✨ I am delighted to welcome back to the blog author ✨
Anna Belfrage
Welcome back to the blog, Anna
Your latest novel, A Torch in his Heart is a new direction for you.
What can you tell us about it?
...Like Bambi on ice...
They say it broadens your mind to
venture into the unknown. I am sure it does—no, wait, I know it does—but it
does come with a lot of side-effects. Stepping out of your comfort zone leads
to sweaty hands and zillions of butterflies in your stomach. Not an entirely
pleasant experience, no matter how much broader it leaves my mind…
All of us step out of our comfort
zone. Some do it but rarely, others eagerly embrace every opportunity to try
something different. And whenever we do take that step into the unknown, we
change—a bit.
“Hmm,” you may say, giving me a look over your reading glasses. “Really?”.
Absolutely—if nothing else because we boost our self-confidence every time we
try something new. Yes, sometimes things back-fire and we must retire for a
while to lick our wounds. In those cases we also change. Hopefully, we learn a
lesson rather than become bitter.
I have recently done a lot of
venturing into unfamiliar areas. One of those excursions has resulted in a new
book, A Torch in his Heart. Seeing as this is my fourteenth book, one would
think this is no big deal. But it is. You see, in this book I have stepped out
of the historic context I usually prefer and set the story in the present day.
In itself a challenge as I enjoy using the historical events as a framework on
which I build my story. I then upped the ante by adding a suspense element.
Gulp, gulp.
I think the end result is a
readable and somewhat heady cocktail of timeslip, passion, fast-paced action
and epic love. As yet, I don’t know if my readers agree—always a nervous
position to be in. Some have suggested I should use a different author name for
this excursion into a new genre, but just the thought of maintaining two author
profiles left me so exhausted I had to crawl into bed and binge on Jayne Ann
Krentz books for a couple of days. (Not a good choice, as Ms Krentz actually
does use different pen names depending on whether her books are set in the past
or present *groans*…)
So how has this experience
changed me? Well, for a start, it has led me to read much more contemporary
romance than I usually do, and that has been a rather pleasant experience. I
also find it interesting to note just how different the taste in romance is
depending on which side of the pond you’re on. It seems to me British romances
are more tongue-in-cheek and cozy, strong emotions understated rather than overblown.
US writers have faster pace, are more into titillating sex scenes and don’t
really do understated. I enjoy them both, but I do like some drama with my love
😊
Those that do not read romance
may walk around under the misconception that romance features insipid ladies
who depend on feminine wiles to hook the oh, so masculine hero. In fact, what
all romance has in common is that the female leads are surprisingly strong. Not
secret agent strong, more determined and stubborn and very courageous when it comes
to the crunch. A bit like you have to be if you venture outside your comfort
zone…
Very often, romance heroines do
just that: they take a deep breath and plunge into the unknown, usually because
their heart, rather than their head, is guiding them. Along the way, they are
obliged to overcome all sorts of obstacles—as one must, if one aims to achieve
one’s goal. Thankfully, our brave heroines (and heroes) usually make it across
the finishing line and I, the very gripped reader, can relax.
Helle Madsen in A Torch in His
Heart is one of those women forced to embrace change. One moment, she’s just
your ordinary financial accountant, the next she’s the protagonist in an epic
love story spanning 3 000 years and including such things as an abnormally
gifted lover, a vindictive and very dangerous reincarnated adversary and a
world turned upside down by passionate love and seething hate. As Helle herself
puts it: She didn’t want to be the heroine of a far-flung, time-spanning
adventure best fit for a Hollywood fantasy, or have her fate tied down without
any choice in the matter. She wanted to be normal Helle, with no strange
baggage in the form of previous lives and vindictive jilted suitors.
Unfortunately, once Helle meets
Jason, it’s too late. She can no more tear herself free from the sticky strands
of time and fate that bind them than she can amputate her foot. Besides, she
doesn’t want to. It’s not Jason that’s the trouble—it’s that damned nemesis of
theirs, Sam Woolf, that has Helle waking up at night shivering with fear.
This my foray into contemporary
romance may not leave me shivering with fear, but I do suffer the odd frisson
of nervous anticipation: will the readers like it? I comfort myself with the
thought that no matter what, I have followed my heart and seen this project to
completion—a bit like the heroine of a romance does every time she decides to
trust her feelings. A story that has been burning little holes in my heart
since well over a decade is now told. I can but open my hands and set it free,
hoping it will fly and soar.
Meanwhile, I return to some of my
other WIPs. So if you excuse me, dear Jo and Jaffa, I must run: I have a
situation to sort in the late 13th century before things turn really, really
nasty. Edward I is a dangerous king to rile.
Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with three absorbing interests: history, romance and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England. She has recently released the first in a new series, The Wanderer. This time, she steps out of her normal historical context and A Torch in His Heart is with a fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense with paranormal and time-slip ingredients. She has loved writing it – she hopes her readers will like reading it just as much.
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