The Circle series – Page 5 – Carla Swafford, Author

An Atlanta Edge Hockey, Circle of Desire, My Books, Odd Observation

The Old Days

Posted on October 13, 2019 by Carla Swafford, Author

I came across a screen shot of my very first website. Yep. I designed it myself with SiteSpinner. A cool little software program that helps those unfamiliar with coding. It was WYSIWYG type and I used it for years. If you can read some of the small print, you will see I was a romantic suspense and paranormal writer. That’s paranormal romance writer by the way. Screen Shot 2019-08-25 at 11.27.12 AM One day, I hope to pull out one of my paranormal romances and rewrite it and see if someone else likes it besides myself.

If you’re wondering, I wrote eleven books before I sold my first one. It was actually book number ten, my second romantic suspense, that Avon Impulse (HarperCollins) published. The first two books I ever wrote need to be thrown out, and only the plots used. One was a historical romance set in the Middle Ages. The next was a romantic suspense, not spy or assassin like my Circle books, but a former DEA agent (heroine) recuperating from her years being undercover. During the operation, she became addicted to cocaine while she played the drug lord’s girlfriend and she screwed up even more. She’d fallen for him. After putting him in prison, and length stay in rehab, she came under investigation. The special agent (hero) investigating her begins to have feelings for her. The drug lord escapes prison and troubles ensue.

No. I haven’t read it in years, but I still remember the plot.

October is a good month for me. My first book, Circle of Desire, was published October 18, 2011, and on October 14, 2014, I agreed with Loveswept (Penguin-Random House) on a two-book contract. (Those books came out in 2016.) It was a mostly lovely experience I will never forget. The best part was joining forces with my agent, Emily Sylvan Kim, Prospect Agency. Love her!

So far, I’ve published 10 books. All of them can be found at most major booksellers’ websites. Only one was from my pre-published days (yep, my debut book). So I guess you could say, I have a good stack to pull from when I have the time.

Presently, I’m working on a new Hockey Romance titled Fake Play.

Brothers of Mayhem series, Circle of Desire, Hidden Heat, The Circle series, Writing

The Heroine Hero

Posted on November 25, 2018October 18, 2023 by Carla Swafford, Author

No. I didn’t leave out anything between heroine and hero. Lately, there has been a debate of rather or not the word heroine is outdated.

Someone on Twitter had said that comics…oops…graphic novels (or whichever term you prefer) refer to superheroes no matter the sex of the character, not superheroes and superheroines. Okay. Sounds cool right? There’s more I can say about female superheroes and some of their costumes, but that’s not really what I’m talking about here.

I understand why people are saying there shouldn’t be a difference, but I disagree with that when it comes to traditional romance novels. So you can say there are certain stories or books that it should always be okay. It’s to do with their gender, and the two are equal in their importance in the story.

My novels have a heroine and a hero. They have a man and woman who fall in love. It is just my preference to write those type of stories.

Okay now on to the heroine hero point I want to bring up. I see this happen mostly in paranormal romances. I’m sure it happens in other genres. Maybe romantic suspense. You know, a female detective with a male lead who isn’t in law enforcement.

Anyway, it’s where the female lead has all of the skills to the point she doesn’t need the male lead, and she has big time control issues. As in she wants to control everyone and everything around her. It’s most tiring to read. While the male lead is there merely so they can have sex, and the book can be called a romance. Sure, he may come in and help out, but he is really just beefcake. Kind of like how the woman is sometimes treated in other books. (Then she would be just cheesecake. Look it up. LOL!)

I prefer that the male lead possess a certain skill or object she needs (get your mind out of t Female legs and revolver he gutter) to defeat the evil entity. That gives him a solid reason for being there.

While I’m writing this, I’m mentally going through my published books. Do I have a heroine hero? No. I have a few heroines with control issues, and the heroes certainly have their own issues, but they have skills.

Circle of Desire has a female assassin, and she loves to use men for relief (this is where you can let your dirty mind run free), but the hero is certainly there for a reason. He kidnaps her and works on bringing her over to the good side.

Hidden Heat_Swafford

In Hidden Heat, the heroine is bossy and unafraid of the bad guys. They are like uncles to her. Men who she grew up around. So she knows the Brothers of Mayhem MC inside and out, and the hero (undercover cop) can use her knowledge to bring the bad guys down.

My heroines are not wimps, but the two above are the most gutsy.

I like to think most of my lead characters are on equal footing, but the heroine is all woman and the hero all man, and that makes the dynamics of the romance more interesting.

Circle of Danger, Circle of Deception, Circle of Desire, My Books, The Circle series

RT BookReviews

Posted on October 28, 2018October 28, 2018 by Carla Swafford, Author

RT BookReviews closed it operations on May 16, 2018. It was a sad moment for many including myself. I read the magazine from the time it was actually a newspaper (1980s). At least, my dream of having a review of my book(s) done by the magazine came true. Plus my name was mentioned a few times in the magazine.

Before the website goes dark next year, here are copies of the reviews and such. Side note: The highest star rating you could get at RT was 4-1/2 stars.

By the way, my first book came out 7 years and 17 days ago.

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