Christine Feehan's Blog - Posts Tagged "romance"

There still seems to be this stigma about romance books that I guess I’ll never really understand. There are romances in literary fiction, thrillers even in horror novels, but if the main focus is on the couple there seems to be people out there who feel it’s not as respectable.

Here’s a newsflash. Relationships are NOT easy. Love is NOT easy. Love has so many pitfalls, facets, expression and emotion that thousands of non-fiction books are written each year just to help us understand it, save it, work through problems with it or find it. So, writing about a relationship and having the characters well developed as they start out a relationship takes some thought. Some planning. Some creative thinking. And some hard work.

I realize some people think “happily ever after” is unreal, but if it were so unreal this world would be drab and gray and sad. Call me an optimist, but I believe people find their true love. I believe that people can fight for love and find each other in the end.

I am proud to write romance. I am glad I’m an optimist and that, at least in the worlds I create, love does conquer all.

All You Need is Love…Love Is All You Need
That and a romance novel

I love romance for so many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that I know I will get a “happily ever after” ending that allows me to feel good, to hope, to believe. When the news scares me to watch or causes me to despair, I can curl up with a good romance novel and escape. I realize life needs to be addressed and we need to be present in our own lives, paying attention and being active in what happens around us. But, sometimes that takes a toll on us in a way that drains our positive energy, and if you can’t find a way to recharge your battery, so to speak, you can become drained of hope.


I’ve seen so many posts about how frivolous romance novels are. There are people who think romance novels are only about sex and kissing and a woman’s need for love. They are so much more than just that. And what the heck is wrong with sex and kissing and a woman’s need for love? Romance novels offer hope as they teach us love is important. It’s important enough to fight for, to change for. Love is the great catalyst of hope, just as hope is the great precursor to love, the great answer to it.



A good romance novel offers an escape into hope, potential, compromise, growth and love. It leaves you feeling good and positive about life and it’s potential. With so much anger and negativity in the world, who wouldn’t want to give a good romance novel to someone they care for? Give them happiness and hope. And to those who think romance novels are trivial and silly, I feel sorry for you. You are missing out on some wonderful feelings of hope and joy and love.
Shadow Rider

Isaak “Ice” Koval has an answer for everything. Need therapy but don’t want to go talk to a therapist? Just Google what to do (Judgment Road), right? What could go wrong? Fall in love with a woman and want to keep her around? Why the hell can’t you just make her stay? ( Vengeance Road). Ice has given some of the most controversial advice to his brothers, certain things would just work out. Alas, none of his relationship advice has turned out the way he thought. Now, he’s found a woman he’d like to have for himself. Taking his own advice really shouldn’t work, but with a woman like Soleil he’s met his match and may not be the one with the upper hand. So, yes, there’s some humor in Vendetta Road.







(Special video mini teasers available in the CF Online Community )


Soleil was a woman of wealth, adventure and loneliness. When she realized she had a target on her back she had nothing to lose. So, why not throw caution to the wind and follow your fantasy to the end? All she had to do was make sure she didn’t endanger poor, sweet, kind Ice, or any of his friends.


This couple was unexpectedly romantic and a perfect fit for each other.

Love at first sight, while on a mission, wasn’t anything Ice expected.

EXCERPT


Her hair glowed in the sun so shiny it hurt his eyes. Dark, cascading down her back, it was thick and just wild enough to ruin that good-girl vibe she had going on. She shook her head at something the man said to her and started to turn away, back toward the street. The man, dressed in his impeccable suit grabbed her arm and jerked her back to him.

Ice felt it then. The glacier. That blue well deep inside him, glacier-cold, so cold it burned. Need was there—the need to kill. It was…overwhelming. It swept over him like a tidal wave, yet deep inside he was frozen. He took a step toward the edge of the sidewalk. Cars rushed by but he hardly noticed them. Time had tunneled. Pulled him into a cold, dark place he was all too familiar with. – Excerpt Vendetta Road (Read the entire first chapter HERE)



Torpedo Ink, a motorcycle club made up of survivors, assassins abused as children now trying to find a way to live in modern society, Vendetta Road has its turn with intense drama and difficult situations. But, it’s also a story of brotherhood and family. Ice has struggled with his existence and his brothers and sisters, are afraid for him. Soleil is as much an answer to the club’s prayers as it is to Ice’s. And they have no problem helping things along.

I love how the story highlights the relationships between the members and offers insight to how they feel about each other. It’s a story of redemption and hope. It’s a unique love story. I hope you enjoy it.

Vendetta Road

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I think it’s easy to see acts of courage when there’s a battle raging all around. It’s easy to see when the villain is obvious and engaged in evil. Our hero and heroine show their courage when they fight that evil either physically, psychically or perhaps with magic. But, there’s another kind of courage and strength that is often overlooked and that’s the courage of emotion.

If you think about it, being brave in light of overwhelming vulnerability can be the hardest fight of all. The scars can be the deepest. Losing an emotional battle can change you just as a physical fight can.






