Help me welcome author Kathryn Shay who writes for Harlequin Superromance and The Berkley Publishing Group. She has 23 Supers and ten Berkley Sensations published; there are over four million copies of my books in print. Kathryn’s book TAKING THE HEAT was reviewed by Maria and was also her top pick for romantic suspense in 2008.
Kathryn writes contemporary romance, sometimes with a bit of suspense thrown in. She deals mostly with everyday characters like firefighters, cops, teachers and construction workers, but once and a while she has a TV chef, a senator or a secret service agent as the hero or heroine. She likes to explore social issues and her books are highly emotional, often tearjerkers, and have hints of humor.
A Man She Couldn’t Forget
Claire Boneli doesn’t remember the two men in her life, her best friend, Brady Langston and the guy she dates, Jonathan Harris. But both know her, and are there when she wakes up in the hospital with amnesia. In the weeks to come, Claire begins to regain her memory, and what she’s finding out makes her see both men in a new light. The problem is, can she trust either one of them?.
Good morning, Romance Novel TV readers.
What a pleasure it is to visit with you. I’ve been reviewed on your site but have not blogged here before, so I’m very excited to tell you about my new book.
A MAN SHE COULDN’T FORGET is about a woman who loses her memory in a car accident and when she wakes up, she finds her life inextricably bound to two men, thus creating one of my favorite themes, the love triangle. It may mean I’m perverse, but this kind of interaction has always fascinated me as a reader—the jealousy involved, the balancing act, the ways each man works to win the heroine over. (Come to think about it, who wouldn’t like to be in this spot at least once in her life?) In the books using this theme, I pretty much know who the hero will be from the outset, but still enjoy watching the competition for the heroine’s love. When I decided to write a story using a love triangle, the most challenging thing for me was to make “the other man” likable. After all, he has to be worthy of the heroine in some ways, or else the reader will wonder why she even thinks about choosing him.
So, in A MAN SHE COULDN’T FORGET, I set up a dynamic where the two men, Brady and Jonathan, are polar opposites: they have different values, they have different goals, and they share different things with the heroine. I gave them disparate backgrounds, family situations and pasts. When I completed a section of the book, I went back and fixed certain things about Jonathan, the other man, to make him more appealing. For example, in the drafting stage, I gave him a grandfather and a love of older people to make him more sympathetic. This was challenging as it meant a lot of revision to ensure he developed as a good, likable person.
I think the end product was worth the effort: Jonathan is a sexy guy, who the reader likes and understands. But, Brady is just a little sexier and the reader likes him just a little more than Jonathan. In past books, I’ve often gone on to make the third person in the triangle the hero of another book, and that’s always fun. Though there are no plans to do that this time, I did end up caring about Jonathan, and hope readers do, too.
Do you like love triangles? What is there about this storyline that appeals to you? I’ll be back to talk to you today and don’t forget that I’ll be giving away a free copy of this book, or any available one in my backlist to a random poster.
Kathy Shay
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heidenkind
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 1:17 am:
I LOVE love triangles. Ever since I read The Vampire Diaries as a teenager.
I like them because of the tension it adds to the story. It can also symbolize the growth of the protagonist–like at the beginning of the story s/he is attracted to a certain type of person for the wrong reasons, but then as the story progresses s/he grows as a character and falls in love with another type of person. But probably the biggest reason I like love triangles is because (when they’re done right), you don’t know who the character is going to fall in love with! Since no one knows who they’re going to fall in with until it happens, I like romances to have that element of surprise.
Marisa
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 6:23 am:
Hi Kathy – we’re so glad you could join us today! OOhh, love triangles are always hard for me to read – especially if I’m feeling drawn to both heroes. I can’t imagine how hard they are to write. As heidenkind says – if they are done right you never know who the heroine will choose and all the while if I have a particular favorite, I’m hoping she picks the ‘right’ one. It keeps me on the edge – which is a good thing. Finding the right balance between the two is always hard. My favorite ‘triangle love stories’ have been Sugar Daddy and of course the Gardella Vampire series. Of course I spent the whole time ‘rooting’ for the other side. Was I disappointed? A bit… but will I read a story with a love triangle again? You bet.
Andrea
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 8:35 am:
Hi, Kathryn! Welcome to RNTV!! We’re so happy you could join us today.
