Good Girl Heroines

This weeks we're talking about our favorite heroines here at Fierce Romance. It's not easy for me to come up with a favorite. I love all my heroines, from the submissive jewelry designer in Bound by Design to the futuristic sex slave in Chains of Desire to the customer service phone rep in See Me. I love them all. But if I had to pick my favorite type of heroine, I'd have to pick the good girl.

I've written several good girl heroines. Sarah Austin in The Ride of Her Life. Julie Brightman in Dark Angel. Annie Shane in Bad to the Bone.



Annie is the perfect example of the good girl heroine. She'd never done anything wrong, took care of her sick mother, put her head down and worked her job no matter what, got dumped by a guy who called her boring. She decided that being a good girl had gotten her nowhere and decides to make all her decisions based on the question, "What would a bad girl do?" Of course, she runs into a bad boy who tries to keep her out of trouble, all the while falling in love with her, and the fun starts there.

I have to admit that my love for the good girl rises from the fact that I was a good growing up. So I love giving good girls their own adventures. And sexy heroes who love them just the way they are.

How about you? Do you enjoy reading about good girls and bad boys??

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com

Falling In Love

This week's theme at Fierce Romance is love and romance. After all, this is the week leading up to Valentine's Day. And all of us here love to talk about love and romance, it's probably our favorite topic. At least it's mine, and therein lies the problem. How to pick just one topic, something specific enough to not overwhelm one little blog post.

Then I remembered a statistic I read about romance readers. I wish I could remember where I read it, I'd give credit where it's due, but the fact was that one of the most important parts of a romance, to the reader, is the moment when the hero or heroine realize they've fallen in love. It struck a chord when I read that, because I totally agree. As readers we want to experience that emotional moment of actually falling in love. It's wonderful, right? It's uplifting, isn't it?

Well, I was actually suprised when I scanned some of my stories to post examples. In most of these moments, the character is not exactly happy about falling in love.


This is from my first novel with Samhain, The Ride of Her Life:

Oh, no. She clamped her hand over her mouth before the cry could escape. How had this happened?

Not the lovemaking. She knew perfectly well how that had happened. And it had been wonderful. Everything she’d dreamed of and more. But this situation hadn’t ended up the way she’d planned. She’d been naïve enough to believe if she had one or two memorable nights of sex with Dean, she could go back to Buffalo a happy woman.

But now, the memories weren’t enough. A few nights weren’t enough.

She wanted more. She wanted Dean. She wanted happily ever after.

Sarah angrily brushed away the tears that slipped from her eyes. What was wrong with her? She knew better. She knew what she couldn’t have. But it obviously didn’t matter.

She had fallen in love with Dean.

Stupid. How could she be so stupid? Falling in love with him was the last thing she wanted to do. She thought she knew what she had been getting into. She thought she had her emotions under control.

Now she looked down at the man sleeping beside her and knew she would go back to Buffalo with a broken heart.


And from one of my Red Sage Secrets novellas from Vol 24, Bad to the Bone:

Insatiable. That was a word Annie never thought would apply to her. She couldn’t get enough of sex with Luke. Would it always be this way? Well, of course, it wouldn’t because he wouldn’t always be with her. Someday, in the very near future, she would have to do without Luke, without sex with Luke. What would she do then?

Just like driving another car just wouldn’t be the same, neither would being with any of the other bad boys out there.

And now he wanted to fulfill a fantasy she’d forgotten she even mentioned. But he remembered, the shit. He was supposed to be a bad boy. He wasn’t supposed to make her fall for him.

It wasn’t fair. She wasn’t supposed to fall in love with the first bad boy she found.


And even when I found an example when the character wasn't sorry he'd fallen in love, there's still a conflict to overcome, which is the second lesson I think we need to take away from this. This is from my Ellora's Cave novel, Chains of Desire:

He’d been so stupid to underestimate his little slave. Didn’t he already know how strong and brave she was? She could take on anyone. Even his archenemy. She didn’t need him to protect her.

And he knew in that moment that he loved Hanna. What he felt for her was so much more than the mere devotion of a Master and his slave. How could he have ever doubted it? He loved her and now he might never get the chance to tell her.

The moment when the hero or heroine realizes they've fallen in love usually isn't the happily ever after moment we crave. It's a moment we all want to read, but that doesn't mean all the problems have been solved. In fact, it often means some of those problems are just beginning. And I've found there are usually two of those moments in every book because it is seldom that both characters realize they love the other at the same time.

What about you? Would you feel let down if you couldn't experience the falling-in-love moment? I know I would.

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com

Go RVing

Growing up, we always took camping trips as a family. We started renting a cabin for a week at Allegheny State Park everning summer. Then my parents bought a pop-up trailer - for seven of us! Eventually, they got a larger trailer, but with five kids, it was always crowded and noisy. And while we did get to visit places that we never could have otherwise - when I grew up and moved away, I swore I'd never go camping again.

Um...yeah...this is a picture of our latest trailer at a campground we like to visit in southern Pennsylvania.



We started in a tent. With two children, the four of us weren't as crowded as my family was when I was growing up. But of course, any two children in a confined area are going to find something to complain about :) We graduated to a pop-up trailer, like my parents did, took a trip to Wyoming in that sucker. Saw Mount Rushmore and Sturgis, South Dakota during Bike Week! We went to Georgia and Michigan and other places we never would have gone otherwise. And while they were bored a lot of the time, they loved the campfires and sight-seeing and s'mores and time together with the family, even if they didn't always want to admit it.

As our kids got older, they didn't go on as many trips with us. Summer jobs and college and other activities took higher priority. Just as they did for me. I understand. We've since gotten our second travel trailer and camping is nothing like it was when I was growing up. We have a shower in our trailer. Satellite TV. Internet access, if I'm lucky.



My husband and I still travel together. I've learned to be a pretty good navigator. And I can write on the road as easily as at home. In fact, I wrote more than half of my Secrets 24 novella, Bad to the Bone, while we camped a week in Bedford, Pennsylvania. We still enjoy each other's company and a good campfire. We travel around the eastern half of the US and are looking forward to eventually being able to take more time to visit the other half of the country.



Oh, and you know how I know my kids enjoyed their camping trips with the family, even if they didn't say so at the time? My daughter and her husband have been talking about getting an RV someday. Funny how that works out. :)

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com