The Wild, the Weird, and the Romantic: February 2006

Of Page and Screen...

What have I been reading and watching lately? Here’s the rundown:

Books/Romance...

The Hunger by Susan Squires
(St. Martin's)
I just finished this book, and God was it intense! But if you've read any of Susan's books, that shouldn't surprise you. The storyline is gripping, the action is unrelenting, and the romance is touching. Vampires plotting to take over the world via Napoleon? It all seems so plausible when painted with Susan Squire's masterful literary brush, dipped in exquisite, sensual detail.

Blood Moon Over

Britain

by Morag McKendrick Pippin (Dorchester)
While I do love a good Regency, I'm always hunting for historical romances set in unusual time periods. Three cheers to Dorchester Publishing for this wonderful World War II romance! Murder, spies, double agents...can a young woman and a wounded soldier-turned-policeman keep a secret code from falling into enemy hands? Wartime

Britain

come to life in this story of disillusioned honor. Before you start it, take a peek in the back for a handy glossary of highly entertaining British wartime slang.

Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie (HQN)
This book is a reissue of an early Crusie romance. It's as sweet and irresistible as a chocolate bar, with none of the calories. Where does J.C. get her inspiration for all her (heterosexual) classic-movie-loving heroes? Do guys like that really exist on Earth? Or do you have to import them from Venus? Ah well, at least we get to read and dream...

Books/Young Adult...

Sweep by Cate Tiernan (Puffin)
This fourteen-book series follows a year in the life of upstate New York teenager Morgan Rowlands, a Wiccan version of Harry Potter. Each book ends on a cliffhanger, so I dare you to read just one! It's a good thing Morgan's parents are clueless, because if they knew half the dangerous witchy stuff Morgan was getting into, they'd freak for sure.

Books/ YA Manga...

Kare First Love by Kaho Miyasaka (VIZ Media LLC)
I'm up to volume six in this series, with more to come. Shy, awkward Karin meets hot upperclassman Kiyira when he accidentally lifts up her skirt on a bus. Can the teenage pair survive secrets, jealous friends, unsympathetic parents, Kiyira's three dozen after-school jobs, Karin's obsessive studying, and their own hormones? A very entertaining story with beautiful, beautiful artwork.

Movies, at the theater...

Eight Below
If you aren’t moved to tears by this story of eight Siberian huskies marooned in Antarctica while their faithful human companion tries desperately to figure out a way to rescue them, then you're as cold as an iceberg!

Movies, from the video store...

A Fish Called Wanda
Every bit as funny as I remembered it to be. Kevin "Don't EVER Call Me Stupid" Kline is a comic genius in this movie! John Cleese shucks off all his clothes and Jamie Lee Curtis seduces every man in sight. Michael Palin's stuttering, animal-loving hit man rounds out the laughs.

Happy reading and watching!

Joy
www.joynash.com

One thing a woman absolutely won't do in front of a man...

Pick her nose? Pluck her chin hairs?

Nah...

Buy romance novels with half-naked hotties on the cover.

At least, that's my suspicion after doing a booksigning on Valentine's Day. The bookstore's manager wanted a Romance Author for The Big Day of Romance. After all, what's more romantic than a romance novel? She was sure my books would sell as quickly as the Godiva chocolates on the table. She even arranged for a keyboardist nearby, playing dreamy love songs.

I set up at 6 pm and stayed until 8:30. The store, a large chain bookstore, had a very nice stream of traffic for a weekday evening. A lot of couples strolled through, probably on their way to or from one of the many restaurants in the shopping center.

Not one couple bought my book.

And it wasn't because the women weren't interested. They were. You could tell by the way they picked up the book, turned it over and read the back cover copy, then gazed up expectantly at their men. Then their husband/boyfriend/date would make a snarky comment and the woman would sigh and put the book back. And this happened over and over again.

One guy said, "She don't need romance from a book, she gets enough at home."

I just bet.

The experience got me thinking - just why won't women buy clinch cover romances when men are watching? I'm guessing it's because they don't want their men to feel inadequate. A guy might look at the hunk on the cover and get the feeling that he can't measure up.

Which he absolutely can't. Any more than his wife or girlfriend can compare with the beauties in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. This is because a romance hero, like a good deal of female cover model cleavage, is fiction.

Would you buy a half-naked guy in front of your Significant Man? Why or why not?

My Valentine's Day booksigning wasn't a total loss - I did sell books, just not to couples. Women without male discouragement bought my books. Also, men shopping alone snagged copies for their wives/girlfriends as Valentine's Day presents. Apparently some men are smart enough to know that a romance novel is a great incentive for romance.

Or maybe guys just don't realize what's in those books.

Until Next Friday,
Joy
www.joynash.com