My true love gave to me
Seven virgins sighing.
When I started reading romance (not long after the invention of the printing press), the heroine’s virginity was a non-issue. The typical romance heroine was young, beautiful, and virginal. Even the romance revolution led by Kathleen Woodiwiss with The Flame and the Flower in 1972 didn’t change this rule. Romances might now openly reveal the heroine as a sexual being who thought about more than chaste kisses. They might even follow the H/H behind the bedroom door, but the heroine was still conventionally innocent until she met the hero and surrendered her virginity to him, often under duress. Harlequin author Anne Mather made history in 1980 with the first Harlequin to feature a heroine who engaged in premarital sex. That same year Dell introduced the Candlelight Ecstasy line, the first category line to tell their authors that heroines need not be virgins. A scant three years later, sales of the line’s books totaled $30 million. Twenty-five years later publishing giants like Harlequin, Kensington, and Avon have erotica imprints and Publishers Weekly describes the state of romance as “hotter between the covers than between the sheets.” Readers regularly mock the innocent heroine, and with the exception of inspirationals and the “sweet” categories, romances that feature heroines who achieve their HEAs in a virginal state are an endangered, if not an extinct, species.
Now I’m not arguing for a return to the heroines of my youth. Even then those characters had more in common with fairy tale princesses than with the women readers of romance novels. I do protest, however, the idea that a virginal heroine must inevitably be a vanilla character. To support my contention I refer you to the gifts on this seventh day of RV Christmas, seven sighing virgins and not a bland one in the bunch.
Thunder and Roses (1993) by Mary Jo Putney
Clare Morgan, the daughter of a Methodist minister and a schoolmistress, sacrifices her reputation for the good of the community. She is torn between her attraction to the hero and her faith.
Heaven, Texas (1995) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Gracie Snow is a virgin spinster who has spent most of her life working in a nursing home. Social inexperience and sexual innocence are coupled with looks so ordinary that even after a makeover, Gracie is merely moderately pretty. Yet the hero, a world class womanized, falls for her so hard that he cheats to allow her to win his football quiz.
The Famous Heroine (1996) by Mary Balogh
Cora Downes is young and awkward, and as if that’s not enough, she laughs too often and too loudly. She also suspects the hero is gay. She is also funny, sweet, and vulnerable with an irresistible ability to laugh at herself.
My Dearest Enemy (1998) by Connie Brockway
Lily Bede is only nineteen, but she’s well-educated and committed to radical ideas about the equality of the sexes. The bluestocking heroine may be a stereotype, but there’s nothing stereotypical about Lily’s past, her plans, or her abilities.
The Rake (1998) by Mary Jo Putney
Alys Weston is no petite, protected beauty. She is two inches shy of sex feet, self-conscious about her physical appearance, and, at 30, convinced that she is destined to be a spinster. She has also taken on the work of a steward and has turned the estate of an absentee landlord into a model of efficiency, technology, and humanness.
Tallie’s Knight (2001) by Anne Gracie
How many shy, poor, orphaned, virgins used and abused by a heartless relative and saved from her dreary life by a handsome wealthy hero have you encountered in romance? Every bit of that description applies to Thalia Robinson, but “Tallie” is no cardboard heroine. She is a true innocent, a romantic dreamer with a loving heart and her own brand of strength and wisdom.
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton (2002) by Julia Quinn
The wallflower is another conventional heroine. But Penelope Featherington, a twenty-eight-year-old spinster, an overweight, shy, poorly dressed wallflower proves her intelligence, wit, and total lack of convention.
Do you see virginal heroines as (a) historically accurate in some books? (b) a bore regardless? (c) a joke in a contemporary? (d) just another character whose value depends on the author’s skill? Do you have any favorite heroines who qualify for this select company?
Kelly, you are the winner of the “hot looks” books. Send me your contact info, and I’ll get them in the mail right away.
The lucky winner of the seventh day of RV Christmas will win an autographed copy of Innocence Unveiled by Blythe Gifford .
Be sure to check back for five more days of celebration and giveaways.
