Roses and Readers, welcome our guest today, Terry Shames.
I don’t write romance. Ha! Everybody writes romance. If they
don’t, their writing is flat and uninteresting. Without romance, life wouldn’t
be much fun. I don’t necessarily mean “sex,” although that’s a nice part of
some romance. I mean the interplay between two people that gives them a little
thrill, that makes them think of life’s possibilities, that puts a little
spring in their step.
The protagonist of my Samuel Craddock novels is a man in his
sixties who used to be chief of police and in the initial book, A Killing at Cotton Hill, takes on an
investigation because the current chief is a drunk. In a later book he becomes
the chief of again. He’s not ready for a romance because his beloved wife has
just died. He’s a great guy who takes his responsibilities seriously, who has
integrity and compassion, and a strong sense of justice. All of which makes him
catnip to the women in his life. I don’t know about you, but his loyalty makes
him even more appealing. That’s why I frequently get the question from readers:
Is Samuel Craddock ever going to “get any?” I’ve even had readers tell me
they’d like to marry Samuel Craddock.
In the early books, the romances are limited to his next
door neighbor and an older woman down the street, his good friend Loretta. But
in the third book a new woman comes to town, Ellen Forester. She has a mean
ex-husband stalking her, and Samuel’s protective side kicks in. Tentative
interest ensues, but no “action.”
I actually like the tease more than the idea of putting sex
into the novels. As is true in life, sometimes the lead-up (okay, foreplay) is
more exciting than the action. I have found myself unwilling to commit my
protagonist to hopping into bed with one of the possible partners. But when I
decided to write a prequel in which Samuel is about thirty years old, I knew I
couldn’t be coy about sex He and his wife have been married for six year and
they want to have a baby. The only question I had was when and how the sex
would get onto the page.
I’m not timid. When my husband started reading the prequel,
he laughed out loud and said, “Wow, first page?” Yep. I decided there was no
reason to pussy-foot around.
I’m now back to current times and Craddock’s relationship
with Ellen has heated up. But, as in real life, the course of love is not
necessarily going to run smoothly. Ellen has a secret that she’s reluctant to
share with Samuel. And furthermore her grown children have bamboozled her into
having Thanksgiving with them and her ex-husband. Should Samuel be worried? I
hate to tell you, but I haven’t quite that out yet. Stay tuned for more
romance!
Bio:
Terry Shames writes the best-selling Samuel Craddock series, set in small-town Texas. A Killing at Cotton Hill won the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery. Mystery People named Shames one of the top five Texas mystery writers of 2015. Her sixth novel, An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock, January 2017, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and has been nominated for a Lefty for Best Mystery. For more, see www.terryshames.com.
Terry Shames writes the best-selling Samuel Craddock series, set in small-town Texas. A Killing at Cotton Hill won the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery. Mystery People named Shames one of the top five Texas mystery writers of 2015. Her sixth novel, An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock, January 2017, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and has been nominated for a Lefty for Best Mystery. For more, see www.terryshames.com.
