The Writing of Bloodchained
Diana Laurence Gets a Little Help From Her Fans
The innovative romance author tells how fan participation helped create her latest work.
It’s not like she needed the help. After all, Diana Laurence had already made a name for herself writing tasteful yet sensual romantic fiction. She calls her style, “erotica with soul” because it is written for readers who like sex but are a bit squeamish about conventional erotica. Her work addresses the spiritual as well as the physical side of sex. Her first anthology, 2004’s Soulful Sex: Erotic Tales of Fantasy and Romance, was an Amazon bestseller and a finalist in the Eppie Awards, or as its known in the industry: the “Oscars of ebooks.” She went on to publish five more anthologies as well as the novel Souls' Embrace.
Fan Participation
With her latest work, however, Laurence decided to change things up a bit. As a writer and businesswoman, she realized that advances in technology could actually help her incorporate reader input into her work in a whole new way. With that in mind she created the “Soulful Sex: Partners” Project to rally a group of volunteers to participate in the conception of her next work, Bloodchained. Over 60 readers and fans signed up, and using a blog, Yahoo group, website, email, and online surveys she received input from the “Partners.” They selected the genre, determined the “spiciness” level, chose the plot, named the main characters, and helped Laurence make certain plot choices along the way.
In terms of genre, the majority of Partners voted for a paranormal fantasy book, two of Laurence’s favorites to write. She was also happy to see that the erotica content took a back seat to plot because it gave her more freedom in the writing process. She gave them three possible plot scenarios for the Partners to choose between, and wrote according to their wishes despite that they chose her second option. In doing so, she admits, “They were right and I was wrong!”
Memorable Characters Hold the Readers Attention
Bloodchained features an original breed of blood-drinking immortals called Roicans, who are very different in heritage from traditional vampires. Rather than being sinister, soulless creatures, they are the offspring of a pair of supernaturally devoted lovers, whose power derives from that perfect union of souls. Roicans vary in their goodness, however, and the bad ones are pretty despicable and very dangerous to mortals.
The novel is about a young woman and her brother, Grace and Sebastian, who own an inn that caters to pilgrims to the Temple of Love, a mysterious edifice that can magically intervene to help the lovelorn. The two lead a mostly content life at their inn, until three pilgrims arrive and throw their orderly lives into chaos. They are the stunningly good-looking and pleasant Liam and his sister Nessa, and the stern, irritating, but deeply engaging Finn. The interactions of these five characters bring to life the saga of the Roican race and will likewise dramatically impact its future.
Bloodchained, Part 2?
Laurence hopes readers of Bloodchained will find the Roican storyline compelling enough to yearn for a sequel. She’d like to find a way to continue the involvement of the people who have put time and effort into the book, which is slated for release in September from Living Beyond Reality Press. For more information on Diana Laurence, please visit her website.
