Xenia Navarre Historical Romance

This paranormal Gothic romance is set in coastal Victorian England. All her life, psychic Gemini Andrews has hidden her uncanny ability to see and channel ghosts from her superstitious community. When she stows away on sexy Captain Deverill Jansen’s ship in her quest to stop a killer, Gemini finds she can’t conceal either her presence or her secrets from Dev.

This story has all the elements to satisfy a lover of classic Gothic romance—a dark and dangerous hero who’s rumored to be a killer, a haunted heroine in jeopardy, lots of fog and spooky atmosphere, and a real Jack the Ripper-style killer who’s stalking Gemini’s sisters. For anyone who’s curious about this shadowy sub-genre of historical romance called the Gothic, a la the style of Bronte’s JANE EYRE but with a paranormal twist, this story and others in St. Giles’ series are good ambassadors for the genre. Not for the reader who’s looking for a light, sparkling read, but it’s a wickedly good escape all the same. If the thought appeals, take a look and let me know what you think!

Happy reading from
Xenia

In this sexy contemporary Chicago-set romance, day-care center owner Annie Davis can’t believe her luck when she wins a date with sexy Irish businessman Sean Murphy at a charity auction. Sean is fascinated by the sweet blonde who bought him, but knows if she discovers his real profession as a paid escort, all bets are off. But, given the red-hot chemistry between them, Sean and Annie can’t resist getting much, MUCH closer…

This was another thoroughly enjoyable, steamy, escapist adventure from the reliable Blaze imprint. Even though day-care center heroines are not usually my cup of tea, I couldn’t believe the author made both the toddler-encumbered heroine and real-life gigolo Sean so sexy and appealing!! If you’re looking for an enjoyable evening’s escape with a sexy fantasy, this story won’t disappoint.

This is an annotation I wrote for my mentor, suspense author Mike Kimball, at the Stonecoast MFA program at University of Southern Maine. I’m analyzing the elements of successful thrillers and romance novels in order to write more effective romantic thrillers. Please feel free to cite my work, with attribution, if it’s useful for your own efforts. Let me know if you find it useful!

Happy writing,
Xenia

THRILLER AND ROMANTIC ELEMENTS IN EYE OF THE NEEDLE, A FILM WITH DONALD SUTHERLAND

Last month, I analyzed the elements of romantic suspense, drawing from my recent class in the genre taught by Harlequin romantic suspense editor Leslie Wainger. This month, as agreed with my mentor, I analyzed the 1981 movie Eye of the Needle, starring Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan. I have concluded that this story succeeds fully as a thriller with a strong romantic subplot, but cannot be termed romantic suspense.

As discussed in previous annotations, the Romance Writers of America defines romance as a story that centers around two individuals who fall in love and overcome insurmountable obstacles to achieve a “happily ever after” ending. Romantic tension arises from the mounting obstacles that seem increasingly more likely to prevent the hero and heroine from achieving that happy ending. In the World War II-era thriller Eye of the Needle, the story involves a forbidden romance between a ruthless German spy/assassin and an unhappy English housewife on an isolated British island. The dark hero, Henry Favor, also functions as the villain, which is a frequent trope of romance novels. Henry transitions from villain to hero status after he is shipwrecked on the island—a climactic scene which I would argue functions as the first act climax. When this murderous German spy meets gentle heroine Lucy, a lonely housewife and mother burdened with an embittered cripple for a husband, Henry’s kindness toward Lucy and the tender love between them transform Henry from an unsympathetic villain to a sympathetic—if flawed—hero.

Alternately, one might also argue that Lucy is the real protagonist in Eye of the Needle. In Lucy’s story, Henry begins as a romantic hero whose gentle courting captures her heart. But he becomes the villain when Lucy discovers his brutal murder of her husband David—whom, despite his selfish and sometimes monstrous behavior, Lucy nonetheless continues to love.

Leslie Wainger’s argues that, in romantic suspense, the romantic and suspense plotlines should be braided together, each an integral part of the other, forming a harmonious whole. Eye of the Needle achieves this objective by braiding together the story of Henry’s espionage work for Germany with the love between Henry and Lucy. Henry’s primary goal is to prevent the Allies from a successful invasion of Normandy—an event upon which the fate of Germany and the free world hinges. In my view, the story’s global scope is another key element that elevates this story beyond personal and psychological suspense to thriller status. In the first act, Henry’s external conflicts range from British counterintelligence efforts and pursuit, to the storm that prevents his rendezvous with a German U-boat, to the difficulty of making contact with his German would-be rescuers on this remote island. The story’s first act focuses on overcoming these external conflicts.

Henry’s internal conflicts only emerge in the second act, when he falls in love with Lucy, and delays his departure and the completion of his mission in order to prolong his romantic interlude with Lucy. Thus, the second act focuses largely on the romantic and sexual tension between Henry and Lucy. This tension revolves around a compelling reason (the island’s isolation and the inability to escape it) that forces the romantic hero and heroine into prolonged proximity, and makes it impossible for either character simply to walk away. This second act therefore meets the conventions of a romance, albeit one with suspense elements. The second act climax, I would argue, occurs when David discovers Henry’s nefarious deeds, and Henry is forced to kill him.

