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Apr
9 2012 | ||
Maggie Robinson writes fabulous and sexy historicals and she’s also a fellow Bradford Literary client! Give her a big welcome everyone!
Evolution
Nope, I’m not here as Lauren’s guest to get mired in the new Scopes Monkey Trial (Thanks for having me, by the way!) No monkeys in this post, or other primates except for Andrew Rossiter, the hero of my April release Master of Sin. I thought I might do a brief post about how Andrew came to be.
My alter ego had an option book to write, and at first Andrew was conceived to be a dark Margaret Rowe character. I gave him, as Melanie Griffith said in Working Girl, a head for business and a bod for sin. His business was “shocking the proper, seducing the willing, and pleasuring the wealthy” according to the back cover quote. He was, in other words, a male prostitute, utterly amoral. He arrived in my head with the requisite ton of heavy baggage and an insistence to be noticed. Quite frankly, he scared me, so I wrote someone entirely different for the option book, which turned out to be RT Reviewers Choice nominee Any Wicked Thing. (That hero Sebastian has plenty of unpacked suitcases, too, but is not quite as damaged as Andrew.)
Andrew was irritated, checking his timepiece, whispering in my head that he could be a good boy if I treated him right. Somehow he wiggled into a Maggie Robinson book, Mistress by Marriage. He was the wicked man in the heroine Caroline’s past, the necessary foil for her very proper husband Edward. He only had two or three actual scenes, but every time he appeared on the page, he absolutely took over. I had to send him to Italy to get rid of him, otherwise I’m not sure if Caroline and Edward would have had a chance, LOL.
Italy was not far enough. He snuck back into the book via a letter in the last chapter of Mistress by Marriage. Here’s where I knew he’d be the hero of his own book:
Edward looked up, straight into Caroline’s eyes. “This is from Andrew Rossiter.”
Caroline felt the pleasant air suck out of the room.
“He writes to tell me that he is dead, and wishes me to facilitate the transfer of his bank funds so I can purchase him a house on some Scottish island. Oh, and I’m to hire him an Italian-speaking governess.”
“Andrew is d-dead?”
“Not in the strictest sense. It seems he got into a spot of trouble and needs to go underground. But for all intents and purposes, the man we knew as Andrew Rossiter has gone on to his reward, wherever that might be.”
So, what was the spot of trouble? Who would the Italian governess be? What was the island like in the middle of winter? So many possibilities unfolded from that letter, and a new book was born.
Somehow Andrew had to evolve into hero material—a far from easy task. I might have written him differently if I knew how stubbornly he would infiltrate my work. But sometimes characters write themselves, and he was one of them.
I’ve not said much about his heroine, Gemma. Suffice to say she is strong enough to deal with Andrew’s demons and give him the HEA he so thoroughly deserves after the torture I put him through!
Do you read for the hero or the heroine? I have a signed copy of Master of Sin for one commenter. A winner will be chosen from the comments to this post and announced Monday, April 16
April 9th, 2012 at 5:29 am · Link
I love this series but haven’t yet had a chance to obtain Master of Sin. I am so looking forward to reading it!
Hero or Heroine? Depends on the book. Of course, the fact that most heroes are hunky pieces of man meat usually has me leaning toward the hero. 😀
April 9th, 2012 at 6:38 am · Link
Hey, Lauren! Thanks so much for having me back to ramble on. 🙂
Suzie, I can’t decide myself. I guess as a writer I try to make everyone strong & compelling, but I do have a weakness for a tortured hero.
April 9th, 2012 at 6:54 am · Link
I usually read for the hero. Your book sounds great. I love the cover.
April 9th, 2012 at 7:10 am · Link
I read for the hero, becuse I (in my mind) am usually the heroine. I already know what I like and mostly how I will react…. but the hero….uuummmmm. I tend to like a tortured or inperfect hero, so this book should be a great read for me. Thank you so much for the opportunity to win a copy. I am truely looking forward to reading it.
