Musing of the Romantics

Some Things Should Be Labled A Criminal Act

Marisa:  You know me – I’m watching all the new TV premieres this month.  And it’s come to my attention that there are entirely too many whiny heroines this season. Not only that, they tend to whine every where from the privacy of their bedrooms to the very public arenas of  business meetings.  From Meredith in Grey’s Anatomy to Kitty in Brothers and Sisters, they just can’t seem to help themselves.  If I were reading a romance book with a whinny heroine it would be a definite DNF (did not finish) for me.

Maria:  Hallelujah! Amen! Can I get a witness? Nothing turns me off faster than a whine.  Oh yeah.  Miss Kitty on Brothers and Sisters was impossible.  Can you imagine Annique Villiers from The Spymaster’s Lady whining across Europe – she’d never would have escaped enemy lines.

Marisa: That’s the truth. I’m thinking we all whine occasionally…

Maria:  Not me.

Marisa:  OK, I’m thinking we all whine occasionally, except for Maria, but we try to keep it private. Don’t we? Public whining, and whining for any extended period of time is a crime. Period.

Maria:  Yes, public whining is a big NO in my book. What about you?  Whining public or private or not at all?

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Twin Talk - Project Runway



What's you're favorite Reality TV show?

Twin Talk - Naked Comedians

Marisa and I had a big laugh over the concept of naked performers








What's the funniest experience you've had - with nudity or without?

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Spontaneous Book Give Away on Romance Novel TV

                                                      

Time for a spontaneous RNTV Book Give Away

Based on the descriptions below - what romance books am I talking about?

Guess all five book titles and if you live in the U.S. and are one of the first two people to get it right -  you win a book! You heard me right there will be two winners.

1)  The heroine is a novelist about to celebrate her 30th birthday. What will she give herself as a present?  How about a man.  But where will she find one?  From a madam of course.
2)  It appears to be a small quiet town nestled in the beautiful North East.  Quite a normal place to grow up — except something is terribly wrong and evil things are happening.  Boyhood friends must ban together to help save the town.
3)  They’re complete opposites, but they’re attracted to each other. The hero plays professional sports and the heroine is running from just about everything, and now they’re stuck together for a very long car ride.
4)  The hero doesn’t much care for outsiders.  His loyalty is to his family and the land, until he meets the one woman who could change all that forever.  Unfortunately, she’s already spoken for.
5)  One third of Earth’s population was killed after the last war and now the hero and heroine are out for revenge.  Our heroine has an unusual profession - one mostly  held by men.  (Hint - long stretches of road is what she’s got ahead of her.)

PLEASE POST YOUR ANSWERS ON ROMANCE NOVEL TV - THAT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN ENTER THIS BOOK GIVE AWAY.

 

He's Handsome, but...

I admit it, I like men who are good in the looks department.  Yup, we read about them, see them on the screen, pass our hands lovingly across the pages of their magazine spreads, and do a double take when we see them on the street. Looks, looks, looks.  But are looks everything?  Well, you’re all probably saying “NO!”  He’s got to have a good personality, he’s got to be kind, generous, understanding, love pets and children.  Yeah, yeah, tell your story walking.  The question is — does he have money?  I mean the kind of money that he can spend after the bills are paid.  I’m talking vacation money.  Shopping money.  Extravagant dinner money.  Jewelry money. Oops - I got a little carried away.  If looks aren’t everything and money isn’t everything. Then what is?

Given a choice - looks or money - what would you choose?

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When do you Kiss?

How many times have you read a book where the hero and heroine have just opened their eyes after a nights sleep,  take one look at each other and must have their way with one another?  How often have you seen a television show or movie where the beautiful woman and gorgeous hunk wake up in bed, roll into each others arms and have a big make-out session?

Fast forward to real life.  I wake up every morning and give my husband a kiss, but I can assure you, no saliva is exchanged. Absolutely  not one molecule.  I mean, at this point in my life, personal hygiene comes first.  I suppose, after years of marriage you notice things you might not have when you were first in love and full of passion.  Things like halitosis.  You know, the kind of breath that would stop a wild boar in his tracks.  Come on, let’s get real here. Do you really want to do the nasty with nasty breath?  I’m just asking.

So, if you suddenly woke up one morning next to the sexiest man of your dreams and he was staring at you, passionately, lovingly, and longingly — would you jump up, excuse yourself and brush your teeth? Or would you go with the flow and let the salivia fly?

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Twin Talk Comfort Reads

Marisa has her 'go-to' books, and Maria has her 'go-to' movies...





