The Zen of Organising Books

A room without books is like a body without a soul.

-- Cicero

This afternoon I went out and bought a tall bookshelf because I was tired of shuffling boxes around, looking for a book I wanted to read. No, that's a lie. The real reason is I miss the fun of organising my books on a proper bookshelf. That's, IMO, the best thing about having bookshelves. I have two organising systems, which I switch over whenever I feel like it:

1. All books are filed accordingly to authors' names first. Then under each author's name, book titles in alphabetical order.
2. All books are filed accordingly to authors' names first. Then under each author's, book titles are organised chronologically according to a series or author's writing career.

In middle of going with the 1) system, a friend came round for a cuppa. As she admired at my spanking new bookshelf, she said that she'd never organise her books that way. I asked how does she do hers? It's book titles in alphabetical order, regardless who wrote those books. I asked, "Even Stephen King's books?" as I knew she has all his books. Yup, even. Hm, interesting. Do you have an organising system for your books? If so, how do you organise your books? If you don't, how do you find a book you want to read? Or is that what makes it fun for you? The thrill of searching for the book around the house? Be good, be bad & be safe.

Fantasy Games

To imagine the unimaginable is the highest use of the imagination.

--Cynthia Ozick

Yay! Another romance reader's blog has been added to Romancing the Blog and the sidebar here on this blog: Kristie J.'s Ramblings on Romance etc. A Mystery And for something different: the Voynich Manuscript. As the short introduction goes:

In 1912, the antiquarian book dealer Wilfrid M. Voynich bought a number of mediaeval manuscripts from an undisclosed location in Europe. Among these was an illustrated manuscript codex of 234 pages, written in an unknown script. Voynich took the MS to the United States and started a campaign to have it deciphered. Now, almost 100 years later, the Voynich manuscript still stands as probably the most elusive puzzle in the world of cryptography. Not a single word of this 'Most Mysterious Manuscript', written probably in the second half of the 15th Century, can be understood.

It was my younger brother who brought my atention to the Voynich manuscript. He asked if I knew anything about this manuscript. I didn't but I was curious to know how did he know about it. He held a paperback up for me to see: Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone. *laugh* Bookworm Mysteries It's strange to think that that manuscript is actually responsible for sparking my long-time interest in thriller novels or mysteries that involves books and manuscripts. Or rather, as a friend once put it, "bookworm mysteries". :D Technically these mysteries that focus on decoding antiquated books and manuscripts are 'metafiction'. I have no idea why, though. I think I read quite a few, ranging from Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair to Arturo Pérez-Reverte's The Dumas Club. I think the last novel of this type I read is Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomas's The Rule of Four. IMO, Umberto Eco is the King and Katherine Neville is the Queen. Anyway, for some book suggestions, try this fantastic Canadian site: Fictional World of Archives, Art Galleries and Museums. Chaos of Our Own Another type of fiction I love is those that take fictional characters from various classic novels to put them together as a cast for a story. I find this concept fascinating and highly imaginative. Jasper Fforde does this well with his Next Tuesday series. So do Alan Moore [the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen] and Kim Newman [Anno Dracula and many more]. I'd love to see more of this type. Romantic Chaos of Our Own Hm. What if we spin this on romances? What if we were to create a 'house weekend party' mystery for these characters below to appear together [just as how they speak, dress and behave in their own books]?

• Cat [Laura London's American pirate romance The Windflower]
• Vivian [Taylor Chase's Elizabethan historical romance Heart of Deception]
• Eve [J.D. Robb's near futuristic In Death series]
• Miss Jessica Trent [Loretta Chase's historical romance Lord of Scoundrels]
• Clay [Lorraine Heath's Always To Remember]
• Christian "Kit" [Suzanne Robinson's Elizabethan historical romance Lady Gallant]
• S. T. Maitland [Laura Kinsale's The Prince of Midnight]
• Talon [Kristen Kyle's futuristic romance Nighthawk]
• Jenny Jones [Maggie Osborne's American historical The Promise of Jenny Jones]
• Roxy Nouvelle [Nora Roberts's contemporary romance Honest Illusions]
• Lucky [Suzanne Brockmann's military category romance Get Lucky]
• Captain Ryan Calhoun [Susan Wiggs's pirate romance The Charm School]
• Blue Reynard [Ruth Wind's contemporary romance In the Midnight Rain]

Actually, thinking about it, I think it'd be fun to bring various characters from Anne Stuart's books together in a story: James Killoran [To Love a Dark Lord/Georgian historical], Maggie Bennett [Escape Out of Darkness/European contemporary], James Mc Kinley [Moonrise/American contemporary], Ghislaine de Lorgny [A Rose at Midnight/historical], Nichola [Lady Fortune/medieval], etc. Can you imagine what it would be like if they get together in one house? It'd be funny because they would slaughter each other within a few minutes. :D It'd also be fun to have characters taken from various books by Jennifer Crusie, Theresa Weir, Laura Leone, Loretta Chase, Lorraine Heath, Jude Deveraux, etc. and plonk those characters in a town that Pamela Morsi created for her Americana series, e.g. Courting Miss Hattie. Heheheh! Really, with romances, the sky's limitless. It's a pity that all these are still copyrighted. If they were in public domain, it'd be a lot of fun. :D *a-hem* Be good, be bad & be safe.

Run, Chick, Run!

Most of us retain enough of the theological attitude to think that we are little gods.

-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Contemporary romance author Monica Jackson's blog entry is definitely worth reading: In a Rant, It's Fun to Mention Mrs Giggles. I did wince a bit when I read that, thanks to Alison Kent's pointer, Monica saw Constantine as well. Sure, sure. :P Historical romance author Kate Rothwell finds within herself a well-reasoned rant: Cruel Fate. Actually, it's not even a rant. It's a good piece of advice. I'm getting bored recommending Mrs. Giggles's blog, but dammit, she comes up with a lot of good stuff: Sex and the Single Heroine and How I Learned To Solve My Life's Problems Using Contemporary Romances As A Guide, Part 1. I still can't believe that she refuses to put in an option for us to make our responses. Mrs. G, you're one big girl's blouse! :D Come on, please turn it on and let us cheer or jeer at those posts. You know, that now she's a blogger, she should take my place at Romancing the Blog. You have to agree that the stuff she comes up with blows people like me right off the net. *bottom lip quivers* [Speaking of lip quivering, why do some people think that Mrs. Giggles - and anyone who dares to 'criticise' the romance genre - are anti-Romance? I don't think I'll ever get that. Could someone explain the reasoning behind those accusations?] Speaking of Romancing the Blog, Melissa Senate's column is worth reading: Chick Lit: A Love Story. I try not to rant because I have ranted about this topic far too many times on this blog and on some romance message boards. The ironic thing is I'm not a regular reader of Chick Lit [both American and British]. I read when I have a copy lying around, yet whenever I see it getting bashed by a collective of romance readers [or any other group], I tend to jump to the genre's defence. I don't know why I do this. I think it's because I dislike seeing hypocrisy and double standards in action [not that I was completely innocent of those; I'm just as bad as the rest, especially where Scottish politics are concerned :D]. Some romance readers complain when the society and media look down on the Romance genre. Many get defensive and will write up well-reasoned arguements why the Romance genre is wonderful. It is a wonderful genre. I enjoy many hours reading romances. Yet they don't blink twice when they turn on Chick Lit, tearing it to pieces, slagging it off, calling "all" heroines shallow sluts, etc. It's easy to see that some don't understand what Chick Lit is all about, let alone read any. [I will never understand how one could make a judgement of the entire genre on the basis of one or two CL novels alone.] On the other hand, readers of Chick Lit are just as bad as them. They sneer at the Romance genre, saying that it's all fantasy, nothing realistic, calling "all" heroines saddos, etc. So, I jump in to defend the Romance genre as well. Whoo hoo(!) It's f*cking insane, having those two massive readerships taking pot shots at each other. It just doesn't make sense. Why do they do it? *cough* Here's a few blogs that may interest some: Buzz Girl: A Publishing Insider Gets the Skinny On Tomorrow's Bestsellers Cupcake Series: Cupcake is the reading series for New York's best women writers. Here: our take on the literary world, writers we love, and the evils of chick lit. *amused smile* And, err, bear it with me, Underwater Times. It does make a fun read, as in the 'watching a bird repeatedly knocks itself out on a window pane' kind. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Another Sun Ray From a Shallow Mind

