About Me |
Like Scout Finch, the proverbial tomboy who lived in
her brother's shadow, I don't remember NOT being
able to read. One of my favorite memories is of lying
with my head in my mother's lap and feeling her
coffee-scented breath on my face as she read to us till
it was time to leave for school. She had read the
entire Golden Books children's encyclopedia series to
us twice by the time I was about 6.
It took me a while to discover romance. I remember
the old, so-called "bodice rippers", but never picked
one up: not because of the covers, but because of
things I'd heard about the "hero as rapist" theme. Oh,
and because of some of the titles!!! I read everything
else, though, and eventually realized that what I liked
most about the books I enjoyed were the romantic
parts. This realization crystallized about 11 p.m. one
night, and the one store in town that had a romance
without a clinch cover (which I naively thought might
make the story less "over the top" than what I imagined
the typical romance to be) offered up Sandra Brown's
Where There's Smoke. I was hooked.
My tastes in romance have evolved and mutated since
then. I am like the diner who's a regular at the
smorgasbord. On my initial visits, I tended to gorge on
a sampling of every item, but eventually, I learned to
pick and choose the things that gave me the greatest
ultimate pleasure. I also learned that, just because my
dinner partner finds the pickled owl's beak the
crème de la crème of epicurean
delights, it simply may not be my cup of tea.
But although I consider my romance reading a
relatively recent development, I distinctly remember
reading books like Fifteen, and a host of books by
Someone du Jardin. Then there were the gothics:
Moura, Mistress of Mellyn et al; I adored them! And, of
course, the classics like Katherine, Desirée, Jane
Eyre, Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek. Favorite non-
romances include Prince of Tides, To Kill a
Mockingbird, Shogun, The Bean Trees, The Joy Luck
Club, The Kitchen God's Wife, Once and Future King,
Lonesome Dove, Catch-22, The Tokaido Road (which
leans toward romance), The Fixer, All the Pretty
Horses.
I love historical romances set in England, especially the
Regency and Victorian periods, but will read other
European historicals, as well. Favorite authors include:
Adele Ashworth, Loretta Chase, Lisa Kleypas, Judith
McNaught, Judith Ivory, Liz Carlyle, Mary Balogh, Anita
Mills, Mary Jo Putney, Edith Layton. I enjoy historicals
set in America: Dorothy Garlock, Lorraine Heath,
Catherine Anderson, Brenda Joyce, Dana Ransom,
Pamela Morsi. Favorite contemporaries include titles
by: Susan Andersen, Jennifer Crusie, Susan Elizabeth
Phillips, Lisa G. Brown, Karen Robards, Linda Howard,
Kay Hooper. I tend not to read sub-genres, like time
travel or scifi or paranormal, but have been pleasantly
surprised, most notably by Susan Grant's Contact and
Son of the Morning, Linda Howard's foray into time
travel.
When I'm not reading, I am doing business as the
owner of Creative Solutions, providing training and
consultation in the areas of developmental disabilities
(a field in which I worked for 23 years), management,
computers and whatever else someone needs that I
can convince myself I know something about. I settled
in California about 20 years ago, after a nomadic
childhood of the sort that comes of having a father
who's career Air Force. Other than a 9-year stint with
matrimony (no kids), I've lived a relatively footloose
and fancy-free existence, and have no plans,
immediate or otherwise, to change that.
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Personal Reading Tastes |
What I'm a sucker for in a book:
Second chance at love plots, loved from afar plots, bad boy/good girl stories, arranged marriages, reformed rakes, scenes that start out predictably than go somewhere new, lusty but tender heroes, witty and/or intelligent dialogue, and strong heroines who aren't shrews or dingbats.
What I don't particularly care for in a book:
Pirate stories, extremely dark story lines with too little redemption/lightness, glaring historical inaccuracies, overly eccentric heroines, virginal contemporary heroines without a realistic backstory, and paranormal/time travel elements.
What drives me absolutely nuts in a book:
Big misunderstandings, Too Stupid To Live characters, long and unnecessary separations, cardboard characterization, sex by the numbers, emotionally abusive heroes, inconsistency in description, supposedly sexually experienced heroines who become clueless in the clinches, overuse of words like "gasp," "lave," etc., heroines who become wide-eyed at the first view of the hero's endowments, and lustful thoughts at unrealistic moments or ad nauseum.
