact that this storyline could be an ethical minefield. In the end, despite writing a whole new section where Luke and Gaby had a shared past, I decided the simplest option was best - Gaby was a nanny who specialised in difficult situations and she and Luke had never met before.

Very painfully, I went back over my seven chapters and ripped out the original storyline. The emotional problems that the characters were going to face were already there but, without the external conflict of Gaby's secret identity, they had to deepen and were brought more sharply into focus. I think I ended up with a much stronger book because of this, even if it was a pig to rewrite.

This is a lesson I keep coming back to. Quite often, when I write a synopsis there will be an element of external conflict that seems important but, as I write the book, I often find it a better idea to ignore that external conflict and build on the internal conflict between the two characters.

I was delighted to discover a few weeks later that Luke and Gaby's story had sold with no revisions. The overhaul I'd given it had obviously strengthened it. The only change was that we lopped the prologue off the front - a scene in which Luke heard he's guilty verdict at the end of his trial. Without the jury storyline it just didn't seem necessary. I'm tempted to post it here as a bit of a teaser. Perhaps I'll do that tomorrow...

Book number 2!

Finally, my brain has emerged from the post-book haze enough for me to blog again. My fourth book, working title The It-Girl and the Heir, is with my editor and I am wearing a my inbox checking for the verdict. When I sent it off, I was really pleased with it, but as the days tick by I'm becoming more and more convinced that it is pants.

Anyway, enough of obsessing about things that are out of my control. I'm really excited because the favourite book I have written so far Her Parenthood Assignment is out in the UK at the moment and will be released in North America next week.

Here is the blurb and the cover just to whet your appetite.

Falling for her boss... and his family!

Working as a nanny for the rather gruff, yet extremely good-looking Luke Armstrong's spirited daughter seems like just the challenge Gabby Michaels needs to kick-start a new life!

Arriving at the Old Boathouse on the rugged coast of Devon, Gaby can see that the rift between Luke and his daughter can only be breached if Luke allows himself to be healed, as well. But in helping to fix this family, Gaby realises she wants to be more than just the nanny - she wants to be a mother to Heather... and a wife to Luke.

I'll be blogging about the ideas behind the story over the next few weeks.

In the same week as the Oscars...

Just as I was putting the finishing touches to Josie and Will's story, I discovered my first book, Blind-Date Marriage, won a Cataromance Reviewers' Choice Award for the Best Silhouette Romance of the second half of 2006. And even better news, I'm sharing it with Sophie Weston's The Cinderella Factor, which I thought was a really wonderful book.

You can see the rest of the award winners here. Congrats to everyone on the list!

The latest

Well, I'm having great "fun" with my voice recognition software.
I do most of my writing on a laptop in my bedroom and deliberately have no internet access to on it. Mainly to stop me wasting my time when I should be writing. Since I've been using the voice recognition software up there quite a lot, it's getting quite good at recognising my voice.

However, I also have the software installed on the family computer - which I'm using at the moment to write this post this - and it hasn't had as much practice. Some of the results are very amusing.

Anyway, I'm going to try to post at least once a week and will probably do more than that once I'm past my deadline for the current book (1st March).

In the meantime, Donna has tagged me to reveal 10 a random things about myself, but my head is so full of the current book as I try to get it finished in time, I may have to wait until I can think of anything interesting about myself. At the moment my characters seem to be having all the fun and I'm feeling particularly dull.

I will have to add some of her funny mistakes my software is making as it learns to recognise my voice. The for example, before I corrected it, the start of the previous paragraph read: " In the meantime, Donna has attacked me to reveal..."

Ooops!

Steam has been coming off the keyboard this week. I have been writing up a storm and managed to notch up almost 17,000 words. Unfortunately. it appears I have been working a little too hard as I have RSI in my right wrist. The doc says no more typing for a couple of weeks, but I have a 1st March deadline and an unfinished book.

