My problem was I didn't know where there was.
First off, I wanted the bear in this bear-shifter book to have more personality. I wanted my readers to fall in love with him as well as his hunky human counterpart. I made him comical, at times and moody, at others. He could go from a petulant cub to a stubborn teenager to an advice giving man. A few times, he even broke the shifting rules and shifted while the hero was asleep--and created a wee bit of mayhem. He became attached emotionally to the heroine and referred to her as Family. Readers wouldn't understand that type of relationship, I was told.
I was told this was a childish idea and to delete this part of the bear's personality. I was allowed to keep a smidgen of it. In the process, I lost over three-thousand words.
Okay, so maybe the book did read better, stronger. But I missed my lovable bear. I justified it by telling myself, I was probably the only person who would see the humor in what I had written. I can be a tad off the wall, after all.
The next email told me to fatten up your heroine. BBW's are in. "Really? You mean I finally get to show a heavy woman is worthy of love too?" Yes, make her a size sixteen. I laughed. I haven't been a sixteen since my youngest was born forty years ago. I mean, I'd go without chocolate for three days to be a sixteen again!
I was told "high humor" like I write is out of style and to take most of it out. I began to show a little stress. A phone call was made and a compromise reached. I was pleased--and relieved.
Now, to make up for the word count I'd lost in deleting my bear's charming personality, I was told to insert two sex scenes (Pounds head on laptop). I struggle with sex on demand. Where would I put these scenes so they seemed natural and appropriate to the situation?
The irony was when my cover arrived. After diminishing the role of Magnus, the bear, look who was also included on the cover?
A Scottish hunter and a French secret agent find themselves on a collision course with danger—and irresistible desire—in Vonnie Davis’s new bear-shifting Highlander novel, perfect for fans of Jennifer Ashley and Shelly Laurenston.
In the pine-dense mountains of the Scottish Highlands, shape-shifter Ronan Matheson is running free when a desperate woman parachutes out of the sky, directly onto his furry, powerful chest. Instead of clawing her to death, Ronan’s inner bear longs to keep her safe. Once he’s back in human form, Ronan is amused by the mysterious beauty’s fearless attitude—and tempted by her voluptous toned physique. But what could she possibly be doing in this isolated stretch of the Highlands?
French intelligence agent Anisa Brosseau never imagined she’d be on the CIA’s bad side—until she’s framed for treason and forced to flee in a stolen drone. Hiding out in a remote cabin, Anisa just needs some time to clear her name. What she doesn’t need is a brooding, muscle-bound Scot in a skimpy kilt to drive her crazy with lust. But when Anisa’s enemies come knocking on his door, Ronan calls on a secret inner weapon to protect his turf and the bonny lass he’s come to love.
