Fwapping away for a while

While half my cyber friends are in Reno at the RWA conference, and the other half are having left-behind parties, I'm misssing out on both as I'm going to Canberra today for 6 days.

I'd post something wildly scintillating to keep you amused while I'm gone, but.... hmm.... can't think of anything.

...other than the challenges of writing suspense type plots when technology is making the difficult situations my characters might find themselves in obsolete. I was discussing surveillance technology with the DH on the drive to work this morning. Because if my secret agent characters can be fitted with a small microchip that enables them to be located by satellite anywhere in the world, then how can I lock them up in a hole in the ground and have nobody find them for 4 months, huh???? I was counting on the fact that any such device would be sending a radio transmission that anti-surveillance scanning devices could easily locate (good reason for my guys not to have them), but no, DH says, they have devices now that only transmit on receipt of a signal.

Hmmmm. Now I have to work out why my two top agents in the depths of dark places of the world wouldn't have these.

Oh, well, I have five hours in plane travel this afternoon to contemplate this.

I may not get to post while I'm away. Not that anyone will miss me much, I'm sure.

The perfect response

Thanks to some inspiration from the RWAus email loop I'm on, I'm now waiting for the next time someone asks me (with a superior smirk) why I write romance. Because now I can reply with a smile,

"I write popular fiction because I think it's way more sensible than writing unpopular fiction."

Oops - again

Oh, shirt. I'm sure I must have posted something in the 12 days since 11th July. Not that I can remember it, but then my brain does resemble sludge right now.

Sludge filled with html. At work, I've been working with 7 academics to prepare their materials for the new semester's online units, due to go live on Monday. And running workshops on how to do it to the next batch.

At home, I've been developing this website for my critique group.

I'm going to write an article for writers on developing web sites. Some day. Probably not this week, as I'm going to Canberra for work on Thursday for 6 days - extra bonus that I get to see my family. And it's only a few more weeks before I go to Melbourne for the RWAus conference.

Tomorrow I need to do some sewing for that. Maybe that will dislodge the html from my brain.

And tomorrow I'm also going to do some writing. Yes. Really.

Brain Hibernation

Ooops - the days have slipped away without me posting. Sorry about that. I think my brain wants to go into hibernation - either that, or it's just overloaded and taking some time out. Although I've thought of a few things this past week or so I could blog about, I've just been too brain-tired to do it.

DH was away for four nights at a conference last week, which meant I had to get up early and walk our two energetic border collies each morning - plus do the other daily chores around the place that we normally share. I don't usually sleep all that well when he's away, either. Although I don't get worked up about being alone, miles from the nearest neighbour, I think my body or some part of my subconscious stays a bit more alert than normal. And it's winter and cold...

Okay, that's enough whingeing. I only have this week still working two half-time jobs, and I'll be really glad when that's over. From next week, I'll be working additional hours in my permanent half-time job, so while that means I'll be doing full-time for another 4 months, it will be so much easier only doing it in one job.

I may have some brain space left to write :-) I actually wrote about 1,000 words yesterday, and although it was on the 'wrong' book (the new idea I came up with a couple of weeks ago) it did finally get the creativity trickling again, so it felt good. And I'm using Mariane (pronounced with a French lilt) as the heroine's name, abbreviated to Mari.

And soon I'm going to start the countdown to the RWAus conference in Melbourne in August. I'm looking forward to it - it will be only my second ever conference, and first RWAus one. Not to mention my first 'holiday' trip away (other than visiting my folks in Canberra) for almost 3 years.

No wonder my brain gets tired.

The Naming

Usually, it doesn't take me long to come up with names for characters. A couple of days at most. But for my latest story idea, the heroine's name is still eluding me, after more than a week. I've 'narrowed' down the possibilities - now there's only 26 on my list!!

The hero's name is Ronan. There may be a French/Breton/Celtic connection in the heroine's family. So, Ronan and...

Ghislaine Ariane Brede Ceridwen Grainne Damaris Eilis Eliane Elaine Emer Ruth Isabeau Juliet Kira Lianan Liane Liliane Lise Lissa Madelaine Maidlin Mara Mariane Marielle Mari Meg

???

I'm leaning towards Mariane.... or Grainne (although many people won't know how to pronounce it). But none of them are saying 'yes!'

