Workshop Wednesday: Tension

 

Devin gazed at the phone a moment longer, then nodded to himself, blacked the screen, and slipped it back into his pocket. “Right then,” he said, face creased with smile lines. “Our girl wants us to get along. She wants me to treat you with kindness, so that’s what I intend to do.”

He stuck his hand out, and it was a friendly gesture, this time. “Hi. I’ve no idea what my real name is, if I ever had one, but I’ve been Devin Green for forty-some-odd years now. It’s suited well enough.”

Shep was still reeling from the text. Simple words, and a truth he’d already known, but hearing the way Cass had strung it all together for her father had left his sinuses stinging. He accepted the handshake. “Frank Shepherd. I’m gonna marry your daughter.”

Devin’s smile lines deepened. “Good. I think that’s what she wants.”

In case you missed it, Beware of Dog dropped on Saturday, and you can grab a copy here:

Kindle

Paperback

Nook

Kobo

I won't do an official debriefing post until next week, so I can discuss spoilers, but the book inspired today's workshop post about narrative tension.

I can't write a story if I don't have a firm grasp on my characters. But the engine that drives any story is narrative tension. You can have the wildest, most creative plot in the world, but without tension, the narrative is going to fall flat, and turn out boring and forgettable. Tension can be high, it can set your teeth on edge and make you squirm while reading, but it can also be subtle and low stakes.

Obviously, there's tension present in the main conflict between the heroes and the villains. In Beware of Dog, that tension comes from Sig Blackmon and his family, and the people they hire to do their dirty work. 

But I wound up leaving quite a few scenes on the cutting room floor because they amounted to nothing but fluff, with zero tension present. I might end up putting them here on the blog, for anyone who likes the fluffy bits, but I felt like they detracted from the novel itself, which is chock full of tension.

There's the romantic/sexual tension between Cass and Shep, of course. Then there's the tension of their relationship being secret: both of them are worried about telling her family, and, to a lesser extent, Maverick and the rest of the Dogs. There's tension between Cass and her roommate, Jamie, who she's trying to help. And, some of my favorite not only in this book, but in the whole series, the tension between Devin and his kids, and amongst said kids themselves. 

In real life, tense relationships between family members are not fun. But if Devin and his brood were loving and well-adjusted, those family scenes would be boring on paper. In BoD, it's a low-stakes sort of tension. By this point, we know that Fox and Walsh love each other, but that tension between them makes their conversation on the clubhouse porch interesting, rather than a sap-fest. And for Shep, much like Mercy, he resents Devin's absence in Cass's life, and isn't shy about expressing his feelings on the matter. 

“Your boys have been giving me shit,” Shep said, “and now you’re gonna give me shit, and none of it’s gonna scare me off, so why don’t we cut it out already?”

Devin studied him a long, unblinking, eerie moment, then nodded, and the life flooded back into his expression. “Fair enough. But I’m still going to say my piece.” He shifted his weight, cocked a hip. Ready? Or relaxed? God knew. “Son—”

“Don’t call me son. I’m not your son, and I hate your f***ing guts.”

Devin’s brows twitched, but mildly, and not with anything like surprise. “That’s a bold statement.” His lips quirked. “I’ve not heard the old ‘hate your guts’ since the boys were in short pants.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Smart. They’ve said it since.” He tilted his chin. “Them I understand. Why do you hate me, then, Francis?”

Not only does all of this interpersonal tension create a more interesting reading experience, but it also makes it much more rewarding when two characters finally come to an understanding. Just like trials and tribulations make a character's journey more satisfying, so too does a disagreement or a personality clash elevate a friendship when it finally forms.  

He doesn't have a ton of page time here, but I love Devin in BoD. I would say he's become one of my favorite characters to write, but he pretty much started out that way. Instead, let's say I'm thrilled to see so many readers express their affection for him, now that he's grown on them. 

Fearless Read-Along: Chapter Eighteen

 

After, replete in the slanted bars of sunlight, Ava whispered that she loved him.

He didn't reply, but he folded her love up tight like a note and pressed it deep inside himself, where no one would ever find it. 

Once one of my books is out in the world, I don't ever sit down and reread it. I flip through them, to check details for the follow-up books, and to create teasers, or blog posts. But I don't read them word-for-word. This read-along has been a unique exercise in that respect. I always know what I was trying to accomplish with a given scene, and, ten years after its publication, it's been rewarding to look back at Fearless and see that (at least from my perspective) I hit the emotional marks I was aiming for. 

