Guest Post & Giveaway: Anne Calhoun

Heroines. Discuss.

For the last five years I’ve typed Writer in the blank for occupation on my income tax forms, and one of the most important lessons I’ve learned during that time is to understand yourself as a writer, what appeals to you, what works for you, what stretches your abilities for the better, or for the worse.

So, for better or for worse, I tend to write heroines who are firmly in control of their lives and actions. They make very conscious decisions to seek out the hero, to push his buttons, to ask him to push hers. I’ve deviated from this once so far, and the writing process was, not to put too fine a point on it, a total freaking disaster. I tend to respond to the same thing in romance novels.

Two of my favorite heroines are from Megan Hart’s erotic novels: Elle from Dirty and Sadie from Broken. Hart writes compelling, character-driven erotic books that make you want to weep for the heroines. Elle struggles with a wretched, horrid past but she’s not a victim to it. Sadie’s husband is a quadriplegic, and she loves him so much it’s difficult to read, yet she’s enthralled to Joe, who tells the stories of the life she never wanted and will never have. Hart’s characters carry around unimaginable burdens but those burdens never break or victimize them.

I tried to create the same vulnerable strength in Thea Moretti, the heroine in my current Carina Press release, BREATH ON EMBERS. Thea’s beloved husband died in a car accident two years earlier, and while on the surface she’s actively engaged with life – new job at an investment brokerage in Manhattan, hot FDNY lieutenant in her bed – her internal vista is a howling, black void. Everyone knows she’s lost. Everyone wants to save her…except the hero. Ronan says that he knows he can’t rescue her. He’s going to give her a good reason to rescue herself.

What do you prefer in romance novels, the fantasy of being rescued by a good, strong man, or a heroine who finds her own way through life’s difficulties with a good, strong man by her side? I’d love to hear your thoughts! One commenter will win a copy of BREATH ON EMBERS! (Please leave email with comment)

Book blurb --

Christmas is the perfect time for Firefighter Ronan O’Rourke to take things to the next level with his sexually adventurous girlfriend. He knows she has feelings for him—and he’s sure of his feelings for her—but when Thea refuses his invitation to sample Christmas in New York City because what they share is nothing more than sheet-burning sex, Ronan sets out to change her mind.

Deep down Thea Moretti knows she cares for Ronan, but she can’t move past her grief over her late husband. Loud music and sex with Ronan are the only things she’s got that her feel alive, so she takes as much of both as she can get. She knows Ronan wants more, but during the darkest time of the year finding her way won’t be easy.

Ronan gambles everything and challenges Thea: one night of passion with him and another man. Can he prove to her that what they share isn’t just great sex but an emotional connection strong enough to last forever?

Anne's info --

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