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Favorite Romance Authors |
Favorite Romance Authors
Connie Brockway
Liz Carlyle
Lisa Kleypas
Best Discovery/Buried Treasure Authors
Liz Carlyle
Edith Layton
Judith Ivory
My Biggest Glom
Linda Howard
Liz Carlyle
Lisa Kleypas
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Favorite Characters |
Favorite Hero
Stuart Aysgarth, Untie My Heart by Judith Ivory
Avery Thorne, My Dearest Enemy by Connie Brockway
Harry Braxton, As You Desire by Connie Brockway
Favorite Heroine
Jessica Trent, Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
Lillian Bede, My Dearest Enemy by Connie Brockway
Emma Hotchkiss, Untie My Heart by Judith Ivory
Most Tortured Hero
Kenzie Scott, The Spiral Path by Mary Jo Putney
Alasdair St. Erth, The Devil's Bargain by Edith Layton
Jack Seward, All Through the Night by Connie Brockway
Strongest Heroine
Lily Lawson, Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas
Jonet Rowland, A Woman Scorned by Liz Carlyle
Marlie Keen, Dream Man by Linda Howard
Favorite Couple
Sebastian Ballister and Jessica Trent, Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
Stuart Aysgarth and Emma Hotchkiss, Untie My Heart by Judith Ivory
Harry Braxton and Desdemona Carlisle, As You Desire by Connie Brockway
Best Villain
Lord Edward Vane, The Seduction by Julia Ross
Lady Killer, Home at Last by Katherine Stone
Robert Belesme, Lady of Fire by Anita Mills
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Least-Favorites |
Most Disappointing Book
Open Season by Linda Howard
Remember When by Judith McNaught
The Fifth Daughter by Elaine Coffman
Worst Book
Hide and Seek by Cherry Adair
Dark of the Night by Dee Davis
The Conqueror by Brenda Joyce
Authors I Have Given Up On
Sandra Brown
Julie Garwood
Jayne Ann Krentz
Authors Others Love That I Don't
Jude Deveraux
Dinah McCall/Sharon Sala
Elizabeth Lowell
Most Annoying Lead Character
Daisy Minor, Open Season by Linda Howard
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Favorite Romance Novels |
Absolute Favorites
Lord of Scoundrels
by Loretta Chase
Untie My Heart
by Judith Ivory
My Dearest Enemy
by Connie Brockway
Favorite Classic
Katherine
by Anya Seton
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte
Desiree
by Annemarie Selinko
Favorite Short Story
Too Wicked for Heaven
by Deborah Martin
in One Night with a Rogue
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Favorites by Sub-Genre |
Contemporary:
Billy Bob Walker Got Married
by Lisa G. Brown
Crazy for Lovin' You
by Lisa G. Brown
Baby, Don't Go
by Susan Andersen
American Historical:
Cherish
by Catherine Anderson
Courting Miss Hattie
by Pamela Morsi
If My Love Could Hold You
by Elaine Coffman
European Historical:
Untie My Heart
by Judith Ivory
Beauty Like the Night
by Liz Carlyle
A Woman Scorned
by Liz Carlyle
Medieval:
Lady of Fire
by Anita Mills
Warlord
by Elizabeth Elliott
Saving Grace
by Julie Garwood
Alternate Reality:
Finding Laura
by Kay Hooper
Contact
by Susan Grant
Son of the Morning
by Linda Howard
Category:
Bad to the Bone
by Debra Dixon
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Favorites by Plot Type |
Suspense:
Dream Man
by Linda Howard
Obsessed
by Susan Andersen
Private Scandals
by Nora Roberts
Cabin or Road:
The Seduction
by Julia Ross
Stolen Charms
by Adele Ashworth
Home at Last
by Katherine Stone
Funny:
Heaven, Texas
by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Wild Western Desire
by Kathy Jones
Loving Linsey
by Rachelle Morgan
Sexy:
Untie My Heart
by Judith Ivory
The Lady's Tutor
by Robin Schone
After the Night
by Linda Howard
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Favorites by Mood |
Comfort Reads:
Courting Miss Hattie
by Pamela Morsi
Then Came You
by Lisa Kleypas
Crazy for Lovin' You
by Lisa G. Brown
Most-Hanky Reads:
Always to Remember
by Lorraine Heath
Annie's Song
by Catherine Anderson
Home at Last
by Katherine Stone
Guilty Pleasures:
Dream Catcher
by Kathleen Harrington
Duncan's Bride
by Linda Howard
Fires of Paradise
by Brenda Joyce
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