Was this the face that launched a thousand ships? And burnt the topless towers of Ilium? Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss!

-- The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus Christopher Marlowe

The Guardian has an amusing online quiz: Are you an alpha girl? Here is mine: "Just an ordinary gal. Perfectly capable of standing up for yourself when you need to, but you are also willing to compromise for the sake of good relations with family, friends and colleagues." Yeah, right. :P The Guardian has loads more to distract you with: the Quiz Room. There is one regular feature that makes The Guardian quite popular: Notes and Queries. If you refresh the page, a set of different questions will come up. My favourite section is Ethical Conundrums. It makes a fascinating read. Of course, for those who are interesting in all thing Anglo-Saxon, this might interest you: This Sceptred Isle. To come to think of it, why is this country known as 'This Sceptred Isle'? Could it be from one of William Shakespeare's plays? I've never studied Shakespeare at school [we had Robert Greene and Christopher Marlowe instead]. What I know of Shakespeare's works, I learnt from third-party books, films, and others' comments. Let me see if I could track it down. Yup, Shakespeare. Jesus, does everything quotable come from his plays? Taken from this entry at the Barlett's Familiar Quotations web site:

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands,— This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

King Richard II. Act ii. Sc. 1.

England. Of course. It's always bloody England. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Book Gibberish

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.

-- Barbara Tuchman

I received a packet from Gail W.: Debra Webb's Striking Distance, along with two surprises: Lori Handeland's Hunter's Moon and Anne Stuart's One More Valentine. I was surprised to discover that Handeland's werewolf romance is in first person POV. Has anyone tried her Moon series? A couple of days ago while I was working in London, my winning prize from Suzanne McMinn, Weekend in Paradise made its way to my home safely. Thanks, Suzanne! I'm too lazy to gather to list books that I bought last two weeks. Maybe I'll get off my arse and do the job tomorrow. :) What's on the Paranormal Romance front? Shana Abé's historical romance The Smoke Thief will be out this September and in hardback. I have no idea what the story is about, but the title is certainly an eye-catcher. For a change! :D I think this is her first hardback? First three vampire romances of Susan Sizemore's Primes series - I Burn For You, I Thirst For You, and I Hunger For You - will be reissued this September as a 3-in-1, Crave the Night, making it a whopping 800-page book. This is for readers of romantic comedy author MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series: this July there will be a new Undead book - Undead and Unappreciated, which will be published in hardback. I predict there will be an uproar over that little hardback thing. Does anyone have any info on Mary Beth Bass's Follow Me? It's due out this May. By the look of it, it's her debut at Love Spell. Out this month, Kate Brallier's contemporary fantasy novel Seal Island:

Cecil Hargrave lives in a cramped apartment in New York City, hates her job, and has no close friends. She yearns for something more, but what? When Cecil inherits a beachfront house and a thriving business on picturesque Seal Island in Maine, she jumps at the opportunity to kickstart her life, despite her reservations about moving to New England. But even if stereotypes hold true and New Englanders are standoffish, she'll have a new career and a gorgeous home. Much to her delight and surprise, Cecil settles rapidly into small-town life. She makes real friends, plays with the seals who live on the beach outside her house, and meets two very different men. Tom, a darkly sexy novelist, has returned to his hometown to write. He and Cecil hit it off almost immediately, and their chemistry is explosive -- but Cecil can't seem to stay away from the handsome drifter, Ronan, despite his secretive ways. It's like she's under a spell...

Am I the only one whose eyebrows rose high enough to hit the skyline over the heroine's name? Anyhow, in my current Amazon.co.uk basket:

• No Way Out - Michele Albert [action romance/romantic suspense]
• Mr. Impossible - Loretta Chase [historical romance / I'm really chomping for it since I learnt that it takes place in early Victorian Egypt]
• Before I Wake - Anne Frasier [mystery]
• Finders Keepers - Linnea Sinclair [futuristic romance]
• Windwalker - Natasha Mostert [not sure what is it, but it's a Tor Romance]

Until then, I'm reading [or rather, trying to read] Andrew Martin's The Necropolis Railway, which is basically a murder mystery potboiler set in and around Edwardian London’s steamy, sooty, grimy Waterloo station. I'm struggling because there is a few info chunks about old trains and those old days of the English railway system. It's a must for fans of that sort, but for the likes of me? Let me put this way, I might throw it over to read Debra Webb's Striking Distance. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Burn, Celluloid, Burn! [& A Bit of Romance]

A man can sleep around, no questions asked, but if a woman makes nineteen or twenty mistakes she's a tramp.

-- Joan Rivers

Teresa Eckford highlights one of her pet peeves: "Aspiring Writer". Interesting take. In actual fact, I think she does have a point. Worth reading, methinks. What Rotten Tomatoes does for films is what Candy Covered Books does for Chick Lit novels. Candy Covered Books displays excerpts of book reviews from various online and print magazines about each Chick Lit novel. It even has a thermometer for each book, based on these reviews. Have you plenty of time on your hands? Try this portal of weird news: The Obscure Store. Historical romance author Eloisa James posts this at Romantic Times message board:

Hey book lovers! I've added a new book rec--gossip section. Hi everybody, This is a new page on my website. Here's my idea: every month I recommend one romance and one "other" book, of any genre. The romance part is particularly fun. You all know how small the romance world really is, and after this many years of writing, sometimes I feel as if I know everybody. So this part is going to be a book rec with gossip: I'm going to call up the author and get some information about the book that's NOT on her website or elsewhere! Here's the URL: http://www.eloisajames.com/studio/studio.html Eloisa, an Unrependent Gossip Lover

