Carmen Falcone on Using Settings to Mirror Your Character’s Emotions....

Things are getting hot here today...I mean, Hawaii type H.O.T! I'm so pleased to welcome back the lovely, Carmen Falcone who is no stranger to my blog. She's here to chat about her latest release, Heating Up Hawaii and her love for beach locations! Leave a comment below and you could win a $10 Amazon Gift Card! 

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Whether it’s summer or winter outside, I love to read about books set at the beach. Isn’t it funny how the dimensions of things change? For instance, we all hate humidity, right? And the blinding sun while we’re trying to find our car in the parking lot isn’t all that appealing, either.

However, if we’re reading a story set in the scorching swamps of Florida or the white sands of French Polynesia, we forget how geeky we look with those plastic personal fans hanging from our necks—you know, the kind that you buy for twenty bucks and only use once, like when you’re at a theme park or you just want to ruin your own reputation. Yes, the escapism romance novels provide just by being set in a lush location lets us forget how stinky our leather sandals get only a week after we buy them, or that stubborn trickle of sweat, sliding from our necks and down our spines, even if we’ve just showered.

Okay. I’m done with nasty references. Now, the journey begins… J

My latest release, Heating Up Hawaii, has Maui for a background. I chose that island in particular because it offers a plethora of activities and sightseeing opportunities, but also because each can evoke a different response—the lure of dormant volcanoes, the luxury of beachfront resorts, the environmental awareness surrounding rainforests.

All of these elements contribute to mirroring the character’s reactions, as I always use the setting to show a range of emotions.

The excerpt below refers to the POV of our heroine, Penny. She arrived in Maui for a work assignment, and has to work with Luc Leoni, the owner of the resort—and her first love.

“A week in, and the beachfront view from her balcony still arrested Penny whenever she glanced past the golden curtains that flowed all the way down to the high-thread carpeted floor.

Tall coconut trees and their long leaves framed the ocean's sparkling blue waters and the pristine beige sand. Most of the time, tourists crowded the beach. They sunbathed, maneuvered sleek speedboats or simply strolled along the sea.

Not today. Today, solitude had washed off any liveliness at the beach. Almost deserted. She remembered the silly questions her teenage friends had asked her during slumber parties. Who would you take on a desert island with you? She often named a singer from a boy band instead of the boy next door, who was the one she really had a crush on.

She chewed on her lower lip. Nowadays, who would she name?

Not Luc. Although their suites were side by side, she hadn't seen him much. He'd introduced her to Brad, the friendly resort manager, and had a couple of meetings with her about goals and expectations. However, Brad had usually participated in those.

She'd found out their suites actually adjoined, but of course only if both of them wanted, would a door in each room open and turn into a ridiculously enormous penthouse.

Every time she looked at that door, a strange sensation coursed through her. It bothered her that a simple grasp of the handle would unlock a world of sexual excitement and bittersweet memories. Sometimes, she could almost hear the click in her head.”

See how a seemingly innocent, empty beach can make someone think? I could have used the serenity of the beach to calm her nerves, but what I wanted in that scene was to inject tension and show the reader a couple of things about her. For instance, when she assumed she never told her childhood friends about the boy she really had a crush on, we learn that she has a high sense of self-preservation. That’s part of the core of her personality, which will later conflict with the possibility of rekindling a romance with a man who’s now her boss.

And the fact that she looked at the adjoining door and contemplated in her head the repercussions of opening it? She doesn’t know it, but a part of her has already turned the knob—or maybe she’s that close to opening it.

How about you? Do you have a preference for settings? 

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Heating Up Hawaii
by Carmen Falcone

May 2013

After a long separation, will Penny and Luc's sizzling attraction be enough to surpass their startling secrets?

There is just one person standing between Penny Ashbrook's dream of opening her own PR business or being stuck at her job: the formidable Luc Leoni - her first lover, and the man who lets nothing and no-one get in his way. Seeing him after so long brings all the hidden emotions after a life altering break-up to surface. Pain, denial...and lust.

Luc has made many sacrifices for his career, including Penny Ashbrook, the woman who set his aspirations back a year. But now she has returned and is more alluring than ever. After all these years, he thought a self-made billionaire like himself could master everything, but to resist the strong pull toward the one woman he can't have is an impossible task.

When this unlikely pair is reunited they will have to face the many challenges set in their way, especially an attraction that has only heightened with time and a deadline quickly approaching. Can their new bond surpass old—and new—fears?

Bio

Carmen Falcone learned at an early age that fantasizing about fictional characters and places beat doing Math homework any day. She traveled the world, achieved a B. in Tourism in her hometown in Brazil and was soon invited to work in the USA, where she met her Swiss husband. She'd always dreamed of becoming a published writer, and after her daughter was born, she revisited that dream of writing - this time, unwilling to give it up. She lives in Austin and enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her family and three high energy pugs.

You can contact Carmen via here, here and here....

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'Til next time! 
Sam :-) 
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