Guest Blog: Heather Long

Three Shades of Sex (Or Changing My Point of View)

First let preface this blog with a great big thank you to my hosts for having me. As I sat down to write this, I am waiting for the dryer to finish with my laundry so I can fold it up, pack and finish getting ready to leave for Authors After Dark in New Orleans.  Only last minute good fortune allowed me this opportunity to go and I personally can’t wait to get there to see old friends and new in the colorful theater of the city of New Orleans itself.

But I digress…

I wanted to take a moment to talk to you about Jacob’s Trial, the second book in the initial trilogy that launches my Forbidden Legacy series. I’m especially proud of Jacob’s Trial because it allowed me to dig deeper into a world that I only managed to glimpse in the first novel: Cassandra’s Dilemma.

So why didn’t I dig further in that first book? Because the first in the series was told solely from Cassandra’s viewpoint. Don’t get me wrong, I love Cassie, but Cassie didn’t always understand the political and social nuances of engaging with the Fae or the Wizards. She didn’t have the history or the ancient enimities nor did she really face a challenge beyond trying to stay alive and convincing the two men she loved (enemies to boot) that she wanted them both.

Now, before you say it, yes, I know that was a challenge.  But unlike Jacob and Helcyon, Cassie wasn’t conditioned by centuries of hate and anxiety nor did the blood spilled run as deep in her history as it did in these two men.

When I began Jacob’s Trial, I knew that I had to go into Jacob’s head and Helcyon’s—I had to engage all three perspectives in order to really tell the tale and do it justice.  And let me tell you—damn, do I wish I’d done this sooner.

I fell in love with Jacob’s grumpy heroics and Helcyon’s dashing assuredness right alongside Cassandra, but seeing her through their eyes—seeing the world through their eyes—introduced me to a darker, deeper level where their passion could explode.

How could this woman be so subsumed by two men? How could she captivate them? How does one find a balance between hate and love? How can passion build a bridge to the discovery of love, truth, and the promise of a future together? And how far will—and can—these enemies go to save her and each other?

Yeah, that’s what I loved about Jacob’s Trial and why I was so excited to continue that erotic journey through Hels’s Gauntlet (releasing August 19).  Discover the passion, the ancient wounds, and the lover’s triad that changes their world.

Do you find that you prefer the hero or the heroine’s perspective when you read a novel?