I'm trying not to sulk, but I am because Alison Kent and Shelly managed to see Constantine. And both liked it. That's good, I suppose, considering the fact that I'm trying to recover from the shock over how bad these films are: Elektra, The Chronicles of Riddick, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, The Punisher, Blade Trinity and Faust: Love of the Damned. But not as shocked as I was when I saw the film version of Tank Girl a few years ago. I still haven't forgiven Rachel Talalay. Let's not go there with the film version of Judge Dredd. I was startled that Sly Stallone took his helmet off. How had my jaws dropped... I didn't understand why British director Danny Cannon [probably best known for his concept of American TV series C.S.I: Las Vegas] allowed this. For many of his generation [including myself] who grew up with 2000AD, the idea of having Judge Dredd without his helmet was unthinkable. Judge Dredd without his helmet would be like seeing Superman without his blue-and-red outfit or Batman without his mask. Ooh, speaking of 2000AD, I heard rumours that Alan Moore and Ian Gibson's The Ballad of Halo Jones is the latest recruit of the American Film Factory. I refuse to worry or such. Life is too short to fret over something like this. Halo Jones is a very strong character, well done and she represents what an ordinary person can do under adverse circumstances. There is a catchphrase: "Where did she go? Out. What did she do? Everything." Bragging time: I'm still chuffed that Judge Dredd illustrator Ian Gibson gave me one of his art strips for Judge Dredd. :D I haven't got round to framing it, but I'll take a pix of it for this blog one day. Anyway, I have Casshern, Serenity [according to some posts on message board, the film isn't good. Ack.] and Aeon Flux to look forward to, I suppose. Are there any other films worth looking forward to this year? Be good, be bad & be safe.

Readers from Hell

"It is salutary to train oneself to be no more affected by censure than by praise."

-- The Summing Up W. Somerset Maugham

[In accordance with the agreement with the office, I have been asked to take the 'Thieving Cow' post down. This entry is the replacement. Thanks.] I just read a thread on readers' message board that has some readers picking a historical romance apart, along with a few kicks, jabs, and knifings. It got me thinking: We readers gripe when authors step over the [usually, invisible] line or say things that would have us flapping our hands, going, "Did you see that? Did you read what she's just said? I'll never buy her books again! I swear I won't!" We readers rush to readers' boards to let them know that a new release can be found in a certain shop that is selling copies early or for half of the retail price. We readers have no qualms in stating our opinions of romances [or novels, indeed], good and bad. We readers share info with each other, regardless whether it's a right thing to do, e.g. "Oh, she no longer writes because a couple of years ago, she killed herself" or "she is not working because she's going through a messy divorce". But what about authors' end? I'm quite sure that for them, there are a few readers from Hell. I remember one reader who told everyone that she'd never buy books from Suzanne Brockmann because SB was 'rude' to her at a book signing. Apparently, SB 'blanked' her when she came up to her table. The reader was angry enough to circulate this story on almost all romance readers' boards and Amazon.com. I'd imagine that SB considered her a reader from Hell. I'm curious if there are standard rules for readers when interacting with authors at book signings, through message boards and emails? What is acceptable and what isn't? What makes a reader a rude reader? I'm quite sure that many authors received rude emails, demanding information or such, and that's without a Thank you. Are there readers' common habits that drive authors potty? Such as emailing an author to ask a question, ignoring the fact that the answer is at the author's web site? On a lighter note: Mrs Giggles does it again: The Regency Historical Drinking Game. Genius. It's good enough for me to throw the Withnail & I drinking game in favour of that. Romantica author Angela Knight explains everything she knows about romance she learnt by writing comics: Making a Long Story Short. I think that actually explains why I like her short stories so much. Considering how mad I'm about graphic novels and comics. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.

Red Heart Day & Misc.

"I'm only here to do two things - kick some ass and drink some beer! *pause* Looks like we're almost out of beer."

--Dazed and Confused Richard Linklater

To all couples and singlettes, Happy Valentine's Day! Let me get this out of the way as it's quite a depressing topic: Many posts in the thread Real-Life Romance? at All About Romance shocked and saddened me. In honesty, I was quite shocked on how much some harp on about Diana and Camilla's looks. Example:

I wonder aren't any British men attracted to beautiful women? An actor leaves his wife for a woman eighteen years older, a rock star marries an older woman, and a prince is nuts about a woman who could haunt a house, is there something in the water over there?

*laugh* Still, back to the Real Life Romance? thread, fellow Brit Katherine wades in to offer her take, which says it all for me:

I can't view the engagement as romantic - there's been too much acrimony and tragedy to get to this point. To me, it feels more like an old wrong being righted, so that everybody involved can move on. The amount of vitriol poured on Camilla has surprised and saddened me. The public's sentimental attachment to Diana is so strong that they feel the need to hold a grudge against Camilla. So few people seem willing to forgive her and give her a second chance! Should she be punished for the rest of her life? It's a tragic shame that Diana couldn't have the chance to fill a long life with happiness, but that doesn't mean that Charles and Camilla should be condemned to be unhappy because of that. As long as all the family members involved can come to terms with their relationship, nobody can really criticise! Especially when you consider that one of the "family members involved" is the Queen, and whatever else you care to say about her, her sense of duty to the country is her foremost consideration. And I can understand that lots of people "dislike" Camilla - but then the Queen is hardly likeable, and neither is Prince Philip a particularly warm figure who has endeared himself to the public! (And for that matter, neither is their marriage a shining example of what we all wish for). What I'm saying is that we don't need royals to be universally beloved (although it would be nice if they were), nor do we need them to be moral paragons. More than anything else, I think modern royals need to be seen to be real human beings with the same flaws and problems as the rest of us.

Well said. Now back to all things red, shiny and happy: I choked on a drink when I saw this entry at Michele Albert's blog: A Friend Sent Me This ... :) Considering there is a lot of housework to do, I did my best not to think, breathe or watch films, but dammit, Emma Gads's entry: Personal Classics and Alison Kent's column at Romancing the Blog: You Had Me at Hello ruthlessly crushed my plan to be the Perfect Housewife for the Day. It's a good thing that Will's in bed, too sick to care. :D Margery Scott tosses in her part with film fun talk: Can you guess which movies these famous lines came from? In response to my comment about 'Bob's your uncle' in yesterday's post, Jordan Summers recalled that in Pirates of the Cabribbean, Captain Jack Sparrow tosses out a line, "Betty's your aunt", which I didn't remember hearing. A good excuse to watch the film. In name of research, of course. I can confirm that it's "Robert's your uncle and Fanny's your aunt ..." Speaking of research, Emma Gads discusses an interesting topic: Facts in Fiction, which has a different take on research and accuracy. Meanwhile, Teresa Eckford offers suggestions on organisating research. Poor Will is in bed, zonked out on cough mixture and flu pills. He was supposed to take me out for a meal, but his flu got worse. So, I shoved him to bed and told him to sleep it off. That's where he is now. I should feel disappointed that the evening plans won't happen, but I'm not. I'm flexible. My evening plan is I'm going to read a romance in bed with Will sleeping at my side in bed. The best part about this plan is he'd be too poorly to talk. For all wonderful romantic gestures he had pulled for me over years - bless him, he's utterly crap with romantic talk. I mean, for instance, while we dined at a posh restaurant on Valentine's Day years ago, he compared me with a namesake: Him: You remind me of Olivia. Me: Olivia? Him: Yeah. Olivia Newton John. Me: Oh, you were crazy about her when you were a kid, right? Him: *embarrassed laugh* Me: That's so sweet. Him: *smiles* Me: What is it about her that reminds you of me? Was it Grease? Which one am I? Good Sandy or Bad Sandy? Him: *confused* What? Me: Sandy in Grease. Good Sandy, or Bad Sandy? You're the one I want, hoo hoo yoo! Him: No ... no, no, not that ONJ. Me: There's another ONJ? Him: My dog. Olivia Newton John - my dog. I used to ... you remember the photo my dad show you last year? The ugly mutt? Me: Cheers, you tosser. Him: ...what? What did I say? Yeah, my comatose beloved at my side, a romance novel in my mitts, and huddle in a warm, cosy bed? What more can I ask for on Valentine's Day? :) Vanessa Jaye offers something in her entry to make you smile. OK, in my case, I grinned because that's exactly the kind I like. :D ADDITION: I have to include this, Shannon Stacey comes up with an amusing list: Shannon’s Top 5 List of Worst Romantic Movie Endings. :D Also, A Matter of Opinion comes up with her own lists for most romantic books, films and songs. That doesn't stop her from stating her opinion of St. Valentine's Day. Wanda Writer's latest rant strikes a chord in me: Annoying Friend. Doesn't everyone have a friend like that in their lives? Be good, be bad & be safe.

