I'm Your Number One Fan

This afternoon, I go to pick up Anne Stuart at the airport and I’m so tickled. I’m such a fan. Not the scary “Misery” type of fan. I don’t even own a sledgehammer.

We’re having our Romance Readers Luncheon tomorrow and Anne is the keynote speaker. She spoke at our RWA National conference in July too and she was so funny. Dry humor mixed with a little naughtiness. Just my type of humor.

Her books, especially her single titles, are edgy and the heroes are almost more bad guy than good. I find them to be interesting and, oh, so sexy. Kind of like the fascination people have for alligators (they eat their young) or owning tigers (think Siegfried & Roy). Even one of her books had the hero accused of killing his wife and children. Every clue in the book pointed to him, but knowing Ann is a romance writer was the saving grace that kept me reading. I will tell you the children were alive. After finishing it, I gave the book away. It wrung me out emotionally. Definitely a sign of a great writer.

She has another book that came out a couple months ago and I’ve been waiting until the luncheon to purchase it and have her sign it. Another reason I waited was the book’s heroine cheats on her husband with the “hero.” Since infidelity is second to child abuse in terrible scenarios, she has really pushed my buttons. But I can’t resist. It always turns out better than I expect. I may not approve of her methods, but she hasn’t failed me yet with a great read.

Well, maybe once. It was a Harlequin (can’t remember the line or title of the book), but she had the hero driving a Volkswagen Beetle. Sorry. He can drive a beat up truck or a junky sedan, but a BEETLE? That is just downright horrifying.

Yes. I know. I have my priorities all screwed up.

Oh, I'm thankful that I get to meet so many wonderful authors.

Oh, Oh, Stephen

Stephen King is a talented man with numerous opinions. I don't always agree but respect him for them. This time he may have bit off more than he can chew. Click here and read, and you may understand how my prior sentence was a pun.

What Do Men Want...

...To Read? HA! Gotcha!

As I probably mentioned before, I enjoy Stephen King’s articles in Entertainment Weekly. His humor, intelligence, and plain ol’ horse sense always makes me think and see things from another prospective. Now, it doesn’t mean I agree with everything he says, but I usually learn something new.

Last month his article was “What a Guy Wants.” You can imagine it caught my eye. I’m all the time wanting to infuse in my book what guys want, along with how they think and react to certain situations. Well, we know what all men want...but this article had to do with reading material.

One aspect I find in all of Mr. King’s articles is his respect for women writers. He tells us the publishing industry believes the male readership is shrinking, and because of that, editors are looking for the next breakout female writer. Then he points out “seven out of 10 New York Times hardcover fiction best sellers were by women” in the last week of August. (Click Here to See.) My chapter's own Sherrilyn was Number 3 then; the week before she’d been Number 1.

Then he went on to say women objectify men, as men do women in fiction. I agree we can do that at times. He also says men want the same thing women do when they read, “escape and entertainment.” True.

He talks about how many recent male writers have included female secondary characters who are more than sex kittens a.k.a. James Bond’s BHB (Before Halle Berry) babes.

Okay, I know you’ve been waiting for me to tell you what men want in books. As Mr. King said, “...men like to imagine going to war against an army of bad guys with a Beretta, a blowtorch, and a submachine gun (grenades hung on the belt optional).”

LOL! I love men. Ooh-rah!

Oh, it's Friday. I'm thankful for MEN! What did you expect? BFG!