Modern . . . Beauty

by | Oct 12, 2009 | Uncategorized

Beauty’s a transitory, subjective thing. It’s true. We all know it. I remember once being totally surprised when I finally saw a guy a friend had referred to as “one of the best looking men” she’d ever seen. I met him and thought, “Huh? Seriously? I don’t think he’s even cute.” And yet, there are definite opinions on whether characters ought to be beautiful.

I’ve heard both sides. That people want to a book to be an escapist fantasy, they want the characters to be what they dream of being. The other side has said, “I get so sick of reading about these perfect, gorgeous, nubile heroines meeting these perfect, muscular, alpha-male guys.”

Can I agree with both? LOL. I have my share of awe-inspiringly-beautiful heroines. It inevitably causes them problems. I also have my share of not-traditionally-beautiful heroines who are nonetheless thought to be gorgeous by the heroes. I’ve gone for the “too”s on occasion–too tall, too heavy, too bold, too plain, too understated (too loud, too talkative, too quiet–to get into some other traits that can affect beauty in a heartbeat).

I’ve heard (or maybe thought) it’s kind of a cop-out to have this “normal” looking woman and then have the hero end up thinking she’s the most beautiful thing in the world. But . . . well, I’m a normal looking woman. And my husband has been telling me for going on twelve years now (ever since we started dating) that I’m the most beautiful woman in the world. Do I think he’s full of it? Well, sure. But “it” is love, so I also believe him.

The debate of beauty is a topic that has raged in authors’ circles for years and undoubtedly will keep doing so. But for me, it always comes down to this: take a walk down a busy street. Look at the people you pass. Sure, most of them have some physical flaws. And most of them work pretty hard to look their best in spite of them. I remember a particular day in Annapolis, walking around during lunch and thinking, “Wow. Everyone’s so beautiful.” Beautiful people are everywhere, taking all shapes, all colors, all sizes. So how can we not call a character beautiful when most of the women out there are?

Generally, my heroines will be called beautiful, though not generally the perfect variety. But then, I also have one in particular who the hero describes as “better than beautiful: her features are interesting.”

And now to grab my son from his highchair before he climbs out and becomes cute-in-a-chipped-tooth sort of way.

My Friend . . . Sara Mills

by | Oct 9, 2009 | Uncategorized

Back at the ’07 conference, I met an author named Sara Mills. I vaguely recall hearing her tell us about her books, though I confess I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention. To the point where, when her debut novel arrived in my mailbox from her publisher, I didn’t realize I’d met the author. But the book looked cool, very film noir, so I settled down with Miss Fortune and proceeded to be wowed.

I wrote a review, sent it to the publisher, and emailed Sara with it too. I actually had the thought of Did I volunteer to read this? Is she in ACFW? Completely spaced I’d MET the woman. But at any rate, Sara emailed me back, very excited. Mine was the first review to come in, and it helped hammer home the reality of being published.

I asked to be put on the list to receive her second book, Miss Match. I was in the middle of something else when it arrived, but at the first possible moment, I picked it up, carried it upstairs, and got to reading. I was only a chapter or two in when it hit me. I had MET Sara! Suddenly I remembered her, remembered sitting with her and her agent at the award’s banquet in 2007!

When things like this hit me out of the blue, I’ve taken to turning my thoughts to the Lord. I learned this lesson many times over, and not too long before in relation to authors (I’d been thinking about my favorite childhood author one week and then learned she had died that week). So I prayed for Sara and her family. Then kept reading.

The next morning I learned that at the exact time the Lord had impressed her on my heart, she was suffering a debilitating death in the family. When I saw that email asking for prayers as her family reeled with the loss, I sat back and just stared. I barely knew this woman. I didn’t even recall meeting her until the moment I started praying. Why had the Lord called on me for this?

I don’t pretend to understand the way our amazing God works, but you can bet that whenever someone pops to mind with that startling clarity now, I’m putting aside all else and saying a prayer.

Not knowing what else to do, I finished Miss Match–which was a great book with an awe-inspiring ending–wrote my review, and told everyone I knew to buy her books. My grandmother petitioned the Library to order them. My best friend ordered them for her mom. I don’t know that my efforts did much in the overall attempt to help her family, but I had to do what I could.

At the conference last month, I was walking blissfully away from lunch one day when I heard, “Roseanna!” I turned, having no clue who was hailing me. And saw a smiling Sara Mills sitting on the bench, waving. “You wrote my very first review,” she said–looking, I might add, gorgeous and sophisticated. “I wanted to thank you.”

I may not have remembered our first chance meeting. But you can bet I’ll never forget that one.

To read my reviews of the fabulous film noir-inspired mysteries by Sara Mills, click on the book covers–they’ll take you to the links at the CRoB.