And the really stupid thing about all this agonising, is that most of the time when I read a book, I don't remember the characters' names 10 minutes after finishing it. But when I'm writing, I have to get it right.

RWA

I haven't got my RWR yet, so haven't seen the survey included about the definition of romance that has assorted blogs afire. As I understand it, the RWA offers two alternative definitions of a romance - a romance is between a man and a woman, or between two people.

Okay, so those two options could still be construed as excluding werewolves, menage a trois etc. And you might be perfectly happy with the current definition. But they are asking the question. Of us. Members. And presumably they will be guided by what we have to say.

So, TELL THEM WHAT YOU BELIEVE IT SHOULD BE.

Sorry, yes I shouted. Complete the survey and send it in, with your comments. Email the Board members and provide them with your reasoned thoughts. Go to the AGM at Reno, or, if you can't, nominate someone as your proxy - the form was in a recent RWR.

The 2000 article about RWA that Paperback writer linked to has some figures that should make us all stop and think:

...why should anyone care? Many RWA members don't, or else they don't want to become involved in an organizational process most charitably described as embarrassing in its shortsightedness.

Less than 15 percent of the members attending the conference attended the general meeting. Less than 20 percent of RWA's national members bothered to vote, even by proxy -- a regrettable situation, since RWA could make a crucial difference in the never-ending fight for writers' and artists' rights. The sheer number of RWA members -- 8,200 total and at least 1,500 published under the most restrictive definition of the word -- and their combined economic clout make RWA a force to be reckoned with.

RWA doesn't exist seperately from its members. The Board members are volunteers, they are ordinary mortals with strengths and weaknesses, elected by the members.

Make your voice heard.

Then, accept that there is no way that in an organisation of 9,000 members covering a wide diversity of people, that everyone is going to be happy with every decision. It simply isn't possible.

Some decisions I don't agree with but I can live with. If decisions go against my conscience, however, then it's time to reconsider my membership.

But those decisions have not yet been made, and I intend to ensure that my thoughts are heard in the right places before they are.

Outgrown ourselves?

I've been musing occasionally in the past few weeks about the RWA problems, and the recent column on RTB in which Tara Gelsomino from Romantic Times sought feedback about the magazine, and it seems to me that perhaps romance as a genre is just too big and diverse to expect any one organisation - or magazine - to be able to cover it.

Given that romance books make up 55% of all mass market paperback sales in the US (and similar in other countries), and there are over 2000 new titles each year, it's way bigger than most other genres put together.

Would it be so bad if there was more than one writers' organisation, catering to different sections of the genre? The organisations would not have to be competitive with each other - RWA presumably maintains friendly relations with other writer's organisations in other genres, so why not in different branches of romance?

And, assuming there's a market for it, I think it could only be a good thing if there were more magazines catering to romance readers - one might be more fanzine, another more review focused, another could be more literary style - or whatever the readers want. Without trying to please all in one publication, which must surely be impossible. (Note: I've never read Romantic Times, because it isn't readily available here.)

Maybe one organisation can serve us all - I'm not sure. I wish I was able to go to the RWA conference in Reno to participate in the AGM, but unfortunately I can't. However, I've given a friend my proxy, so at least my vote will count if critical issues come up.

I wouldn't want to see a split of the organisation in anger - but perhaps we should be discussing and asking ourselves whether we have grown (and grown up) enough as a genre that we can establish friendly, co-operative but seperate organisations to support the members interests - and work collaboratively when appropriate to encourage growth in the broader genre.

Cold x 2

I've temporarily moved my laptop back out to the living room. It's been cold lately, and one of my offices at work has been without heating, and I'm coming down with a cold myself (courtesy of DH), and I'm tired of not being warm. So, yesterday when it was cold and grey and we lit the fire before lunch, I moved from the study (heated only by a fan heater) back into the cosy warmth.

The weather forecast for the next few days suggests we might have light snow - which is a rarity around here. We get maybe a couple of 'falls' a year but I can only remember a couple of times when enough stayed on the ground to make a (very small) snowman. Usually, it melts as soon as it falls. Snow weather however always feels cold, though, because the daily maximums are low and the sun doesn't come out. The majority of our winter days are dry and sunny, which is more pleasant.

The heating at the morning job still isn't back on. They were working on it this morning again, but without success. Even though I dressed warmly, I still had to wear my coat for the first hour of work today.