Before anyone tells me off for posting, I have done this entirely with my left index finger and, believe me, it's torturously slow. I'm investigating voice recognition software to tide me over. I will finish this book!

No time, good time

I'm hurtling towards a dealine at the moment, so the blog has been quite quiet. I need to produce 20,000 words in the next fortnight, so it's going to get even quieter.

Good news! I looked on the Mills & Boon site this morning and discovered that my second book, "Her Parenthood Assignment" is on the bestseller section! Cool.

The Hero's Journey: Meeting with the Mentor

This is a feature in the hero's journey which I've seen less often in the books and films I've been reading, but it's still interesting.

The mentor is one of the character archetypes that Vogler mentions in the beginning section of his book. You know the the kind of character: the wise old woman or man in the fairy tales that imparts wisdom and sometimes gifts to help the hero as he starts his quest. The most obvious examples would be Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, Obi Wan Kenobe in "Star Wars" or Mr Miagi in 'The Karate Kid'. (Seriously, who can forget "Wax on. Wax off."?)

Now, Vogler stresses that the archetypes are not necessarily hard and fast character types in a story. A very non-wise old woman-ish person may wear the mask of the mentor for a time.

This is a preparation time in the story where the hero may need to equip himself for the task ahead: a best friend may give some advice; the hero may need to learn some new skills; he may need to arm himself or listen to his conscience.

Mentors may not appear in every story and they may appear at other key points, not just as the hero embarks on the quest, it's just that, in many myths and fairy tales, the presence of a mentor at this point is common.

Shrek doesn't really have a mentor as he leaves the swamp and travels to Duloc. He is only just tolerating donkey - although at other points, donkey wears the mask of the mentor, teaching him about friendship.

In a similar way, in French Kiss, Luc teaches Kate how to live life, despite her attempts to return things to the stale, secure state they were once in. I suppose, in a loose way, the scene where he annoys her on the aeroplane to distract her from take-off, is him passing on his knowledge.

Questions for 'Meeting with the mentor'

1. Does your hero have a mentor?

2. If so, are they:

• A full-blown mentor?
• Another character that wears the mentor's mask?
• An inner code of ethics?

3. What dramatic function do they perform?

• Teacher - many mentors impart wisdom or teach new skills. What does the mentor teach the hero?
• Gift-giver - the gift may come in the form of a weapon or something useful for the journey.
• Motivator - helping the hero to move past her fears and embark on the journey. Helping with mental preparation is in important function of the mentor.
• Do they give the hero information or plant a prop that the hero will find useful later?

4. In what form do they appear?

• Traditional mentor
• Dark mentor - Sometimes the villain (shadow archetype) can be the hero's mentor.
• Fallen mentor - A hero who has been on his own journey but has stalled. Helping the current hero may help him finish his journey.
• Continuing mentor - someone like 'M' in the James Bond films.
• Multiple mentors - there may be a groups of teachers all with different skills and lessons to impart.
• Comic mentor
• Inner mentor - the hero's own conscience or inner set of beliefs may teach him.
  

5. Is the mentor a cliché and how can you avoid this?

6. Is the mentor what the hero/reader believes them to be?

• Sometimes the mentor may seem benevolent, but has his/her own agenda.
• Is the hero being duped?
• If so, at some point he will need to break free of the mentor and finish his journey on his own.

7. Does this story need a mentor?

• If so, at what points?
• Don't just shove a mentor in because you think you ought to have one.
• every character needs to earn their keep - especially in a category romance where the word count is around 50,000.

The Hero's Journey: The Refusal of the Call

In many stories, even the most gung-ho hero may have a moment of hesitation before embarking on the adventure. A reluctant hero may dig her heels in and refuse flatly.

I think the important part of ‘The Refusal’ is that it allows us to see that this quest is not going to be easy for the hero. If the journey is going to be easy, it’s not going to make an interesting story. Really exciting stories challenge the hero to their very core, whether this is physically, mentally or emotionally.