Thoughtful About . . . A Toddler’s Focus

by | Oct 8, 2009 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized

The deeper I get into the toddler years with my second child, the more I gotta wonder. I mean, really. How is it that this kid can’t sit still for a diaper change, but he can spend an HOUR playing in my silverware drawer? Why will he not let me eat my dinner without a scream to get out of his highchair halfway through, but he’ll diligently try to put a key into a (wrong) keyhole for twenty minutes? And how about the fact that he can never find his cup, but he’ll locate every penny for a mile around?

In some ways, the focus of a toddler really amazes me. What is so intriguing about the sound of spoons clanking together? What is the allure of taking every can out of my cupboard? How can he get so many wipes out of the pack in the three seconds I turn my back?

On the whole, I’m really impressed with these little people I have. My daughter has an inspiring imagination and takes really good care of her brother (when she isn’t bopping him on the head), and the little guy’s getting to that age where he progresses in leaps and bounds. For instance, he hadn’t put two words together (not counting phrases that he probably mistakes for a one word, like “good job” and “thank you”) until yesterday. Then he followed up “Hi, Papa” with “brush teeth” and “no cookie.” (Although that last one . . . hm. Maybe this boy needs help. Turning down a cookie??)

I really like how they show us things about ourselves. I may growl at the dual-focus thing since he never seems to focus on what needs to be done, but am I any different? I could spend hours in front of my computer writing or editing or checking email, but my attention span is amazingly short when it comes time to clean, cook, or listen to my husband talk about cars. Or insurance. Or the economy. LOL.

Pretty smart of God to provide us with cute little mirrors, isn’t it?

Remember When . . . There Were No Women for Miles Around?

by | Oct 7, 2009 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized

In relocating my book about archaeology in Egypt to the ’20s, I did run up against one dilemma. In the original, there are quite a few women out there in the Egyptian wilderness, this being a large, high-profile dig. Fine in contemporary settings. But when I moved it back in time 80 years, I had this moment of panic. Oh no, I thought. Were there even female archaeologists back then??

I looked it up and quickly breathed a sigh of relief. Women have indeed been in archaeology since the mid 1800s, but they were few, far between, and had to fight for every ounce of respect they earned. Which means that my heroine could certainly be there, but she now needs the personality to demand it. In the original, Allie was not a demanding person. She was quiet, non-confrontational, but had a spine of steel. New-Allie (or perhaps Old-Allie?? I did, after all, just age her quite a lot, lol) is still quiet, but the stubbornness had to be upped.

It definitely changes my cast of characters, though. Gone are all the other women but one–I kept an older mother-figure, who is now married to another archaeologist on the dig and handles food and nursing. Not exactly her role in the original, but we have to improvise as the facts dictate. 😉

I’m having fun getting to know these characters that are much the same but also different in such crucial ways. Where before she just wouldn’t argue about something because of her bent toward silence, now she uses that silence to prove a point. Like when the hero demands, “Do you really want to argue this point?” she’ll reply, “Yes,” and then just glare at him. Makes for some interesting one-sided dialogue! But hopefully it’ll shake my unshakable heroine into the kind of woman who actually made it in that life. One whose dream, whose vision was so strong that she was willing to take on the whole male-dominant world to achieve it.

Story Time . . . JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME by Jenny B. Jones

Story Time . . . JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME by Jenny B. Jones

by | Oct 6, 2009 | Uncategorized

My reading habits these last two months have not been very habitual. I’ve gone weeks at a time with barely reading, which is rather embarrassing, given that I have a day of the week dedicated to it on my blog. I finally finished a book I started at conference in September, and since I was in the mood, promptly picked up another: Just Between You and Me by Jenny B. Jones. I started it on Saturday night and finished it on Sunday night. Need I say more?

Well, I will anyway;-) I’ve long been waiting to read a Jenny B. Jones book, since she’s one of my best friend’s favorite YA authors. I was pretty excited to see a contemporary by her that was aimed at adults. And my instincts were right. I could not put this book down.

The book is in the head of Maggie Montgomery, a daredevil cinematographer who readily admits she has a few issues. Like that crippling fear of water–even if no deeper than a fountain–and tendency to spontaneously combust when a romantic relationship edges toward serious. But she’s got it all under control . . . until her father calls her home to Ivy, Texas to help take care of her wild-child niece.

Jenny uses hilarity and deep insight to take this story way beyond the norm. As Maggie faces her fears and tries to figure out what in the world God wants her to do, delving generously into the junk food stores as she bumbles along, I got totally caught up in her world. I loved the voice, I loved the quirks, I loved the snarky dialogue . . . Yeah, pretty much loved everything about this book. And best of all, though it may not fit the strictest definition of “romance,” having no hero’s POV, it had a romance in it to make a girl swoon.

Here’s hoping this isn’t Jenny’s last contemporary! Keep ’em coming!

(In accordance with the new FTC regs, I guess I need to mention that this [along with every other book I read] was sent to me free by the publisher. Though it was an ARC, which technically has no value, so I’m not sure what the FTC actually thinks about this . . .)

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