The Curtain Twitcher

You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.

-- Ziggy Tom Wilson

I'm truly happy that I'm home. :D I almost fell to my knees and kiss the doorstep. I would have if I knew the curtain twitcher wasn't watching. Will told me that a couple of days ago he walked to home instead of driving home in his car, he caught the curtain twitcher looking into our neighbour's kitchen window. She had her face pressing against the glass. Will, disconcerted, said, "Good afternoon, Mrs. xxxx", and she jumped guiltily. She pulled her trademark cardigan tight and returned a greeting. As Will walked to the front door, she walked across the courtyard for her door and turned round, said, "I was only looking to see if she was in." Will said it was fine. He tried to get inside when she came up to him, still chatting, defending herself. Will said that her line of defence slowly changed to a line of enquiry. "Where is your wife?", "Your wife dressed posh the other day, was it for something special?", "Are you two hearing sounds of pitter-patter soon?", "You weren't here for New Year's Eve, were you?" and, the best of all, "I can't help noticing that she has had a few male visitors at your home while you were away. Not that it is any of my business ..." Ooh. I have a mind to go over there and give her a piece of my mind. She is lucky that I'm too knackered to make a move. Will is too amused to care, anyway. But still, it's my honour that cow is questioning! What drives me crazy is I know that every time there is someone at my door, she'd - I imagine - leap to her front window [her place is standing the opposite of our place] for a session of curtain twitching. I mean, whenever I talk to a person on the doorstep, I could see the fade but dark outline of her body behind a white lace curtain. From time to time, the curtain twitched a bit. When we first moved in a year and half ago, we didn't know about her, so we used to get smoochy on the doorstep. After all, we lived in a closed courtyard where it's quite hard for anyone to look inside our doorway [stooped doorway?], so we didn't have anything to worry about. That was until I hugged Will, looking over his shoulder, I saw the curtain twitched. I was startled but then I thought it was my imagination. Then a couple of days later, Will was ready to leave for a week away from home, we got smoochy as usual and he caught her twitching the curtain. That was the end of smoochy sessions on the doorstep. Soon we came to nickname her the Curtain Twitcher. She's harmless, really. Quite nice. She's in her 60s, she's retired, living with her disabled husband who regards his automatic wheelchair as his personal army tank. Anyone who is stupid enough to stand in his way gets knocked over, and he won't apologise for it. "Why didn't you get out of my way, you fool?" Once, last summer, he almost ran my cat over, for God's sake. I mean, my cat was lying on the ground in the courtyard, minding his own business and baking himself in the sun, when the tank driver zapped his wheelchair, at full speed, out of his place into the courtyard. He spotted my cat and shouted, "Get out of my way, you fool!" There was only an inch between my cat's tail and his wheel. I stood there, my jaws hanging open, and before I had the mind to have a go at him, he was gone. Right into a street, terrorising the others on the pavement on his way to the corner shop or such. It's so obvious that he used to be in the army. It's in his shoulder, his face and the way he shouts at everything. To a long-haired ageing hippie bloke at number 10: "Why don't you get a decent haircut, young man!" To a pretty blonde woman, at number 15, who usually wears mini skirts and high heels: "Didn't your parents tell you how to dress like a proper lady? No common sense, you!" To me when I parked my car in the courtyard, he opened the window, leaned from his wheelchair and shouted: "You drive like a maniac!" Before I could respond, he slammed the window shut. And, of course, a few minutes later when I was at my door, their white lace curtain twitched. But I like them. They provide hours of entertainment. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.

20th Century Historicals / Racial diversity in Romances

[sending via email] Found this entry via Riemannia's livejournal blog friends page: oracne's blog: Romances--why not 20th century? http://www.livejournal.com/users/oracne/558150.html?#cutid1 I have my theories, but -- I think I will save it for another time when my mind is in the right frame. Right now, I'm taking a series of puffy yet deep breaths, pepping myself to go out into the bitter cold to make my way through the insane maze of tube lines and people for my hotel. Urgh. Also there is an interesting discussion going on about racial diversity in romances at Riemannia, and via one of comments, another discussion about the same topic at, um, let me check -- Yoon Ha Lee's "Earthsea/Firefly/genre/race/other notes" http://www.livejournal.com/~yhlee/229267.html [God, I hope I typed up the numbers correctly. If not, the link is at Riemannia's in an entry that mentions Roz Denny Fox's SHE WALKS THE LINE. I find this interesting because Michele Albert [I don't remember the URL of her blog, sorry] says something about having an impression that editors, publishers and agents don't think that there is a story for Chloe, a minor but memorable character from her earlier books because, possibly, Chloe is half-Japanese and has a shady past. It's an issue that bothers me for a while. I think I will leave this for now because if I leave the office in this mood, I'd be arrested for attempting to strangle anyone who would be crazy enough to stop in middle of a tube entrance. Is there an invisible law that there must be at least one person to stop and stand in middle of an entrance, ignoring the fact that there is a HUGE number of people behind him or her? Riemannia's blog: http://www.livejournal.com/users/riemannia Sorry that you have to cut-and-paste those URLs to visit those sites. I'm too tired to recall HTML codes to create links as I'm writing thisin email. Sorry, sorry. Be good, be bad & be safe.

ID this illustration, please

As I mentioned in my reader interview a couple of months ago, my stepfather was at a literary event when Judy Piatkus gave some novels away to promote her then recently-launched publishing company Piatkus [at the time, it was Judy Piatkus Ltd.]. He brought them home with this idea of donating them to a local mobile library bus. The cover of Diana Brown's Come Be My Love immediately caught my attention, so I nicked it off the pile. Although I nurse this long-time love-hate relationship with Come Be My Love [I'm quite shocked that I still have this copy ... fuck, my copy is 22 years old!], I love the illustration more. I have wanted to put up a scan [as I never found any online], but our scanner is royally f.ed and we never got round to sorting out our digital camera. Well, now, it's sorted:

[click on image to enlarge] On the back of the jacket, it says the illustration was obtained from the Mary Evans Picture Library. I contacted them a couple of years ago for details of the illustrator. They didn't have any details. Ah, well. [For those who love looking at fashions, illustrations and daily scenes of the past, the MEP library is the place to go.] It looks to me it's a 1920s illustration?