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to find a name for the heroine in the story I dreamed up at the weekend, and I spent some of this evening going through my name lists without THE right name leaping out at me. Her hero is Ronan, her brother Dominic. I need something feminine, but not sweet or sissy. She's an historian, quietly confident, independent, socially capable but with layers few people see. I think her mother may have been French or Breton, so that might affect her name.... any suggestions???

Dreaming

Life has been waaayyy too busy lately. Two half-time jobs does not equal one full-time job - especially when one of them is actually a busy full-time job in itself. So I'm overtired and cranky and frustrated and my brain has been ready to explode for weeks - and no, I'm not getting much writing done. By the time I get home, let the dogs in, bring wood in, get the fire going (it's winter here), make dinner, eat dinner with DH (about the only time I see him), and then sit down at the computer, it's 8.30 at night and my brain goes, "Who, me??"

But the good news is... looks like I'll be able to do the PhD I want to do, which is connected with romance and internet things, so it will actually make a link between my writing and the permanent day job. Surfing the web will be a legitimate activity ;-)

And... the night before last - or rather, the 5ish in the morning yesterday - I had a dream which gave me a great idea for a story. A number of my stories have developed from strong dream scenes, so this is not unusual for me. This one will be a sequel to the ms that won the Valerie Parv Award - that first one isn't finished yet, but the ideas that I've had since yesterday for the second one are actually really helping my thoughts for the first. I can see some more possible layers and intricacies for the plot - along with perhaps a curly twist at the end. To be honest, I'd been a bit stumped on the first one; I had a plot outline, great main characters but something wasn't quite 'jelling' right, and I wasn't feeling confident that I could make it work. There's still some detail to work out, but the excitement for it is back again.

I've roughed out the first couple of pages of the second novel, which is enough for me at this stage to get some ideas churning and some shape to the characters, and now I'll leave it and get back to the others in the queue.

Less than two more weeks of the second mad job... I may get a life back after that.

A national treasure

We're into our fourth year of drought in my state - the worst in a century. This was one of this week's cartoons from my favourite cartoonist/poet Michael Leunig:


I love the way how, with a few lines and his signature 'simple' drawings, he encapsulates so much. In this case, a gentle humour - those guys could be my rural neighbours ;-)

In other cartoons, he invokes our consciences, shows us despair, compassion, guilt, hope, reality and surreality. Leunig doesn't just make people think - he makes them feel. A few years ago he was named a National Living Treasure - and he truly is. You can read more about him here, and see more of his cartoons here, here and here.

Music for loving

I was thinking about writing a blog entry on music and writing last night, as I was gnashing my teeth and staring at the screen. Then the Smart Bitches talked on their blog this morning about music for sex, getting in first and much more wittily, as usual, and totally eclipsing my small, not-then-existant ramble.

I'm rewriting a love scene. For the umpteenth gazillion time, trying to get the darn thing right. This one is tough. The characters are reserved, controlled, and powerfully attracted to each other - emotionally even more than physically. They're also exhausted, and in the middle of a heart-rending case, and they both know that after the case - if they get through it - they're each going their different ways. So it's a love scene more than a sex scene - tenderness, emotional intimacy, vulnerability, poignancy. (Yes, yes, I do have characters that just get down and do it, but these two aren't them.)

The 'theme' music I've been playing while struggling with this scene includes several haunting Celtic airs: 'Mrs Mary Stitt' (played by the group Tannas); 'Seathan' (Alistair Fraser); and 'Fraoch A Ronaigh' (Mouth Music). DH burned my playlists on to a CD at the weekend, and I may well wear out the CD tonight, trying to finally nail this damn scene down.

In total contrast to these characters, I've already drafted the first and second love scenes for the hero and heroine of the loosely-linked sequel. And their music couldn't be more different, becuase the characters and the scenes are so different. Waterboys. Early Waterboys. Raw and earthy and passionate and demanding and uncompromising. Best played up LOUD. A Pagan Place. Savage Earth Heart. Don't Bang the Drum. Trumpets. The Big Music. This is the Sea.

The next book I have to finish after this one might well have some Sinead O'Connor in it's 'soundtrack'. Troy, Drink Before the War, Never Get Old, Just Like You Said it Would Be. Not so much the literal words of any of those, but the emotion of them - the passion, the darkness, the honesty, the knowing.

