Joanne Dannon & Tropes with a Twist

Please welcome Joanne Dannon back to the blog today!
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Tropes with a twist

I read somewhere there are only a handful of romance tropes, think – 

• Friends to lovers
• Secret baby
• Forced marriage
• Billionaire and an ordinary gal

To make your writing shine and stand out, you need something to make your story interesting and I

call it a twist. It’s what you make it interesting to keep the reader glued to your book.

In Notting Hill, it was heroine who was the “superstar” not the hero. It had the twist that made it interesting. Same with Roman Holiday where he was a reporter and she was the Princess. I do have to add that Roman Holiday is a love story not a romance since they don’t end up together.

But with these two movies, they added an interesting twist to hook you in. On top of that, you have awesome actors, clever dialogue and terrific secondary characters.

Looking at your writing, what can you do to add a twist in? Twists keep your writing fresh and interesting. Keeping in mind, all romances end with a “happily ever after”, so why should readers read your books?

Irrespective of your writing style, you should look at what twists you’ve included to keep your story exciting. 

In some of the old 1950s movies, the heroine would unpin her hair, take off her glasses and voila, she was stunning and the hero would suddenly notice her. Real life isn’t like that and in today’s romances we don’t expect women to physically change themselves to make themselves more attractive to men.

Using the duckling to swan trope, what can you do to add the twist? In my latest romance, Hannah is an everyday gal and is not the glamorous/hot type that Zac usually dates. In his POV we know that he sees her as pretty, reliable and a good friend. So how did I make Zac go from seeing Hannah as his sister’s friend to someone he can’t stop thinking about? That’s the twist. 

I spent a lot of time working on this so after a few chapters, Zac starts seeing her in a different way. He’s fighting it because he doesn’t want to take advantage of his sister’s BFF. 

It makes you want to read more. We know that Hannah likes him but will she be with him, knowing it will only ever be short term? Predictable is boring. You want to make your reading exciting so your readers will want to read more of your books.

Happy writing ☺ 

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Joanne Dannon, an Australian author, writes to give her readers the experience she loves to savor--indulging in a sigh-worthy-happily-ever- after, being swept away from the everyday by diving into a delicious romance novel.

Joanne is a happily married mother of two heroes-in-training who loves spending time with friends and family. She can be found on Facebook and her website www.joannedannon.com chatting about reading, writing, cooking, vintage-inspired dresses and all things romantic.

Joanne Dannon on the web:  

Facebook      Website      Instagram      Goodreads

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Forever Mine is the 4^th book in the Alex Jackson series and can be read as a standalone book.

It's never a good idea to fall for your best friend's brother... or so they say. 

Hannah Greene is fed up. A romantic at heart, she's had a major crush on her best friend's brother for years but he's never noticed her. To shape a life for herself away from Zac, she must move on.

Zac Warne, smooth-talking sales guy who takes responsibility to a whole new level, loves the thrill of the chase but is not interested in settling down, ever. It's not that he doesn't believe in love, it's just not for him.

But circumstances have Hannah and Zac spending one weekend together and a night of fun leads to more than just emotional consequences for them.

Compelled to right wrongs and beholden to fix problems, Zac has to convince Hannah his about-turn about wanting a relationship with her is not just one of convenience. Can Hannah now trust this smooth-talking playboy who has a reputation for breaking hearts, including her own?

Buy on:

Amazon

Amazon Paperback

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Thanks Joanne!

I love some tropes and I'm not too fond of others, but I especially love when there's a twist on a favourite trope.

What about you? What's one of your favourite tropes?

Joanne Dannon & Indie Publishing

Please welcome Joanne Dannon to the blog today!
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I started my writing career in 2005 when most books were read in print and self publishing was virtually unheard of. I loved romance, always have, so it was only natural that I would start writing in the genre I loved.

I have to confess that back in 2005 I had no idea what I was doing. Yes, there are some authors who can write and have their first book is published. But I wasn’t one of those writers.

I learnt what writing craft was and started reading as many craft books as I could. I connected with other writers  (through  Romance Writers  of Australia) and soon had a couple of critique partners who provided honest and valuable feedback on my writing.

Fast forward a few years and I was managing to write one novel a year. Not a lot but then I had two children, my corporate job and a hubby who travelled a lot. I had plenty of rejections from romance publishers which was difficult and many times I considered to stop writing. 

I then took six weeks off work, did a Margie Lawson course with a friend and with my newly found confidence, I wrote the story and the hero I wanted to write. 

