RomanceEverAfter

Romance Authors Corner

Catherine Andorka

You can visit Catherine Andorka at her web-site www.catherineandorka.com. 

Well, in terms of environment, I can think of a number of situations: Being alone on a deserted island in Tahiti with the one you love, being serenaded by your lover in front of a roaring fireplace during a rain storm, sitting on your deck on a moonlit night watching the stars together, spending a night in a castle with an incredible view of gardens and a lake. Oh, and fireworks. Fireworks can be very romantic in the right setting.

But in my opinion, no environment can spark romance if the chemistry between the two people is missing. Conversely, chemistry with spontaneity can make any environment or situation romantic. A look, a wink, a certain communication between two people coupled with an urgency to be intimate can make a stairwell romantic.

I guess that’s an easy one. Like Huey Lewis, I believe in the power of love. Love is healing, it’s nurturing. I think love is the primary reason we’re put on this earth. Whether it’s our friends, our children our families, whomever, I think we’re all here to love and care for one another. But when a man and woman form an intimate relationship, it’s a very special kind of bond. Reading about their journey soothes me because I know the ending will be positive and uplifting. Writing about their journey gives me the ability to reason out parts of my own voyage.

What characteristics do you like to give your heroes and heroines?

I tend to create heroes who are on the cocky side. At least outwardly. I do like those Alpha men. Of course, deep down this man wants what most men want, which is to be loved and cared for by that one special woman who can touch the part of his heart that no other woman ever has. That’s the woman who will bring out the gentler qualities that he’s probably been hiding, even from himself.

My heroines tend to be a little softer and more in touch with their feelings. They are generally self-sufficient women who are used to fending for themselves, women who have difficulty asking for help, even in a crisis. Eventually they learn, as we all must learn, that no one can be independent twenty-four/seven.

What type of conflicts do you like to weave into your story plots?

Without giving you the specifics of "Once Upon a Secret," which would give the secret away, I can tell you that my hero has a problem about which he is very ashamed. I seem to be turning into an issue oriented author. My characters are always flawed in some manner because love is not always easy. No relationship is perfect because people are not perfect.

But if I can map a process for the hero and heroine to work through their issues and their love prevails against all odds, I think that gives my readers hope for the reality of their own real life situations. If we can learn to embrace the wonder and create the magic that can grow despite the imperfections within our humanness, we can find true happiness. And isn’t that what we all want?

Hmm, I just did, albeit in a nebulous way. But I just finished a book about a pilot who is in remission from a life-threatening illness. He’s been living life on the edge of a cliff, trying to prove to himself that he can outsmart death. In the meantime, he learns he’s about to become a father, compliments of the heroine who has been artificially inseminated with his sperm, due to a lab error. It’s an emotionally charged, energetic read. As yet, it’s not sold.

I’m kind of reluctant to be too specific about current projects, but I will say that I have two of them in the works. One book is on the funny side, sort of a ChickLit type. The other involves a serious issue that has been at the forefront of the news in recent years.