Awaiting the Fire – Donna Lea Simpson
The first two books of my ‘Awaiting’ series – Awaiting the Moon & Awaiting the Night – are set in Germany in 1795, at the gothic castle of the von Wolfram family, the core characters of my paranormal historical romance series. It was great fun writing all the twists and turns of a spooky, ancient castle, but I always knew at a certain point I’d leave the castle, and that time came with Book 3, Awaiting the Fire. And so to England, Cornwall, a lovely, spooky county: pirates and witches and lonely moors… sweet treats for the paranormal writer!
Awaiting the Fire is Charlotte von Wolfram’s story. but it didn’t start out that way. My first proposal for ATF – a couple of years ago now – had Charlotte as a secondary character, while her brother, Christoph, was the hero. But she’s a complex young woman, and put down her foot, pouting and refusing to go on with the show unless she was the star. Some characters are more difficult than others, and Charlotte knew what she wanted. She wanted love, but no ordinary love. She needed a man who would accept her for who she was, Charlotte, headstrong, impulsive, kindhearted, loving but stubborn, not what she was, Countess Charlotte von Wolfram, heiress and descendent of a very old and very wealthy German barony.
So I began with Charlotte, added England, and a husband chosen for her by her uncle (though she didn’t intend to go through with the marriage) and sat back thinking about it. What would this fellow – a man willing to accept a betrothal by mail - be like? And would he be ‘the one’, or would she meet someone else she liked better? It all started to come together as I answered the questions I had.
A free spirit like Charlotte, a little wild and impetuous, needs someone to ground her, and Simeon St. Ange, Earl of Wesmorlyn, was just the man for that. Earnest, moral, anxious to do the right thing, Wes was her opposite, and at first glance, maybe too opposite. She hated him immediately, because with those attributes and the added complication of meeting in a public place for the very first time, he couldn’t help coming off a little stuffy (vast understatement… he really does come off like a humorless prig at first). And Charlotte at the same time meets a man who contrasts so much with her fiancé, a man with mesmerizing green eyes and a hint of lupine charm; Lyulph Randell, a family friend of the earl’s. Charlotte, put off by her fiancé’s behavior, finds Randell desperately attractive.
The rest of the story evolved naturally from that first tumultuous meeting in a crowded, stuffy London ballroom. An illicit kiss shared with another man, a challenge to a duel issued, too many alpha werewolves in one place, a homesick young woman determined to help her younger half-sister find her English mother: it all roiled together to become an intricate and yet compelling plot, taking Charlotte and the others gallivanting across the country from London to Cornwall.
At times I tore my hair out. It was tricky to make sure Charlotte’s actions – I thought them completely natural for a girl of spirit, but feared others might not agree – would not come off to readers as stupid or reckless. Though I saw her as hasty and impetuous, I didn’t want her to become that most dreaded of romance novel stereotypes, the ‘feisty’ or ‘spunky’ heroine. I rewrote vast sections. I agonized over details.
But in the end the magic happened – in more ways than one – and the hero came through in true heroic fashion, and yes, fire is involved. Charlotte found out something surprising about herself, something I didn’t even foresee myself when I first started out to write Awaiting the Fire. That’s the joy of writing sometimes, the surprises along the way. Charlotte is special; I’ll leave readers to find out how. She also discovered the healing power of true love. It was a voyage of discovery for us both, and I hope readers enjoy it.
You can read the first chapter of Awaiting the Fire on my website:
http://donnaleasimpson.tripod.com/AwaitingTheFire.html
Also check out my blog for news about a contest coming!!
http://donnaleasimpson.wordpress.com/
Thanks so much, Heather, for letting me share the creation of Awaiting the Fire!
Awaiting the Fire is Charlotte von Wolfram’s story. but it didn’t start out that way. My first proposal for ATF – a couple of years ago now – had Charlotte as a secondary character, while her brother, Christoph, was the hero. But she’s a complex young woman, and put down her foot, pouting and refusing to go on with the show unless she was the star. Some characters are more difficult than others, and Charlotte knew what she wanted. She wanted love, but no ordinary love. She needed a man who would accept her for who she was, Charlotte, headstrong, impulsive, kindhearted, loving but stubborn, not what she was, Countess Charlotte von Wolfram, heiress and descendent of a very old and very wealthy German barony.
So I began with Charlotte, added England, and a husband chosen for her by her uncle (though she didn’t intend to go through with the marriage) and sat back thinking about it. What would this fellow – a man willing to accept a betrothal by mail - be like? And would he be ‘the one’, or would she meet someone else she liked better? It all started to come together as I answered the questions I had.
A free spirit like Charlotte, a little wild and impetuous, needs someone to ground her, and Simeon St. Ange, Earl of Wesmorlyn, was just the man for that. Earnest, moral, anxious to do the right thing, Wes was her opposite, and at first glance, maybe too opposite. She hated him immediately, because with those attributes and the added complication of meeting in a public place for the very first time, he couldn’t help coming off a little stuffy (vast understatement… he really does come off like a humorless prig at first). And Charlotte at the same time meets a man who contrasts so much with her fiancé, a man with mesmerizing green eyes and a hint of lupine charm; Lyulph Randell, a family friend of the earl’s. Charlotte, put off by her fiancé’s behavior, finds Randell desperately attractive.
The rest of the story evolved naturally from that first tumultuous meeting in a crowded, stuffy London ballroom. An illicit kiss shared with another man, a challenge to a duel issued, too many alpha werewolves in one place, a homesick young woman determined to help her younger half-sister find her English mother: it all roiled together to become an intricate and yet compelling plot, taking Charlotte and the others gallivanting across the country from London to Cornwall.
At times I tore my hair out. It was tricky to make sure Charlotte’s actions – I thought them completely natural for a girl of spirit, but feared others might not agree – would not come off to readers as stupid or reckless. Though I saw her as hasty and impetuous, I didn’t want her to become that most dreaded of romance novel stereotypes, the ‘feisty’ or ‘spunky’ heroine. I rewrote vast sections. I agonized over details.
But in the end the magic happened – in more ways than one – and the hero came through in true heroic fashion, and yes, fire is involved. Charlotte found out something surprising about herself, something I didn’t even foresee myself when I first started out to write Awaiting the Fire. That’s the joy of writing sometimes, the surprises along the way. Charlotte is special; I’ll leave readers to find out how. She also discovered the healing power of true love. It was a voyage of discovery for us both, and I hope readers enjoy it.
You can read the first chapter of Awaiting the Fire on my website:
http://donnaleasimpson.tripod.com/AwaitingTheFire.html
Also check out my blog for news about a contest coming!!
http://donnaleasimpson.wordpress.com/
Thanks so much, Heather, for letting me share the creation of Awaiting the Fire!
posted by Heather Waters at 12:51 PM
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