Yearn for Me, Darling

I am a lifelong devotee of slow burn romance.

It probably started when I was nine, screaming into the spine of Ella Enchanted as its pages clung for dear life—or perhaps when I watched The Mummy far too young, and noticed how bumbling and adorable this hotshot adventurer would turn every time Evie glanced his way.

As I got older, there came Booth and Brennan whose will-they-won’t-they dynamic lasted half a decade on Bones. Various mangas held me by the throat in my teens (Maid Sama, Ouran High School Host Club, Fruits Basket), while YA was rife with longing (Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Vampire Academy, Darkest Powers Trilogy).

And then, of course, came this scene from Once Upon a Time.

(Yes, there is a Venn Diagram between Captain “Hook” Killian Jones and Faolan, my pirate and “Wolf of the Wild” extraordinire)

Give Me Tension, or Give Me Death!

The basic rule was this: I craved moments that would absolutely melt me. Tension held taut as a bow string that could snap at any moment—but crucially, does not. I wanted disaster people who create chaos together, and whose longing was forbidden by themselves or outside forces.

I wanted spectacular imperfection, and genuine growth—to believe these two are the only ones who could possibly see through each other’s bullshit, and reach the vulnerable heart that lies beneath.

More than anything, I wanted them to be achingly, ferociously in love.

To yearn for each other, knowing that might be all there is.

And that is why I love slow burn.

For it to work, there has to be tension—a very real possibility that it doesn’t work out. Their lives are too different. The stakes, too severe. Maybe one person’s self worth is garbage, or the other inflated sky-high. Perhaps it’s circumstance or class—witch and witch hunter, princess and pirate. Their love could be forbidden, or an error in judgement, require too much sacrifice, etc.

And so they must yearn for each other—longing touched by sadness, wistful and wondering as delicate hope tangles constantly with despair.

But gods above, what a payoff when they finally, finally kiss.

Illustration by Emma Gillette, commissioned for Soulgazer

What does this mean for Soulgazer?

Soulgazer is a slow burn romance.

Ironic, I know, considering pirates are rather the antithesis of patience—yet that is precisely why they are perfect for this story. Faolan and Saoirse’s dynamic is that of the trickster and martyr (a blend of archetypes I’d love to dive further into at another time), and the place those two energies meet is disruptive and beautiful and utterly chaotic.

It also takes time to tease out.

So in regards to The Magpie and the Wolf duology, and the spice levels I’ve been asked about quite a bit, yes there is on-the-page intimacy and sex in both books! My writing style leans more towards the sensual rather than explicit (at least as far as this series is concerned), so while I’m not sure you could classify it as particularly “spicy,” the tension is high and the moments, rewarding.

That is honestly my greatest goal in writing any romance, but particularly this one. I want each and every bit to feel earned. Every kiss, every touch, every bedroom scene (and cove, and crypt, and cabin).

I hope you fall in love. Aching and ferocious.

I hope your heart leaps the first time they touch.

I hope you yearn.

-Maggie