Of course, the problem for me with listening to music is that ideas for stories bubble away. I'm listening to Sting's Englishman in New York right now - and I'd love to come up with a hero like that ;-) Once again, not so much the literal words, but the idea and the emotion and rhythm of the music. (He would, naturally, look like Sting.) And someday I'll have to write a sex scene to Dave Brubeck's Take Five. (Ellora's Cave might have to publish that one.) June Tabor's song The Old Miner has me itching to write an historical. Dead Can Dance's The Writing on my Father's Hand - I think that will have to be a somewhat dark fantasy.

Yes, just in case you were wondering, I do have eclectic tastes in music. We've got 300+ CDs in our collection, plus a few zillion vinyls. (Yes, I'm that old. And DH is even older.)

Oh, and the next time anyway tries to tell me that writing sex scenes in romance is easy and formulaic, I may well hand in my pacifist card and get violent.

Common historical costume errors

I've been buried under the pressures of work lately, compounded by teaching a spinning workshop all last weekend. But here's the promised post about costume errors that I find frustrating in historical romances.

Silk chemises
Okay, there may have been a few of them around. But the fact is, linen is much more comfortable next to the skin, and could be exquisitely fine and luxurious. Forget modern starched linen. Especially forget fabric marketed as 'handkerchief linen', because most of that is actually ramie, not linen at all. Ramie is not as fine, and is stiffer and scratchier than real linen. Real linen as used for underclothes becomes wonderfully soft the more it's worn and the higher-end stuff is beautifully fine. Even the lesser quality linen was still soft and sensual on the skin. My DH had a pure linen shirt years ago and it was soft, and fine, and draped wonderfully, whisper-soft on the skin. Pure bliss.

Corsetless Heroines
If you're writing Regency, you can get away with you heroine not wearing a corset. If you're writing pretty much anything else between about 1480 - 1915, and your heroine is even vaguely respectable, then she wore a corset the majority of the time.

You think corsets are uncomfortable? Restricting? Tight laced? Ummm... no. Many women (including me) find that a properly fitted corset is more comfortable than a bra. Yes, your posture is a bit different - but women wore corsets from adolesence onwards, and were used to them. They provide back support, boob support, and encourage a better posture.

Facts about corsets:

• Dresses were designed to be worn over corsets. If your heroine puts on a dress without her corset, it won't sit right. Everyone will know that she's not wearing one.
  
• Tight lacing was a short-lived phenomenon practised by only a few in the later 19th century - probably about as common as nipple-piercing today.
• The slight restriction of corsets on deep breathing can heighten the sensual arousal and excitement for a woman.
• Corsets are incredibly sexy. Ask any guy of your acquaintance. Men find them very, very enticing - the sense of the forbidden, the hints of what lies beneath stimulating the imagination....

Pre-20th century women in trousers
I recently read a 19th-century set American historical in which the heroine - a respectable woman, employed as a nanny - spent most of her time wearing trousers. Because they were more 'comfortable'.

Yes, some women undoubtably did don trousers in pioneer America and Australia, for practical reasons while trekking, riding etc. But respectable women didn't wear them around their employer's house as a matter of course. And women who'd spent most of their lives wearing long skirts and only loose linen or cotton underwear around their fannies probably didn't find moleskin or denim trousers cut for a man's shape to be 'comfortable.' Physically or socially. Which is probably why, in all the diary accounts and letters of pioneer women I've read, I can't recall any references to women wearing trousers. It's sort of like expecting modern women to go naked to their corporate jobs - yeah, it'd be more comfortable than power suits and heels, and a practical saving on cleaning costs, but there's a whole lot of other reasons why we just don't do it.

I'll probably remember the other costume issues I was planning on ranting about later, but it's been a looonnngg day and my brain just died.

Tagged by Kate

I stumbled, bleary-eyed and still half-asleep to the computer this morning to discover that Kate had tagged me.

Now that I'm slightly caffeinated:

Total number of books I own (I'm not going to count the DH's as well):

• 300 or so costume and textile books
• 300 0r so novels and a few non-fiction in the living room
• a stack of probably 100 category/series romances in a cupboard
  
• about 150 children's and YA books in another cupboard
• 200 or so academic history books
• 200 or so boring management/leadership etc books in a box in my car (I ran out of bookshelf, so they've been in the car for a month or so.)

