A good friend of mine was having yet another fight with her jerk of a boyfriend. “He forgot my birthday,” she lamented. “My birrrrthdaaay!” I admit I wasn’t surprised. The truth was that of all of the Jerk’s awful behavior over the years, forgetting her birthday was minor. That particular day, I must have been feeling saucy: “Give me the phone,” I said. “I’ll break up with him for you.” She looked surprised—shocked, even. She cradled her phone to her chest and shook her head. I drove home that night thinking about it all: how my poor friend was destined to put up with the Jerk’s jerkiness indefinitely, and I was destined to continue to hear about it. I couldn’t help but snort-laugh at the memory of the look on her face when I’d reached for the phone. Someone should invent that service, I thought. The I’ll-break-up-with-your-jerk-of-a-partner-for-you service. Just like Cyrano de Bergerac, only the reverse.
My writerly imagination immediately leaped on the idea: Reverse Cyrano! That would make a great book! But I’m a historical romance novelist. How would I ever set that in Regency England and make a romance novel out of it? It didn’t take too long before I figured it out, and my novel The Unexpected Duchess was born out of that incident with my friend. I named the series Playful Brides because, after the Cyrano idea, I began to consider what other famous rompish plays I could set in Regency England and twist into fun, romantic tales. I came up with The Importance of Being Earnest, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Philadelphia Story. Each book was more fun to write than the last.
I am often asked how I come up with my story ideas, and the tale of the Jerk is one answer. But all sorts of things inspire me. I have a series I’m itching to write based entirely on the songs of Taylor Swift, and another one based on Garth Brooks’s tunes. My first series was created based on only a title. I woke up in the middle of the night and quickly jotted down the words Secrets of a Wedding Night. I had no idea what that story would be about, but I loved that title. Those five words became my debut novel, and my publisher kept the title.
I think there may be a misconception that romance novelists are solely focused on hot alpha males with rock-hard abs (and, ahem, of course we are), but the heroes are just one component. We’re also attached to our fierce heroines, our quirky secondary characters, and our plots, whether they are outlandish comedies, sweeping sagas, chilling page-turners, or erotic adventures. Our stories are inspired by everything from classic literature to music, pop culture, and news headlines. I once heard New York Times–bestselling author Lisa Kleypas say that one of her most beloved set of characters was loosely based on The Beverly Hillbillies. And romance legend Jude Deveraux has famously said that she found the beginnings of her blockbuster A Knight in Shining Armor while reading a book about alcoholics who have stopped drinking, and thinking the dry-drunk personality would make an interesting character. The story and the heroine followed.
My friend Sheila Athens, who writes contemporary romances, loves to pull her story ideas from listening to NPR in the mornings. Another friend, Lena Diaz, wrote an entire romantic suspense series based on the names of children’s games that a serial killer would use, such as He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not. Other author friends have found inspiration in their kids’ love of Dr. Doolittle movies, a twist on classic courtesan tales, and even the TV show The Bachelor.
The fact is that romance novelists—like all other authors, I suspect—are inspired by any number of sources. “What if...” is my favorite thing to ask myself when coming up with potential story ideas. The trick, I’ve discovered, is to pay close attention. The muse can arrive when you least expect her. For me, too often, it’s the middle of the night, when I’m forced to turn on the light, pull up the laptop, and furiously type my idea. I’ve learned to keep a notebook handy because I never remember the idea later. Never. Many a brilliant idea has no doubt been lost to the vagaries of memory.
Once you get the hang of it, coming up with ideas can become addictive. I wake up each morning wondering if today’s the day the most brilliant idea ever will arrive. In the meantime, I calmly go about my business, eavesdropping on the conversations of strangers and nosing a bit too much into my friends’ love lives.
But seriously, if you want to break up with your boyfriend, give me a call.
Historical romance author Valerie Bowman’s latest book is The Irresistible Rogue, due from St. Martin’s in November.
