Northern Skies - Janet! (Page 4 of 21)

Oh shit.  I thought I've already mentioned that.  I have, very happy excited busy.  The visa application is still in progress, but the house (the brick and mortar one) had sold in less than 2 weeks.  Living with the in-laws for the time being.  It could be worse, although I can't think of anything worse right now  LOL

It will be another 4-6 weeks, more 6 weeks due to all the holidays on that side of the world ....  I'll try and do a better job to keep you posted from now on - should've known that you would care! 

This is correct. I can tell you I'm a very kind and generous person. Do you care? Na. If I help you pack and take you out to dinner afterward...now you care. Catherine " tells" us a lot about herself, but if we "experience" it in context then it becomes more real. We care more. The stuff Matthew spills about her running her mannor...start there. Show us the mannor. Show us her struggle. NOW we see her selflessness and the injury matters. Her predicament matters. We have seen what's at stake.

Just a reminder, none of these reviews and subsequent hacking at your work means it is BAD. It means we see potential for it to be even better! Don't be discouraged. You've got chops.

Bimmy

Hey bimmy, we're good!  Trust me, my skin is thick as and that's pretty much why I joined the site too!  And thanks for the kind words! 

On the kiss....

This is my beef. Intent. It doesn't matter to me that he stopped. His intent was to sexually coerce her. This kiss was meant as a threat. If he can think this, he's capable of much darker things and is immediately filed as villian in my mind. And this is from someone who pulled off having her hero basically rape the heroine in chapter two and still come out with a loveable hero. Except for K. K still hates him. Its all about intent. Don't get me wrong, I didn't get everyone on board and I have the good reads reviews to prove it. Lol!

How to get around this and keep the kiss as is where is?

Idea: Like you said, Matthew will say he will keep her locked up. They get in each others faces and Catherine is the one that kisses him first. Then he can take it too far from there.

I am special...my mommy told me so.

Bimmy

I thought he was more leaning to using his charm than sexual coercion as his actions are anything but aggressive?  And I think we should also keep in mind that Catherine could've handled it differently instead of turning it into even more of a challenge.  So she's also partly to blame.

Catherine kissing him won't work - at this stage, she doesn't initiate or lead based on her horrible experience with her late husband.  She doesn't resist either for exactly the same reason.

But in any case, with the rewrite, I'll keep it in mind as I'm planning to turn the heat down and have them take it slower next version.  So I have no idea if this is going to make the cut.  Not sure what he's going to do instead though, for some or other reason I think romance readers will forgive him for kissing her, but not for locking her up in his tower ...  Then again, locking her up in his tower is the stuff fairy tales are made of!   

Chances are I'll just have him subtly threaten her and without any success, let her return home telling her she's got two days to let him know what's going on.  Without that kiss, it's going to take him much longer to get close to her which will help turn the intensity down.  And it's easy enough to make something happen when they're back at the castle so that they can get kissing again.

How the hell do the pros turn out a book every 3 months is what I want to know LOL  Then again, this is my first book ever, so I'm really hoping the next one will be easier! 

As always, keep it coming - after all, I can always choose to ignore you and take my chances!  LOL

I didn't get the kiss as rape.

Considering the era perhaps Catherine could feel that way, but it is a character choice and the character was written a different way.

It is also a characters choice for Matthew as well but again  the thoughts go a different direction.

Hey,

If you're going for sub/Dom...I'm all for that. But if you're shooting for traditional romance, which I believe you are, you might rethink.

Shoot, you want to go d/s....just tweak Catherine's reaction a bit to the dominance and pain...you may have gold. Lol!

Now we're talkin'.

Bimmy

Don't get me started on 50 shades, or to be exact, on all of the first two chapters that I could manage!
Is there a historical romance fantasy novel genre?! LOL
I think I have the solution and it doesn't involve any bdsm pweh! I'm staying with the out-laws people, it would be an interesting conversation with my mother in law when I have to convince her I'm surfing bdsm porn for "research"! This is best case of course!
So this scene and the first scene at Norwood Castle will be combined at Dacre Tower. C will still go and challenge Anthony with Black John in tow, so it's a bit of rewriting and shuffling at best, but nothing massive or impossible. I think everyone will still be happy AND bimmy will be pleased.
Well, if I pull this off, I'll be able to write a how-to-book on reviews ... LOL
ps - I've noted you guys have been busy while I've been sleeping! That's really sweet of you!

Anthony might be into it, so just hold you breath until I get around to the third book! LOL

It will start with Anthony raiding the stables for some bridles and reins and stuff ...

William the Conqueror's wife was into spanking... But I think they are a little early for this novel.

FYI

I have updated a new version of Chapter 1 - it's shorter, in Matthew's POV, Catherine feels pain (maybe too much, but I'll wait and see) and with fewer introductions.  Which hopefully captured all the problems that has been picked up in the reviews!

I've done this since I'm in any case making major changes to the first half of the story.  So hopefully, it will be smooth sailing from here on and no more BIG changes will be necessary!

Thanks for all your support!  xx

ps - bimmy, no whips and chains (yet) 

Do please note that I'm stalled in a major revision pass.

Also, I haven't rreviewd romance before.  (KH's stories  don't count; they resemble the kind of romance Heinlein would have written.)