Abby Green on POV and “Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded”
30 Comments December 3rd, 2009 in books, heroes, writing Posted by Amyby Abby Green, author of Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded (Harlequin Presents Extra, December 2009)
I was thinking about what to write for this blog about Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded and thought I’d write about POV, as I think it’s relevant with this particular book.
When I first discovered Mills and Boon/Harlequin Presents novels, they were predominantly written from the heroine’s POV, with a few rare instances of the hero’s POV.
We hardly ever caught a glimpse into the hero’s head, but learnt about him from his reactions to the heroine, which were obviously very subjective to her.
I think, writing wise, that this took great skill, because with just one person’s POV, it would have been very easy for the other main character to remain one-dimensional, and they never were.
In these stories, where the heroine was usually doing her best to resist or hate the hero for whatever reason, it would have been nearly easier to hate the hero too, who, with no device to show his reasons could come across as domineering, cold and cruel.
But the masters of the game, the writers, were so skilful at their art, that somehow, they managed to wink one eye to the reader letting them know not to take the heroine’s reaction at face value, but to look deeper to what might be motivating the hero.
It was in the beautiful way they slid subtlety and nuances in between the lines…
An excerpt from Sweet Captivity –
That he had offered her a truce against his instincts was at times nerve-rackingly apparent. It was a truce of fragility and unpredictability, faltering in those tense moments when the watchful coldness would creep back into his eyes, and when Jackie could only watch helplessly till the conflict raging in him subsided.
I think that’s one of the reasons I fell so totally in love with the books. The stories were so compelling and so intense. Some of my favourites and real classics from this time were: Ishbel’s Party (which actually has some hero pov) by Stacy Absalom; Game of Love by Penny Jordan; The Kissing Game by Sally Wentworth; Sweet Captivity by Kate Proctor; The Price of a Bride by Michelle Reid and Mistress of the Groom by Susan Napier.
All of these books have larger than life Alpha male heroes who sometimes act with unconscionable cruelty. But, you as the reader know, from the skill of the author that the hero’s actions are not to be taken on sight alone…and then of course by the end, when he has his voice to reveal his justifications, he is totally justified…
I wanted to talk about POV because it’s quite different now, in that we can use the hero’s POV as well as the heroine’s. In some cases, we see more of the hero POV than the heroine’s! And perhaps some readers wouldn’t know that it was ever different.
Personally I think it makes the stories stronger and more complex, because now, you’re drawing the reader into a collusive bond with the hero. So even though you might hate his actions, you have to understand why he’s doing it and sympathize with him.
Before, the reader was on the heroine’s journey and that was intense, but now, the reader is on the hero’s journey too, and I think that can make things doubly intense.
In my current book, Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded, the hero is about as cruel to the heroine as any hero I’ve read. But now, I can use his POV to reveal his thoughts on this actions as the story progresses, and thereby (hopefully!) justify his actions to the reader, if not, initially, the heroine.
Using the hero’s POV, you are aware that he doesn’t have all the facts, that he has erroneous information.
At the very start of my story we see Vicenzo Valentini identifying the dead body of his younger and much beloved sister.
His sister had been seduced by an arch manipulator who was out to get his hands on her vast inheritance, and while this man also died in the car crash that claimed Vicenzo’s sister’s life; the other passenger in the car, the sister of this man, did not.
So on the surface of things and based on the circumstantial evidence he has, Vicenzo assumes that the heroine, Cara Brosnan, was also instrumental in duping his sister and leading her to her death by being an accessary to her brother.
He is a man fueled by raw grief and guilt when he finds and meets Cara Brosnan to take her to task, but instead he finds himself so attracted to her that he can’t resist seducing her.
He is disgusted and aghast at his actions and has to justify them to himself, and while he believes the worst about this girl it is easy. But their night together has consequences and sets into motion a chain of events where they become bound together…and he has to realize that he was wrong and deal with the consequences.