My True Love Gave to me
SIX SECRET BABIES
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, secret babies are a staple of the romance plot. And they aren’t just for contemporaries anymore. In the last couple of years there have been a gaggle of secret babies from some of our favorite historical authors. Anne Gracie had one (or her heroine did) in His Captive Lady. Loretta Chase had one (or her heroine did) in Not Quite a Lady. And the heroine of Jo Beverley’s A Lady’s Secret turned out to be a secret baby in her own right! Here a secret baby, there a secret baby—secret babies for everyone!
So, gypsies, as we roast chestnuts on an open fire, as Jack Frost (or in my case Jack Humidity) nips at our collective noses, let’s talk about these secret babies we love so much. What is it about secret babies that so intrigues the romance reader? Is it the secret? Is it the baby that is a very tangible blending of the hero and heroine (or in some cases the cad who left the heroine in the lurch)? Tell me about your favorite secret babies…One lucky commenter will win an autographed copy of Jennifer Crusie’s Manhunting!
And Congratulations to Caffey who is the winner of the Jacquelyn Frank ARC from Monday. Email me your snail mail addy and I’ll send it out to you!
My True Love Gave to Me…
Five Sexy Scenes
Sing it loud and clear! After all, it is one of the central elements of the genre – and what many of us love best about it. Whether it’s kisses sweet (or steamy!), simmering sexual tension, or the actual bow-chicka-wow-wow, who can resist those scenes that drive the hero & heroine closer to physical and emotional intimacy?
What are some of your favorite sexy scenes and/or sexy scene writers? Comment before Sunday night (midnight CST) for a chance to win one of two ARCs of Lacey Alexander’s February release, THE BIKINI DIARIES - a book that is guaranteed to have AT LEAST five sexy scenes, and probably a heck of a lot more! Enjoy an excerpt below (but be warned that it contains graphic language!).
Congrats to Nathalie, winner of our First Day of Christmas prize! Email Lindsey to claim it.
Read more…
Four Kisses Sweet
Ah, the kiss. Sensual. Sweet. Delicious. Dangerous. So many words come to mind when we think of kisses. A shy first kiss speaking a world of promises. A secret kiss stolen in the garden. A passionate embrace between long lost lovers.
Poets have eulogized on them, philosophers have philosophized on them (go with me on this one), and writers have tantalized our senses with the deft stroke of a pen. We read them. We watch them. We love them. And we always come back for more.
We know that the passionate love scenes can be some of the most delicious we’ve ever read, but those scenes have to start somewhere…the wooing, the charming, the delicious intoxication of that sweet kiss. They are the precursor to something greater and often are that moment when the zing truly zings in the couple’s blooming relationship.
There are so many great ones, I couldn’t even begin to guess where to start, but one of my favourites is the scene at the end of Love Actually where Natalie launches herself at her man, who just so happens to be the prime minister…ah, priceless. 
What are some of your favourite kiss scenes? One lucky poster who comments before midnight CST will win a fabulous historical novel with some of the best kissing scenes ever (well, at least I think so… 
) and a I throw in a treat of few Kisses (of the chocolate variety) to enjoy while reading it. Check back every day for the next eight days to enter for other fantastic prizes!
Hot looks are one of the conventions in romance fiction that don’t get enough attention IMO. It’s amazing how much sexual tension a good writer can create through glances that linger and looks that sizzle with desire. Often the look is an exchange between H/H, but sometimes it is one lover looking at another and the reader is privy to the gazer’s thoughts. There is a long tradition in Western literature of the female as object of the desirous male gaze. Maybe it’s the English major combining with the romance fan that makes me notice particularly when a romance writer reverses the tradition and gives the reader the male as object of a heated female gaze. These are three such hot looks from three romances on my keeper shelves.
1. “Elegant, he was. And beautiful, she thought, in a way so uniquely male, and as wonderfully competent and precise as the handy little machine he used to run figures. Not a man to run across sunny fields or to lie dreaming under a moon.
“But he was more than she’d first imagined him to be, much more, she now understood.
“The overpowering urge came over her to loosen that careful knot in his tie, unbutton that snug collar and find the man underneath.”
2. “Now he looked utterly unfamiliar. The sleek, exquisitely groomed _____, in the moonlight filtering through those small, overhead windows, looked well, like Bacchus, the god of wine. He would be perfectly at home in a shadowy wood, vines wound in that mop of curls, a sleek mat of hair beginning at his waist.
