Temptation is one of those books that you either love or hate. Mostly because both characters are flawed and make mistakes that could make anyone raise their eyebrows. Red is so firm in his conviction that marriage isn’t for him that at first he comes off as kind of an asshole. Meanwhile, Trinity can come off as quite having trust-issues that are taller than a mountain. If you read the book, then I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t read the book… WHY? Why, why, why? Seriously… WHY? Grab your copy first before you read this post because there will be spoilers.
Okay, now onto the tea.
1: RED’S MOTHER IS DEFINITELY A RACIST
You must’ve gotten a hint of it when you were reading her parts, right? The lady doesn’t like people who don’t look like her, which is everyone who isn’t Asian. Trinity got only a small taste of it but if I do write a follow-up book, Hye-jin’s distasteful attitude will be more obvious. Usually, I don’t really focus on racism in my stories. I prefer my characters to be tolerant of differences between them and others. However, everyone knows that the world isn’t perfect like that. Hye-jin might end up being my first venture into that world.
2: JOSEPH’S ACCIDENT
Everyone’s wondering what actually happened to Trinity’s father because I didn’t really explain it much when I was writing the story. Well, before his accident Joseph was a mechanic. His dream was to own his own shop but even without it he was a pretty good father, husband and provider. When Trinity was thirteen, he got involved in a car accident that messed with his spine and vocal cord causing him to lose the ability to use his limbs and his voice. In the story, he is going through rehab. But I’ll be honest, after 15 years of being like that I don’t think much is going to change in his condition. The Barclays are pretty lucky that he is still around.
3: MY INTEREST IN ASIAN CULTURE INFLUENCED THE STORY
Now you all know that I’m currently addicted to Asian TV. I’m out here bingeing hard on Korean romantic comedies, Chinese wuxia series and Japanese medical dramas. It’s kind of surprising that I’ve only written one book with an Asian lead (The Love Contract) and even then the female lead was an Asian. I think it was time for me to try an Asian Man with a black woman romance. Expect more in the future.
4: THE CHARACTER’S CHOICES ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF MY OWN
As you’ve read the book, I think you’ll realize that both Red and Trinity are pro-choice. Now, my blood is liberal red. I’m open-minded about a lot of things, but I haven’t yet decided what my position on abortion and stuff like that. The reason is because I can identify with both sides of the conversation. Maybe it’s because I’ve never really been in a situation where I had to decide between my future or an unborn child.
Right now I’m old enough and financially secure enough that even if I had an unintended pregnancy, abortion wouldn’t be on my list of things to do. I can afford to be pro-life. But I don’t know everyone else’s situation or background so I think it’s only fair for me to sit out of the conversation and not have an opinion. Either way, when you see my characters being pro-choice don’t assume that that’s my stand. It’s theirs and they have their reasons that go beyond just politics. Next time I might have a pro-life Lead who knows.
5: RED & TRINITY’S STORY IS NOT OVER
Red and Trinity’s journey is just beginning. Trinity is getting into a family that is extremely different from hers, not just because of how they look but how they think too. It would be interesting to explore these differences and follow her journey as she tries to adapt. That would of course include conflicts in hers and Red’s relationship because he has to be loyal to both her and his family. If I write a follow-up book for them, there’s a good chance that it will be based in Korea… ya know, throw Trinity into the furnace and see whether she burns. The future of that story is in your hands. Let me know in your review whether you’d be interested in a Part 2 and I’ll see what I can do.
6: DESTINY’S RECOVERY JOURNEY MAKES A GREAT STORY
Destiny is another character who had me fascinated. She’s a smart girl who got roped in by addiction and is trying to crawl out of it. It would be interesting to see how this works out in the long run and whether she can sustain a relationship all while trying to stay clean. I haven’t decided whether I’ll give her a story but if you guys really, really insist I might think about it.
7: JASPER SAWYER’S ‘PRETTY, PRETTY’ WROTE THIS BOOK
Jasper Sawyer is pretty unknown in the singing world but I’m not sure why. The guy has a great voice and great lyrics. Why are you all sleeping on him? I found him by chance. I was watching someone’s apartment tour and they had ‘Pretty, Pretty’ playing in the background. Immediately I was hooked and I went to look for the song. It’s a pretty song and it talks about loving each other even after time when looks fade. You should check it out.
Have you read Temptation? Learn more about it
If you read it, have you reviewed it? Review it HERE
Is there something you really want to know about Temptation? Ask away. Drop a comment below and I’ll answer it ASAP.
Cheers,
Linda.
Ah! You’d forgotten that Michael even had a brother, right? Even though he didn’t make an appearance in the book and was only briefly mentioned, Gabriel exists. He’s an architect with a heart of gold. That’s why he’s out in Venezuela trying to build houses. He’s also gay. I know, I know… how radical! But hear me out… I’m trying to make an effort to be more diverse about the characters I write. In future don’t be surprised to see Gabriel back in the States and looking for a relationship. Yes, that means that I will try out MM fiction. Are you ready for it or did you just give me a side-eye? Let me know what you think.
Y’all know this lady called Lisa, right? She is a mess. Can you imagine having a mother like her? Yeesh! But mothers like this exist. Most people in Gigi’s position would cut contact with her and I know some of you were wondering why Gigi still gives her space. Well, she’s family. Think of it this way; Gigi has no father, no sibling and her grandmother (the person who really cared for her) is dead. Lisa is her only blood relation. She might be a devil but she’s the only one Gigi has. I’m not sure that there’s a line that she could cross that would make Gigi cut her off. But who knows… now that Gigi has a new family she may start to realize just how toxic her mother is. I know y’all would’ve liked me to give the two some closures but sometimes in life people just stick with family even if they’re crappy.
As you already know, the Michael Walcott is trash. But I was going to make him even trashier. Jasmine is a personal finance manager with a thriving YouTube channel. Teddy offered to get her a radio gig. I was going to give her that and a column with a Buzzfeed like online paper. Michael, with all his money, would then have ruined the whole thing by threatening to withdraw advertisement from the station and paper unless she was fired. His way of making her back off from the investigation. I was even thinking of getting him to pay people to mess with her channel (maybe leave bad comments or spread rumors). I know, I know. I’m as wicked as the Walcotts :D. But just imagine how awful her life would’ve been.
When I planned the book, Worth was going to be completely in the dark about Sin’s nefarious plans. Right now, what you know is that Sin ditched her plan to marry and steal from him after discovering Claire’s dirty ways. But in the original manuscript, despite knowing Claire’s motives, she would’ve been unable to cut herself off from the woman.
Okay, the lady is already bad but at one point I considered making her worse. You know, zero remorse, just stealing from people because she can. The idea to make her a kind of Robin Hood came from a friend who always gives me advice after seeing my plans. Her thought was that she didn’t want to read a story about a woman without any sort of moral compass. Plus, as douche-y as Worth can be, he had moral fiber right from the start. It wouldn’t have been fair to him to give him someone truly bad. I agreed. Do you?