Monday, April 11, 2011

Crushin' On A Character

Have you ever created a character that was just your idea of a good time?  Or read a book containing someone that you would give your eye teeth to meet in real life?

For me, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series has Ranger.  I can say, besides the fact that I laugh out loud reading her books, Ranger is the reason I buy her every release. There is something about this character that speaks to all that is woman within me.

I find myself using him as the measuring stick for all hot personas everywhere, and I have to say, the majority falls terribly short.

Until yesterday. I have started a new MS, and my main character's love interest is a stud. Not just physically, but intellectually and spiritually.  Of course he has flaws, but he is giving Ranger a run for his money, and frankly, I didn't see that coming.  I don't consider myself the type of person to divide my loyalties.  But Mason (that's all you're getting) is attentive, and attractive, and interesting, and hot in ways that Tiger/Adonis/Winning Charlie Sheen could only dream of being.

Ranger, I love you, I really do, but you're going to have to step up your game or I'm going home with Mason tonight.

How about you?  Conflicting love interests?

Saturday, April 9, 2011

"I Do Not Think That Word Means What You Think It Means" ~ Inigo Montoya

At some point in everyone's lives, we find ourselves attempting to explain our relationships.  It happens.  We are either trying to announce our availability, or defend our 'taken' status. Invariably, we have a friendship that we describe as 'strictly platonic'.

Now, in doing a little research, I have discovered that this is one of the most misused words in the english language. We use it to paint a picture of two people with similar interests, who are able to interact devoid of any romantic or physical attraction.

If we only knew the truth. *laughs ironically*

The origin of the word Platonic reads as follows:

Plato did not invent the term or the concept that bears his name, but he did see sexual desire as the germ for higher loves. Marsilio Ficino, a Renaissance follower of Plato, used the terms amor socraticus and amor platonicus interchangeably for a love between two humans that was preparatory for the love of God. From Ficino's usage, Platonic (already present in English as an adjective to describe what related to Plato and first recorded in 1533) came to be used for a spiritual love between persons of opposite sexes. In our own century Platonic has been used of relationships between members of the same sex. Though the concept is an elevated one, the term has perhaps more often been applied in ways that led Samuel Richardson to have one of his characters in Pamela say, "I am convinced, and always was, that Platonic love is Platonic nonsense."

The key is in the very first sentence.  ...sexual desire as the germ for higher loves...  Plato believed that a relationship evolved into something more pure, more spiritual.  Therefore, for one to achieve a true platonic relationship, one must start with the lower form of physical attraction and work one's way up!

I am starting to have a better understanding of the 80 year old couple sitting in the park, holding hands.

As far as the guy who sits in the cube next to yours who says good morning every day, and cracks the occasional joke that only you can hear?  Well, your relationship with him hasn't grown feet and crawled out of the ocean yet...  believe it or not, Harry was right:

Harry: Because no man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her.
Sally: So you're saying that a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive?
Harry: No, you pretty much want to nail 'em too.
Sally: What if they don't want to have sex with you?
Harry: Doesn't matter because the sex thing is already out there so the friendship is ultimately doomed and that is the end of the story.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Mind Candy Grand Opening

...and I mean that in the sexiest way possible... *sultry grin*

While I intend to lean toward the cheeky, the smexy, and occasionally the downright hot postings, I believe that the mind is stimulated, tantalized and bent by variety.  I adore things that make me go 'hmmmmmm', and I think you will too.

Thursday, April 7, 2011....   What an interesting day to start a blog, yes?  Many would have chosen a less middle-of-the-week day, or perhaps a 'beginning' date, like the 1st.  I chose today for its uniqueness.

Exhibit A:


  • April 7, 1969 – The Internet's symbolic birth date: publication of RFC 1.




  • What, was Al Gore like, 9?  Child prodigy, I tell you...

    This day was the start of a revolution. When I think about what life was like before the internet... well, it is older than I am, but there was a time during my life when it wasn't a place for everyone.  Just your average Joe Blow couldn't hop on his laptop (there weren't any) and surf over to Amazon.com and pick up the latest copy of  'A Walk In The Snark.'  Hehehe....  she said blow.

    Now, we shop, communicate, give gifts, date, publish novels.... all online.  This is not where I jump up on my soap box and preach the virtues of face time, or shake my fist at the loss of human contact.  I love the internet!  I am amazed daily by the world wide web. I can find anything I could ever want, any time I ever want it, with the click of a mouse, the press of a key, the touch of a screen.  I never have to wonder who, what, why, when or how, ever again.

    Don't get me wrong.  We should all go outside into the sunshine and play.  We should daily speak to at least one person face to face, and look into their eyes. And no video screen or text message will ever replace the heat of skin to skin contact and the intensity of words whispered so close that lips brush the ear.

    But do I need you to know right now how much I love your latest book?  Hello cyberspace!  Do I need to make reservations in advance for our celebration dinner? Well, dubya-dubya-dubya-dot me! And do I really, really need you to send me some sexy little message with suggestions for our steamy after-party? Instant foreplay, baby.

    I say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, INTERNET!!!!"

    It blows my mind to think about how my world is shaped by something I can't even touch, feel, taste.  And here's another little mind-blower...

    Exhibit B:


    Hehehehe.... she said blow again..... twice....