Dee Tenorio is talking about “the quiet ones”

Distant Lover?

Do you ever look at your mate and think…

“For the love of God, man, SPEAK!”

It’s not that you don’t love him. You do. But some men have taken the strong and silent type and expanded it to…the silent type. 

He doesn’t expound about his day during dinner. Details must be pried out of him about his plans beyond time and place. He’s matter of fact, down to earth and doesn’t see the point in talking things to death when you can just do them and be done with it. And if you really love him, truly love him, you won’t ask him to talk about his feelings. Or your feelings. *shudder*

This might go against the code of female sisterhood, but I just love the silent type. Well, as an author. In real life I’m a wild proponent of demanding my husband just tell me what he wants so I don’t have to guess because, seriously??, I have enough to do. But on the page, oh how I love the concept of a man thinking one thing and saying it in such a way that gets him absolutely boiled alive. 

A good example of such a guy would be the hero David Ellison from my upcoming erotic novella Love Me Knots  (ruthlessly blatant plug–it’s out August 4th from Samhain Publishing. If you click the link, you can read the blurb, see the trailer and read an excerpt!). David can’t say the right thing to save his life. Ever. He’s managed to stumble his way through his relationship, falling for a woman who doesn’t think less of him for his inability to chit-chat, offering his heart but wrapping in ten layers of newspaper to keep it safe. Unfortunately for him, his heroine is at the end of her rope. I’d tell you all about it, but how about I show you instead:

“Tell me why you’re crying.”

Her smile cracked something in him. His chest could have broken concrete with the pressure. “Haven’t you ever been part of something so beautiful you never wanted it to end?”

Before her? He shook his head. “No.”

Her smile died. There wasn’t another word for it. It fell and her eyes shuttered closed. He’d answered wrong, he knew it. But when he opened his mouth to apologize, she reached up to him.

“Make love to me, David,” she whispered, pulling his face down to hers. Her kiss was different, tinged with tears. He didn’t like it, knowing the shaking in her lips wasn’t from pleasure. “Make love to me, even if you don’t mean it.”

Now, I know what you’re thinking.

You’re probably calling David all kinds of names. But don’t worry, as verbally incapacitated as he is, he has several good points. Such as he’s absolutely, skull-crackingly in love with his heroine and he literally goes to the ends of the earth for her. 

And this shows you why I love them silent types. Because while silent guys might lose out to crickets when it comes to conversation, they are often intense, passionate (if a girl can dig under the layers) and loyal to a fault. Ever heard the phrase, “Beware the quiet ones”?

It’s cause those are the ones that grab your heart and never let go.

What about you? What are your favorite qualities in a hero? Do those qualities cross-over to what you love in a real man?

If you comment, you’ll be randomly entered to win an advance e-copy of “Love Me Knots”! (Please be aware, I’m still awaiting my author copies, but as soon as I have them, the winner will too!)

To find out more about Dee Tenorio and her books you can visit her website at http://www.deetenorio.com/Site/Home.html

 Don’t forget to leave a comment answering Dee’s questions for a chance to win an advance e-copy of Love Me Knots. Good Luck

Dee Tenorio is visiting today

Dee, Thanks for agreeing to be a guest on my blog.

Can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?

Oh, the dreaded “a bit about yourself” question. :) Well, I’ve been a wife for thirteen years to an absolutely wonderful guy. We’ve got three kids and as a bonus, he’s a graphic artist, so he’s not even slightly bothered when I leap out of bed in a mad dash for my computer because “I got an idea!”. I’m a wee bit quirky, but I love romance and I love stories, so it seems like a fated occupation to become a romance writer.

How long have you been writing?

Erm…well, I’ve been writing novels towards publication for eleven years now. Before that, there were stories…but if we talk about them, they might escape the trap door under the bed where I stuffed them.

What is your writing process like?

I’m a linear plotzer. Or, in regular speak, I give myself a general plot or synopsis to work through and then write by the seat of my pants as far as scenes and dialogue go. Plotting ahead of time doesn’t really work for me, so I’ll never do a character sheet first, but it helps a lot to know where everything is going. And I’m also the kind that can’t skip forward. I know some writers write whichever scenes come there way, but if I sense a problem to the back, I can’t go forward and I have to finish the scene I’m in to keep moving. Definitely a problem when the only scene I can see clearly is the epilogue!

Can you tell us about your latest release Love Me, Tomorrow?

In short, Love Me Tomorrow is the story of a man who has to learn to forgive, particularly himself. He’s a firefighter who takes a lot on his shoulders and has no room for errors in his life. So you can imagine how hard it is for him to be wildly in love with a flaky artist for whom chaos is just a regular part of the day. I loved Josh and much as I cheered on Miranda, his heroine, he was the one I wanted to figure out that life is what you make it, not what it makes you. It’s a hard lesson for him…especially when he figures out someone is trying kill him. (Yeah, when I make someone miserable, I tend to go the whole 9 yards.)