There’s a quiet strength to both Ferro and Elisabeta in Dark Song. Hers is perhaps more obvious. She’s fighting years and years of abuse. Years of being told she’s worth nothing. Years of head games and horror. Now, she’s escaped and every day, every decision she makes for herself, is an act of courage. Sometimes the greatest courage is not giving up. And smoldering beneath that vulnerability and fear is a quiet strength few see. But before it’s all over, her courage will surprise them all.

For Ferro his quiet strength is even more subdued. He’s a fierce warrior and even the other ancients fear him. He has a reputation from centuries of fighting. So, when his lifemate needs him as her shield he becomes that without fanfare. Without thought. He simply becomes what she needs regardless of how that makes him appear outwardly to the others.


As a couple their strength is in their patience with each other. And later, when everything falls apart, it is in the total trust they must give each other in order to survive.

Shadow Storm is about to turn the Shadow Riders' mythology on its head!

Two families from Sicily. Ties with organized crime. The Ferraros and the Saldis. The Saldi family wanted the Ferraro family to join forces. They knew there was something about the family that was different, but wasn’t sure what that was. Whatever it was, they wanted in. But, the Ferraro family turned them down. So, the Saldi family waged war, doing their best to take out the entire Ferraro family. As the blood bath took most of the Ferraros, it was only those who could ride shadows that were able to escape. They scattered all over the world in a bid to save themselves. They found other Shadow Riders and began to grow the family again.



There are Shadow Riders all over the world. It isn’t just the Ferraro family. But, the feud with the Saldi family continued through time and over continents. Each family grew stronger in their own way. Those who moved to the United States created their own territories that they would do anything to protect.
History, even a violent one, creates relationships. The Ferraros and the Saldis are no longer actively fighting, but the feud isn’t over. There is no trust. No love. Well, except for Valentino Saldi and Emmanuelle Ferraro. That love stands against years of hate and mistrust. It’s not welcome by the families. But, what is to be done when the heir to one wants the now-grown little sister of the other?



The fact is, we all are good and we are bad. With a twist of the kaleidoscope the view changes. Perspectives change. Which of the families are not killers? Which of the families are not willing to destroy the other to keep their own safe? Who is good? Who is bad? What determines that?

In Shadow Storm we realize there are good people and bad people in each family. We find betrayal in the Ferraro family. We find loyalty in the Saldi family. Nothing is simple. Not in fiction. Not in real life. We all have layers to us. And the dynamics of the two families are about to get a turn of the kaleidoscope.
Emme is loyal to a fault. Her family means everything to her. She loves her brothers. Stefano is more like a parent to her.



Valentino Saldi is ruthless and his loyalty must be earned. When his uncle, the leader of the Saldi family, adopts him after his parents die, Val feels a strong bond to the older man. And the bond is mutual.
Now, Val is under attack. His tie with Emme was severed. He stands alone against a powerful army of his own people. He’s wounded and vulnerable. When someone within his circle contacts Emme to tell her what’s happened the Ferraros must decide whether to join Val or let him die, effectively removing the greatest threat to their little sister’s happiness.

Of loyalty and love, which will win? Which is stronger? Which will ride out the storm?

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Murder at Sunrise Lake is the first standalone in years, and I wanted to write a murder mystery for so long I was so happy when everything came together.













The book is a thriller, a mystery and in my opinion it’s downright eerie. Add in a slow-burn romance and this book is exactly everything I wanted! Lol






I’ve always known the Eastern Sierra is a place of nature, peace and revitalization. I have a daughter who is very active and loves to hike, boulder and camp. She would go out on these adventures and then talk about the serenity of where she’d been. I felt it was wonderful that people could go somewhere like that to feel reinvigorated and grounded in nature. But then my mind started to wander, as it often does, to the “what if” and the dark question – What if a serial killer wanted to feel reinvigorated? What if he found his way to the beautiful place? What if he ensconced himself into the community? What if he made friends and became trusted there? What if he just couldn’t stop killing?

Yeah…I went there.

It’s this juxtaposition of serenity and terror that intrigued me.



If you can imagine going somewhere away from the modern world. A place where you can have adventure and find peace, so you make friends there and start a new life. You can see these beautiful vistas, all different kinds of terrains, beauty that takes your breath away and it calms your soul. Then, imagine evil weaving itself into that tapestry. You wake up and just know something or someone evil has come into that sacred place. Worse yet, it’s someone close to you…you just don’t know who.

I imagined that. And now it’s a novel. Lol I hope you enjoy Murder on Sunrise Lake! It will be released June 29, 2021!

What do you do to find peace in your life?

I'm so excited that my first mystery novel is out today! Murder at Sunrise Lake is a romantic suspense and mystery novel standalone.
I wanted to share some of the articles, interviews and videos I've done recently or that have featured Murder at Sunrise Lake!









As usual, I'm doing a contest this week so if you like winning things check out the two ways you can enter this giveaway!
Contest Info HERE It's over at midnight on Thursday.