Wow, A Man She Couldn’t Forget sounds like a book that I’d really enjoy! I like to read love triangles. And you hit the nail on the head when you said that you have to make them both sexy, but one more sexy than the other. But then again, I guess it depends on which traits of each attract the reader, right? My favorite love triangle stories are the same as Marisa’s — Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas and the Gardella Vampire series by Colleen Gleason. And both heroines picked the guy I was rooting for!
Brandy W
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 8:48 am:
I do enjoy a love triangle story to read every once in a while. I like the tension and build up. Who will come out on top? I like seeing someone attracted to two completely different people and what they like about each.
Cindy
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 9:51 am:
I only like love triangles if the story flows. If it gets too messy and complicated, it steers me away from the story.
kathrynshay
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 10:05 am:
Good morning, everyone.
I see we have earlybirds on here. I happened to get up two hours later than ususal today.
I’m interested in your comments because I don’t think the hero is that iffy in A MAN SHE COULDN’T FORGET. I think you can tell right away which one he is. Given that, as I said in the blog, I struggled with making the other guy sexy and likable. My son is reading the book now and said the other guy should have been more likable, but when my editor read the draft she said he was TOO likable. It was mostly at the end where Clare was too forgiving of his not-so-nice actions before her accident.
As the heroine was basically two different people before and after the accident, I was wondering what kind of heroines you like? Tough and feisty? Solid and simple? Complicated with a lot of baggage? In high risk professions like a firefighter or a Secret Service agent? (I had those last two in recent books.)
Kathy
Maria Lokken
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 10:12 am:
Hi Kathryn! Welcome to RNTV. I had the pleasure of reading “A Man She Couldn’t Forget” and I loved it. I don’t usually like reading about love triangles, but your story was pitch perfect. You set up both men in a way that I could totally see the heroine with or without them at different points in her life.
Personally, I like a heroine that’s solid but not simple – something has to drive her to overcome whatever obstacle she needs to in order to achieve her goal.
Stacy ~
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 10:50 am:
Hi Kathryn
I think triangles are tricky, and I give a lot of credit to the talent of a writer to pull it off and make me satisfied by the end result, even if the heroine chooses the “wrong” man *g* I should at least believe in the reason why she chose him, and feel that it was the right choice for her, even if the hero wasn’t the man I might have selected.
The Gardella series is the one I’m thinking of when I say this, because I genuinely like both heroes, but prefer the other one to the obvious choice. I can understand why Victoria chose the man she chose – he IS the one for her. He’s just not the one I wanted. Make sense? It’s because Colleen Gleason took two different men, worthy in their own way, and presented them to Victoria. Now it’s up to her to find her man.
kathrynshay
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 11:48 am:
Maria–Oh, I’m so glad you liked the book. I’ve heard from revierwers but not many readers.
Stacy–You know, I’m going ot have to read that Gardella series everyone’s talking about here. I don’t usually go for vampires but it sounds great.
Kathy
Natalie
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 12:16 pm:
hi Kathy, I really enjoyed Taking the Heat so I’ll have to check out your new release. I have to say I haven’t read many love triangle stories except for Sugar Daddy. It was hard for me to see her walk away from Hardy.
I was wondering if you find it different writing the single titles as opposed to the category? Do you enjoy one of the other?
kathrynshay
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 12:20 pm:
Just a quick note: all of the recipes in my book are from my family. They’re up on my site at http://www.kathrynshay.com/current.couldntforgetrecipes.html. Mange!
Kathy
kathrynshay
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 12:24 pm:
Natalie,
I like writing both category and single title.
Category books are a challenge to develop characters and the plot in a short page length. Also, Harlequin has always been very good at allowing dicey plots: teen suicide, date rape, the hero having slept with the heroine’s mother 13 years ago. (That was my second book for Super and my editor said, “You want to do WHAT?”
Single title characters can be more flawed, the books can be sexier than Supers, a bit more raw in language in content, though my church family was shocked when they read some of these. I like having time for greater external plot, too.
Do I like one better than the other? No, I don’t think I do.
Kathy
PJ
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 12:46 pm:
Hi Kathryn! We’re delighted to have you here. I’m iffy on love triangles. There are some that I’ve loved and, in fact, I’m reading one right now that I’m enjoying. Others have simply torn my heart to shreds and left me very unhappy. It really all boils down to the skill of the author and I’m in awe of those of you who are able to take this delicate situation, especially where both heroes are great guys, and pull it off so that both the heroine and the reader are happily satisfied.