Also, Love Me Tomorrow is my first ever suspense. I dipped my toe into the genre with “Midnight Legacy” but this one is a full out “Someone’s out to get me” book. LOL!

Will you have any more books in this series?

I have a few other ideas for the town, so I’m definitely hoping to continue with the series. Incidentally, if you’ve read my first book, “Betting Hearts”, you’ll recognize the town where LMT and DTY are based-I went back to Rancho Del Cielo. A little more on that later.

Do you have any other books coming out this year?

I’m working on a novella that I’m hoping to get out this year, not related to the Rancho Del Cielo books, about an accountant and his Marriage of Convenience plan gone terribly wrong when he figures out his Bride-to-Be might possibly be in love with him.

What are you currently working on?

Well, I’m right in the middle of writing the immediate follow up, tentatively titled “Devoted To You”-can’t say who’s in it yet, but after you read Love Me Tomorrow, you’ll probably figure it out pretty quick. Also, I’m planning a free read for the summer. :) (The free read would tell the story of secondary characters Selvyn and Alice)

Where do you get your ideas for your books?

The RDC novels are all loosely based on my hometown, actually. Of course, no one I met there ever had a betting ring about a wedding, but I wouldn’t be surprised, lol. Most of my ideas all have a kernel of true stories somewhere in them. Midnight Sonata actually started because when I was little, my neighbors were a divorced couple who couldn’t bear to be apart…or together. So they lived next door to each other until the day one of them passed on. My own personal Wuthering Heights, I guess, lol. It doesn’t take a lot to get me wondering “what it?” and taking a true story into a totally different direction.

As an author, you must be an avid reader. What books do you enjoy reading? Who are your auto-buy authors?

Well, I’ve been on a paranormal run the last few years, but yes, I love to read and hubby has learned that wherever I go, I bring our kids, a book and something to write ideas in. Mostly, I think, because I love, love, LOVE books full of wit and spirited characters and heros who are grumpy alphas. (My personal reading weakness) Autobuys for me currently are Nalini Singh, Kresley Cole and Lora Leigh is edging in there. (I was introduced to Breeds and have been done in every since!)

What books are on your keeper shelf?

Well, it’s more a bookcase. I’ve got my Nalinis, Coles, Kate Walkers and Day Leclaires (Did you read her Dantes series??) I’ve got my Nocturnes and various one offs. But I’m a sucker for a dynasty.

Do you read books other than romance books?

Not as often as I used to. I’m a sucker for the Alex Cross novels. I’d go for the Lincoln Rhyme books if I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t be able to stop. I like crime novels and murder books. (And yet, I’m surprised when I have suspense ideas….)

What was the first romance book you read?

Well, I was ten, I think. I don’t really remember the title, exactly, but I remember that it was a Harlequin Red Book of some sort. Desire, possibly, most likely a Temptation. The hero had come back to his hometown, where he’d been the black sheep and was now a billionaire with a chip on his shoulder. I know he was Greek and that his heroine was innocently trampling all over his sensitive issues, which he’d get angry and stomps about before remembering that she was too nice to be working an angle like everyone else he knew. She helps him remember his inner nice guy and he brings a crew to town to make all her dreams come true. I was absolutely SOLD to romance after that.

If one of your books was made into a movie, which book would you like it to be and which actors would like to see as the lead characters?

Oh, wow. Hmmm, well, I could probably see Betting Hearts as a movie. For actors, lol, well, that’d be hard. It would have to be an unknown for Cass, I think. Anne Hathaway, but athletic, lol. She’d need that kind of timing but Anne’s too girly. I’m not sure she could break a guy’s nose in one punch, much less throw him over a table and break it. For Burke… About the closest I could imagine is a Jullian McMahon type. Sexy, smart, a little oblivious and a lot in denial. Julian could do Burke some justice, but he’s getting just a little older for the role. I’d be willing to fudge it, though, lol.

If you could switch lives with one of your characters who would if be & why?

Well, I practically live with Ethan right now (Kiss Me Again’s hero), but I’d have to go with Vanessa from Midnight Temptation. She lives with Raven, which should really be a ’nuff said, right there. But then she’s got twins, so I already have experience with that. Bonus is she can afford a housekeeper.

When you are not writing or reading, what do you enjoying doing in your spare time?

Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Oh, wait, you’re serious. Well, that would have to be watching movies with the hubby. We’re total movie freaks. I usually write or work while we watch, but on those rare nights when my hands aren’t busy, I love to snuggle up to my hubby and watch a great flick.

If you could ask readers anyone question, what would it be?

Let me think… What is the most romantic thing you’ve ever seen or heard about? (After all, one never knows where you might find your next great story idea!)

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Love Me Tomorrow – Dee Tenorio