On Writing Princess Romances by Harlequin author Melissa McClone

Happy Monday! My friend Melissa McClone has a new Harlequin Romance book out this month called NOT-SO-PERFECT PRINCESS and is on a book tour now!
I'm thrilled that she's stopped here today to talk a little about the recent subject of her book: princesses in romances.

So please welcome, Melissa!

A little bit about her: Melissa McClone writes for Harlequin Romance. Her November '10 release Christmas Magic on the Mountain is a RITA® Finalist in the Contemporary Series Category. She graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but quit her job to write romance novels. Writing happily ever afters is a lot more fun than analyzing jet engine performance. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, three children, four cats and a dog named Chaos.

I'm so happy to be back at Me, My Muse, and I. I had a lot of fun here during my visit in February! If I was a new-to-you author then or am a new-to-you now, a look at my new release Not-So-Perfect Princess and my February one Expecting Royal Twins! might lead you to assume I write a lot of princess books. In fact as this virtual book tour was being set up, my gracious host today, Jennifer, told the organizers, "… she does a lot of themes with princesses, maybe she could talk about that and why."

Given the popularity of royal romances, I'm happy I've been able to write three of them. One for Silhouette Romance and two for Harlequin Romance. All three stories feature prince heroes, but only the most recent two had princess heroines. The stories are standalone, but one character makes an appearance in all three books—Princess Julianna of Aliestle. I've been dying to write her story for years now!

It all started when I wrote a manuscript called If The Ring Fits… It was a Golden Heart Finalist in 1998. (I'd sold another book to the Silhouette Yours Truly line in late 1997 but due to the rules at that time I could remain in the contest.) The hero was a prince, but the heroine was a klutzy American. I love rags-to-riches stories, but I wanted to flip it. I made my heroine wealthy and tired of the privileged life. Her ideal Prince Charming wasn't a prince, but a cowboy. She didn't want to live in a castle, but a ranch.

To counter my so-not-ready-to-be-a-princess heroine, I created a secondary character who was the perfect European princess, the kind of woman my hero should marry (except for the fact he fell in love with the klutz!) From the minute Princess Julianna appeared I knew she should have her own story. My critique partner at the time even said Jules would be the perfect Sleeping Beauty heroine. I agreed.

I eventually sold If the Ring Fits… to Silhouette Romance. It was released in early 2000. I kept telling myself I wanted to write Jule's story. By then I had already sold a third book. I had an almost two year old and was expecting another child in a couple of months. My editor suggested I write something else, so I wrote about my klutzy American's cousin. I kept telling myself someday I'd write Jule's book!

Someday took over a decade! My love of reading royalty-themed books made me want to write another. By this time Silhouette Romance had merged with Harlequin Romance so I developed a brand new story, what eventually would become Expecting Royal Twins!

I wanted to add a twist to this royalty story so I had my princess, Isabella aka Izzy, not know she was royalty (something that has been done many times in the past) but I also gave her a non-traditional occupation—a car mechanic who dreamed of working on a NASCAR pit crew. The last thing Izzy wanted to be was a princess, married to a crown prince and forced to wear gowns, heels and a tiara!

I needed a foil to Izzy. Someone who could be a mentor and a friend, a fairy godmother so to speak. I knew the perfect person…princess…Julianna. I asked my editor if I could resurrect Jules from my old Silhouette Romance. As soon as I received the okay, I couldn't stop myself from brainstorming about Jules' own story.

As the days and weeks passed, I knew I needed to ask my editor if I could write her tale next, but part of me was worried. It had taken ten years for me to write a second royalty-themed story. Would it be another ten years before I got the chance?

Imagine my surprise when my editor asked if I wanted to participate in the Once Upon a Kiss miniseries where each story is loosely based on a fairytale. I knew right away I wanted to write Princess Julianna's story and use Sleeping Beauty. My editor agreed. I actually screamed when I read her email!

In Not-So-Perfect Princess, Julianna strives to be the most dutiful, perfect princess she can be. Not easy when she's from an archaic country with outdated views of gender equality. But she believes she can make a difference to her countrywomen by doing what's required of her—marrying a crown prince she doesn't love. But to do that, she'll have to sacrifice her own dreams and keep sleepwalking through life. Not the best existence even if you get to wear a tiara! Unless a handsome prince can awaken her!

I don't know when I'll get the chance to write another princess story. My next heroine who'll be out in my November '11 release is a paramedic and volunteer mountain rescuer. But I hope it's not another ten years! I think princesses make really great romance heroines because from the time I was a little girl I've wanted to be a princess. But since my Prince Charming came without a royal pedigree and a castle, writing about a princess is the next best thing!
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Thanks so much, Melissa! I LOVE princess themed romances!

Here's a little more about Melissa's book:

While the Princess was sleeping…

Dutiful Princess Julianna has a secret—she’s actually happiest makeup free, sailing with the sea breeze in her hair. Her attraction to rebel prince Alejandro is instant—but her intended is his brother, the proper but dull Enrique!

For the first time, Julianna’s irresistibly tempted. Before long, she’s spending her nights sailing with gorgeous Alejandro while the rest of the palace believes she’s sleeping. Soon she’ll have to choose—remain the perfect princess, or follow her heart and stop sleepwalking her way through life.…

**CONTEST**MELISSA WILL BE GIVING AWAY a $20 Amazon gift certificate to a random commenter from her tour; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found HERE.

I love that Melissa's book has a Sleeping Beauty theme instead of the classic Cinderella theme (although I'm a sucker for both)!

Have you written or read a fairy tale themed book? Do you like them?

Do you have a favorite fairy tale themed book? What fairy tale would you like seen done?