What's your 'go-to' thing that comforts you?

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iPhone-itis?

They look alike, they walk alike, but do they iPhone alike?








When it comes to obsessions - Maria has them.  What's yours?

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Romance Poolside

Hey - Just back from a video shoot in

Hawaii

. Yeah, I know you’re thinking, “Wow, what a great place.” And I’m sure it is, but I didn’t get to see much of it. I was shooting most days around a resort from 6am until 10pm. With jet lag and long days, afraid I didn’t see much.

But I did notice a very particular phenomenon - romance reading poolside. Oh yeah. Here I am, in paradise, with ocean breezes, palm trees swaying, volcanoes spurting, hiking trails with waterfalls, exotic animals and vistas that would blow your mind—but like I said, I didn’t see much of it. What I did see was dozens of people lying in their chaise lounges poolside reading romance. Nora Roberts, Julia Quinn, Christina Dodd, Catherine Coulter, Debbie Macomber, etc., etc.

 So - if you were going to fly over 18 hours and thousands of miles to a tropical island, would you be sitting around reading a romance novel - or would you be swimming in the ocean, visiting the volcano, or taking a beautiful waterfall hike???

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Anna Campbell Wraps Up RWA 2008

The Wrap-Up!

Firstly huge apologies that I didn’t get back to blog at the conference. I thought the first two days were busy – until I struck the last two days!

Friday I was on the go all day. Highlights included the Avon free book session where I’m delighted to say I met a whole stack of people and my books sold out. I hope people can read my awful scrawl in the front of their books – I had to write FAST! Then there was Connie Brockway’s wonderful speech at lunchtime where she told us quite sincerely that all romance writers were superheroes! Hmm, not sure underwear on the outside is the look I want, but I’ll try, CB, I’ll try! In the afternoon, I caught up with one of my favorite people, historical romance writer Amanda McCabe who is in the middle of a great trio of books set in the 16th century. Can’t wait for the next one which features the wonderful Balthazar! I then dashed down to the official reception for RITA and Golden Heart finalists which was great for fangirl squeals. Then I went to the Lowenstein-Yost party, proudly called Crumpets and Strumpets. I’d like to be a crumpet, I really would…

Me, Julie Anne Long and Jenna Petersen at the Avon dinner

Friday night is when a lot of publishers have their parties. Avon is no exception. We walked a couple of blocks to the very glamorous Mandarin Hotel where I drank champagne and made a pig of myself on the pre-dinner treats. There was this wonderful watermelon and cilantro sashimi concoction that was seriously yummy. The dinner was great and it was wonderful to hear about everyone’s achievements over the last year. I sat between lovely Isabel Sharpe and number one NYT Bestseller Victoria Alexander. Sort of the thorn between two roses! Or perhaps the strumpet between two crumpets? I’ve included pictures from the Avon dinner so you can see how some of us scrub up. Isn’t Toni’s dress to die for? Sophia is always a vision of elegance. It was great to catch up with Jenna and Julie Anne. I hadn’t met JA before and she’s an absolute hoot. If you get a chance, pick up her THE PERILS OF PLEASURE. It’s a really fun read with a delicious hero.

RITA-award winning historical romance author Sophia Nash with me at the Avon dinner

The hardier souls went on to the Harlequin Party afterwards but seeing I’d started with a 7am meeting, I headed up to bed.

Saturday, I had breakfast with the lovely Keira and lunch with Louisa Cornell and Wetumpka bookseller Tammy Lynn. In between, a whole stack of business meetings. Which made me glad I hadn’t gone to the Harlequin party even though people kept telling me how brilliant it was! The awards night was fantastic fun. Romance Bandit Susan Seyfarth won the Golden Heart for Single Title Contemporary Romance for her manuscript  MONEY HONEY. Congratulations, Smoov! Sadly, that was the only bling that entered the lair on Saturday night. But I was delighted to see such a lot of worthy winners on the podium. Special congratulations to Avon authors Terri Garey, who won the RITA for first book with DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY and Julia Quinn who won the Regency Historical category with THE SECRET DIARIES OF MISS MIRANDA CHEEVER. And also to Madeline Hunter whose wonderful LESSONS OF DESIRE won the best historical RITA. I loved that book!

So conference is over. I’m home and ridiculously jetlagged. But it was all huge fun and I can’t wait to do it all again next year in Washington!

2008 RITA finalist Toni Blake with me at the Avon dinner - what a gorgeous dress, Toni!