Space is a bit of a premium around here, so I've culled the book collection several times in the past year. I've also been very broke, and haven't bought as many books as I'd like. But today is the first day of the Rotary book sale, and I'm going into town shortly, and can probably afford to actually spend about $30 on books ;-)

Last Book I bought: On Wednesday I bought Sharon Sala's Bloodlines and Merline Lovelace's The First Mistake. (No, not you, Miskate.)

Last Book I Read: You mean the one I started reading at the gym the other week and have put down somewhere and now can't find??? It's a romantic suspense. By What's-her-name. Big name. Came out a few years ago and I've borrowed it from the library. Must be in my car somewhere - the car DH refers to as the movable office.

Five books that Mean A Lot To Me: Only 5??? How am I supposed to pick 5 books from 40 years of reading???

Mister God This is Anna, by Fynn

Maid of the Abbey, by Elsie Oxenham - the first Abbey Girls book I ever read (aged about 9) and a lovely romance

Any book by Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist/poet and beautiful soul

The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula Le Guin

The Shiralee, by Darcy Niland - he worked in rural Australia in the 1950s and wrote evocatively of the time and the people. His male characters in particular are brilliantly drawn; tough, hard-working rural men - real alpha heroes with flaws written by a man who was one himself. (Author Ruth Park's two-volume autobiography of her life with husband Darcy Niland is also wonderful.)

Five people I'm tagging:
Amy, Claire, Joanna, Rae and Carrie

Edit: Darn, Kate already tagged Amy. So, Janice, if you've got a blog, you're tagged!

costume rant

I apologise to my handful of loyal visitors that I've not been around much lately. I started a new half-time job two weeks ago, in addition to the old half-time job, and that has sucked up most of my time and my brainspace.

But now I'm in ranting mode. The cover art on today's 'Pick' on the e-Harlequin site got my hackles raised. I have no idea about the quality or content of the book, and my rant in no way reflects any opinion on the book itself or its author*. But what's with the darn dress on the cover???



(If you can't see the picture, right click here)

Another example of cover art that bears no relationship to actual historical costume. And it's not even trying to be a Fabio cover, which I don't expect to have any relationship to any fashions seen outside a bordello. The book is apparently set in Montana, so I'm assuming sometime in the nineteenth century. The dress has some stylistic similarity to early Tudor styles (1500s) - except that there's no underskirts, undersleeves, and the fabric isn't anywhere near right, so the drape of the dress is more medieval. Unless our heroine had fallen under the influence of the Liberty set (unlikely, in Montana) then that dress simply could not have existed in a woman's wardrobe in Montana in the nineteenth century.

I don't read as widely as many of you, but I've noticed the tendency in a number of American-set historical romances to have costumes on the cover that just aren't right. And I'm not really picky, honest. Regencies tend to be a bit more accurate, and I'm happy to grant some artistic license. And the Fabio-style covers are supposed to be way over the top. But why can't cover artists of covers like this, which are (I presume) meant to convey a more realistic impression, actually portray something vaguely right, instead of this fantasy of women's fashion that never existed?

Some day I'll rave on about the portrayal of historic costume in novels, and all the totally wrong things that some romance writers fall in to - like their heroines never wearing corsets because they're 'uncomfortable', and silk chemises, and women wearing trousers.... but darn, I'm just too tired to rant any more tonight.


*If anyone's read the book and recommends it, let me know. It won't come out here in Australia for a couple of months, but if it's good I can probably get over cringing at the cover long enough to read it.

Cultural differences in romance

Monica Jackson is doing a great job in blogland reminding us that romance doesn’t – and shouldn’t - just come in shades of white. I’m interested in how authors and wannabe authors portray diversity in their work. Do white writers consciously consider issues of race, ethnicity and diversity as they write? Do you make efforts to ensure your novels reflect the non-uniformity of our societies?

