I’m posting two blogs- why not
I read a book this last week. Yes, I should have been writing, but as it happened the electricity was off for hours of daylight and it gave me the opportunity to finish a book I’d started the week before. Normally, if I love a book I will read it in one sitting, but I am at an age and state of insanity, that everyone thinks that my extra time should be spent on their particular projects. So reading has taken a back seat to work, family and writing. (You noticed that writing and work were separate things.)
The author is one I have read quite a bit. She writes paranormal and her first few books were with a small press, then she went to one of the New York houses. I always liked her books because she had a great mythology and there was some substance to her plotlines. Not in this book.
The story was focused on the romance from chapter two on and I think what turned me off was that her male voice sounded more like a love struck female than a tough as nails shifter. He wanted her from the instant he saw her. He was a hard on walking from the first kiss and his inner voice did not come across as a strong male, where as her heroine was quite funny and southern sassy.
Everyone brings their own perspective to what they read and the things that make a story good. I will admit, that I have no problem with a hero’s voice expressing his desire for a woman, but I like there to be some interactions between the characters before this begins. I like plot and subplot beyond the two character romance. The reader goes in knowing that hero and heroine will consummate their longing for each other. And don’t get me wrong, I like a man who is determined he’s going to get the girl. I just don’t want him sounding like a girl when he does it, then have every secondary character supposedly afraid of him, because he’s all macho.
Of course, I’ve always said my favorite males are the laconic types, who don’t say much, but show you what they are all male. Oh, but I love an alpha male with a mouth too. I look for authenticity in the characters. What about you, have you stopped reading a book or author because the male just didn’t seem authentic?
Who are some of your favorite male characters and what made them stick out in your mind?
Rhianna Samuels
What I did last week
I had along holiday weekend. My first thought was to write and spend some time with my family. My MY SPACE web mistress, who also happens to be my fifteen year old niece came to hang with me and my artist sister decided this would be the perfect weekend for her to paint two rooms in exactly the colors I wanted. Sounds all good, right?
Because, I’m a lazy slug at heart, the logistics of all this escaped me.
I drove down to Kentucky and picked up my niece. Don’t be too impressed, the Kentucky border is only ten miles from here and my sister lives only 45 minutes away. Still, I drove there to pick out the colors I wanted and pick up my fun girl. I went with two colors to start out with – sage and haystack- in a low fumes paint.
I wrote on my novella, and we watched as many gory movies as possible. The gore was to the point I was over saturated and forced her to comedy so that I wouldn’t have night mares. On Friday, I thought I’d help by stripping wall paper border off in my room. I used a cool clothes steamer from sharper image which was collecting dust in the shed. It worked, but only to a point. It got so hot that it not only took off the wallpaper, it also took of the plaster wall behind it, which eventually became a caulking nightmare. So with only one wall stripped and my sisters cheery, “finish taking down the border”, I made a run to Lowes to see what they had for the job.
I found a spray bottle, orange in color that guaranteed safe removal. You simply spray until saturated, let sit for 2-10 minutes and remove. Repeat as necessary. It worked amazingly well. What they fail to mention is that it smells like mildew and stay up your nose for days. Though I managed to get the smell out of the room with a fan, it stayed in my nose hairs for a longer period.
Did I mention, I fell off the ladder twice (I kept missing the last step off), I managed to jab the metal spatula device into the palm of my hand actually draw blood with that mildewing crap on it and I was channeling the wicked witch of the west by the time I finished. (No comments about my warted nose.)
Having coaxed my cohort in movies to move some furniture out of the room and clearing some wall space, I was ready for my sisters arrival the next day to do the actual painting. Don’t give me that look, she has her first degree in painting. Seriously! My niece, her daughter, was then informed-after the furniture moving-that she’d have to sleep on the couch, since my room was now mildew stinky and I was taking the guest room. She seemed at peace with that, especially after I handed her the digital remote to the 65 inch tv in the family room.
My sister arrived early. My room looked fabulous, one wall in pale sage green, one in a pale yellow and the other two in Twine, it’s a white with a hint of gray in it. I was pleased and ready to stop. I realized how much trouble and mess it encompassed and did not want to do the other room until I’d had a chance to decide where I was putting everything. But other people made a unilateral decision and from that point on I was channeling a hell hound.
By the time my sister left, I had to apologize for the bitch that took over my mouth and complained about every thing. But, please tell me you would unplug the computer and printers before her moved them around. The key board and printers were hanging by a thread and thrown on the bed. (Don’t get me started again.)
