Whenever I start a new series, I have a good think about what will be consistent throughout the series. Sometimes, I change a few things up from what I’ve done before. Some things, invariably, stay the same. Let’s take a look at the choices I’ve made for the contemporary romances of The Carpe Diem Café series.
I always write books that are stand-alones but with continuing characters. I like to create a little world for the series, with familiar faces and elements. In The Coxwell Series, a protagonist in each book is one of the four Coxwell siblings. They’re not as close as I might have liked, because my trad publisher was more intent upon books standing alone. With the Flatiron Five Fitness series, the first five books featured the five partners. I entwined the characters and their stories more than in the earlier Coxwell Series which is my preference. (I do this with my historical romances now, too.)
This way, we meet a number of characters at the launch of the series. When each couple has their story and become the focus of a book, either (or both) of them have probably already appeared in other books. I enjoy getting to know them better, and maybe seeing other sides of their characters. For me, that’s part of the discovery and joy of telling stories.
When I planned The Carpe Diem Café, my intent was to focus on the Cavendish brothers. I have covers for Luke, Mike and Jake. I thought Austin would be next, then Abbie, then maybe the other half-siblings. I like long series, so was ready to dig into this world.
But sometimes magic happens in the writing. For example, I had no expectation that Rafe might have his own story – until he made this confession to Luke in Just Trouble:
“But here’s the thing,” he continues. “This job, which I love, wears me out.” I see in Rafe’s eyes that he’s serious. “So, when I come home, I don’t want to debate anything. I don’t even want any dissenting views. I want someone who wants what I want, just because I want it, someone who will smooth away all the irritations of everyday life so I can just be when I get home.”
He wants a traditional wife. I didn’t think anybody wanted that anymore. “You must want a woman a lot dumber than Daph.”
“I want someone less challenging than Daphne. I want a beautiful, elegant woman who is demure and deferential, ideally one who is petite and blonde.”
I cough that he’s so specific and Rafe smiles.
“I’m allowed to want a partner who suits me, and I’m allowed to have a list of expectations. Whether they’ll ever be met or not is another thing entirely.” He raises his glass. “And there’s nothing saying that the woman in question will be dumb, whenever I find her. She might just be smart enough to recognize a winning situation when she sees one.”
I suppose everyone has their price, but I don’t say it.
From Just Trouble – Chapter 24
How irresistible is that? With that, Rafe earned himself a book.
The second thing I do consistently which will continue through this series is mix the character types, tropes and stories. I would be bored to tears if I wrote an entire series of heroes or heroines of the same characterization, or if I explored the same trope over and over again. There’s always a mix in my series of both characters and tropes, and that means there will likely be some books you love more than others or find more resonant.
So far in this series, Luke is the bad boy/rebel/black sheep/outcast and Daphne is the good girl who was always off-limits for him. (I don’t usually write bad boy heroes, so that’s new for me.) Just Trouble is a story of opposites attracting, a secret crush being explored, and of homecoming. Daphne proves to be missing ingredient for Luke to heal and chart a new path. The healing power of love is another consistent element in my stories, as is my tendency to give love a challenge. I like when my characters succeed despite the apparent odds against them.
Just Like Starting Over, in contrast, is a second chance romance (that’s probably my favorite trope), a story of homecoming and reunion – with a secret baby. I don’t usually write secret babies, so that’s new for me. The hero, Mike, is the dutiful son who maybe is past due to challenge the status quo. The heroine, Sylvia, is skeptical of love, sweet promises and especially Mike. She’s not so easily won over as sixteen years before – her heart has armored up. The interesting thing is that these two would have irreconcilable differences if not for the daughter Mike doesn’t know he has. I’m looking forward to Sierra’s matchmaking schemes.
So, there are two things consistent with previous series I’ve written. Here are a couple of different things.
First, the books in The Carpe Diem Café series are written in first person point-of-view. I used that in Third Time Lucky and Double Trouble, the first two books in The Coxwell Series. Interestingly, at that time, first person wasn’t a popular choice among readers, although I really enjoyed it as a writer. It has an immediacy and an intimacy that is appealing. Third Time Lucky is predominantly from the heroine’s POV while Double Trouble is completely from the heroine’s POV. Just Trouble, however, alternates chapter by chapter between Luke and Daphne’s perspective. I really like seeing both interpretations of events, so that will continue throughout the series.
Just Trouble is also written in present tense, which again gives an immediacy to the story. I read more quickly when a story is in present tense and I often feel more readily pulled into its fictional world.
I’m also being very deliberate with secondary characters. You’ll find that the only secondary characters to have a scene from their POV in each book will be the protagonists of the next book in the series. Sylvia has a short chapter of her own in Just Trouble, because her story is up next. She also had a little bit more time on the page, so we’d know her a bit better before her story. (I started to use this technique with my medieval romances, and I think it works really well.)
And then there are the individual words. Many contemporary characters are familiar with cusses, and I’ve used them in past books. This time, I decided that no one would drop any f-bombs on the page. It’s likely to go down this way:
Wookie is tall and sinewy, a man of indefinite age with a perpetual tan and tattoos covering every millimeter of his skin. My mom would say that he swears like a sailor, but there is no one on this earth who shares Wookie’s fluid creativity with profanity.
He greets me at the Odeon with a hug and a predictable expletive, flinging out his hands to encompass greater Empire. “Have you lost it completely?”
From Just Trouble – Chapter 28
And finally, there’s open-door or closed-door. There was a time when my romances were considered spicy, but the market has changed and so has the available content. I’d place my books closer to the middle of the continuum now, neither closed-door/sweet nor open-door/erotic.
I decided for this series to focus on the seduction rather than the consummation – I’ll get them to the bedroom and then shut the door. For example, here’s a bit of Luke and Daphne’s first time:
“I can be very hard to please.”
She’s teasing and I know it, but I’ll take that challenge. I pick her up so quickly that she gasps in surprise and toss her over my shoulder, heading up the stairs in my jeans. She’s wearing her panties and stockings and one shoe, but it’ll take me seconds to strip her bare.
Daph laughs at me when I toss her on the bed, then picks up a brown paper bag tossed on the floor. She reaches into it and tosses a colourful collection of small packages at me. Condoms in every size and colour, ribbed and not, lubricated and not. All the options are present and accounted for.
“Courtesy of Cameron,” Daph says.
“She thinks we need two dozen, does she?” I strip off my jeans, aware of Daph’s assessing gaze. “Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint your friends,” I growl, then ease down on top of her, my hands on her thighs. She tastes like heaven and sighs exquisitely when my mouth closes over her. It’s like we’re exactly where we need to be and I believe it with all my heart.
And that’s the last coherent thought I have for quite a while.
From Just Trouble – Chapter 10
That’s the end of the chapter. The next chapter is Daphne’s and begins with her waking up the next morning.
We’ve already talked about the Canadian spelling in these books. 🙂
So, those are the choices I’ve made for The Carpe Diem Café, and that’s what you can expect from all the books in this series.
Deborah Cooke: Author 