Swimming in a Barrel

History, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.

-- The Devil's Dictionary [1911] Ambrose Bierce

I did some fact-checking work today about the British fisheries industry [*head banging on the desk*]. It was such a dull task that, from time to time, I wandered off elsewhere. Here's what I found: Victorian Sex Factoids I love Lesley Hall. I relied her works a lot in the past. Do check out her other works [print and web], especially The Other in the Mirror: Sex, Victorians and Historians. It's a gem. Particularly its bibliography. English and Welsh History of Lunatic Asylums and Mental Hospitals. It's actually quite fascinating. I'm thinking of a way to talk my line manager into authorising a project to commission a writer to pen a drama that takes place in an asylum. :D *hands rubbing in glee* Routes of English at the BBC. I think many would be particularly interested in this one: Talking Posh. Quite fun. I didn't know what to think when I stumbled across the Dead People Server. Quite morbid, but fun. Alyssa and Wendy offer their takes in response to Paperback Writer's F.U. letter to reviewers. Meanwhile, historical author Kate Rothwell hosts a Reviewers' Contest. Mad woman. :) BTW, I was surprised to learn that "There are more tornadoes per square mile each year in Britain than the USA". Who'd have thought? :) OK, that's me back to work. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.

Love on the Silver Screen

All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.

-- My Man Godfrey

I was hugely amused to find a post - in a thread at Avon Authors message board about favourite romantic films - that says, "Bend it Like Beckham (Funny, and the scottish coach was cute!)". *Evil grin* Jonathan Rhys-Myers dislikes Scotland [as an old tradition goes]. That said, I do second that poster's recommendation of Bend It Like Beckham, but not as a romantic film, but as a lovely story about friendship. I just don't understand why so many listed Pride and Prejudice in threads such as that. It's a TV mini series, not a feature film. Yet I see it cropping up in almost every thread about romantic films. Weird. Speaking of which, there is a blog that keeps track of all things to do with Jane Austen. Austenblog. Here is a page that explains what Austenblog is all about. I'll have a Newcastle Brown Ale, if you please. :) My ten favourite romantic films [in no particular order]: The Thomas Crown Affair Strictly Ballroom I Know where I'm Going Harold and Maude My Man Godfrey The Abduction Club Hope Floats Time After Time Love and Basketball The Apartment Flashdance [I don't care what people say, I love this film!] Truly, Madly, Deeply The Lady Eve Say Anything... Practical Magic Sixteen Candles [Michael Schoeffling may be the dim-witted type but he's welcome to my palace anytime] 10 Things I Hate About You Love With the Proper Stranger A Room with a View Gregory's Girl Grosse Pointe Blank [which is surprising as I can't stand Minnie Driver] And I Hate You So Out of Sight OK, I can't count. I have to admit that I'm truly a sucker for Doris Day's romantic comedies from the Fifties and Sixties. These DD films are the basic essence of Chick Lit. A friend last year summed it up: "Chick Lit is the love child of Jane Austen, Doris Day, Holly Golightly and Annie Hall". I did think of stealing it as I knew she'd be too drunk to remember anything that night. But it happened at her 40th birthday bash where she was depressed enough to blast her head out with a serial row of Pink Gin shooters. The following morning, my conscience fought with the inner devil, and won. Unfortunately, to this day, she refused to believe that she said it. I'm still bitter that I listened to my conscience. Actually, I just realised that I haven't seen Down With Love [Renee Zewelleger and Ewan MacGregor], which is supposed to be a tribute to Doris Day's films. Hm, I wonder if it's worth getting a copy? Speaking of Chick Lit: Chick lit is the romance novel's newest home wrecker On the other side of the romantic coin: Leave Her to Heaven - it's a mind blower. Gene Tierney's underrated acting talent was out in full force in this one [she did it again in a later film, Laura, but I strongly believe that Leave Her to Heaven has her best performance]. It's been said that she considered her beauty a curse because it didn't allow her to realise her [seriously underused] talent as she was constantly given roles that didn't allow her to do anything but be a mannequin. A pity. On a lighter note: Aarvark Archie's Rude Humour. Quite a few in Funny Pictures made me laugh:

• Honest Advert
• Steep Slope
• It Must Have Been All The Excitement
• Dive, Dive, Dive! [note: there is nudity in this photo]

Be good, be bad & be safe.

For Trivia Geeks

The dwarf that stands on the the giant's soldiers sees the farthest of the two.

-- Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury

It's no secret that I'm a trivia geek, so I have a collection of web sites that tickle my fancy. Tonight I was in mood to read up human mistakes, so here is a selection as I thought you might like a smile or two. :)

• Nitpickers Example: The Natural Watch carefully the scene when Roy Hobbs [Robert Redford] is supposed to have broken his bat Wonder Boy. The bat is clearly still intact when he finishes his swing, and it is only when the shot cuts back after the ball has gone foul that we see it spilt in two.
• Movie Mistakes Example: Star Wars When the stormtroopers break into the control room, watch very carefully and you will be able to see a storm trooper nearly renders himself unconscious by smacking his head off a door frame. This is now so notorious that on the new DVD there's an audible "bump" when he hits it.
• Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics Example: Outer Space Explosions Star Trek originally got it right. In early episodes, when something exploded in outerspace, it made no sound. That's because there is no air in outerspace to transmit sound. [more...]

For readers of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series: Bloopers Horror author Stephen King's books? Try this one, Mistakes, Bloopers & Errors. How about the accidental humour in advertising? And my favourite:

• The Slip-Up Archive Books Example: The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver On the first page of Chapter 28, Amelia Sachs removes and flings away off her gasoline-soaked police uniform blouse before entering a burning church. 3 pages later in the church basement she cuts a patch off of her uniform blouse to protect her hand from the hot handle of a fire extinguisher. (pages 342 & 345 of paperback edition.) Films Example: Sense and Sensibility In the scene where Emma Thomson is worried about Kate Winslet when she disappears in the storm, she is handed a cup of tea and she looks out the window. In the next shot, someone is handing her the same cup of tea that she had been given just a few seconds earlier. Television Example: Friends In the episode where Ross is deciding what to wear on the Discovery channel. It is also the one where Rachel gets hit in the side by Monica. When Ross is asking Joey and Chandler which coat would look better on him, the brown one is in the wrapping and the blue one is in his hand. Then the cameras change and the blue one is in the wrapping and the brown one is in his hand. And Slip-ups.com's Easter Egg Archive, which inspired a web site I used to maintain, Easter Eggs in Romances. Hm. Maybe I should motivate myself into get it up online again. It was a fun way to kill time. :)

Turning the coin round: Life in the 1500s. It used to drive me crazy when I see posters present this as a factual list on various message boards. Especially this insane line: "England is old and small and they started running out of places to bury people." So, Sol Squire of AyshireRoots.com does his best to debunk the entire list. Urban Legends Reference Pages Urban Legends at the Darwin Awards The Urban Legend magazine List of dubious historical resources at Wikipedia Be good, be bad & be safe.

Something in the air

We live in a Jane Austen universe.