I closed the door the to that room and did not reenter it until this weekend. You can see where my time got spent.
Don’t fret, I did write ten pages of nothing but sex scenes during my frustration. I have to admit the front end of the novella is a lot of sex. The action comes in the back end of the book. Was that a double entendre? You’ll have to read it someday to find out. *grin*
Rhianna – Bitch from hell ~ (AKA -The Hell Hound)
have you stopped reading a book or author because the male just didn’t seem authentic?
All these alpha men are written by women; they are bound to come across as female-ish many times, and they do. Or they’re so ridiculously and outlandishly over the top overbearing, I’m outta there.
…it stayed in my nose hairs for a longer period.
As you say “but I am at an age”…… maybe you ought to be trimming that stuff, no? They have wonderful trimmers for that now.
No comments about my warted nose
You know, I knew it! I was just telling my friend the other day, “I think that Rhianna Samuels has a wart on her nose, like a witch. Prolly why there are no pics out there.” I mean, what. are. the. odds. that I’d guess such a thing and get it right? I’m sure people have no problem looking at you anyway; I think people try very hard to be polite about that sort of thing and try not to stare.
…for the bitch that took over my mouth
Oh God, don’t you just hate when that happens? I just want to slap that bitch that takes over my mouth sometimes; teach her a good lesson. :O
Don’t get me started again.
Oh please, DO go on, this sounds so juicy!
I did write ten pages of nothing but sex scenes during my frustration
Ooooh, sex is so good to relive frustration, don’t you think? It’s what I tell DH all the time. *g* Good for you! And us, who knows, maybe…“some day”. *sigh*
Comment by MB (Leah) — July 15, 2008 @ 12:45 pm
Oh boy… books that I’ve stopped reading solely because of the male character?
Not so many I don’t think. Usually I stop reading because:
1.) the story is so lame and going nowhere
2.) the H and/or h spend all their time not liking each other / all
over each other and seesawing back and forth
But if there was a male type that would cause me to stop reading a book, it’d have to be a guy that walks all over everyone else with no thought. Someone that’s so caught up in himself that there’s no one else *special* enough. Of course I’d do the same for a female lead character that was the same way.
Who are some of your favorite male characters and what made them stick out in your mind?
Oh wow… um, that’s a fairly lenghty list but off the top of my head the two that popped in first are Zsadist from J.R. Ward’s Lover Awakened and Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre. On further reflection, I love Mr. Darcy, aand just about any of the males from Lora Leigh’s Breed series. The basic characteristic among all of them, to my mind, is that while they’re very strong in many ways, they’re also able to be vulnerable to the woman in their life. Which, in my eye, means that they’re doubly strong.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
And Rhianna, regarding your uh… adventure? in painting, etc?… my heart goes out to you ~ it REALLY does!
Any painting or such nonsense that happens around our house is my husband’s complete and total sole responsibility. He’s the perfectionist and I’m a little more, shall we say, slap-dash? So if painting ~ scratch that; ANY picky work ~ needs doing, I’m not there… we’re both happier that way. I’m the one that prefers doing the grunt work before and after: but doing the actual picky stuff, nuh uh! I’d be channelling not only the hell hound, but the whole darned pack!… and I have too. *blush*
But wroting it out of your system? YaY us!
All’s I can say is ~ Better you, than me… I don’t have the writing sex scenes outlet; even if I did no one’d want to read them. LOL
Take care!
Kathy
Comment by KathyK — July 15, 2008 @ 4:54 pm
Hey and Leah… you know, I never ever thought of using the bold or other functions… you’re smart!
Comment by KathyK — July 15, 2008 @ 4:55 pm
…. Ummm, and FUNNY too!
*sigh* You brilliant writer types ~ I’m so envious.
Comment by KathyK — July 15, 2008 @ 4:57 pm
I liked Zhadist too. We all knew that love would change him, but it was because the woman was really just as strong as he was. I really liked that you grew to know those characters before their own book came along, so it was more poigniant because he would not give up on her from the very beginning.
I have lover enshined, but I haven’t read it yet. I was not satisfied with the ending of the previous book, so it’s made me stubborn about reading it until I don’t have to rush through it. Though, is I like it, it is devoured.
I missed hearing from you guys when I didn’t post last weekend. But the writing I did had to be on the novella. Speaking of which, I’m only reading my email and avoiding the web browsing until I am done.
Rhianna
Comment by Administrator — July 15, 2008 @ 11:22 pm