We all have secrets. Most of us have small ones that we keep because they’re not ours to share or they might hurt someone we care about. Sometimes their importance is blown up in our minds or we’re so used to them we can’t let them go, even though keeping them is no longer important.
The characters in some of my books have big secrets. In my latest contemporary romance, Blood Will Tell, my hero carries a big secret around and it’s become a burden. It’s keeping him from the only woman he’s ever loved, but he thinks revealing it will cause even more problems. So he remains silent far too long.
In Scandal’s Bride, the historical romance released in July, my hero’s secret drives a wedge between himself and his bride. His mother is mad and he’s vowed never to have children. Kind of tough in the early 19th century when devices to prevent contraception were a bit iffy. Worse, when all she’s longed to be is a mother.
Even though characters in my books have secrets, my readers know all. I was told by my earliest editors that it’s important to share early and let the readers see how the secrets are finally revealed. In my first book, A Kiss of Cabernet, I had a huge twist at the end. My editors told me to take it out. Sometimes I wish I’d kept it in, but now I can’t ever change it. These characters show up in other novels in my Love in Wine Country series and the main issue in their lives can no longer be changed.
So back to real life. Who has secrets? Do you? I have them, but most are so far in the past I can barely remember the circumstances. Will I be sharing old secrets on my deathbed? Absolutely not. Will you? Probably not.
Secrets are a part of life so the characters in my books will continue to have them and they will either willingly, or be forced, to reveal them. Hope you’ll all go on those journeys with them. I’ll try to make them exciting. And if you like murder mysteries with a bit of romance (but no steam in this one), give Blood Will Tell a try. I hope you like it.