Southern Fried Chicas

The Book Primal Instincts

or

How To Really Surprise Your Editor

by: Jill Monroe

Pantzer? Plotzer? A combo of the two? I see this topic discussed on many blog entries…so of course I won’t be any exception. The Chicas suggested I share how the story of Primal Instincts came to be.

It All Started With A Tea Ceremony

When I first began reading romances as a teenager, the heroines had such exciting careers archeologists, international linguist and anthropologist. I explored a lot of the world and a lot of different jobs within the pages of those books – a fascination that has stayed with me to adulthood.

I read or heard somewhere that the Japanese Tea Ceremony was one of the most beautiful ceremonies found throughout the world. Instantly a woman, an anthropologist, who studied eating rituals, popped into my head. And since I write Blaze…these would be the elaborate rites that lead to lovemaking.

Just Make It Up

So, I went to search for all my rituals – Google is often a writer’s best friend. I knew I wanted them all to be food related. In fact, my working title was Recipe For Sex. Found lots and lots of resources that listed foods and their aphrodisiacal properties…but zero in the sexy eating ceremonies.

Back to the story brainstorming.

I changed my original story idea and made my anthropologist, now named Ava Simms, study all kinds of sensual traditions. She’s working to put them in a book. But people spend their entire lives studying single aspects of a particular culture. I could so easily get something wrong. The last thing  I’d want to do is disrespect a group of people by messing up the description of their heritage.

I shared this frustration with my critique partner, and dear friend, Gena Showalter, and she said to me, “You’re a writer. Make them up.”

And I had the best time doing it. I made up people, where they lived and what they did and they were all described perfectly as they were found in the world  no mess-ups because I made them up, and their world was in my head.

So with that, the first three chapters and a synopsis was sent to Harlequin. The book was plotted, so now all I had to do was write it. Plotzer all the way. Easy breezy, right?

Then all of a sudden a new person just showed up in the story. Jeremy Kelso came out of nowhere and lodged himself into what is now known officially as Primal Instincts. He finds himself a woman, too. So, I guess that makes me a Pantzer because I now have a completely new storyline that was never in my synopsis – a complete surprise to my editor.

Romantic Times even mentions the two couples in their review – “Sizzling-hot sex, compelling characters, humor and a dual plot make Primal Instincts (4.5 – Top Pick), by Jill Monroe, a book you can’t put down.”

Sometimes I’m a plotzer, sometimes I’m a pantzer – whatever and whenever works at the moment – that’s what I use. And when in doubt – don’t be afraid to just make stuff up. Or did I make stuff up? I have to tell you there are a few sensual practices that are absolutely true…