I’m really proud of this series, and that we are able to bring out book two this Wednesday. Since today is “F,” I figured I’d feature the book that started it all.

When Rachel and I set out to write Emerald Fire, we had a specific idea in mind.  We were exploring the idea of romance tropes, and the beloved Harlequin “white covers” that Rachel grew up reading as a young adult.  Many of their themes are tame to modern readers, but they still hold a regal place in the history of the romance genre:  the wealthy sultan and his harem girls, the billionaire playboy and the secretary/down on her luck heroine of some kind, etc.  Flashdance.  From rags to riches, swept off her feet and into his heart.

But we wanted to write a M/M romance, so we looked at this tropes with a new twist – what about a sultan with his harem boys?  Now, coauthoring being what it is, her ideas met mine and merged into a synergy that is now what we know of as Persis and its Keeps.

But that begs the question:  where shall we put our Sultan and his harem, I wonder?

What about you, Dear Reader?
What beloved tropes do you remember from your favorite books, past or present?