Love Bytes says hello and welcome to author Nora Phoenix joining us today to talk about her new release “Kissing the Teacher”, which is part of the 10 book series Valentine’s Inc.

Nora talks to us about how characters can take over and brought a wonderful giveaway for our readers!

Welcome Nora 🙂

When Characters Want It Their Way

I think one of the most curious statements from writers is when they insist their characters wanted things a certain way. I know I’ve talked about this with non-writers before, and they often reacted along the lines of, “But don’t you create these characters? Aren’t they in fact you?”

The short answer is that yes, of course they are my creations. The longer answer is that no, they’re not me.

The magic of writing is that once you create characters, if you’ve done your job well, these characters will cease to be you and will become their own person. It’s like you start to see the story through the characters’ eyes and that changes everything. The story is no longer yours, but theirs. I can’t tell you how often I’ve plotted a story and then characters, only to discover that the characters laughed at my plot and wanted to do things a completely different way.

The latest evidence is my book Kissing the Teacher, which released yesterday. My plan was to write a short novella with a college prof and his student featuring daddy kink, maybe 25k words or so. After all, I was already behind schedule due to personal circumstances, and I had a long list of projects I needed to start on.

The problem was that once I started writing, the two main characters—college professor and Dom Hagen and his sexy student Baxter—were adamant that was not enough. I had planned a sort of instalove, but Hagen made it clear that was not his thing. Insta-attraction, yes, but not instalove. In fact, he explained to me patiently like only a college prof can that he had zero intentions of taking Baxter on as his boy. He’d been there, done that, and had gotten his heart broken.

Okay, then. Point taken. Clearly, he needed more time to get used to this idea.

Baxter assured me that he didn’t even have time for a relationship what with working three jobs, so how the hell did I expect him to develop something fast and furious with his college prof? He had a point there, I had to admit, so their meet-cute went a hell of a lot slower than I had planned. And then once they had met, Baxter wasn’t as open about his circumstances as I had imagined him to be, so it took Hagen a little while to figure things out.

Plus, to me it was pretty clear that Hagen wasn’t a hard Dom but a Daddy. Turned out, he needed some time to get there and see that…and then to accept how feelings for Baxter.

That’s how my plan to write a 25k novella got derailed and turned out into a sweet, sexy daddy kink book that ended up being a full-length novel at 73k words. I could blame Hagen and Baxter, but here’s the thing: it was always their story to tell, not mine. I was just along for the ride. And what a ride it was…

Writing a story that rings true to the characters we’ve created as authors means accepting that sometimes, our well-plotted plans go awry. But if we go with the flow and accept that and allow the characters to tell their story, something magical happens. It’s no longer our story but theirs…and it will be so much better for it.

P.S. You can grab Kissing the Teacher here. It’s the third book in the Valentine’s Inc. series which consists of ten stand-alone MM romances by ten different authors. You can read more about that series here.

Blurb:

Hagen didn’t want to be Baxter’s Dom. He wanted to be his Daddy.

College professor Hagen St. Croix is done with his life as a Dom since his two previous boys left him. When his former club organizes an event, he wants to go…but not alone. He finds a date-for-hire through the Valentine’s Inc. app, but he’s shocked when his date turns out to be his sexy student Baxter Lafelle, and even more shocked by the feelings Baxter evokes in him.

When tragedy strikes for Baxter, Hagen realizes that he doesn’t want to be his Dom. He wants to be his Daddy… But will Baxter let him? And what happens when their contract is up?

Kissing the Teacher is a full-sized (73k words), sexy and sweet MM romance with daddy kink, a May/December relationship, and a very happily ever after. It’s part of the Valentine’s Inc. series but can be read as a stand alone, since these books are only connected through a shared premise.

Amazon

When she was a little tot, Nora’s mom got a library subscription for her. That, as they say, was that, and a lifelong love for books was born. Nora never stopped reading and doesn’t exaggerate when she says she devours books, rather than plain reads them. She started writing stories as soon as she could hold a pen, and wrote her first full book as a teen (on a typewriter!). It took her waaaay too long to follow her dream to become a romance author.

Nora writes M/M romance, because hello, sexy boys, and likes her men flawed, strong, and a tad broken. She appreciates a little kink, but insists on a happy ever after.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/authornoraphoenix/

Facebook Group Nora’s Nook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/norasnook/

Newsletter: http://www.noraphoenix.com/newsletter/

Twitter: @NoraFromBHR

Website: http://www.noraphoenix.com

 

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