-- Jane Austen: A Love Story Jennifer Frey

It's probably due to Kassia's article at Romancing the Blog that there is a few blog entries about romance reviews. The interesting ones are: Readergrrl's Sold Bill of Goods The Red Pen Diaries's X-POST: Heyy baby...wanna good book?? [She says enough in her entry that reveals herself a regular on a message board, so she definitely knows what she's on about]. I forgot to list another favourite reader's blog: Keishon. I'd list Cranky Reader, but she posts irregularly. [Are you listening, CW?] On a lighter note, there is an old but seriously amusing and insightful article from Jennifer Frey at the Washington Post about the current mania for all things Jane Austen:

Austen, it appears, is our new Shakespeare. In pop culture terms, that is. Two hundred years after her novels were written, she's ascended to that level where her work is widely imitated, flippantly quoted, frequently ripped off and, yes, very much revered -- by those who have actually read her, that is.

Please do read the rest of the article: Jane Austen: A Love Story: For England's 228-Year-Old Novelist, the Ink Has Yet to Dry I have a question: what is exactly a 'fanlisting'? I come across quite a few web sites that promote themselves as 'fanlisting'. Whenever I'm at one, I'm stumped. What does it actually do? What is the purpose? And what does one do with it? There are some that say you don't need a web site and la la, so what does it serve? What does it do that gets an approval from the "fanlisting network"? I know I'm not that bright, but I also know that I'm not that thick-headed, so this one really has me stumped. An explanation is very much welcomed here. Thanks. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Romance reviews / the online romance readers community

At Romancing the Blog, Kassia of Booksquare discusses a topic close to my heart: romance reviews. In her entry, I’d Hoped To Be The Insightful One, But That Didn’t Work Out, she says:

One thing we do in this genre is sell ourselves short when it comes to critical reviews. One reason, of course, is that some reviewers are friendly with authors. You don’t want to hurt feelings. I understand that, but I think it’s a disservice to everyone.

Absolutef***kingly! Well, I'm sure this is not what Kassia intends, but IMO, it's a huge disservice to readers. When I first came online in the romance reader community ... we are talking about seven years ago? ... I was quite shocked at this mentality that it was not right to criticise romance books in public. There was a huge number of romance authors and readers that loved to parrot this line: My mother/grandma/auntie/God always told me that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all. I agree with that somewhat, but the point is books are not people! If you stabbed a knife right into a book, it doesn't bleed. It's an inanimate object. Oh, no, what they really meant was if you criticised a book, you're criticising its author. This didn't make sense to me. Especially when some of these posters had no qualms in tearing some films and TV dramas apart, and some non-romance novels. Why these double standards? This led me right into flame wars and squabbles. I didn't go out looking for trouble, trust me, but I had to challenge the mentality because it wasn't right. Especially when I saw how some readers actually attacked other readers for daring to air 'negative' opinions. The worst ones are those that were egged on by some romance *authors*. Because of these authors, there were some packs prowling acrossing readers' message boards, ready to slap a poster into apologising and promising not to do it again. It was awful. In those days, it was hard to find a place where readers could air their honest opinions without fearing online attacks. At times it was demoralising. But nowadays, it's much better, mostly because of All About Romance. I'm seeing more freedom in airing opinions, good and bad. But as a Scot, I have a long memory, so I don't buy books from those authors who publicly and actively encouraged that kind of behaviour from their readers. Anyhow, it seems that there is still some traces of that old mentality, but there is enough savvy posters who would put a stop to a potential mob attack. Authors' bad online behaviour don't bother me. Neither do their bad moods on certain days. But I do take it personally if some decide to slap a reader's hand for 'not being supportive'. Word of mouth is pretty effective, so I don't understand why some authors think it's a good idea to lend their public support to a miffed author against readers. Readers! I don't get this at all. At end of the day, readers are customers. So, slapping a reader's hand or bitching about a review on readers' message board is just as bad as telling your boss that his wife is an ugly dog. I know it doesn't make sense, but my loyalty is to fellow readers, first and last. If they make time to recommend books, offer good constructive criticism of certain romances, and discuss topics close to our hearts, then I'll return the favour. That's the way it works, and so far many of us are happy with this system. Don't get me wrong - there is plenty of posters who do dislike negative comments, reviews and, of course, Mrs Giggles. Yet they are likely to be the ones who run to certain authors to let them know that their books are being dissed. Hence those magic appearances from authors, thanking some posters for kind comments and shaking their fingers at 'naughty' posters. Bad move. I do know for a fact that many, many readers appreciate honest book discussions because, mostly, they come to rely on fellow readers as there aren't many romance review sites that they could 'trust'. I know that they trust authors' recommendations least because, according to their posts, a) authors know the process of writing a book so they have different perspective, b) there is a good chance that these authors are friends of authors whose books they recommend, and c) there is a 'hidden' agenda [I don't know what, though!]. They consistently say that they trust fellow readers' recommendations most. As for online romance reviews? It's pot luck. According to a few discussions we had over years, many felt that far too many reviewers are too 'generous' towards authors, sometimes to the point where some readers feel that these reviews aren't written for them. The very people that reviewers and authors are supposed to target. The very people who have the money to burn. One said that she felt 'dirty' because sometimes it seemed she was looking on an intense lovefest between a reviewer and an author. Another said that she hated it when she read reviews that do nothing but praise books, yet still don't explain what makes these books so fantastic. She admitted that at end of every review, she felt confused and frustrated, so she didn't buy any books recommended by that romance review site. If I remember correctly, some guessed that some reviewers are friends of those authors or/and are aspiring authors themselves. This, they feel, gets in the way of offering honest reviews. Some expressed their confusion and frustation towards Romantic Times and many admitted that they rarely take RT's star ratings seriously. [I don't take notice of star ratings, mostly because it doesn't mean anything to me.] So, for many, there isn't many romance review sites that fit their needs. They don't want 'slash and dice' reviews, they don't want 'author-friendly' reviews, and they generally don't like sites that offer long-winded reviews. They generally don't care about motivations, characterisations and such. They just want to know if it's a good romance, who are the h/h, what the story is about, the level of sensuality, is there anything that may put them off, and does the reviewer like it? If so, why? If not, why? We don't really have this type online [The Romance Reader is the nearest thing but it doesn't review that many books, so readers lose out]. So, at the end of the day, all we have is ourselves, hence the popularity of readers' message boards and, for me, readers' blogs [my current favourites: Rosario [probably the best there is online] and Alyssa]. In a good book discussion, posters follow the usual route: What work and what doesn't, and why. If there is one that disliked a book, we love it when another countered that by listing reasons why she loved it. Or vice versa. It gives an opportunity to decide whether to buy a book or not. More than not, we do buy a copy because, I think, we want to read it to judge for ourselves. It's a lot better than those time-wasting flame wars that either attack or defend an author in disguise of a book. Actually, not long ago, on one authors' message board, there was a slagfest against Mrs Giggles, two fellow readers said elsewhere that they will never read a certain romance author's books again because of her catty comments about Mrs Giggles whom these two fellow readers consider "one of us". Like I said, word of mouth amongst readers online is effective. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Knickknackery

Dictatorial duck billed diplodocus!