When Lucy discovers the murder, her goal becomes to escape from Henry, save her son from this cold-blooded killer, and ensure Henry’s arrest by the British authorities. Thus, in Henry’s story, Lucy is transformed from an internal obstacle to an external one, set in direct opposition to Henry. The romantic stakes have risen from psychological (i.e. the emotional risks of falling in love and destroying a marriage) to physical danger for both characters. Henry’s obvious love for Lucy remains an internal obstacle, because clearly he does not wish to kill her. Yet her escalating resistance forces a series of physical confrontations between the couple that can only end in violence.
The third act climax occurs when Lucy is forced to kill Henry, thereby preventing the completion of his mission, and enabling the Allied invasion of Normandy to proceed. Therefore, the thriller is satisfactorily resolved, but this is hardly a happy ending to the romance.

Because one of the defining characteristics of a romance is a happily-ever-after ending, Eye of the Needle ultimately does not succeed as a romance novel. Nonetheless, the strong romantic subplot elevates this thriller to a story that transcends its genre, and makes it relevant and compelling for a romance-focused audience.

Copyright 2009 by Xenia Navarre

This historical romance is set in Victorian England, and have I got a story for you! Nine years ago, thief’s daughter Meg Faraday faked her own death in Calcutta in order to escape her treacherous father and create a new life with her newborn son. Now the husband she betrayed, English spy David Donally, has found Meg and is determined to bring her to justice for the crimes of her past. When Meg’s father reappears, seeking a hidden treasure to which only Meg has the key, David and Meg must learn to trust each other, and find the only treasure worth fighting for—-true love.

In my opinion, this book represents the very best of the historical romance genre. It’s exceptionally well written–lush, detailed, elegant, passionate, with vibrant and unique characters, complex internal and external conflicts, an engrossing plot with plenty of intrigue, action and surprising twists, a villain you never see coming, and a genuine love between hero and heroine that avoids cliché and is truly moving. I’d read anything else by this extraordinarily talented author in a heartbeat, including the several other books from this series that are currently in print. I can’t express to you how much I enjoyed this read. I read many, many historical romance novels–since this is the genre I’m primarily writing–and I only review the books on this blog that really stand out for me. Even among a sizable library of keepers, this book stands in a class apart. I highly recommend it.

In this unusual urban fantasy, set in modern-day Philadelphia, Morgan Kingsley is a freelance exorcist, hired to expel illegal demons from unwilling human hosts. Because she despises demons, she’s very good at her job. When Morgan herself is possessed by Lugh, the demon king, she learns that the demon-human bond is far more complex than she’d believed. The fact that Lugh visits her dreams in the guise of a gorgeous, leather-clad lover is another development Morgan struggles to accept. When war breaks out among the demons and spills onto the human plane, only by embracing Lugh’s possession can Morgan hope to save the man she loves.

This was a very nicely done urban fantasy. Despite the current popularity of demon stories, this one offers a fresh take, creating a distinction between the “legal demons” who possess their human hosts only with full consent, and the “illegal demons” that possess their hosts by force. The worldbuilding is complex and original and, as in so much great fiction, Morgan can only experience character growth when she’s forced to do the thing she hates most (surrendering to demon possession).

Lots of very steamy and borderline kinky sex in this one though it is not, in fact, a romance. And, as you’d expect from the plot, there’s a bit of violence. This is the first book in a new series, and the sequel THE DEVIL YOU KNOW is already out, for those who’d like a second helping of this tasty treat. A recommended read for urban fantasy fans!

Commonalities and Distinctions between the Thriller and Romance Genres: Analysis of John Case’s THE FIRST HORSEMAN
August 1, 2009

During the next six months at Stonecoast, my goal as a writer is to strengthen my ability to craft strong and compelling romantic suspense. Last semester I focused on the romance genre with Nancy Holder, and complemented this work with online courses, conferences and workshops on romance writing. Consequently, I feel I’ve become more competent in that genre. The primary goal of my work with Mike Kimball is to study and learn the elements of the suspense/thriller genre. John Case’s political bio-thriller THE FIRST HORSEMAN is an excellent vehicle for learning my craft.

In THE FIRST HORSEMAN, D.C. investigative journalist Frank Daly must work with virologist Annie Adair to prevent a deadly conspiracy between religious extremists and the rogue state of North Korea to resurrect and release the deadly Spanish influenza virus that caused a global pandemic in 1918. Neither the FBI nor the CIA are cooperating, and the Temple of Light fanatics don’t hesitate to harass, abuse, drug and murder any outsider who becomes a problem for the cult. Clearly, the protagonists Frank and Annie are carefully chosen to have the skills, knowledge, and motivation to behave heroically—and, ultimately, successfully—in this unique situation. However, the author spends no more time than necessary to develop these characters. Although the developing romance between Frank and Annie is a significant subplot, this focus on plot and complexity is one distinction that differentiates the thriller from a romance novel. For instance, in this particular thriller, we find multiple villains with differing motivations, a large cast of secondary characters that either help or hinder the protagonists, substantial exposition to illustrate the highly scientific nature of the threat, and a global scope of action that ranges from North Korea to Siberia to Washington, D.C., among other locales. Unlike romance novels which tend to be character-driven, THE FIRST HORSEMAN is clearly a plot-driven story.