I love Harlequin Supers and I’m looking forward to reading A Man She Couldn’t Forget.
LizBeth
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 1:25 pm:
Hi Kathryn,
Love triangles can be tricky. I’m always afarid that the hero or heroine I’m invested in might not be the one who “wins the day” so to speak. But I have read some good books that feature triangles. Already mentioned is the Gardella Vampire Series. I was lucky my ‘team’ won. Another favorite triangle of mine is in the Earth Children Series, The Mammoth Hunters. I was on pins and needles until the end hoping Ayla would pick Jondular. As PJ has said, it is a delicate situation and handled correctly it can be a great read.
Kim
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 1:44 pm:
Hi, Kathryn – I like triangles as long as we have a good idea who the heroine will wind up with. I don’t like it when we’re invested in the relationship and then the author suddenly changes direction and pairs together a different couple. The latter occurs more often in a continuing series rather than a stand-alone romance.
Also, I’m glad you’re still writing Harlequins. Many authors leave the genre once they begin writing full-length novels. As a change of pace, I like switching between the two formats. I look forward to reading A Man She Couldn’t Forget.
orannia
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 2:34 pm:
HI Kathryn,
Hmmm, I have a love/hate relationship with love triangles. As PJ said, some can leave you wildly happy and some can leave your heart torn to shreds. And then there are those where you just feel like getting on your soap box and ranting to all and sundry. With regard to the latter, the Gardella Chronicles springs to mind, but that’s because I’ve only just read the latest book and it’s all still a bit raw. I’m sure I’ll ‘eventually’ come to understand the heroine’s decision….
Regardless of what team I belong too, how much I invest in the outcome tells me how well the author has done to make each potential hero likeable, so that’s what I look for. It’s a fine balance, you want to make each potential hero likeable, keep the mystery and have a satisfactory outcome. Kudos to authors!
All the best with the release of A Man She Couldn’t Forget
Karin
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 2:48 pm:
I’m not big on love triangles, but I have read some that are okay. My problem is that when both heroes are likable, I always feel sad for the one who did not get the girl. Though, like everyone else has said, if they’re written well, they can be really enjoyable. And I always like seeing the guy who didn’t get the girl get his own story with his HEA.
As for the kind of heroines I like, I like someone who is fiesty and solid without being too complicated, though sometimes the complications can really enhance the story.
Maureen
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 3:54 pm:
I think it must be hard to write a love triangle because it has the possibility of someone being hurt. I have read a couple of stories with a love triangle and did like them because I thought they were done well since the heroine was compassionate to the other man. I like the amnesia angle of your story because then I am learning about these men as the heroine is.
Fedora
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 4:16 pm:
Hi, Kathy! I have mixed feelings about triangles–on the one hand, I love getting to know the three people and seeing how they fit (or don’t); on the other hand, when they’re all genuinely invested, I hate anticipating the pain that will result when someone’s chosen and someone’s heart is broken. It’s such an impressive feat to make both choices appealing and truly worthy! Kudos to you for not just making one of the guys a closet lame-o! Congrats on A Man She Couldn’t Forget! As Kim said, I’m glad you’re still writing categories as well as single titles! Do you always write for the Superromance line?
kathrynshay
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 5:12 pm:
This has been so interesting to me to read your reactions about love triangles. You get so invested, you root for your guy and you’re emotional when the story ends. Isn’t literature great that it can do this to us? I must confess I haven’t read as many of these stories as you all seem to have, but you’re right, I do usually pick a guy I want. I guess “the other man” hasn’t won out in ones I’ve read. Plus, sometimes the author makes the one left behind the hero of another book. Do you like that?
Kathy
kathrynshay
on Jan 8th, 2009
@ 5:14 pm:
Fedora,
My first book was published by Superromance and I now have 23 Supers out. I’m releasing another in August 2009, and then a trilogy in 2010 of connected books. I love the line and love writing for it, and haven’t gone to any other category press.
Kathy
Marisa
on Jan 9th, 2009
@ 6:30 am:
Kathryn, thank you so much for visiting with us – we had a great time!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by – and Cindy is the lucky winner of today’s blog. Send your snail mail address to alphamail@romancenovel.tv and we’ll get your book to you.
kathrynshay
on Jan 11th, 2009
@ 5:47 pm:
Thank you so much for this lively discussion. I so enjoyed being here.
Kathy Shay