April 9th, 2012 at 7:25 am · Link
I usually read for both.
April 9th, 2012 at 7:33 am · Link
Both, BUT mostly for the heroine.
April 9th, 2012 at 8:03 am · Link
I don’t read for one of the characters, but for both. The better matched they are, the more I can believe in their HEA–and that’s what I look for, in the end. When I finish the book, I need to believe that these two people stand a decent chance to overcome all of the crap that life will throw at them.
April 9th, 2012 at 8:12 am · Link
Oh, I love it! What an awesome idea for a hero ~~ and OMG, he’s just got to be wickedly wonderful!
April 9th, 2012 at 8:51 am · Link
It depends on the book/series who I read for. Most often it’s the heroine.
April 9th, 2012 at 9:32 am · Link
I read to be swept away by the hero just like his lady love but in my mind if she isn’t worthy it can totally ruin the book for me.
April 9th, 2012 at 9:47 am · Link
Hi Maggie! You are a new author for me, your book sounds fantastic!!
I read for both!
April 9th, 2012 at 10:30 am · Link
Both, but I usually find myself paying more attention to the hero, so.. you know, more the hero 😉
April 9th, 2012 at 10:41 am · Link
Hm… Maggie, I think it depends on the book and the story. I think I like it best when the author slips me into both characters’ heads and gives me a peek at them both in such a way that I’m pulling for them to resolve their differences pronto! Congrats on Master of Sin–these two sound like quite the pair 🙂
f dot chen at comcast dot net
April 9th, 2012 at 10:51 am · Link
I tend to focus more on the hero. It really depends on the story. Congratulations on the new release, Maggie! I’ve been looking forward to Master of Sin.
April 9th, 2012 at 11:10 am · Link
Thanks for all the congratulations! I hope readers enjoy Andrew’s journey from gigolo to hero. And as an aside, the word gigolo was not used in Regency times–I hope I didn’t stick it in the book somewhere but am afraid I did, LOL.
April 9th, 2012 at 11:14 am · Link
Do I read for the hero or heroine? I really can’t say, usually I read for the story. But I must admit, if a character is from a previous book (a mention, a walk-on, a BFF, relative or enemy) and managed to intrigue me, then I do read for that character’s story. 😉
April 9th, 2012 at 11:25 am · Link
I read for both because I have to feel a connection to both characters for me to really enjoy the book.
April 9th, 2012 at 12:46 pm · Link
Truthfully, I read for both. In some books (especially UF) my favorite character is the heroine. In others, especially in historicals, I do tend to focus on the hero.
April 9th, 2012 at 12:58 pm · Link
Congratulations on the book! I read for the hero.
April 9th, 2012 at 3:08 pm · Link
I read for both.
I like reading stories about well-matched and nicely balanced characters.
April 9th, 2012 at 4:34 pm · Link
It’s hard to say whether I read for the hero or the heroine, I think it depends on how much I relate to either one. Can I pick both? 😀
April 9th, 2012 at 5:38 pm · Link
I read for the sexy hero – a girl can dream they are real and looking, right? lol
April 9th, 2012 at 5:42 pm · Link
I read for both. I like the perfect happily ever after. One is not usually better than the other for me.
April 9th, 2012 at 7:15 pm · Link
I really don’t read either hero or heroine so much as focus in the direction the author is pointing. I read book that have both male and female POV and I like both 1st and 3rd person. The only thing that drives me nuts is when there are too many POV because then I don’t know where I am supposed to focus. What can I say? I am good at following directions!
April 9th, 2012 at 7:17 pm · Link
I am usually a hero reader, they get my attention. The idea of bringing Andrew into a hero role and seeing how he evolves excites me to see what this story has in store for me. I can’t wait to read it.
April 10th, 2012 at 2:34 am · Link
Hi Maggie and Lauren ! As a feminist myself I always read for the heroine 🙂