As with most fiction, the first chapters establish reader expectations for the story, starting with a series of seemingly unrelated characters and events whose significance is not fully clear to the reader. Nonetheless, by the end of the first paragraph, the author has introduced a note of unease by describing a character as “nervous…and excited…and scared.” By the end of the first page, the reader is already being thrilled by the pathologically cold plan of the cultists to commit a grisly murder. The first sentence that terrified me is: “The thing was—what made her nervous was: the whole deal about the teeth, about pulling out the teeth.”

As the plot develops, the story skips across the globe, with weeks passing between events. Similarly, the action is driven not only by Frank and Annie, but by a host of secondary characters including a CIA analyst, a pregnant cheerleader who is an avid Temple of Light believer and murders on the cult’s behalf, and a starving North Korean farmer whose village is decimated by a government research project to weaponize the Spanish flu. This abundance of strong secondary characters and points of view marks another distinction between thrillers and the tightly-focused (even myopic) plot of a romance. In addition, a thriller is far more likely to range across space and time than a romance, which tends to focus on one or two strongly-realized settings suitable to the developing love story. Finally, the consequences in a thriller are much more likely to be catastrophic and global in scope, whereas the consequences in a romance (with some exceptions) are often focused on the hero and heroine.

Another distinction between the two genres is that a thriller seems far more likely to devote significant attention to exposition and background. In THE FIRST HORSEMAN, the author uses narration, lengthy dialogue between characters, and faux newspaper articles to explain the significance of the Spanish flu and the deadly consequences of its resurrection. In a romance, any digression of more than a few lines from the romantic action tends to be discouraged, especially within the first chapters. The use of dialogue to inform readers about background tends to be kept strictly to a minimum, and romance readers are quick to object if they detect an “info dump,” especially early in the story. Yet these “info dumps” are essential to plot development in THE FIRST HORSEMAN, and they also build suspense.

Moreover, the author’s own background as an investigative journalist in Washington, D.C. informs his research and perspective, and qualifies him uniquely to create a convincing investigative journalist hero. As the story progresses, the POV narrows to focus largely (though not exclusively) on journalist Frank Daly as the protagonist, and we invest in the character as well as the plot.
Overall, this analysis of a thriller has illustrated for me an important point from a recent romantic suspense workshop I attended. In romance, writers tend to characterize themselves as either plotters or pantsers (seat-of-the-pants, organic writers.) My own writing style falls somewhere between those two extremes, but I’ve never considered myself a plotter. In the workshop, senior Harlequin editor Leslie Wainger stressed the importance of a strong plot and story structure in romantic suspense, and urged writers to outline before beginning to write. In my current work-in-progress THE RUSSIAN TEMPTATION, I find myself following her advice.

Copyright 2009 by Xenia Navarre

This category romantic suspense novel takes place in modern-day Charleston. FBI agent Matt DeMarco is searching for his missing partner when Kresley Hayes’ battered body washes ashore at his feet. She has no memory of the attack that killed both her roommates and left her with knife and gunshot wounds, but Matt suspects a link with his missing partner. The only question is: was Kresley the victim of a perpetrator who’s still at large, or was she the killer?

This spin on the classic romantic amnesia story was a thoroughly solid effort that met all expectations of the romantic suspense genre—woman in jeopardy, protective law enforcement hero, sexual chemistry, a scary villain, and plenty of action. I do admire so much the authors who can pull off a strong, fully realized romance with character arcs and a satisfying ending within the strict confines of page limits for category romance. Categories are usually no longer than 55,000-60,0000 words, as compared to 100,000 words or even a bit more for single-title romance.

Having tried to write a Harlequin Intrigue myself, which morphed into a single-title romance, I am keenly aware of how difficult it is to write that tightly. There is no room for a single wasted word. Every line of dialogue or narration needs to be efficient and directly serving the needs of the story. And we still need strong characterization and growth for the hero and heroine, both individually and together. In romantic suspense, we also need a convincing villain, plenty of action, and often a mystery solve as well. And, as in all fiction, we need a strong sense of place, which requires solid research by the author, woven seamlessly into the plot. This tasks are not easily accomplished within those word-count limits!! If you’re not already reading category romance, pick one up some day, and you’ll see what I mean. You might even discover a whole new genre that you enjoy reading.

THE NIGHT IN QUESTION is a continuation of the author’s Rose Tattoo series, so compelling secondary characters from other books add further interest to this story. It’s a good choice for readers who enjoy category romance or romantic suspense.