This section of the journey is a good place to show or voice the hero’s goal, motivation and conflict:

In ‘Shrek’, he tries to ignore (refusal) the fairy-tale animals that have invaded his swamp, but in the end, he snaps and sets off to petition Lord Farquad.

In ‘French Kiss’, in the very first scene, we see Kate refusing the call to adventure most vehemently. She is afraid of flying and is in a flight simulator trying to overcome her fear. When asked what her calming mantra is, she yells: “We’re going down! We’re going down! We’re going down!” Clearly, she is not ready to answer the call.

In the following scenes we see Kate giving all the reasons why she can’t follow her fiancé to Paris: she hates the French, she hates the cheese, she’s afraid of flying and – actually a valid reason – she’s not supposed to leave Canada while she’s waiting for her citizenship application to be approved.

This is quite a long refusal. Some heroes only have a flicker of doubt before diving headlong into the quest. But this lengthy refusal works. Kate wants a home and a family and she is holding onto this dream of security so tightly she is scared to let it go and live. It is a very important part of her character and it needs to be set up so the audience understand how difficult the following challenges will be for her.

Sometimes a hero just gives a list of weak excuses, stalling tactics. Sometimes it takes digging deeper within themselves to summon the courage. In Kate’s case she would never have left Canada unless her motivation had been deepened because the stakes were raised to the highest level: her dream of a home and family with Charlie is threatened because he has met a French woman and fallen madly in love with her.

Now Kate’s reason to fly is not just to enjoy a nice trip to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower. She needs to cross the Atlantic to convince Charlie they are meant to be together. It is only the prospect of losing her strongest innermost desire that drags her into the adventure.

Some heroes may not show any doubt at all. But often, at this point, another character in the same situation will back down and totally refuse the call to adventure, giving the reader a chance to see the high stakes and danger ahead.


Questions:

1. Does the refusal:

• Make the stakes clear?
• Examine the quest?
• Review consequences?

2. At what level is the hero refusing the call?

• A moment's hesitation
• Flat refusal
• Something in between

3. Does another character show the consequences/dangers if the hero is willing?

4. Why does the hero refuse the call?

• Past experience?
• If so, what motivates them to accept?
• if you've already set up your backstory and character well, the reader will understand why the character falters.

5. What excuses and delaying tactics does the hero use, if any?

6. Are there two conflicting calls?

• Does the hero have two possible paths to take, each with their own challenges and rewards?
• A hero may have to choose between success and family. Following one path may rule out getting the goal from the other.
• Which one will the hero choose?
• What effect will this have?
  

7. Is there a positive refusal?

• For example, a hero may be offered something that it would be wise to refuse.
• What if a hero needing money turns down the offer to do something illegal?
• This decision may have consequences that propell the hero into the adventure.

8. What is the hero afraid of?

• If you are going to make your hero face up to and overcome their deepest fear, you might as well know what it is!
• Is this a real or false fear?
• How do they express this fear?

We interrupt this broadcast for an important announcement...

Thought I would break up the craft-heavy posting with something more personal. There were storms in the UK yesterday, and while we certainly fared better than some, we were not unaffected.


A large section of my fence is in next door's garden for a start. And then my oldest daughter had to stay home from school today. Her school is a lovely Victorian building and her classroom in on the top floor of a three-story section. Yesterday afternoon one of the windows in the neighbouring classrooms was blown in - we're talking the whole multi-paned hefty wooden frame, which must be at least six foot high. As a result, the workmen are in today fixing things and making sure everything is safe.


Most tragic of all was the news that, when my husband went to visit our allotment this morning, he found his greenhouse, full of his much-beloved carniverous plants, in a tangled heap. Now, I may moan at the amount of love and dedication he lavishes on these plants - I have been heard to comment that I would get more attention if I painted myself green and sat on the window sill - but even I was sad. Somehow, along the way, I seem to have grown fond of them myself. I even know my droseras from my nepenthes.