I’m wondering what you think of POV? Do you notice it? Do you think singular or dual POV makes the story stronger or weaker?
b Tagged with: author Abby Green • point of view • Ruthlessly Bedded Forcibly Wedded
30 Responses to “Abby Green on POV and “Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded””
- 1 Pingback on Dec 3rd, 2009 at 11:50 am
Thanks so much for sharing this. I love to know the hero POV too.
I just read the excerpt of Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded, and noticed the ‘great’ first impression he got from her. Just to add more against her to his bias judgment. I would have love to know what he thought when she said her name, and he looked at her longer than needed.
I promise to come back when I read the whole story to tell you more of my impressions.
I like dual POV because I think it makes the book more rounded. (That, or I’m a lazy writer
) And you’re right, you can really get across the fact that the hero/heroine are working on incomplete information. I think it makes their positions more sympathetic, too.
Only caveat is that I like the transitions smooth – head-hopping tends to pull me out of the story. (Hey, just call me fussy…)
Great excerpt. I’m behind on my reading, but my TBR is beckoning. (Dear ed, if you’re reading this of COURSE I’m working on my revisions…!)
I think it depends on the story, really.
Some authors pull off the single POV so brilliantly that you never even notice that you’ve not seen inside the other protagonist’s head. Others do the same with the dual-POV.
I suppose you know it’s worked if, as a reader, you can’t imagine the story having been told in any other way…
Wow! Abby!
If that isn’t an alpha male, I don’t know what is. But he’s truly got the wrong impression of her. Even so, in her shoes, I’d go for it, too.
Got to go shopping! LOL
BTW…I enjoy both points of view. I like to get inside their heads, know what they’re thinking and what motivates their action or non-action.
Ah, Abby. What a terrific post. You took me back to my teenage reading when everything was in the heroine’s POV and the hero seemed so deliciously unknowable. But, as you say, the writers’ seeded lots of clues as to the turmoil going on within the hero and hints that his apparent indifference or disapproval weren’t quite what they seemed. That makes me yearn to read some of the older books again.
Having said that, I do enjoy reading now in dual POV. Even if it’s not necessarily equal insight into each character’s thoughts. It can make the tension in the book even stronger as we see first hand how someone reacts to what’s going on and why they interpret things they way they do. Choosing the best POV can be difficult some times, but so crucial to a scene. Like Kate, I prefer books that don’t change POV constantly as I like to really feel I’d deep within the character.
Congratulations on the release of ‘Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded’. This is a whirlwind of a story – a really gripping read. I particularly enjoyed they way you wrote Vincenzo’s POV. His transition from grieving, angry brother to steadfast lover of Cara is a real treat!
Thanks guys for the comments – the whole POV question is fascinating isn’t it? Caitlin, I think you’re right, I think it depends on the story and whatever POV the author is using – if you don’t notice it then that has to be a good thing.
I for one, love and expect the dual POV now, I think I like the added complexity it can bring to the story. But like Annie says, you really have to figure where and how best to use it. Does it serve you to have a certain scene in the hero POV or the heroine’s? And sometimes that is so hard to judge…I find I do it kind of instinctively and then go back and edit bits out…
x Abby
Great post Abby and your right about Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded and it’s intensity. Vicenzo and Cara’s story was brilliant, one I will long remember.
Like Lorraine, I like to see inside their heads.
Joanna, you’re going to love this one, I promise!
Annie, you also had a great post on Writing Playground….really enjoyed it.
Abby, Great post. Writing from a single point of view is really tricky because, as you said, you have to make sure the other characters don’t come off flat. It’s also tricky because you’re as limited as first person, but you don’t get to do as much interior monologue as a first person narrative often does. It also changes the pacing. Things move a lot faster in a single POV book because there is not opportunity t see things from another person’s viewpoint. Makes me tired just thinking about it.
Thanks for the great examples, too. Those were gooooood books.
Looking forward for the time to read your latest!
Anne
Marilyn and Anne – lovely to ’see’ you! And Anne you have a special Eamonn delivery coming your way…!
x Abby
I’m a dual POV girl meself, I love writing in both the hero and heroine’s POV because that delicious difference between how men and women think about relationships adds a level of conflict before you even get to the real conflicts that their characters bring to the table.
