I had wanted to write a story for Benjamin Chaney for a long time. We saw him as a boy in The Doctor’s Wife and again at seventeen in The Lawman’s Bride. Because of his past, I knew that a relationship with a woman would be difficult for him–especially the physical aspect. And I wanted to develop his growth and see him be the man I knew he could be. But all along I knew it would take a special woman to break through those barriers of the past and show him he was worthy of love.
Occasionally I would ruminate on Benjamin’s predicament, but the right time was coming. When I decided it was time to write his story, I developed it the way I always do. I start with a grid on which I chart the characters, one for each of them, and I listed the things I knew about him. He’s competent and stubborn and inside he’s filled with anger. His motivation is all about sex and self-control. In his eyes passion is a weakness. He has sworn to honor and respect women. He’s kindhearted, but jaded. He knows the dark and seedy side of life and feels tainted. He has to learn how to be a man, the good man he wants to be.
A woman would have to come along of course. A woman who would challenge his strictly held beliefs and rattle his all-important self-control. Being a good man has been easy until now. Until this woman. So who would she be? After much deliberation I came up with three possibilities. I drew three columns on a sheet of paper and headed each one. Prostitute’s Daughter. Preacher’s Widow. Preacher’s Daughter.
Under each heading I listed the reasons she would create emotional conflict for Ben. The prostitute’s daughter was obvious–his mother was a prostitute. This person’s seen as much dirt as he has. She’s the last woman he’d ever want. All good. The Preacher’s Widow didn’t have much going for her. She provided another man for Ben to compare himself, to, but that’s about it. The preacher’s daughter on the other hand had a list: She’s untouched, pure and innocent; He’d place her on a pedestal; She’s his heart’s desire; He’s see in her all he values; He’d believe she was perfect; He’d feel unworthy; She grew up in a life he only dreamed of. Oh, yes….
My working title was The Perfect Wife.
Her name came next. Prudence was obvious, but not pretty. I liked Carrie because it was sweet. But Lorabeth…now there’s a name that brings a picture to mind. You can almost see her by her name, can’t you? She’s hungry for love and affection — love he’s doesn’t know how to give. She’s passionate — eek! She’s impulsive and expressive, warm and emotionally intense. Thirsty for life. Her greatest fear is that she’ll only wanted and loved because she’s perfect.
And then I placed the two of them together and let them develop their story. It was a delightful experience. Once I created and defined Ben and Lorabeth, they did all the work.
**Trying out your advice we will do the Q&A here instead of another post, I forgot to mention that… oops. So if you have a question for Cheryl post away and she will be checking back here**
Hi, Cheryl,
:::waving:::
You already know I loved THE PREACHER’S DAUGHTER! 🙂
The Preacher’s Daughter sounds like a great book. 🙂
I’ve already read The Preacher’s Daughter and really liked it. That said, The Prostitute’s Daughter? Oh lordy, does that have possibilities! I’m already picturing how different the book would have been if you had gone down that path Cheryl! Hopefully you haven’t retired that heroine idea to the bone yard, because I think she would have interesting story implications.
What do you think of the snappy title? Think HQ would title a book The Prostitute’s Daughter? LOL Hey, they already have The Greek Tycoon’s Secret Mistress – why not a prostitute? LOL
I haven’t read the preacher’s daughter yet. When I read what you wrote in the blog about this book it has inspired me to go get a copy. This sounds like a really exciting book. I really love the hero you created, and I look forward to reading about him. You’ve got me all excited to read this book now!!! My question would be, what’s the greatest surprise you’ve had while writing a book?
Hi Cheryl,
You mentioned Benjamin was first introduced in The Doctor’s Wife and then in The Lawman’s Bride. I did purchase Lawman’s, but have not yet read it. I don’t have the Doctor’s Wife. Are the books stand alone, or is it important that I read them in order?
D’Andrea: I’m not Cheryl, but I think you can easily read these books out of order. In fact, I know you can. I still have The Doctor’s Wife sitting in my TBR 🙂 Have read The Lawman’s Bride and The Preacher’s Wife.
I think of them more as connected books, as opposed to a series – if that makes any sense at all…..
Daughter. The Preacher’s Daughter. I keep wanting to call this book The Preacher’s Wife for some unknown reason…..
Ahhhhh – work is done for the day – now I can play! I just read The Preachers Daughter and as with so many of your books I really enjoyed it, I just posted what I thought of it.
I’ve been reading your books for years and I’m one of the lucky ones and I’ve copies of Rain Shadow, Heaven Can Wait, Land Of Dreams and Saint Or Sinner among others (though I don’t have them all so if I’m a lucky one – there are ones I could pick *g*)
I am so glad that Harlequin continues to publish Westerns – and good ones. They are so few and far between these days.
I know PREACHER’S WIFE is great, but think I’ll read it anyway–just to be sure.
Oh, well, phooey–I mean PREACHER’S DAUGHTER!
I loved learning the background to writing the story the Preacher’s Daughter.