Marriages of Convenience – Yum!
January 8, 2009 by A Slice of Orange in category ArchivesMy blog this month is inspired by a discussion running on eHarlequin about that most traditional of romance novel storylines, the marriage of convenience. I love marriages of convenience (in books, that is, not in real life 🙂 )! A marriage of convenience is more likely than any other plot to get me reading books in a line or series I don’t normally read.
What’s so great about them? For me, I think it’s the larger-than-life situation that “forces†two people into marriage. These days, you’ve got to have a pretty compelling reason to get married, so as a writer it’s a real challenge to think up a marriage of convenience story that my editor believes readers will accept. But once you’ve managed to force your couple into marriage, there are endless opportunities for wonderful banter and fun situations.
In my new book out next week from Superromance, The Groom Came Back, the hero and heroine got married when the heroine, Callie, was a schoolgirl, to rescue her from a custody battle. Callie’s dying mother approved the marriage so Callie could go on living with the “groom’s†family, who were fostering her, rather than being forced to live with her estranged grandparents. The hero, Jack, was back in town to support his parents through a difficult time, but wanted to escape back to his budding career as a neurosurgeon. He figured he could help Callie, and at the same time ensure his parents, who loved her like a daughter, got to keep her with them. Apart from Callie’s mom, no one else knew anything about the wedding…until eight years later, when Jack comes home to get a divorce and discovers Callie is definitely no longer a schoolgirl!
Yvonne Lindsay has a book out from Desire next month called Convenient Marriage, Inconvenient Husband (great title, I’ll definitely be buying that one!). She’s hosting the current discussion at eHarlequin about the appeal of the marriage of convenience. Yvonne says, “I love seeing people forced into a situation outside of their control†– hehe, that’s mean, Yvonne! Mean, but true…all we MoC fans love to see that.
A couple of weeks ago I read a book by Tessa Radley called Pregnancy Proposal. The marriage of convenience was actually an engagement of convenience in this book (which was released from Desire in December and is still available online), and it was a lovely story. These days, people don’t necessarily believe pregnancy is a good reason to get married, but Tessa creates her characters so well, I easily believed neither of them had any alternative but to agree to a convenient marriage.
I’m putting the finishing touches to my own “engagement of convenience†story (Her So-Called Fiancé, Sept 09), and it’s been a challenge to make it convincing, but I think (I hope!), I’ve nailed it.
So, tell me, do you like to read a marriage of convenience story? If you can remember some of your favorites, let me know!
Abby
THINGS THAT MAKE ME GO MMMRUH!
January 8, 2009 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Things That Make Me Go Mmmruh
by Geralyn Ruane
So where is the mmmruh! in all this? It’s not in the past, where Black Tuesday and Enron lurk to mock us; it’s not in the present, where corporate bigwigs in golden parachutes float over blocks and blocks of foreclosed homes. It’s in the future, where vigilance must be our watchword. There will always be devious sharks out there, trolling for prey to fill their bellies, and they don’t care how much we scream and bleed. But on January 20, a new ship will break through the thick red water, offering passage to those willing to lend a hand on deck. So climb aboard, but be prepared to work your ass off for a better tomorrow.
Geralyn Ruane’s favorite numbers are 18 and 1, and it’s January so she’s getting excited despite Plaxico’s debilitating aim. She co-hosts the radio show Better Times After 50 on AdviceRadio.com and her short story “Jane Austen Meets the New York Giants†is published in the New York Times Bestselling anthology The Right Words at the Right Time Volume 2.
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