Like the US and the UK, Australia is a very multi-cultural society, although patterns of immigration, race relations, and ethnic and racial balances are different. Nevertheless, many of the issues are similar. As a writer, I want to ensure that the Australia I portray reflects the reality. Yet I’m very conscious that as a white, Anglo-Celtic, middle-class Australian, my experience as a member of the majority culture is very different from those who belong to minority cultures. I’ve been heavily involved in equal opportunity issues for most of my working life, so while I’m aware of the major issues, I’m also very aware that there are a zillion ways in which cultural differences are manifested that are subtle, perhaps sub-conscious, but which add up to a very different experience and, sometimes, a very different ‘way of knowing’ than the majority culture can really understand. For this reason, I’m very hesitant to pretend that I know enough to write heroes or heroines from very different cultural backgrounds to my own.

The loosely-linked series I’m currently working on is set in a small fictional town on the edge of the outback. I made a conscious decision when I began writing it that, while I didn’t feel qualified to write Aboriginal heroes or heroines (the issues surrounding the indigenous experience in Australia are very complex), I didn’t want Aboriginal people to be invisible. Nor did I want to succumb to the stereotypical images of Aboriginal people – either positive or negative. So, I have a major secondary character who will appear in all the novels (Adam) who is a Murri, and there are mentions and references to consulting with local elders, as a normal part of the way in which the community works. In the second novel, the hero will discover that his mother was Aboriginal, one of the ‘stolen children’ who never knew her own family due to the forcible removal policies that operated here until the 1970s. I won’t make a Big Issue out of it, but it is one facet of his journey to come to terms with his own life experience, within a fairly complex plot.

Will Adam ever get his own story? Probably not, because a) I don’t think I could adequately portray the experience of an Aboriginal man, and b) he’s still young, yet :-) But you never know… by the time I get to the end of the series, he may have his own HEA.

So, while I can only view indigenous issues through a white person’s eyes, and through the things Aboriginal people I know share with me, I hope that Aboriginal readers will regard it as a respectful view.

But is it Literature?

I read this quote from Helen Falconer in the Guardian book section this morning:

When women write cheerful, upbeat stuff about aspirational females out and about in the world, they are bluntly informed that it doesn't count as literary, it's just chick lit. ... This situation means that there is a vast sea of books by female authors out there that are too well-written and quirky to be trashed, but which by their nature (written by women, about women, for women) do not qualify as literature.

And then over on Booksquare's and Brenda Coulter's blogs there is discussion about the article in The Book Standard which quotes Otto Penzler, 'dean of mystery-writing in America':

“The women who write [cozies] stop the action to go shopping, create a recipe, or take care of cats,” he says. “Cozies are not serious literature. They don’t deserve to win. Men take [writing] more seriously as art. Men labor over a book to make it literature...."

It really worries me that in 2005, any definition of 'Literature' that so blatantly excludes women and women's values and interests can be accepted as the norm - even by women.

I've been mulling all day over how I would define a novel as a 'Literary' one. Not that books have to be 'literary' to be good - there is nothing in the slightest wrong with a rattling good yarn read purely for enjoyment, whether it be romance, chick lit, women's fic, sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, mystery, whatever. But yes, there are books for me which go further than providing an enjoying read, that I would class as 'literary'. So, what do those books have for me? One or more of the following:

• evocative writing
• emotional engagement
  
• originality of concept
  
• deftly drawn, fascinating, complex characters
• beautifully crafted story-telling
• a perspective of the world that shows me new things in it
  

A glance at my bookshelf shows the following books I frequently reread and that I'd class as 'literature': Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness; Herman Hesse's Narziss and Goldmund; Patrick Susskind's Perfume; Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird; Kathleen Creighton's The Top Gun's Return; Ruth Park's The Harp in the South; Darcy Niland's The Shiralee. And, least you think literature has to be Serious - Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, which meets pretty much all of the above criteria (including laugh-out-loud emotion).

Yes, some of you will have spotted it - I've included a romance in that list. A category romance at that. And I didn't get struck by lightning. Not yet, anyway.

I'm interested in how others define 'literature', and whether there would be any romances on your list of literary books. I know that only about three people per day come here, but hey, feel free to make my life more exciting by leaving a comment ;-)

the good and the bad

I got a second half-time job today, which will last for two months. The good part about that is the $$$ - I definitely need them. The bad part is that it cuts my writing time down to just evenings and weekends. I guess I'm just going to have to be even more disciplined. (No, no - put those whips and chains away )

Oh, well, at least I'll be able to afford to buy a book every now and then. I've only bought about 4 this year so far, and I've had to resort to my local library for reading fixes.