-- Captain Haddock in Tintin and the Picarros Hergé

For more classic Haddockisms, try David's favourite Captain Haddock Curses. This should appeal to historical romance author and fellow blogger Kate Rothwell who once was in love with the idea of pirates talking gibberish. Got to the office, did a bit of work, left the office, made a quick detour to Borders, bought Sandra Hill's The Cajun Cowboy because its book cover is canary yellow. I read The Love Potion years ago, and I found it funny and insanely stupid [in a good way. Honestly. It involves jelly beans]. I'm hoping that I'll have the same luck with this one. :D Ack! Hill's web site has frames! Bring me Holy water and a crucifix! *sigh* The main reason why I hate frames-set sites is I can't print anything. I have to do the reliable right button when clicking on a link to break out of its frames. This has been circulated at work: Blog Overkill. Beware: it has loads of links. So make sure that you have a mug of coffee at your side when you go over there. Two days later ... Ach, work and real life got in the way. So, I'm back to natter away. :D Cranky Writer has a blog entry about Cathy Yardley's up-and-coming book, Turning Japanese. Went over to Yardley's web site to check out the Coming Soon book page and got spooked. Book 1: surfer Book 2: manga & Japan I grew up on a surfboard in Scotland [yes, many do surf in Scotland, where in some parts there ARE palm trees, golden beaches, dolphins and, thanks to the Gulf, warm water; I'll blog about this another day] and I'm mad for manga/anime and Japan. Also, we did similar stories about female DJs - mine: Charlotte Sometimes and her: Couch World [out now, btw]. Maybe there is something to a theory about people sharing same birthdays. A friend used to say that those who were born on same days tend to be similar and la la, and I used to laugh at her face. But now? I'm not so sure. I'm refusing to eat a slice of humble pie, though, because the jury is still out. I'll be convinced if the author is mad for jacket/baked potatoes. :D Either way, I'm getting my mitts on those books. Especially Turning Japanese. Larissa Ione has written my post! She's said almost everything I'd say: Trips Through Time. I generally avoid time travel romances for similar reasons. Number one reason is what the h/h do in the past rarely affects the future, which drives me nuts. I liked Jude Deveraux's A Knight in Shining Armour, but when the heroine administrated a certain something to people of the hero's time, I blinked twice and moved on. I can say, truthfully, that I read only five time travel romances in my entire romance reading career: that JD book as well as Amy J. Fetzer's Dangerous Waters, Linda Howard's Son of the Morning, Lisa Cach's George and the Virgin, and Jasmine Cresswell's Midnight Fantasy [from the future, though]. Oh, and one of Anne Stuart's category romances. I can't remember the title, though. Hm, having had a look at Anne Stuart's bibliography, it is The Right Man *and* One More Valentine [to be reissued, incidentally, this February]. That makes it six, then. :D But I'm still not that wild about reading time travel romances. It'd take a lot of trusted recommendations to get me to read one nowadays. Yesterday I bought a print copy of a Ellora's Cave book. It's a 'romantica' anthology of three stories with paranormal and Cajun themes : Cajun Nights, featuring stories by Samantha Winston, Patrice Michelle, & Annie Windsor. I read two last night and plan to read the third one later tonight. Patrice Michelle's story is quite unusual, interesting enough to make me check out her web site to see what else she's written. I also bought Susan Grant's The Scarlet Empress [finally!!], Teresa Bodwell's Loving Mercy [I thought it was a contemporary romance, but it seems to be a Western historical?], Meg Cabot's Every Boy's Got One, and Anna Jeffrey's The Love of a Lawman [AJ is one of those authors whose voices I love and their stories I loathe], and Eileen Wilks's Tempting Danger. Non romances: Simon Napier-Bell's Black Vinyl White Powder and Nick Hornby's Polysyllabic Spree. BTW, there is a title of a new Avon romance that amuses me: How To Marry a Millionaire Vampire. Kerrelyn Sparks is the author, apparently. According to her web site:

Some vampires are just too sexy to kill … Roman Draganesti is a vampire—a vampire with a problem. He’s lost one of his fangs, biting something he shouldn’t have. He has one night to find a dentist and get his fang fixed before his natural healing abilities close the wound forever, leaving him a lop-sided eater for all eternity. Shanna Whelan is a human—a human with a problem. After witnessing a gruesome murder by the Russian mafia, she’s next on their hit list. And her career as a dentist appears to be over because now, she faints at the sight of blood. When Roman rescues her from an assassination attempt, she wonders if she’s found the one man who can keep her alive. And boy, does he make her feel alive. The attraction between them is immediate and hot. How shocking to discover the love of her life is dead! Can she conquer her fear of blood in order to fix Roman’s fang? And if she does, will he use his fangs on her?

I haven't read the excerpt, though, so judging by the summary above, the book may appeal to readers of MaryJanice Davidson's books. Then again, I may be way off the track. Other interesting looking romances coming up this year: Seabird of Sanematu - Kei Swanson. Her first romance - The Words of the Pitcher - caused a wave in the online romance community, IIRC, because the hero of TWOTP is a baseball player and Japanese. I remember years ago she announced on a romance readers' mailing list that she's going to make Japanese men as romantic heroes the subject of her mission/crusade. This caused a mini flame war. :D Her second book is, according to her web site, the first volume of a three-volume series set in 15th century feudal Japan, which features a samurai as the hero. Definitely intriguing. If it doesn't feature a heavy romantic storyline, I'm getting a copy for my stepfather who's a specialist in military history of Japan. When we were mites, he managed to brainwash us all siblings into remembering that his speciality is the Muromachi period. So, a novel that takes place in 15th century Japan? Get a copy. He's a good dad, indeed(!) The Spy Wore Red - Wendy Rosnau. A Silhouette Bombshell. Although I can't stand spy stories, The Spy Wore Red is interesting because of the fact it's Wendy Rosnau. Hm. Maybe not. I have just read the summary, which contains three of my 'wow, not so' buttons: spy stuff, 'secret' child and reunion. Hm. You might like it, though. My Heart May Be Broken, But My Hair Still Looks Great - Dixie Cash. Another great title. The other one is Since You're Leaving Anyway, Take Out the Trash. :D Black Ice - Anne Stuart. It looks to be a romantic suspense novel. I'm practically on my knees, praying that her heroine is not going to be anything like those heroines of her last three or four contemporary romances. I'm still waiting for the day she'll bring back the Maggie Bennett type. [Maggie Bennett is the "kick-ass" heroine of her romantic suspense trilogy: Escape Out of Darkness, At the Edge of the Sun, and Darkness Before Dawn.] There is a bit of an interest in Cindy Dees's upcoming Bombshell book, The Medusa Project. Why?

When LtCol Jack Scatalone offers Major Vanessa Blake a chance to lead the first-ever, all-female Special Forces team in the U.S. Armed Forces, it's a dream come true for her. But will it turn into a nightmare as world events and high-powered politics intervene to sabotage the Medusa Project?