In the case of Chapter Eighteen, I'm glad of the way Mercy and Ava's romance feels doomed. This is the calm before the storm, but we can see the clouds building along the horizon, and we know, through Mercy's and Maggie's POVs, that the peace won't last. Ava knows they're doomed, too, but she's got youth and hope on her side; she doesn't want to dwell on all the ways they're headed for disaster, and instead keeps trying to pull him along toward a hopeful place with her. It's (purposefully) a little bit heartbreaking that he won't say he loves her back. 

In thinking about future books, this period of optimism, and the subsequent fallout, breaks something soft inside of Ava. She was always going to be a lioness, like her mama, but the wound to come is going to leave a nasty scar. She forgives Mercy down the line, of course, because her love for him is unconditional. She even forgives Ghost. But the Ava we see in Lord Have Mercy is the direct result of being young, and in love, and hopeful...and then having all those hopes dashed in violent fashion. 

James didn't mind cleaning up the spill; Ghost didn't want the spoiled milk poured in the first place. 

Properly placed foreshadowing is, in my opinion, part of what grounds a story, no matter the genre, in the real world. The club grows by leaps and bounds over the course of the series, and even here, early on, we see Mercy recognizing that Ghost is ambitious, and isn't going to rule the way James has. 

Fearless does so much heavy lifting with regard to setting the stage. It's the reason it's such a large book, and why it doesn't focus solely on Ava and Mercy's relationship. So much of what we learn about the other characters here, even just sprinkled throughout like the quote above, means that later books make complete sense. My goal from the start was to create a place that felt tangible, and real, and like you could pick up the phone and call any one of these characters and know how they'd respond. 

This is the chapter where Mercy has Ava bite him on the chest. One of those feral scenes I really enjoyed including, because they're that couple. 

Like Leah, I'm "proud-slash-freaked-out." 

New Release: Beware of Dog

 

Now Available! 

Book Six in the Lean Dogs Legacy series, Beware of Dog, is now live across all my usual platforms.

Kindle

Paperback

Nook

Kobo

The novel takes place after the events of Lord Have Mercy, though they're only referenced in passing, here; and after Raven's book, Nothing More. Raven and Toly have a new baby, and Cass is living in the dorms and still calling on Shep when she needs help. The novel steps away from the big, overarching storylines of the last few Dartmoor books, now that Abacus is done and dusted, and it's instead a more focused, romance-centered story. It features some of my favorite dialogue, lots of banter, some great sister bonding moments, and Shep's foul-mouthed brand of sincerity. 

I hope you'll enjoy it! If you do, a review would be wildly appreciated!

The blurb: 

As the youngest of ten half-siblings, Cassandra Green worries she’ll always been seen as the “baby” of the family, even though she’s about to turn twenty. Life as an art student in New York is peaceful, steady, and with the club at its most powerful and settled, Cass ventures deeper into civilian life, trying to carve a niche for herself among her fellow students. But when her roommate is assaulted, she turns to her assigned Lean Dog protector, Shep, for support.

When he was first placed on Raven Blake’s security detail almost three years ago, Shepherd wanted no part of looking after her teenage sister. Now, though, he’s finding any excuse to stay in Manhattan to keep an eye on Cass. When she lands in the crosshairs of a rich and influential family, he realizes his feelings aren’t just protective anymore.

Book Six in the Lean Dogs Legacy series takes place after Lean Dogs Legacy Book Five, Nothing More, and Dartmoor Series Book Ten, Lord Have Mercy.

#ThrowbackThursday: What Might Have Been

 

When Cass checked, she saw Tenny gazing at him with tender fondness, and her chest warmed with the knowledge that things had turned out just as they were always meant to. 

Writing is just as much about knowing what not to say as it is knowing what to say. If I've done my job well, and the characters are distinct and "real" feeling, then logical choices present themselves with little fanfare. In the thick of writing a novel, dialogue feels natural; I know exactly what a character wouldn't say in a given situation. 

But before the writing starts, there's always options. Choices to be made about the course of a character's future. What I publish is always what felt right to me; what clicked seamlessly into place and made the most sense. But in the early stages, I often toy with other possibilities. 

I know I've mentioned before that when I wrote Prodigal Son, I originally flirted with the idea of Cass ending up with Reese. But of course, once I introduced Tenny, that plan changed. Toly saved her from a kidnapping in The Wild Charge, and though I never seriously considered pairing them up, there was a spark of possibility there - enough of one that I knew it wouldn't feel out of left field if, a few years later, the two of them wound up together. 

