Master Marc, Subplots, Erotic Romance, and, well, Nobody's Perfect

I'm beginning to think I jinxed myself by giving this book the title I did.

Status of Nobody's Perfect

I'm writing, writing, writing, but the ever-loving (?) Master Marc has thrown me yet another curve ball. Okay, it was totally inadvertent this time. But here I am trying to get this man closer to his Happily Ever After with Angelina, so you'd think he'd quit doing this to me. (Some of you may recall that three weeks before his book came out, he told me he didn't want to share anymore. So, I had to pitch 80,000 words and rewrite most of Nobody's Angel in three weeks. It's a wonder the book makes any sense at all.)

Yes, Marc's been like this since I first met him over three years ago when I wrote Nobody's Angel--well, when I wrote the FIRST version of it. He opened up a little more for me in Masters at Arms, which I wrote a year ago, but you all know he was still very closed up there emotionally. (That's why some readers wanted to skip over his book and go straight to Adam's--but, of course, they'd have missed a whole lot of Adam and Karla's story if they did that, so hopefully, they gave Marc a chance.) And I know he redeemed himself with a lot of readers and started to let down his walls (by becoming a one-woman man, for instance). But, darn it, I knew there was no way to get him to Happily Ever After in the week or so he was with Angelina in that book, so I had to leave it at Happy For Now. I knew he'd come back later to resolve his issues (and hoped and prayed I'd figure out what was causing the problem by that time).

But despite his desire to be with Angelina, he just wouldn't make himself vulnerable to her, which became clear to me in this book. He's never been completely open about what's going on the makes trust such an issue for him--no, he had no trouble demanding trust from Angelina. But GIVING his trust to her and not doing stupid things to sabbotage her trust (like "the lie") just wasn't within his ability it seemed. 

Well, with the help of my editor, the awesome Jeri Smith, I finally know his backstory. (Y'all do know that I just sit in the chair and write. I don't outline, plot, or do anything to hem my characters into MY realm of reference. I just wait until they're ready to reveal to me THEIR realm of reference--their stories.)

So, at least Mama D'Alessio is spilling the whole sordid mess to me, Marc, Angelina, and eventually to you, when you read Nobody's Perfect. Okay, he's slightly off the hook, because much of it he didn't know on a conscious level. And, yes, for him to finally be able to get in touch with those deep-seated insecurities and fears, Marc will have to be blindfolded a couple of times in Perfect. But Angelina, Adam, and I are determined to get to the bottom of his issues. (Hmmm, but he does kinda look sexy in a blindfold, though, doesn't he? I love Raoul Bova, who inspired Master Marc!)

To Subplot or not to Subplot?

Someone mentioned in a review once that she was annoyed by being pulled out of the main romance and into the subplot involving Damian and Savi in Nobody's Hero, the book which was focused primarily on Adam and Karla's romantic journey. Luckily, the majority of my readers love getting updates on the other characters in this close-knit brotherhood. So, what about you? Does it bother you if an author explores a major problem faced by a couple that isn't the primary hero and heroine, similar to what happens in mainstream-length novels? Other than Marc and Damian being like brothers, Marc's problem in Perfect does not really tie in with Damian and Savi's story as well as Damian and Savi's subplot in Hero was tied closely into Adam and Karla's story.

Personally, as a writer, this is why I write my erotic romances more like mainstream novels. (Hey, if the Fifty Shades trilogy is considered mainstream by its new publisher--and it seems so, since they've removed them from the erotica category on Amazon, then I'll stack my series up against other mainstream novels any day.)

But I digress. When I write, I don't like to just focus on one sex scene after another (which would be erotica by its true definition, although Amazon doesn't differentiate between erotica and erotic romance, so I have to call it erotica there). I also don't like to just focus on one couple in a book--that would make it Harlequin type of book (which is much shorter, so they really don't have room to explore much other than the primary couple's romance. But I'm not writing Harlequins (for a reason!) either.

Off the track yet again. (I seem to be rambling a lot on here lately!) So, once I figured out what the problem was with Marc, I went into a chat with one of my beta readers, Kathy Holtsclaw,  and her hubby, the other day. They helped me figure out what it was going to take in order to break this guy's defenses down. Oh, my! Master Adam to the rescue--well, Marc won't feel rescued in the middle of the process, but hopefully by the time the scene is finished, he will. I now need to research and write a BDSM interrogation scene!

Release date for Nobody's Perfect?

So, I'm writing like crazy, but that release date of June 19 is really going to be a stretch for me at this point. I haven't abandoned the idea of the 19th (tonight's and tomorrow's progress will tell the tale, so to speak). But I've learned from experience that I need to make sure I make the book the best it can be before I publish it because informing readers that there are new versions out there for them to re-download (like the new versions of the first three books I published again on May 31!), is impossible once the horse is out of the barn.

Of course, I'm still working on Damian and Savi's story, too, which still has a way to go before it's completed to my satisfaction. Please stay tuned to my blogs and comments here at Ahh, Kallypso...the stories you tell, read my ramblings on Facebook (personal page, if you've friended me, and my author page), on Twitter (which feeds to Facebook), and be sure to sign up for my newsletter (look up and to the right) so you won't miss the next issue, which will be the announcement that the book has been released, whenever that is!

Updates on First Three Books in Series

In the meantime, I have to report that Masters at Arms had to be removed from Barnes & Noble, because they don't allow free books anymore (at least not at the author's discretion) and I can't sell it for 99 cents there if it's free everywhere else.

My biggest worry is that people won't know there is a prequel/introduction to the series. So, please, if you tell your friends about the series and they don't normally buy book at Smashwords or All Romance eBooks (where the epub versions of all three books are available--and I make more in royalties at Smashwords, if they don't have a preference!), tell them to at least go there to get the free version of Masters at Arms to read before they start the other books. (Can you imagine not reading that first and all that you'd have missed about these guys, plus Karla and Savi?)

Now, back to finishing this book!