That said, I’ve read brilliantly crafted stories where it’s not till the end of the book that I’ve realised how little of the hero’s POV is in the story… And as you say Abby that’s down to the incredible skill of the authors involved.
I loved Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded… You set yourself a real challenge. On reading that first chapter I couldn’t help wondering how the heck those two were ever going to get together given Vincenzo’s wild sometimes uncontrollable grief… And the intensity of their passion only fueled the conflict… But then I got so hooked into the story I stopped thinking about the logistics…It was only after I’d finished it that it occurred to me how beautifully you’d pulled it off…
And I went pea-green with envy…
Hi Abby,
Great to see you here. How are you keeping? I haven’t got my hands on ‘Ruthlessly bedded, forcibily wedded’ yet, but I will.
I must say I really enjoy the dual POV. The book becomes more like a movie for me while I’m reading. It’s great to get both pov’s and it can really add to the tension when I know who knows what or hasn’t a clue about this or that. It’s the best way to build up to the end, I think, and while I’m reading it, and urging the two of them to hurry up and get ’sorted’, it’s delicious to know that the story cant end yet ’cause I know more than they do. Do you know what I mean? Have you ever had a book that you are loving so much that you just want to do everything you can to delay it ending? Like an easter egg. Back in the days when kids only got one. Oh, I made that egg last, I can tell you.LOL. Well, using both POV’s is like that for me. It makes the story last.
Love and best wishes to you Abby. Hope to talk to you again sometime soon. Mind yourself.
Slán
Mena
Hi Mena – I know exactly what you mean about not wanting a book to end, I go through that every time I read one of Anna Campbell’s regency romances, or an Annie West or an India Grey, or a Heidi Rice or a Kate Walker – I could go on!…it’s like you want to savour every page but you can’t help devouring it at the same time..bittersweet torture!
Abby,
I like reading both POVs. Sometimes having the H’s POV is the only thing keeping me from tossing a book. When a H is very arrogant and seems to be too cruel, knowing his motivations/reasons even if mistaken, makes the book “readable” until we get to the part where the misunderstandings are explained, issues are resolved, etc…
Some of the older HPs could have benefited from that. A lot of the classic HPs were fabulous. But in some it really was difficult to understand the H — since we only knew him from the h’s point of view. We had no idea what drove him, etc…
I have your book in my TBR and need to find the time to read it.
Great post, Abby. I love reading dual POV books. Their contrast in pace adds real texture, although it’s good when the hero can still surprise me in the final chapter!
Hi Abby Great post. The thing I love about dual pov is the reactions that both have to each others words, and the fact that the reader knows what is going on in each others heads and can therefore read ‘between the lines’ and know more about what is really going on. It makes for a more satisfying read and ups the PTQ massively. I got your newest yesterday, and am using it as a carrot – work first, new Abby Green second. Major treat!
Hi there to Lorraine, Mena, Heidi and Christina…
Hi there – Sally great to see you – we have to try and organize our get together in Dublin, eek! Leaving it very late now, maybe in the new year?! Start 2010 with a bang..
Lidia I know what you mean about the singular POV making the earlier HP’s so intense, certainly I think that’s why they’ve stayed so sharp in my mind.
Abby
Once again I’m arriving at the party horribly late, which is the story of my life! This is a really interesting topic though Abby, and I couldn’t resist coming along to add my thoughts because I think you’ve just identified yet another little secret to the enduring appeal of Presents. The books have always worked around the idea of the attraction of opposites and the coming together of extremes, but in order to pull it off the author has to make it feel absolutely plausible; the bigger and seemingly more insurmountable the difference, the greater the hit of reader satisfaction at the end when it all comes together. This book is a total triumph on all fronts!
I agree with Heidi– at the beginning Vicenzo seems almost irredeemably cold, hard and alpha but (cue shivers of delight)as the story progresses and the reader is given insight into his thoughts and feelings we just KNOW that he’s crying out for Cara. Without that glimpse into his head and his heart the story would still work, but it wouldn’t have the great big emotional punch that Abby gives it, or the tension that comes from understanding that what people (men!) say isn’t always what they mean.