Cass kept skirting the edges of my imagination while I worked on Long Way Down and Nothing More. Her journey, her situation, was more like Ava's than any other leading lady's I'd worked with since Fearless, and I wanted to give her a chance to take the spotlight. But who should I pair her with?

That's the wrong question. It's not so much picking and choosing romances, as letting the inevitable unfold. All my early ideas felt forced, so I knew they weren't good. For a long while, throughout all of Nothing More, in fact, I contemplated sending Cass to Knoxville. The conflict of Beware of Dog was always going to happen, but in early iterations of the novel, it drove her out of state, to the safety of her brothers in Tennessee. There, she might have a fling with Evan. Or Lewis, the young farmer Aidan takes under his wing in Lord Have Mercy. I even considered coming up with a new character to serve as her love interest. For every novel, there's a flipside, a "what might have been." What if Tango and Ian had wound up together back in Loverboy? We'd be looking at a very different Dartmoor landscape right now. In the same vein, I knew that there was certainly a story there for Cass in Tennessee, and maybe even love. But no story takes place in a vacuum. Once you make those creative decisions, you have to stick with them, so you'd be better be sure of them. 

I didn't feel sure of anything regarding Cass until I considered Shep as her partner, and then everything fell into place. 

Their banter is some of my favorite in the whole series, and I'm truly in love with Shep's very in-character love confession. I had no idea when he first strode into Raven's office and introduced himself with sleazeball flirtation that he'd be perfect for Raven's little sister, but that's how it played out. That's how it works.

Even ten years on, I have those waffling moments where I debate the direction of the series, and its characters; but those ten years have taught me to wait patiently, and, eventually, the right course will make itself known. That's also one of the fun parts: the thrill of discovery within your own universe. 

#TeaserTuesday: In Love

 

To be crass, he wanted to sleep with her, yeah. But not because he was bored, or curious, or because she was convenient. She was nineteen, and very inconvenient considering her dad and brothers were trained assassins, and she was club family besides. Hooking up with her was not, could not be a one-time thing, not given his level of emotional investment, but it would cause the kind of scandal that fractured families and upended MCs.

He had the stupid, teenage butterflies, sure, the sweaty palms, but it was more than that. He wanted to watch terrible reality TV with her. Wanted to put food on her plate and watch her nod her approval when she ate what he’d made for her. Wanted to hear her deep-breathing on the neighboring pillow and know she was safe; that he could close his eyes, and drift off, and that he’d be between her and whatever terrible thing might kick down the door. Wanted her on the back of his bike. Wanted his name inked on her somewhere that others could see it, and know she was taken. He wanted her to be his. In every way that counted. And he damn sure didn’t want to have to drop her back off at her dorm, even if that was the best thing for her.

Damn. He guessed he loved her.

He knew he did. Of course.

But he guessed he was in love with her. 

 

Shep has honestly been a ton of fun to write. Cass, too, but I already knew that. I've been surprised by what a delight Shep is. 

Fingers crossed for this weekend, guys! 

Fearless Read-Along: Chapter Seventeen

After a two-week duel with the death flu that's been going around, I'm back! If not as good as new. But I'm upright, and getting my stalls cleaned without help (thank you, Mom!), so that counts for something. 

If Chapter Sixteen was a line crossing, then Chapter Seventeen is the tipping point. Once could be considered an indiscretion, but twice is a decision, and now there's no going back.

We start at Green Hills, the Dartmoor Inc. nursery. Obviously, as the author, I know what lies ahead, and I know that Carter will end up being a loyal and respected member of the club, and I genuinely like him "as a person," if you will. 

But Ava takes some time to see Carter for who he truly is. Just as her bullies are locked in their prejudices, so too is she. She's lumped Carter in with his friends, but this scene here, where he comes to check on her, and show his caring, proves that was short-sighted of her. Their conversation out by the mulch pits is the start of their friendship. 

Personally, Ava thought Carter should have taken a plastic cafeteria fork to his friend’s eye in the fifth grade, but beggars couldn’t be choosers in situations like this. 

This line here offers a teasing glimpse of that ferocity of hers that's partly her upbringing, but mostly just hers. Maggie's legacy. In anyone else's mind, it could be an idle statement - people say outlandish things like this all the time without really meaning them. I don't even think Ava, at this point, knows how much she means it in a literal sense.

