Archive for October, 2008
Last month, I read a book about what men want when it comes to sex. The author did her research well and the number of men who responded to her questionnaire was a more than adequate sample, from a statistical point of view.
If you’re interested here’s an Amazon link.
Fascinating reading, but maybe not as useful as what women want–particularly in a hero. Personally, I read a wide spectrum of romance and non-romance and there are several different hero flavors I enjoy. The dark tortured guy is definitely on my short list. And I’ve thought about why that is so appealing. It’s a very romantic fantasy–the one woman who can heal his wounded heart.
Some of my all-time favorite romances are either loved or hated depending on the critics preferences. But, I’m thinking the real secret to selling the dark hero is the writer’s skill. The star of Lord of Scoundrels, Sebastian Balister is a womanizer, arrogant, and unrepentant about his bad behavior (at least in the beginning). And yet this remains one of the best of loved romance novels of all time, due to the magic of Ms. Chase’s skillful prose.
So tell me what are your favorite kind of heroes and, of course, why.
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 1:30 pm |
I replanted the deck boxes for fall/winter. This one is white pansies, scotch moss, and varigated Japanese sedge nicely echoing the change leaves of the birch. Underneath it all are fat tulip and hyacinth bulbs.
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 1:30 pm |
For your amusement here’s a sampling of the absolutely worthless factoids I learned this week:
Some hummingbirds weigh less than a penny– what I want to know is how’d they get those little things to stand on the scale?
No piece of square dry paper can be folded more than seven times in half–why would anyone want to fold square dry paper in half more than seven times?
Cat urine glows under a black light–this actually explains a great deal.
How about you, learn anything entertaining last week?
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 1:30 pm |
Unedited excerpt from Dalila’s Choice coming sometime in 2009 from New Concepts Publishing.
Belle Amity Compound, Earth 2346 post apocalypse
“Wait child, I would speak to you before you depart,” Mother Marian called.
The petite elder hurried toward Dalila, with her deep blue cloak flapping like restless wings behind her.
Standing on the narrow ladder, which led into the passenger compartment, only Dalila’s head was still visible. She reversed direction, climbing to the outer deck, and then jumping lightly to the ground.
Mother Marian never spoke idly, so Dalila was eager to hear her words of wisdom.
When Dalila drew close, she was shocked by the leader’s appearance. Dark shadows rimmed her pale blue eyes. Smudges marred the normally pristine white collar of her long dress. Her familiar lined face seemed to have grown thinner in just the few days since she’d seen the holy woman.
Mother Marion headed the team of scientists, synthesizers, and magic-wielders, who had been working around the clock to ready her ship for the journey.
As Dalila bowed before the collective’s leader, she made the sign of the Goddess over her head, muttering a ritual blessing. Then the diminutive holy woman tugged her impatiently away from the vessel, which was already humming with an excitement that matched Dalila’s own.
She found a warm smile for the elder. “What is it, mother?”
“I fear for your safety, my child.”
Dalila’s smile faded. But, she spoke lightly. “I understand the hazards of space travel, Mother. Indeed, isn’t that why I was chosen? I am unfit for breeding and therefore expendable.”
Mother Marian peered up at her, fixing her with piercing blue eyes. The power of her gaze had not been dimmed by age. “You understand nothing, disciple. The stasis process is far from perfect. Our most recent tests have only a forty percent successful reanimation rate.”
“May the Goddess smile upon this mission,” Dalila murmured, doing her best to hide the fear that the holy woman’s word had fueled.
“Nothing more I can do about the craft. Listen well, my child. For I have scant time to teach you about the ways of warriors.”
“The old ones, who abandoned Earth?”
“Yes. Now, hold your questions and open your mind or you will arrive on Enyo as empty headed as the newest babe.” Mother Marian said, and then muttered under her breath, “Precious little good will you be at expressing warrior semen.”
Dalila was so shocked, she was certain she’d misunderstood. But a glance at the holy woman’s face convinced her that she’d heard correctly. A wild mixture of dread, fear, and excitement increased her tension.
She’d known she was on a sacred quest to gather the precious seeds of life for the sisterhood. But, this was the first anyone had mentioned harvesting sperm from warriors.
The men who’d fled ancient Earth were legendary figures of evil and aggression. Warriors only respected brute strength. The rumors of life on their new planet were tales used to frighten naughty children.
With a wrenching effort of will, she forced her mind to calm, listening intently to Mother Marian’s instructions.
“Some of the warrior factions of old Earth were blindly aggressive, this much is true. But there were also intelligent men who were both strong and honorable. Without the male scientists contributions we would not have a spacecraft to launch. The sisterhood has merely refined previous designs, adding features, and downsizing the craft.” The holy woman paced as she spoke. Soon she was moving so rapidly that her feet no longer connected with the ground.
“There is more, so much more, that you should know, but our time is short. Do not underestimate the men you seek. They were never the clumsy ogres of myth. It’s been more than two millennia since an Earth woman had congress with a Warrior. They may have learned a thing or two. Trust your instincts. They, along with your training, are your best weapons.”
“Yes, Mother,” she said, wishing there was time for even a few of the thousands of questions crowding her thoughts.
The elder beckoned her closer. She bowed, leaning nearer, and then the holy woman’s gnarled hands smoothed Dalila’s temples, forcing her eyes closed. A kaleidoscope of images poured from Mother Marion into Dalila’s mind, etching whole new banks of data faster than she could process any of it. The rate kept increasing until her conscious mind shut down– unable to handle the information overload.
Her last coherent awareness was stunned disbelief at the image of a woman pleasuring a man’s sexual organs using her mouth.