I 'celebrated' the new job today by buying a book - Gwen Hunter's Shadow Valley. Although our small town, being a university town, is reasonably well supplied with bookshops, we are talking small, and there's not much more romance in the bookshops than the limited range in the local library. (There is, however, plenty of Literature. The university influence is strong.) I know nothing about Gwen's book other than the back cover blurb, but it was the only Mira romantic suspense I found in the shop I was in. I haven't started it yet.

I feel some mail order coming on..... any recommendations of good, well-crafted, realistic romantic suspense?

Under the deluge

Sorry, I've been deluged with general life and work stuff and haven't posted for days. Not that anybody really probably notices, but hey, just in case someone comes by here who's been before, I thought I should mention that I'm not dead. Yet. Despite the evidence to the contrary.

I'll try and put up a scintillating post tomorrow or at the weekend.

Plot? Character? Logic??

It was the DH's birthday yesterday. He's not into major celebrations, so we just had a quiet day at home, and in the evening we watched - for the second time - the DVD of the second Matrix movie.

Okay, so it's kind of fun. Kind of. If you can get past the wooden acting, nonsensical plot, incredibly bad script, total lack of any internal coherence, and the way over the top ridiculous fight scenes. All those guys coming at him, he's fighting for ten minutes straight at high speed, and the man doesn't raise a sweat or even breathe heavy??

And people criticise romance for being plotless fantasies. ;-)

Drawing the line

There's been some interesting posts on various blogs the last few days. My poor cold-befuddled brain keeps going 'wow' and then overloading, because there's more than it's currently capable of thinking about. Rosario's post on RTB about heroes, scoundrels, and where we draw the line, was the latest one I read, so it hasn't got totally lost in the murkiness of my brain yet. I posted a comment over there, but it got me thinking about my attitudes in reading, and also in writing.

I like reality in my romances - while I read for pleasure and enjoyment and a break from work, I don't read to 'escape' my world - I want to see the good things in it affirmed. So, my preference is not for 'fantasy' characters. Okay, so they can be slightly larger-than-life, but I want them real. And to me, the fundamental basis of any lasting relationship has to be respect, so if I can't respect a character - hero or heroine - for at least something, I can't believe that they're capable of giving respect and loving.

And because of that, I find it very hard to accept any hero or heroine who knowingly commits violence against the other. There'd have to be a damn good reason for me not to throw the book at the wall. Maybe it's because I spent too many years working in youth and women's refuges, but yes, I'm fussy about violence and particularly sexual violence.

One of the biggest, most damaging myths about sex is that sometimes a man can't control himself. I draw the line there and refuse to perpetrate it in contemporary romance. A man always has the choice, and if he chooses to override a woman's concern, then he has already dehumanised her in his mind and there is nothing of respect or romance or love involved.

That doesn't mean everything has to be prissy-prissy sweet. Gaargh. I said I like reality, and my reality is fairly gritty. But I do have a problem with the way the whole 'redemption' notion is handled sometimes - almost as though these bastard characters realise their wrongs, and miraculously with the heroine's love, change overnight into better human beings. Yeah, sure. Watch out for those low-flying pigs.

Don't get me wrong - I like heros who are hard, tough, on the edge. I'm currently writing a hero who is, in some ways, something of a bastard. He's fiercely tough, bitter, a loner, an ex-con who's had to literally fight for survival at times, and he's more than capable of violence. He's also, with regard to a couple of issues, walking a fine line morally - some might think, immorally. Will he be 'redeemed'? Uh, no. He's done the things he's done for good reasons in the circumstances, and given the same circumstances he'd do them again. But he respects those worthy of it, and he respects the fiery cop who is the heroine right from the beginning, even though he distrusts cops. And that respect comes before (okay, not long before ;-) ) the attraction that flares between them, so the attraction is not simply physical, which makes it all the more powerful - and dangerous. Their first sex scenes are pure raw passion and need; nothing polite or tender or gentle. But even though he has all this violence and anger bubbling inside, it's not at Kris personally, and he makes damn sure he doesn't take it out on her.

I mean, let's be honest about these really, really tough guys - if they're tough enough to face down violent crims and survive the life they have, they're sure strong enough to control their sexual urges if necessary, and to control the violence within. That's what makes them heroic, in my mind.