With Maggie, I talk about her being the soft power in contrast to Ghost's hard power; she's just as brutal, but her methods are clothed in smiles and "bless your heart"s. With Ava, she's the precision, bladed weapon paired with Mercy's brute strength. Mercy has this very natural violent streak, and so does Ava. With Mercy, given the sheer size and strength of him, that violence is a blunt instrument. But Ava can't brawl, and wrestle, and punch her way out of a dangerous situation, so she's always going to use a knife or a gun when it's time to get her hands dirty. Her violence is barbed and bladed, and, on the page, it sounds more wicked than Mercy's, at times. 

From the nursery, we hit the road for **Plot Development.** 

Re: Tammy's FB question about the designer drugs: I did do a good bit of research. Kids will take literally anything, I fear. In high school, there was a girl sharing her epilepsy pills with her friends. Why, I don't know. But for the purposes of the book, the drug is meant to cause significant harm, and therefore paint the Dogs as villains. 

Then back into the good character stuff.

“He’s not the kind of boy she needs to be dating. Thank God she’s not interested in that kinda thing yet.” His little smirk across the table said, Not like you, huh?

               Maggie forced a smile. Oh, baby, if only you knew.

I'm Maggie in this situation, only less loving. Oh, Ghost, you dumbass. 

There's a line in Lord Have Mercy, from Ava to Aidan there at the end, at the St. Louis cathedral, when Ava tells him, paraphrasing here, that "the way I would do absolutely anything for Mercy is the way Mom feels about Dad." That's true, and the whole series bears it out; but in this book, specifically, Maggie's hiding things from him on Ava's behalf. The text never delves too deeply into the emotional toil this subterfuge takes on Maggie, but she handles it more gracefully than most.

(Side note: I see some readers describe the other couples' loves stories as not being as "epic" as Ava and Mercy's, and I'd argue that the sentiment itself is there; the love is every bit as strong. But the two people who love each other are just very different people from Ava and Mercy, and so that love is going to look and sound different.)

Walsh sat sideways in his chair, facing…God knew what…and sipped his beer, a mostly silent drinking buddy. 

Walshie, you'll always be my favorite. 

Sin, Mercy reflected, came packaged according to severity, to color, to regret. There were those deep, red sins, all bloody and irretrievable, tasting of murder and betrayal, a hint of the satanic on the back of the tongue, tickling the throat with fire. His usual brand of sin, if he was honest.

               Then there were the sinuous curves and loops of silvered, uncertain sin; the kind whose consequences were a dim shadow against the bright backdrop of the here-and-now. The kind with slow-eating jaws. A malignant sickness of a sin.  

     

The real meat (ha) of the chapter is, of course, Ava and Mercy. 

I say each week how startling it is to go back and see this version of Mercy compared to later-it-the-series Mercy. Fearless Mercy is a vague shadow of his true self. And, like Ava, we won't know until much later just why he sees himself as "warping" her. 

Diving into the swamp with him like this brought up the same old questions; she wanted to pick at the scab, pry up the boards and find out what dark thing had happened that made him hate Louisiana. She always asked, and he always dodged her and sent her off on another topic before she realized what he was doing. 

Dee took everything he cared about, and still, there's her voice in the back of his head telling him he's defective and wrong somehow, just like his father; that he doesn't deserve anything good. No other woman could have convinced him to take this kind of leap; it had to be someone he loved completely and unconditionally, and that's Ava. 

“Now, Daddy never caught him, no,” Mercy said, his voice a lullaby. His accent thickened when he told swamp stories, the Cajun flavor shoveled on in spades. “No one did. But the story went that Big Son was like a pet gator, and he mighta been too smart to take a bait, but he’d eat right out of your hand if you fed him. There was this spot, this shady place in one of the glades, and a deep pool, and you could find Son there, if you’d a mind to feed him. He’d come up if you called him. Three rocks in the water, one after the next. It had to be three. The first one – that coulda been a fish jumping, a frog diving in. The second – after the second, Son would start listening. He’d think about coming up. And after the third, there he was. ‘Come get it, you big son of a bitch,’ and he’d swim right up to you. I heard murderers fed bodies to him, so no one would ever know…”

 

Mercy's storytelling is one of my absolute favorite elements of the novel, and it's one of the things that I think earns the book its "Southern epic" categorization. Every epic needs a mythological figure. In Mercy's mind, that figure is Big Son. But in Fearless itself, that figure is Mercy. 

There are many scenes in Lord Have Mercy that I would consider favorites, that I really enjoyed getting to write. But the scene I'm proudest of is the one that brings the above quote full circle, when Mercy, and his fillette, and his son, and his brothers are all on the dock, and Colin gets the honor of doing the calling this time. If you know, you know.