Skip to main content

When reading, your heart should pound as if you're prey and race in anticipation of a kiss..


A great book increases my heartbeat, as if I’m prey, melts my insides in anticipation of a first kiss, and immerses me in its depths, never letting go.

Ahhhisn’t that the truth?

I’ve enjoyed many books written in first person, but I love to visit more than just one character’s thoughts. Similar to watching a movie, I love to read from all POVs--well, to a point, I still don't want to be in too many characters' heads.

To counteract this, some writers have even gone to writing several first-person accounts. Again, not a bad strategy, as long as they make sure they hammer-in whose POV they’re in. Nothing worse in my mind when I’m reading a book and halfway down the page I have to reread because I didn’t realize who was speaking. I know you’ve been there, right?

My goal as a writer is to put you inside the head of the protagonist and the proverbial “bad guy’s” head. Why? Because I believe you invest even more of yourself as a reader into the story if you know why the characters are doing what they are doing.

According to readers, this is one of my strong points, evident by the reviews on my novels. No, I’m not going to make you read every minute of the character’s day, but I will make sure you know their thoughts behind their actions, feel their pain when they’re hurt, and release a sigh of contentment when they do.

Here are just a few of the reactions from my romantic-suspense bestseller, She Belongs to Me.

“Her imagination brings the characters to life in such a way you feel as though you can reach out and touch them.”

“Carmen describes her characters and their personalities so well that you feel you know them.”

“Carmen DeSousa has written an incredibly stunning book, full of spot on visuals that put you in the midst of the conversations, like a ghostly guest that spies on a romantic dinner date.”

Those are just a few of the reviews about my characters, whom I hope you’ll want to meet as well.


Short description: A tightly woven tale of love, possession, and concealed histories, She Belongs to Me follows a man who finds his wife unconscious, clinging to life. Was it a suicide attempt, or a sinister force from her former life?

And the best news...She Belongs to Me has more than three hundred reviews averaging four stars and is always priced 'less than that latte,' or...you can read it free with your Kindle Unlimited/Prime membership!

Happy reading and imagining, friends!

Carmen

Click for more information:



Image credit: nexusplexus / 123RF Stock Photo

Comments

  1. I'm with you, Carmen, on getting to know the motivations of more than just one character. Get me caught up in the emotions of everyone involved, and I am rooting, cheering, or despising the bad guy, fully invested in the story. I am one of those authors who chose to write 1st person and I do it with more than one person's pov. It works best for the types of stories I tell, but I never dive into more than three pov's, the hereo, the heroine, and the third comes in only when needed to break up the thoughts of the main characters. And hammering in who's pov is key!!Great post!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"As in any fairytale, everything good must come to an end." ENTANGLED DREAMS:

Now, if you’ve read any of my novels or excerpts, you know I don’t do happy-go-lucky beginnings; and as in any fairytale, a little rain must fall, or in the case of my stories, I prefer a monsoon. This week’s excerpt: But alas, as in any good fairytale, everything good and wonderful must come to an end. After the tragic accident that snatched her mother away from Alexandra, her father moved them away from the beaches of Destin to another beach in Florida. Cocoa Beach. Cocoa Beach was loud, the water murky, and there were no weekend adventures as there had been in Destin. Her father married her evil stepmother, Lilith, who Alexandra was certain was a witch with her long, black as midnight hair and pale-white skin as if she’d never seen sunlight. Her father had admitted he wasn’t in love with Cruella, as she had come to think of the witchy woman, but that he’d wanted Alexandra to have a mother and siblings. Well, she definitely got that. The k

To prologue or not to prologue, that is the question. Readers, please weigh in!

Personally, I love prologues. They get you right into the action whether it was in the past or something exciting that is to come. But that’s exactly why most agents’ blogs I’ve read say not to use them. Paraphrasing…“If you need a prologue, then your story must not be strong enough…” Hmm … well, I like them, and I use them. But I’m curious what readers think, and I’d love you to weigh in. AND, if you have some great examples, please leave the title in the comment section. Now … here’s what I’ve noticed. Plenty of bestselling books have used them, even though they aren’t always called prologues . Same diff in my opinion. My biggest example is ‘Twilight’. If that little blurb wasn’t in the beginning, I don’t think I would have made it through the first chapter. How about movies? I don’t watch a lot. But I’ve started to notice how many have “prologues”. I also don’t have cable, but I have NetFlix, and hubby has just started watching ‘Breaking Bad’. Okay … I

The rule of thirds: No matter what you do, someone will hate you. Get over it and Write On!

No matter what you do in life, a third of the people will love you, a third will hate you, and the rest will be indifferent. Get over it and Write On! Yes, I'm talking to myself. If you're listening, GREAT! It's good advice! Is it easy advice? Heck No! For some reason, even though that percentage is rather low on my books--the percentage of people who hate my books runs about 4.6%--it still hurts.  Note: I only averaged the 'firsts' in my books, the books I actively promote. Because if I go to the second, third, and fourth books in my series, those numbers drop drastically. Obviously, if readers don't like my first book, they don't go on to the rest of my books in a series, so those books receive little to zero one-star reviews. So...if the number of one-star reviews we receive is less than five percent--Thank God ALL of the 33 1/3% of the haters don't write reviews--why do we get so depressed when we receive a one-star review