*Sigh.* Just lovely.
For sure lets meet up in the new year, Abby. Would love it!
xSally
Heidi said it beautifully, I love that insight into the dual feelings on the relationship and how the man views it v. how the woman sees it.
Don’t know what it says about me that I feel like I almost relate to my heroes more, but I love being able to write from the male perspective. I like the rawness that the male mind gets to convey…
So my preference is definitely to have both POVs, but I have read quite a few of single POV where the writer pulled it off wonderfully. There was one by Miranda Lee with only the hero’s POV which was so unique and fun.
Maisey
This is an interesting post Abby – I’ve just finished Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded and I really loved it. Completely brilliant. I think your use of POV made it a powerful read – generally I like both points of view but in a well written book I often don’t notice, I just find myself going with the story.
Off to buy my Christmas tree tomorrow – my POV is that it should be huge but my husband’s POV is that it should be small. I will win this one
Sarah – had to laugh, my POV is that it should be big too! Glad you enjoyed the book – I’m chuffed as I love all of your books and am always so gripped by the story I don’t care or notice what POV you’re writing in!
Maisey – I believe you’ve just sold to presents?! Well done – hope you’re celebrating and busy working on your next book POV’s!
India those insurmountable problems are exactly what makes these books so compelling aren’t they? Nothing like a situation where you think, there’s no way they can come back from this…and then they do…
You believe right, Abby! Thanks for the congrats. So yes, my POV is coming to a store near you…LOL.
I just loaded your book onto my Kindle so now I have to read it so that I can see just what a wonderful job you did with this hot sounding alpha…
Maisey
ooooh Maisey, the pressure….!
I loved Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded, Abby. It was written with your usual flair for the tense and dramatic—a thing I love about all your books. And Vincenzo and Cara’s story was both tense and dramatic. I have Mistress to the Merciless Millionaire on my TBR list, which is something to look forward to.
As for POV, I too remember a time when the hero’s thoughts were kept mostly to himself. I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I think my first M&B book was an Ann Mather title, many years ago on a visit to my Galway Granny the summer I was thirteen, and what I remember of the books of that time was how aloof and mysterious the hero seemed. I think may have been too young to fully appreciate that style of writing—I found it frustrating not knowing what was going on in the hero’s head.
Nowadays, with the hero’s POV firmly a part of M&B I find the reading process a much more satisfying and well rounded experience. With his POV coming across the hero seems more proactive in the romance, and a lot more human and approachable. It certainly softens all those harsh and cruel scenes that the poor heroine has to suffer in the first half of the book, and makes it easier for the reader to sympathise with his motives.
Hi Merri, I’m delighted you enjoyed Ruthlessly Bedded. And I was like you, it was on a visit to my Granny, in Kerry when I first discovered Mills and Boon and began a lifelong love affair. They have a lot to answer for don’t they?! x
Seriously! Wow, what a coincidence… and yes, those Irish Grannies have a lot to answer for—God love ‘em
I discovered Mills & Boon on via my grandmother’s bookshelf too! I was twelve and it was a ‘fantastic’ summer! I’ve been hooked since.
I don’t mind single POV. As Caitlin said, it all depends on the story. Some authors do it so well I hardly notice that I’m only getting one side of the story. Single POV stories always remind me of the books I fell in love with. Mary Burchell, Charlotte Lamb, Gloria Bevan, Margaret Pargeter (I hope I spelt her last name right! Apologies if I didn’t.) These were the authors who got me hooked on M&B and they all wrote single POV way back then. It was lovely.
Reading the story from the hero’s POV is wonderful too. It’s great to be able to get a peek inside their head and learn what they’re feeling and thinking. I think it adds more depth and texture and makes it fun.
oooh Lee you’re making me remember the fantastic Charlotte Lamb, and Sara Wood and Sally Wentworth…so many amazing writers.