Today I'm thrilled to kick off fellow Entangled Publishing author Annie Seaton's blog tour.
I recently met Annie in person at the RWAus awards dinner and she's as vibrant and lovely in person as she is online.
Take it away, Annie!
Amnesiac
oil sheikh billionaire, embroiled in a family feud discovers his best friend’s little
sister has had his baby and…
No not really… but it is an example of a
possible trope!
Tropes....does anyone who doesn’t write romance
know what a trope is?
I have to admit that the word was new to me, the
first time my editor and I discussed my second book. As both a librarian and English teacher in
former careers, I was embarrassed when I had to go to the dictionary. I was new
to writing and still picking up the lingo!
However the dictionary which defined it as a common or overused theme or device didn’t
really help me…so I went exploring. First stop Wikipedia –a trope is figurative language in literature, or a
figure of speech, or something recurring across a genre or type of creative
work.
Okay, still no wiser and when my editor asks what
tropes am I writing and reminds me I need at least two, I scurry off to Google!
Okay, same answer as Wikipaeida.
Help!
This is taking time away from my writing. Where to now? Okay ...Google romance
tropes.
Yay…success! Thanks to a few romance blogs who
tell me that one of the secrets to writing successful romance is to take a well
loved trope and give it a twist. Ah…the penny drops.
Tropes are what I have
read and loved for many years—I just didn’t know there was a name for it.
Secret babies, accidental pregnancies, amnesia, betrayal, family feuds and
friends to lovers.
In Holiday Affair, the trope is a one night
stand gone wrong, with a bit of mistaken identity or less than honesty thrown
in and a teensy hint of a love triangle.
Everything that builds the conflict is the
trope.
So to answer my wonderful editor…the trope of my
next book is a combination of a marriage of convenience and an old family feud,
a little bit of opposites attract and a super wealthy hero!
Now when I am asked about trope, I feel rather
smug. And not only I can answer knowledgably, I can illustrate by describing my
own books and the path of my characters to happily ever after.
So tell me what’s your favorite trope?
Website:
http://annieseatonromance.com
Blog:
http://annieseaton.blogspot.com
Twitter: @annieseaton26
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble
Annie Seaton lives on the beautiful east coast of Australia,
where she loves sitting in her writing chair, gazing at the ocean and writing
stories. She has always been fascinated by all things historical and has found
her niche writing contemporary romance and steampunk, where strong heroines and
brooding heroes fight together to make their alternative world a better place.
Her debut novel,
Holiday Affair, a contemporary romance set in the South Pacific was
released as part of Entangled Publishing’s Indulgence line in March. The sequel
Italian Affair is currently
underway Watch out for the story of Tom and Brianna the sex therapist who
spices up his life!
Winter of the Passion
Flower was released through Lyrical Press at the same time. It is also
available in print from the Books page of Annie's website. Currently immersed
in the creation of Book Two, a full length novel, the adventures of Sofia and
her Scottish laird, Annie is already looking forward to the rest of the series,
particularly the adventures of Indigo’s four boys: Jago and Jory, Ruan and Kit.
Strong sassy heroines and
rebellious heroes have a rollicking good time as they work to
make the world a better place--
albeit their own steampunk world.
Blind Lust, a paranormal
novella will be released by Musa Publishing on 15th June.