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 1:30 pm |
A guy enters bar carrying an alligator.
He announces to the other patrons, “Here’s a deal for all of you. I’ll open this alligator’s mouth and place my genitals inside. The gator will close his mouth for one minute, then open it, and I’ll remove my package unscathed. If it works, everyone buys me drinks for the rest of the evening.”
The crowd enthusiastically agrees.
The guy drops his pants and puts his privates in the gator’s mouth. Gator closes mouth. After a tense minute, the guy grabs a beer bottle and bangs the gator on the top of its head. The gator opens wide, and he removes his equipment unscathed.
Everyone buys him drinks.
Then he says: “I’ll pay anyone $100 who’s willing to give it a try.”
After a while, a woman in the back of the bar raises her hand. “I’ll give it a try, but only if you promise not to hit me on the head with the beer bottle.”
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 1:30 pm |
1) Working for myself (I’m not always reasonable)
2) No job security and no two week notices or severance pay
3) No co-workers, just me and my imaginary friends
4) No paid benefit package
5) Long production period–it takes me months to get through a first draft
6) Even longer waiting period to hear on a submission–yes once you’re published the wait times decrease, but they’re still a long ways from instant communication.
Despite it’s allure as a dream job, writing romance has a few drawbacks, especially for someone who needs a regular paycheck. Yes, of course, there are those who make a handsome living from writing. But, it’s a pretty select club.
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 1:30 pm |
When it comes to reading about sex, normally I subscribe to the Mae West school of thinking. “Too much of good thing is…absolutely wonderful.”
Recently, I read a book with a bit too much sex. Or perhaps it was the placement of the love scenes. The first half of the story had no sex, other than sexual tension. By the time the couple made love I was more than ready for it to happen. But, once the relationship had been consummated, the author poured it on. Another hundred plus pages of more of the same, and I got a little bored.
The writing was still excellent, but the sex, that was so exciting the first half dozen times, had become predictable. In real life a deepening tender lovemaking experience would never get old. But, here’s another area where what is pleasing in fiction and what is pleasing in real life differ. In writing once all is well with the romantic couple, there’s little to say worth reading.
In this particular tale, all that kept me turning the last hundred pages was the unresolved suspense. And the suspense plot was not the strongest part of the story.
In the vast and popular sub-genre of romantic suspense there is a wide range of suspense to romance ratio. The best selling titles include a small sub-plot romance, if any. I’m flexible about how much romance versus suspense is in a book. But, the few titles elevated to keeper status have a strong romance element.
If you read romantic suspense, how much romance do want in your thrillers?
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 1:30 pm |
Early morning in the front yard with the white asters (Cape Cod is the cultivator) spilling over the lawn. I love white flowers all year round. One of my favorite nurseries is White Flower Farm. But, there’s something special about white winter flowers…
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 1:30 pm |
It’s silly to pretend we have four season in Seattle. We have two–rainy and not so rainy. Real heat and real cold are both anomalies, easily ignored and certainly not in need of ritual or celebration.
Despite the slight difference between rainy and less rainy, I love the changing of seasons. According to my internal calendar mid-October is the beginning of fall-winter, otherwise known as the rainy season. This is time to put the flannel sheets on the beds, change the sofa’s cover to deeper jewel tones, redo the deck boxes with winter blooms, dig out sweaters, and change to the red dishes.
Dishes have an appeal that rivals books, although for practical reasons my dish ownership is severely limited. The realities of time, money, and space don’t curb my enthusiasm. Different china patterns enchant me for no reason other than their intrinsic beauty. I don’t need to actually eat off them to enjoy their presence. I could easily devote a room to tasteful built-in cabinetry designed to showcase a china collection.
But I live in the real world, so I don’t collect anything, sadly not even leather bound first editions of the classics or the French impressionists.
Do you collect anything? If not constrained by practical considerations, what would you collect?
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 4:00 pm |
When both Hunter and Tru bond with Amber their mating triangle threatens everything they hold dear.
Determined to help rescue the princess, Cassandra agrees to act as the dragons’ sex slave, but can she guard her heart from the dominant males?
Camille, a plump, sweet-natured breeder, is caught in New Eden’s endless war with Baldor. Her mates, Jaxon and Aegis, need cunning and courage to rescue her. They need a miracle to capture her heart.
Werewolf-whisper Daniel is the only one who can heal Scarlet’s broken werewolf connection. If he succeeds then the pack’s needs will eclipse his claim on her heart. But if he fails, they'll both die.
A Scarlet Past, the story of Scarlet's parents is available on Amazon or Barnes and Noble for just 99 cents!
A lonely woman finds passion with a dominant much younger lover, when she tries to leave she learns her new master plays for keeps.
The Enyo Chronicles includes both Dalia's Choice and Joon's Tempation.
Three different stories, three dangerous men, and three women who deserve them.
One dangerous warrior woman plus two rogue demon males equals a love to threaten an empire.
Getting paid to watch Eduardo is Desiree’s dream assignment, but when he reaches out to her, crossing the line, everything changes.
Deep in her secret heart, she lusts for a sexy pirate who’d be her master and commander in the bedroom. But, this man may be too dangerous
One woman, two men, three wounded hearts--though already mated their love is still forbidden.
A reluctant reporter and a lone wolf undercover cop work to catch an extortionist, finding love requires the most dangerous risk of all.
Street-smart cop plays princess to catch deadly terrorists. Now,the only man she trusts is the one she can't resist.
What Sam doesn’t know may kill him--the love of his life is his worst nightmare--his enemy’s daughter.r.
