Today's Special -- Ashley March

The ladies of The Romance Dish love debut novels and authors. It is always fun and exciting to read a new author and find someone with a great voice and a wonderful story to tell. Today's guest is exactly that. Ashley March's debut novel, Seducing the Duchess was released October 5, 2010. You can find my review of it here. Hard to believe, but it has been less than a year since Ashley received "the call" with a 3-book deal from NAL Penguin. Please give a warm welcome to debut author Ashley March as she discusses . . .


The Question of Infidelity

Once upon a time, the most-beloved historical romance trope was “rake meets wallflower,” in which the promiscuous hero is tamed by the virgin heroine. Because love eventually conquers all, readers allowed their bad boy his play before he fell in love with the heroine. The heroine, however, was expected to remain pure and pristine until she melted beneath the touch of her wild and roguish hero.

Then came the courtesan heroine. While romance readers still enjoyed the “rake meets wallflower” trope, we began to demand more variety. We wanted heroines who, like us, were sexually aware. Women who were not afraid of their sexuality, and indeed, used it to capture the attention of the hero. This meant that, prior to meeting the hero, the woman might also engage in sexual acts with other partners. Variety is good, we thought. We don’t want all of our romances to be the same.

However, in reconciliation stories, where the husband and wife have been separated after their wedding and then get back together, it appears the romance community is still divided on the topic of sexual awareness in the woman, especially regarding infidelity while she was separated from her husband. As is often the case in historical romances, the taking of a mistress by the hero is tolerated (since he has sexual urges that cannot be controlled), while the taking of a lover by the heroine can either incite disapproval or garner praise from the female romance reader.
When I first began writing my version of the reconciliation story (now my debut novel, SEDUCING THE DUCHESS), I was determined not to take what I thought to be the easy road out. My heroine, Charlotte, had spent the past three years acting scandalously in an attempt to force her husband, Philip, to petition to divorce her. As a result, all of the ton—and even Philip—believed Charlotte to be a harlot, having taken several lovers. If she was so angry and hurt by Philip as to desperately seek a divorce petition, I reasoned, why wouldn’t she take lovers? Philip had betrayed her by pretending he loved her; she also knew he’d taken a mistress. Why not allow her to seek comfort in other men’s arms? This, I thought, was how I would write Charlotte.

However, as I continued to write Philip and Charlotte’s story, it became clear that despite her many outrageous acts and tendency to provoke Philip, allowing her to be unfaithful to Philip wouldn’t be true to her character. Yes, he’d hurt her—terribly, in fact. And yes, she was still angry and resentful. But beneath it all, she still loved him. She might be tempted to escape her loneliness by being with other men, but inside she was still fragile and wounded, and she still wanted no one else but Philip.

I really could have written the story either way; Charlotte could just as easily have taken lovers, and in the end, Philip would have accepted it, because he had taken a mistress. Their HEA wouldn’t have been in jeopardy. But I think showing Charlotte’s love and faithfulness throughout their marriage, despite what Philip did to her, not only humbled Philip all the more, but also remained true to Charlotte’s character as I wrote the story.

This, in the end, is what I believe a writer must do. It’s not about what is or isn’t popular in the romance genre at the time, because trends will eventually fade. It’s about writing a love story between the hero and heroine which the reader can believe in, a love story that will truly stand the test of time. For the writer, it’s also about believing in your characters enough to sometimes allow them to take the lead as you write, even though you had other plans for them.

What about you? Where do you stand on the question of infidelity for either the hero or the heroine in reconciliation stories? Will an unfaithful character immediately pull you out of the book? What does it mean to you to have a story try to stay true to the characters, rather than bow to reader expectations?

One random commenter will win a copy of my debut novel, SEDUCING THE DUCHESS (open to both US and international residents).