Psst...Secrets...

Current Project: TEMPTED, book 3, Eternal Guardians
Status: Chpt 5

I don't know why I thought today was Genene's day to post. Genene...you're messing with my mind!

I've been in a reading slump the last few months. Actually, not really a slump, just a "I don't have time to read and nothing looks interesting to me" kind of mood. A few weeks ago I got my RITA books to judge, so I've been slowly working my way through those. (It helps that for the first time in months I'm not on deadline!) Last night while I was reading a contemporary romance, I had one of those aha! moments we writers all know about but don't often think of.

Secrets.

They are why readers keep reading. They are what keep you up late, into the wee hours of morning, turning pages. In a suspense, the secret is the "who-dunnit" mystery element. Sometimes it's "Who's the bad guy?" Sometimes the reader knows who the bad guy is but doesn't know why the bad guy is doing the things he/she is doing. And sometimes it's mutliple who-dunnit mystery elements that keep a reader flipping pages.

In other books - paranormals, historicals, contemporaries, urban fantasies - the secret can be a villain, but more often it's another mystery element that makes readers itch to know more. The heroine has a secret she can't tell the hero. What is it? The hero's mysterious past could ruin the blossoming romance and end the world. What is his secret? And sometimes, what keeps a reader reading isn't needing to know the secret but needing to know how others in the story will react to that secret.

I love secrets. I love giving my characters secrets. In my recent book - STOLEN SEDUCTION - the heroine has a secret she keeps from the hero about her involvement in his murder investigation. The hero has a personal secret that's changed his life. And then there's the whole who-dunnit mystery secret that encompasses the entire suspense plot.

In my May release, MARKED, the reader knows the hero's secret from the start of the book. What the reader doesn't know is how the heroine will react when she learns his deep dark secret and how that secret will impact her. Still a secret. Just done differently than my previous book.

What's the best secret you read in a book that kept you turning pages? And do you use secrets in your books?

Before I forget...I'm hosting the RomCon Contemporary Forum today. The topic is Romance Fixes. Hop over and comment to enter to win a copy of STOLEN SEDUCTION and a chance for a paid registration to RomCon 2010 in July!

AND...there are only two days left to win an ARC of my May Release - MARKED. Check my blog for how to enter.

Winner!

Current Project: Untitled RA proposal
Status: Chapter One (still!...but it's coming together)

Thanks to everyone who added title suggestions for my new paranormal series. There were some really good ones in there that stimulated lots of ideas. I'm still taking title ideas, so if something pops out at you, feel free to send it my way.

And now...the winner of the autographed copy of Kresley Cole's Dark Needs At Night's Edge...

Maggie Jaimeson!

Maggie, email me at elisabeth (at) elisabethnaughton (dot) com with your snail mail addy and I'll get your book in the mail!

Help! (and a Giveaway)

Current Project: Untitled RS Adventure Proposal
Status: Chapter One

Okay, I'm in need of some help. Who do I turn to? My friends, of course. ;)

I need ideas for an umbrella title for my new paranormal series, and a title for the first book in the series.

Here's the Publisher's Marketplace blurb for the first book:

To stave off a war with the demons of the underworld and protect his people from extinction, an Argonaut hero must find the woman who unknowingly fulfills an ancient prophesy, only to fall for her even knowing she is marked for sacrifice.

And now a little about the book and series...

The first book in the series, originally titled Marked, is the story of a mythological warrior - a descendant of Heracles (Hercules) - one of seven warriors who protect his race. A vengeful god is out to destroy their world, and one lone woman in the human realm is their only hope. She, linked to both worlds though blood and history though she does not know it yet, is marked to complete the prophecy that will end the god’s immortal reign.

When the god sends his demons to destroy her so the prophecy cannot be fulfilled, she realizes in order to survive, she must put her faith in the mysterious warrior suddenly in her life. She's not sure she can trust him, however, and when she discovers the secret he harbors - that his taking her to his world to fulfill the prophecy will not only save his people but also ensure her certain death - the unexplainable spark that ignited between them at first meeting becomes the least of her worries.

So book one in the series follows the strongest hero and the leader of my warriors - the Argonauts. His name is Theron. There are six other warriors, all chosen because they come from the lines of the strongest original 7 heroes - Heracles, Achilles, Theseus, Odysseus, Perseus, Jason, Bellerophon. Each one has their own special power and weakness. Theron's power is great strength (because of his link to Heracles) and his weakness is lack of emotion and loss of his humanity. For those of you who don't know the history of the great heroes, in Greek mythology they were the offspring of both a god and mortal. In my world, they are still mortal, with long lifespans (up to 700 years), but can be killed like any other mortal.

The heroine in book one has a mark on her lower back, much like a tattoo, that she's had since birth, which marks her as the one to fulfil the prophecy. Hence, the title Marked. The problem, however, is that that title has been used quite a bit in the last few years and I need to come up with some other ideas to give my publisher.

So...here's what I need:

(1) An overall title for the series. (If it goes well it could go so far as seven books. Right now the first two are under contract. The first is set to release in March 2010, the second soon after.)

(2) A title for book one. Ideally I'd like a title I can then link to all the other titles.

As a prize, for everyone who comments, I'll stick your name in a drawing for a copy of Kresley Cole's Dark Needs at Night's End. So throw those ideas out there!!!
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And totally off topic...Beth Kery interviewed me today at her blog. Head over and check it out.

Also, my Fortune & Glory Contest is in it's LAST TWO DAYS!!! If you haven't entered...go do so! (You can enter more than once. See rules for details.)