“Without noticing, _____ had frozen in her chair, not making a sound, as if a wild animal stalked her chamber without seeing her. She felt a blend of attraction and fear, of amusement and shock.”
3. “She looked down at him, at his strong throat, the silky dark hair falling to touch his neck. She was suddenly fascinated by the lobes of his ears. She wanted to lick the place below them, where his pulse beat. It suddenly occurred to her that there must be secret little places like this everywhere on his body: corners, curves, softness and strength that could be explored like Lacao.”
Do you recognize these hot looks? What sizzling glances from romance fiction do you remember most vividly? I’ll identify the three hot looks later today. It’s more fun if you guess. One lucky poster who comments before midnight CST will win a pair of sizzling paranormals that include some hot looks. Check back every day for the next nine days to enter for other fantastic prizes!
My True Love Gave to me…
TWO LOVERS MEETING
Sigh. You know what I’m talking about. Their eyes meet across a crowded ballroom. He’s tearing down the building she just happens to live in. She’s on her way to give that big presentation and trips and falls right into his arms…
It’s the meet-cute, that age old romance novel device that sets the tone for the entire story. Like snow-flakes, no two lovers meeting are exactly alike. It all depends on fate, chemistry, circumstance and just the right blend of that special something known as…zing. Even when the hero and heroine HATE each other when they first meet, you know by the end they’ll be singing a different tune. Preferably one about love.
The image above is from one of my favorite romantic movies the 30’s screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby. You see Cary Grant plays David Huxley, a paleontologist, but Katharine Hepburn’s character Susan Vance thinks he’s a zoologist. And she’s got this leopard that she needs help with…it’s a classic meet-cute. Trust me!
So, tell me, Vagabonds. What’s your favorite meet-cute? What opening gambit in a romance novel is your favorite of all time? Or better yet, name a few! We’ve got twelve days to go and there’s plenty of hot chocolate! One lucky commenter will win an ARC of Jacquelyn Frank’s ECSTASY, the first in her new Shadowdweller’s Series.
My True Love Gave to Me…
One Happy Ending
That’s what it’s all about, right? Better than a partridge in a pear tree, it’s what every romance novel is counting down to. Even if a book has twelve evil villains, nine internal conflicts, five black moments, three dark secrets, and two tortured pasts (and, yeah, that would be a pretty sloppily plotted book, but you get the idea), we know we’re always going to work through those obstacles to reach that one happy ending that reminds us of everything we want to believe in – that good topples evils, that people can overcome their circumstances, that everyone deserves to find that special someone, and that love alawys conquers all.
So tell us one of your favorite happy endings – in books or in real life – to be entered for the first of the excellent prizes we have to offer. Today you can win a chance to experience <<ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d’enfants>>. That’s right! A French happy ending from the queen of HEAs, Nora Roberts. Comment before midnight CST to win a copy of Une Princesse en Danger, the French edition of Nora Roberts’ Affaire Royale.
Check back every day for the next twelve days to enter for other fantastic prizes – ARCs, European chocolate, signed books, and more!
Join us December 14-25 as the Vagabonds celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas Romancelandia style. Not only will the legendary “true love” arrive bearing unique gifts for romance readers and writers, but the Vagabonds will give away a prize each day to a randomly selected poster who posts by midnight CST. Winners will be announced by noon the following day.
Prizes include books (some of them signed by the author) by Eloisa James, Julia London, Candice Hern, Samantha James, Amanda McCabe, Christine Wells, Elizabeth Boyle, Lori Foster and others. Extra special prizes include an ARC of Lacey Alexander’s Bikini Diaries, a Nora Roberts book in French, an autographed copy of Jennifer Crusie’s Manhunting, and European chocolates. Be sure to join us each day for a chance at one of these fabulous prizes.
I hope Santa makes a stop at at my house. I have lots of books and music on my wish list, but if Santa 2008 looks like this, he can just drop by and forget the gifts. What about you, gypsies? What’s on your wish list this holiday season?
Any musical Vagabondettes out there? Welp, I have a bit of a Friday morning puzzle for all you musical Vagabondettes. I have been searching for a couple of years now for a music book out of which we used to sing when I was a kid and sang in the Christmas midnight mass service at my church. I have no idea what the title of the book is, but I have a distinct memory of what the book looks like. Go figure!
