Monday, July 30, 2012

Fears and Romance

I have a dirty little secret. My friends know, but no one outside my inner circle does. But here, today I am going to reveal that secret. I am afraid to fly. In fact, I haven't been on an airplane in twenty years. You see, my last flight was so turbulent that I wanted to kiss the ground when we finally landed. My control issues play into it and the phobia has irritated my very patient husband to no end. 


I understand that flying is about 8 million times safer than driving, but that rationale doesn't seem to help. I'm confessing this embarrassing fear here for all the world to know because I really want to get past it and start flying soon. I am taking steps to overcome it, so I will update you when and if I conquer it.

But as I delved into my own fears, I realized that most romance stories feature at least one character with a fear that hampers their life. The heroine might be afraid of getting her heart broken or repeating a bad mistake she made in past relationships. Sometimes it's the hero with a fear. Even villains often have fears, which is often their motivation for doing bad things.

In Tropic of Trouble, which came out in print recently, Kelsey is terrified of being abused by a man. Jason is afraid he won't be able to save a woman he cares about since he had a young sibling who died right before his eyes and he was unable to save her. The villain (whose name I can't reveal) is also terrified of something.

Do you have any fears that hold you back?

Here's a little about Tropic of Trouble:
When Kelsey Ackerman’s assistant at her used bookstore is murdered, the police label it a botched robbery by a desperate drug addict. But Kelsey suspects the perpetrator was looking for a rare Shakespeare volume that someone unknowingly donated. Now a killer’s sights are set on Kelsey.

Jail guard Jason Jones only wants to protect her, but after suffering a controlling father and an abusive ex-husband, Kelsey wants nothing to do with the confident, hot sergeant. Until the danger becomes crystal clear, and the only man who can save her is the very man she can’t resist.

You can read an excerpt HERE.

3 comments:

Hot Ash Romance Novels said...

I hate to fly too, Wynter. I am now grounded, but it's for physical reasons. Don't fly if you're congested! Take it from someone who spent their last birthday in a Miami E.R.

Before that, I was a wreck if there was turbulence. I found self-hypnosis and meditation helped. I flew to India two years ago and it was turbulence from London to Delhi! Argh!!

My fear? The dark. If my husband is with me, I'm okay. But alone in the dark is frightning. I gave my heroine in The Vampire Next Door nictophobia (fear of the dark.) Easy for me to write. I thought it would be 'fun' to pair her with someone who fries in the sun. Sometimes I have a sick sense of humor. But fears can play a terrific part in conflict, especially if the character is forced to overcome it.

Wynter said...

Good to know about congestion!
What a great idea for The Vamp Next Door. Yup - that character must overcome his/her fear.

Naima Simone said...

Great post, Wynter!
And brave to admit it, too! I'm terrified of spiders! I don't care how small, they scare the bejesus outta me! I can't even look at pictures. I haven't been brave enough to write them into a book yet, but I did read a Lisa Gardner book where the villain used spiders to kill his victims. I don't know if that's a step for me or if it just shows how good a writer Lisa Gardner is! LOL!

In my new book my heroine is afraid of the dark AND flying! She was in a plane crash and was trapped in the dark with all the bodies of the other passengers. My hero is afraid of failing to protect another woman he loves because he failed to protect his first wife.

They get over their fears but as for me? I still scope out the porch and steps before I leave the house! LOL!