I did a release party celebration with Murder by the Book and Ashland Library!
I want to give a quick shout out to librarian Meena Jain who interviewed me and was so enthusiastic that I she had me chatting away and saying...well...you'll see the video. LOL
And a shout out to our marvelous moderator McKenna Jordan, the owner of the amazing Murder by the Book bookstore in Houston!
Murder by the Book Video Interview



The Inside Flap Podcast was fun and host Laura Medicus had me spilling my guts about wearing a Power Rangers onesie and other crazy things I probable shouldn't have said! LOL




Book + Main did an article interview with me and have an exclusive excerpt for those of you who still haven't decided whether to try my mystery novel or not. I hope you check it out!



Words & Whimsy Book Club on Facebook did a video interview! This was super fun. You do have to be able to access Facebook and join their online book club, but it's free and it's fun there!



Reader’s Entertainment Magazine featured the book trailer and will feature something about Murder at Sunrise Lake all week! https://readersentertainment.com/2021...



Behind the Mic with Recorded Books- Check out this fun video of narrator Alyssa Bresnahan reading from Murder at Sunrise Lake HERE





COMING SOON





FANE presents Christine Feehan and JR Ward in conversation to celebrate their new releases! You need to book tickets for this. You can find that information here- https://tickets.artist-tix.com/ticket...
There is a cost since it’s being put on by a third party, but it’s going to be so fun! You can purchase the ticket to watch the interview but you can also purchase the video ticket plus a book.



Framingham Library event – Romance Writing & Animal Magnetism I'll talk about writing animals or people with animal traits. So if you like animals this will be a fun one!

Do you enjoy the interviews? What do you like most about them?

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One of my favorite things to do as an author is to create these fictional small communities, which is something I did when writing Murder at Sunrise Lake. I’ve always lived in a small community. I love the feel of it. I love that people know one another. They help one another. You walk into a business, and they know your name and what you want immediately. Something bad happens and people show up for you because you’re part of them…part of that community. It’s like a family beyond your family. That’s something I’ve always loved about small towns.


I love developing that sense of community where you feel you know each other and have a certain level of trust in those around you. Those tight friendships are bonds I’ve felt myself and love to have in my books.
So when Stella wakes up realizing there’s a murder in her midst it shakes the foundation of what she believes about her life, her community and even her friends. That little bubble you’ve created and placed your life in, that community, those friends, it all feels under attack. You want to keep everyone safe, but then you know someone close to you, perhaps one of those very friends that you trust, is likely the killer.


Yes, I love creating those tight-knit bonds of community and friendship and then messing with it. Lol

Tell me about a place you love!

I want Murder at Sunrise Lake to be a book people remember and think about long after the last page has been turned. I’ve always wanted to write a murder mystery and I love writing strong characters. I’ve always written romance and this book does have that though many of my readers may feel this is more of a “slow burn”.




I’m proud to write romance. I read many genres but prefer that the stories have some kind of romance in them. Romance is a natural part of life. People have friendships, they go places, they do things, they make love. There is nothing wrong or embarrassing in that. Murder at Sunrise Lake is a murder mystery, thriller but it does have a love story in it.




This love story is extremely romantic. This standalone book has a quite romance. It’s not graphic. It’s more sweet and steady.





Sam has been around for quite a while. He’s been Stella’s friend. Right hand. Her rock. He’s in it for the long haul starting with paying attention to what her needs are. He’s there, but in an unobtrusive way. There are little touches. Small things he does to invite her to trust him. And believe me, trust is sexy. If you don’t believe it Sam may just change your mind. He’s patient. Observant. Sweet. Kind. Courageous. Sometimes women want the good guy. Being a good guy doesn’t mean you’re not an alpha. Sam is exactly what Stella needs. Now he just needs to make her want him, too.



I have faith in Sam! Lol

Tell me about a slow burn romance that you loved!

Writing Murder on Sunset Lake was so fun for me for many reasons. I love creating communities. I love creating close bonds of friendship with a group of women. I love writing about strong women.


This group of women are based somewhat on real people.





My daughter is an adventurer who loves nature. She loves bouldering, hiking, camping. She’s summitted Mt. Whitney twice and hiked the John Muir trail alone which is well over 200 miles long! Her friends are a group of amazingly strong women who have jobs like running a large resort or working Search & Rescue. They are powerhouse women in what they do for a living and how they play. They make their friendships a priority and are always there for each other. Meeting these ladies was so fun for me and I really enjoyed each and every one of them.


At one time, when several were together and I was with them, we talked about what they love to do. They told me all about their adventures out in nature and then began talking about the perils of some of those activities. All I heard was… “peril” and my imagination started running wild. I asked them questions and soon we were all talking about how someone might murder a person and get away with it out there. Accidents that could be murders? Yes, I’m sure my daughter was quite proud when her friends told her, “I understand you better now that I’ve spoken to your mother.” ROFL!



I am very fortunate to know so many strong and adventurous women who are willing to talk murder with me. We just have to make sure we don’t do this in public. At the restaurant. Where people can hear us. That never ends well. LOL

I do hope you’ll enjoy the powerful women of Knightly in the Eastern Sierras. And I hope you enjoy Murder on Sunrise Lake.

Now tell me about a woman in your life that you admire and why you feel she’s so strong!