At any rate, I was watching this old episode of Silver Spoons a couple of days ago and I saw it again! It was a Christmas episode and the characters were going out to carol in the neighborhood. The book they were using was this caroling book with Victorian carolers on the front cover and ice skaters on the back. It was so cool to see it again. Apart from the fact that it reminded me of the book I’ve been trying to find for a few years, it also affirmed that I’m not crazy (well, not that crazy) and that the book I remember really does exist. 
I even took a picture of the image on the television to see if I could capture the title of the book. Alas, it didn’t work as well as I hoped, but I figured it is enough to give a visual aid. It’s the book that Dexter P. Stuffins (gotta love that name!) is holding.
So, since I know we have so many great Nancy Drews in our group, I thought I might petition the group to do a little sleuthing and see what we turn up.
And if you just don’t know (which is okay, since I just don’t know), tell me what your favourite Christmas music is. Do you go caroling? Would you do it if you could? Or do you prefer to stay snug and cozy inside?
And in the spirit of Christmas (and still purging excess books), one lucky commenter will receive another of the many fine books from 2007 RWA that I have in my Vagabond giveaway pile!
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Shopping, shopping, shopping. And it all begins today. Driving back from my sister’s house (where I celebrated Thankgiving 2.0) at 2 am, I noticed the cars lining up in the parking lot for the local Best Buy. 2 am! *gasp* I don’t know what I would do if I had to wait in a parking lot for hours before a store opened on the off chance I might be able to buy a sale item. And I dare not even set foot in the local Wal-Mart! I fear the trampling!
Don’t get me wrong. I have done the 2 am thing. In the past. (Again, please note past tense.) I just haven’t found great cause to park myself outside a department or electronics store at 5 am, 4 am, 3 am, or even 2 am to shop in recent years. Perhaps it is the conspicuous absence of my former shopping buddy, perhaps it is a lack of need of any of the items, or perhaps it is even the sheer unwillingness to get up at 2 am to begin the biggest shopping day of the year.
Actually, thoughts about Black Friday (and the 2 am Best Buy shoppers) had me thinking about how much it has changed throughout the years. I remember the first year my mom and I ventured out to test the ritual experience on our own. We thought waking up at 5 am was acceptable to decide to go shopping. Mind you, we got the 2 or 3 items we were interested in finding and then blew off the rest of the shopping to have an easy breakfast and then head back home from the shopping frenzy to sleep!
But the online universe has changed everything. Ah, sweet, sweet Internet. Economists now even have coined the phrase Black Monday to identify the Monday following Thanksgiving as the largest online retail shopping day of the year. Interestingly, I had a conversation with a Best Buy employee (I don’t remember his name, so I don’t feel I’ll be breaking his confidence or ruining his job) last year who even told me that shopping on Black Friday was no big deal, as most of the deals presented that morning often resurface in the weeks approaching Christmas.
And so, once again, I partake of my new Black Friday ritual. I sleep in. On Black Friday. Of course, there are a few interesting items that I’ve seen in the ads that I might venture out to the Target or Best Buy to purchase much later than the “doorbuster” frenzy, but these items are of little interest to the folks lined up outside that Best Buy. They’re on sale most of the weekend, anyway. I just might even go on Saturday. And if they run out, meh…I’ll find it later.
So, pray, what are your Black Friday rituals? Do you do the fantastic fun insanity of the early morning shopping? Are you checking the blog this very instant from your Blackberry while waiting in the car for the local Best Buy to open? Or do you sleep as late as you like and then get up and read the funny pages over your coffee? Have you abandoned the world of real shopping for that of virtual shopping to avoid all of the Christmas frenzy? What’s your funniest shopping experience? Go on, admit it, you’ve fought over the Tickle Me, Elmo doll…
And here’s a fun little Black Friday treat for you Vagabondettes out there…I was searching through my 2007 RWA conference piles recently and discovered a variety of fun signed books from authors to share. One lucky commenter will receive one of these many tomes. And the funniest shopping experience story will win both an autographed romance novel from the pile and a fun little treat, as well! And for those of you shoppers out there, have a fun day and stay safe!