Note - this book was published in December 2015 as Kisses under the Spotlight which currently has 4.7/ 5 star ranking on Amazon.

Instead of a hero who was a banker or CEO or entrepreneur, I created Alex Jackson, a singing, dancing superstar. Just think of Michael Bublé, Hugh Jackman and Adam Garcia all rolled in to one super hero! Yum :) My mentor, the amazing Melanie Milburne, who’s written over 55 books for Mills and Boon told me no publisher would want a dancing, singing hero.

And guess what? She was right! Every romance publisher I submitted to rejected my book. 

But I was determined not to change my hero. I’d written what I loved and wasn’t prepared to compromise. I wrote a series and this was book number 1. Unable to sell the first book, meant my other books couldn’t be published. 

With a corporate job, I just wrote what I wanted. I wrote the heroes, heroines and storylines that I loved. It was a defining moment for me because even though my books were being rejected, I knew they were much better from when I’d tried to fit them in to a “box” of what I thought the publishers wanted.

And then I went through redundancy in my corporate job at the same time my husband had a serious fall off his bike, injuring his vertebra. Then my father-in-law became seriously ill and later died. Our family needed me. I needed to care for my husband, our children and my mother-in-law. I couldn’t even think about applying for a new job when there was so much stress going on in my personal life.

And so I headed down the path of self-publishing. It sounded easy, everyone said so. I’d like to add that advice given to me was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Self publishing is hard. Sure you can stick a book on Amazon but there is much more to being a successful self-published author.

I now have 5 books published and work long hours to make my books, the best romances they can be. And behind is an amazing team that supports me – my editor, my formatter, my artist and my writing friends. 

I love the freedom that being an indie writer brings however, despite the enormous work load, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I write the stories I love but what makes the long hours worthwhile are the beautiful reviews and feedback I get from my readers. I am one very happy romance writer.

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Joanne Dannon has been living in the world of romance for as long as she can remember.  From doodling love hearts on her school notebooks to regularly reading romances, Joanne’s world has always been filled with the excitement of love stories. So it was just a natural for Joanne to begin writing the genre she’s always loved. 

Formerly a policy writer by day and romance writer by night, Joanne now spends full time writing the books she adores. Creating heroes for readers to fall in love with and heroines to cheer on, her characters are people readers can identify with.

Joanne writes to give her readers the experience she still loves to savor—indulging in a sigh-worthy-happily-ever- after, being swept away from the everyday by diving into a delicious romance novel.

Joanne Dannon is a happily married mother of two heroes-in-training who loves spending time with friends and family.  She can be found on Facebook and her website www.joannedannon.com chatting about reading, writing, cooking, vintage-inspired dresses and all things romantic.  She loves to hear from readers.  

Joanne Dannon on the web:  

Facebook      Website      Instagram      Goodreads

An Unforgettable Holiday

A Magical Christmas In Jerusalem

Australian project manager Kiara Lonsdale is career focussed and determined to provide and care for the grandmother who raised her. Taking time off work to vacation has never been high on her agenda, but this year she’s made an exception. She’s helping her gran fulfil a life-long dream by accompanying her on a Christmas to the Holy Land tour.

Jacques Lenoir and his extended family run tours in Israel and he’s committed to their business. Jacques feels responsible for his grandparents’ welfare since they risked their lives, and others’, as operatives in the French Resistance, during the War.

But over romantic dinners in the desert, camel rides, and mud baths at the Dead Sea, sparks fly between Kiara and Jacques. Will this only be a holiday romance or will a touch of Christmas magic make it last a lifetime?

A Magical Chanukah in New York

Lisa Sassoon has shunned the scandal of her loser-ex cheating on her by escaping to New York. Instead of sightseeing, she’s become a recluse focusing on helping the less fortunate at a homeless shelter.

Gabe Olivari, entrepreneur and savvy business New Yorker, can’t let go of the pain of losing his best friend. So caught up in his own grief and believing he doesn’t deserve to be happy, he compensates by pushing everyone close to him away.

But when Lisa and Gabe meet, there is an instant connection that forces them to question not only their behaviours but their aspirations.

Can a dash of Chanukah magic help Lisa and Gabe realise that sparkling dates and dreamy kisses can lead to more? Perhaps even a lifetime of happiness?

Buy on:

Amazon Kindle

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Thanks Joanne! Indie publishing is definitely Hard Work - and you're doing it very well. 

How about you? Indie or traditional or a combination of the 2? Are you a fan of Christmas stories (I am and Joanne's are great!)