I’d like to welcome a friend and fellow member of Classic Romance Revival as my guest blogger today! I’m pleased that LK Hunsaker has included my blog on her whirlwind tour promoting her new book, Off the Moon.
Take it away, LK! 
*****
Silence: Sword and Shield
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Hi Sandy! I’ve been following the incredible success of your books and am glad to be here today to chat with you. They are still on my TBR list. Following this tour, I think December will get to be heavy reading month. 
So far, I’ve been focusing largely on Ryan, my mc/hero. I want to turn things around today and start delving into Kaitlyn’s story.
As I mentioned at my last stop with Maryann, Kaitlyn has had a very traumatic life for still being so young. She’s a teen, which is a boundary push for romance, while Ryan is in his mid-twenties. I may have just lost readers, but I should say that I do not write graphic scenes and Ryan does nothing illegal, if that pulls anyone back.
We all deal with different types of trauma by different means. I know one of Sandy’s books deals with the Iraq war and a hero recovering from that experience. Kaitlyn is dealing with the effects of a different kind of war and is very much in the post-traumatic stage when Ryan meets her. She’s had incredible loss in several parts of her life and feels she has nothing left. Ryan’s job throughout the story is to convince her she’s wrong.
The way she deals with trauma is to become nearly silent, pulling into herself as a means of protection. Ryan is a talker. In fact, he rambles just to ramble. This opposite way of dealing with his own issues makes for an interesting comparison and pulls Kaitlyn in immediately. Even though she doesn’t have any POV during the story, we clearly see her study him as he rambles, picking out what he’s actually saying, or not saying, in between the nonsense. Ryan, in turn, has to figure out what Kaitlyn is thinking by what she doesn’t say.
At first appearance, she seems opposite of most romance heroines. Strong, independent, in control women dominate the current romance scene. And why not? Women are indeed taking their places on stage now instead of being controlled and background as they were in the past. However, not all strong, independent women need to be outspoken and aggressive. Strength and control have many faces. One of them is silence.
Refusing to talk is Kaitlyn’s shield. It protects her from anyone seeing too far inside. It is also a very sharp sword. As a fairly silent person myself, I’ve seen how it can frustrate someone talkative who needs that constant communication. It also frustrates Ryan. The more frustrated he becomes, the more silent she is – her only way of controlling him and the situation.
As it turns out, Kaitlyn is actually a very strong heroine who does take control as she needs. In fact, she’s so far my strongest heroine. She knows what she wants and is willing to risk everything to get it. There is a much larger point made in this novel: don’t underestimate the quiet people in your life. Most often, there is a lot more strength behind it than can be imagined.
Take that as a warning.
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Buy Link for Off the Moon preorders:
http://www.elucidatepublishing.net/books.html free US shipping through Nov. 27, discounted outside US
Off The Moon website:
http://www.lkhunsaker.com/OffTheMoon/main.html
Also, be sure to check my blog for novel-related features. I have an interview with NYC drummer Gino Scalmato up, as well as an interview with singer/songwriter Vicki Blankenship. More to come! http://lkhunsaker.blogspot.com
Off The Moon
LK Hunsaker
“Riveting” Ryan Reynauld is immersed in a world of music, parties, and temporary companionship. Having risen to the top of the pop charts, his biggest concern is objecting to the way his music is produced. That is, until he finds a young woman standing on a window ledge. Against the advice of family and friends, and through media attacks and fan protests, Ryan determines to care for her himself, making a promise that threatens to destroy his career.
Convincing the skittish girl she can learn to trust again comes with a steep price. Sometimes the path to recovery begins by allowing your world to implode.
Elucidate Publishing
November 2009
Print ISBN 978-0-9825299-0-4
Ebook ISBN 978-0-9825299-1-1
Thanks for letting me chat here today, Sandy!
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Next up—Family Relationships hosted by Lizzie Starr, Nov. 25
http://starrwords.blogspot.com/
The full tour itinerary is available at Classic Romance Revival.
Don’t forget to leave your comments! One person from each blog will be drawn to receive a signed, mailed copy of the short story LK has written as a bit of a prequel to Off The Moon, called Toward The Sky, plus there will be a signed print book drawing for anyone who comments on at least 8 blogs! Winners will be posted at http://www.classicromancerevival.com/blog/?p=1520
Hi Sandy! Your blue background makes a nice, calming place to chat today, and it matches my book!
Nice to be here. Let’s see if anyone is hearty enough to still be following along.
I had to chuckle at your observation about quiet people being stronger than most people imagine, having had quite a lot of experience with that, and knowing first-hand how true that is. I can already see several people I recognize in this blog, and I’m really anxious for this book to come out. I have been followng the blogs, without idea for comment, but the description of the heroine has really tripped my imagination.
Ah, maybe I should have been talking about Kaitlyn earlier! I hope this book will help dispel wrong opinions and ideas about silent types. The reaction to it could be interesting.
I’m glad to have you here, LK! I’m really looking forward to reading Off the Moon!!
Thanks Sandy
I should mention — the title of today’s post is a “borrow” of a song mentioned in the book, although it’s not mentioned by name. Anyone listen to Sister Hazel?
Ah-ha, still waters running deep, right? Hi LK! I think I have found my Christmas holiday reading, you know.
This story just sounds better and better. I really, really like the way you’ve described Kaitlyn, and I have to say I especially like the fact that she doesn’t have a pov scene in the story. I know - especially in romance books - many people want the pov of both the h/and/h, bit it doesn’t bother me either way. It’s intriguing that you’ve chosen to use only Ryan’s pov to let us see Kaitlyn, and I can’t wait to see how you’ve done that, LK. After all, the solitary/solo pov is how we see life, isn’t it? And with what you’ve said about Ryan earlier in this blog tour, his reaction to a seemingly closed entity like Kaitlyn is going to make great reading. Having seen a number of your excerpts before from your other books, I know you write depth of character so very well, and I love the premise of Ryan and his background, and his dilemma. This sounds SO very good!
Jane x
Jane, I’m blushing. Thank you! I hadn’t planned to do it all from Ryan’s pov - it just worked that way, which I’ll talk about more later on in the tour.
I’ll be anxious to hear your reaction to the story. Thanks so much for coming by again!
This may be the time to begin my quest for understanding the genre “literary romance.” I like what I’m hearing about “Off The Moon.”
Hey TC! Glad to know it’s pulling your interest, and I’ll be anxious to hear what you think.
Thanks for coming by.
WINNER:
(this is for the short story, to win the book, comment on at least 8 blogs along the tour!)
I used WDC’s virtual dice and counted 2 comments other than myself and my blog host, plus previous winners (and family) and came up with number 1.
Congrats, Jane! The story will be mailed right out! Please contact promotions@classicromancerevival.com with your mailing address.
Link to the contest rolls:
http://www.writing.com/main/tools.php?action=roll_history&lookup_item_id=1618296