The Dirty Dozen, anyone? There is an interesting latest coming from Jennifer Crusie: Don't Look Down, which seems to be similar to Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees's Come Together, which features a dual POV. Rees tells one side of a story from male POV and Josie tells another side of the story from female POV. This seems to be the case with Don't Look Down by partnering Jennifer Crusie with some author who goes by the name of Bob Myers. Here is the blurb of Don't Look Down:

A Special Forces captain ends up on a movie set to advice the lead actor how to be a manly man. Then he gets a call from the CIA. Then he meets the film's director, Lucy Armstrong. Things are getting very deep for J. T. Wilder and he doesn't know where it's all going to end up.

According to Bob Myers, the hardback will be released in late autumn by St. Martin's. *sigh* Why am I the last to know this? A friend has completely flipped for the bloke on the cover of Alice Valdal's upcoming American western historical romance, The Man For Her. According to the author, it's her first historical romance. Nice one. The cover is nice, too. No, that's a lie. It's veddy nice. I'd not mind jumping on his bones. The said friend insists that I should mention Amy Yurk's new book The Language of Sisters. Amy Yurk won a lot of attention for her first novel The Kind of Love That Saves You. Neither is a romance, but apparently, it's the life-affirming kind. Hey, Jilly, maybe it's time you should get your own blog, eh? :D The wall does need another reader's blog. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.

Action Heroines

I don't think butt-kicking babes create an illusion of equality. If anything else, it re-establishes the existing inequality.

-- Professor Bettina Aptheker

At paranormal romance author Angela Knight's web site, under Books: Futuristics, there is a bit that looks interesting:

Warfem is a novella in the 2005 Berkley Kickass anthology that is set in the same future as Jane's Warlord.

Naturally I was intrigued, mostly, about the title. An implication that heroines are the "kick ass" type. So I did the net search, but all I could find were those Angela Knight interviews and a couple of references to Rebecca York and Angela Knight's Romance Bite [due out 5 August 2005]. I have to say that Kickass is a horrid title. Romantic Times has a theme page for "Chicks Who Kick Butt" [what's wrong with the idea of using this term "action heroines", for God's sake? Do we say "Dudes Who Kick Butt", uh?]. But Sherri does it better with her list of book recommendations: Female Warriors. Speaking of action romances, you might like Cathy Heath's Romances With Attitude for something different. According to Cathy:

Once upon a time, there was an age now long forgotten, the golden age of romance fiction magazines. From the 1920s all the way thru the 1940s, with titles like Love Story, Ranch Romances and Saucy Romantic Adventures, these popular "Pulps" sold by the millions, and set the stage for the romance novel industry we know and love today! Romances With Attitude continues that tradition, with romances done the good old fashioned way.

On the cover of the February 2003 issue, there is this bloke whose breasts are bigger than the woman next to him, which makes quite a scary sight. I won't even say a word about the cover of the Special Christmas issue. Four words: Get a decent designer. And the fifth: Please. The reason for all that? I overheard a good one on circle line tube today. My memory is crap, so as soon as I heard where she was heading with her speech, I scribbled it down in shorthand on the backleaf of a book. Argh, but I feel it's worth defacing the book. Although I was right there, sitting next to the woman, she didn't even notice [thank God]:

"In my home, my kids know I'm THE Empress. THE Queen. THE Goddess. THE daddyf****r of 'em all. What I say goes. If they are stupid enuff to stir sh*t with me, I'll make them so sorry they will wish they were never born. [at this point, I didn't catch what her friend mumbled] Yeah, yeah, they know at my house I'm the lordess of their universe. You gotta teach them when they are young or you're screwed for life."

Cripes. All that said, this blog entry at La Mancha is worth reading: Temporary Hero, which has the most fabulous opening line: "There are three lessons I learned about heroes from a very young age. My first teacher was Han Solo." I think Temporary Hero is one of most interesting blog entries around. BTW, while searching for lists of romances that feature action heroines, I found this old Salon.com article: Get your bodice-ripping hands off my genre! Which in turn reminds me of another unwittingly memorable article: Romancing the Happy Ending. *eyes roll* The net find of the day: A Few Thoughts on Romance. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Demonising Thin Women

I'm sick and tired of seeing skinny women/heroines being demonised. If I hear one more "curvy women are REAL women" and "skinny women are not real women", I'll go apemonkey. FACT: ALL women of ALL sizes are REAL women, thank you very much. I rarely admit in public that I used to be on an ongoing diet to put on more weight. It was not fun, it was not easy and it constantly pissed me off. It took me years to get to this ideal weight; what I perceived is ideal, anyway. I shouldn't talk about this in public, actually, because it oft got me into trouble, which is really frustrating. Honestly, there is no freedom in airing my concerns about being underweight. I once complained that I was fed up with being thin, and a woman at work turned round and said, "Shut up. You don't know what it's like to have a weight problem, so shut up and leave real problems to us fat ladies". Why is it all right for women to discuss their desire to lose weight but women aren't allowed to discuss their desire to put on weight? Did anyone really think that I liked my body like that? It was - and still is - a constant battle to keep my weight normal, and I get smacked in the head for trying to "brag" about it. What the ... ? I used to believe that if I managed to get it up to 10 st 14lb - fuck me, I'd die of happiness. When I finally realised that I did meet my ideal weight, I didn't die of happiness, but I didn't get a sense of satisfaction because all I felt was exhaustion. Because I fought hard to get to that point and along the way, I received a lot of crap from quite a few people, especially strangers in the street. For the record: I was not anorexic, I didn't have an eating disorder, I do like to eat, and being thin was no fun. Trust me on this. When I was in my mid-twenties I felt I was too thin [I'm 5' 8 1/2"], and so did the others who had a lot of assumptions, ranging from "She's anorexic" to "She's a bitch who lives on nothing but a lettuce leaf". It was enough to make me paranoid, in spite of my family's assurances that I was healthy. It also seems to give people - strangers, even - the right to comment on my body, ranging from "You're sick. Get help." to "You thin people are disgusting". Oh, and my favourite, "You're a bad example to children." That cut deep. Once when Will and I were out walking in a town centre, one woman turned to Will and asked him whatever he saw in a bag of bones like me? I was embarrassed, mostly because at the time, Will and I started seeing each other. Will didn't say a word to the woman. Instead, he stalked off, yanking me closely behind. When we got in the car, I was deeply mortified, feeling extremely ugly, and Will ranted about people's rudeness while trying to comfort me. It's quite surprising how common it is for people, especially women, to associate thin women with bitchness. And anorexia nervosa. When I denied this charge I was always told that I was in denial and that I needed help. They completely ignore the fact that the rest of my family are also thin. My nieces are skinny little things. I have heard that they also get harassed over their weight, which is rather upsetting. It drives me nuts that there are people who assume that there's something wrong with some of us. Hello, meet our family genes. Many in my family have long accepted that they are naturally thin, but I was not happy with mine. I wanted to have some curves, hence my determination to follow my diet to put on some weight. I won my personal battle, but I haven't forgotten those days of being seen as a "skinny bitch". It's not commonly known that gaining weight is a lot harder than losing it, yet I get a lot of crap for it. I didn't get many sympathies, but, believe me, while I have learned not to expect any, other thin women do get mine. Please please stop demonising thin women. If she's a bitch, demonise her for that. Hell, feel free to bitch-slap her if she was obnoxiously rude. If she's thin, don't use it to justify your need to call her a bitch. Be good, be bad & be safe.