1. His eyes were as gray and as somber as the sky, his gaze as intense as hard frost, burning into her. Scorching.

And then he’d given her his hat.

And then she’d really looked at him. At the hard masculine face, sculpted by a master, the straight, arrogant nose, the thin, beautiful, chiseled lips. Masculine beauty incarnate.

2. He was more handsome than even he’d been as a boy. And the women of the village had talked of his angel face in those days. Now there was a good bit of the devil as well to add impact to those vivid blue eyes and quick, crooked smile.

3. He always moved with a fluid grace, but before swordplay it changed slightly, as if the balance of his whole body shifted a lethal fraction. Of course, he’d taken off his heeled shoes, but he’d also dropped the studied grace of the courtier and released the beauty of the predator beneath.

4. He was taller than _______ had at first supposed, rather loose-limbed, and he bore himself with a faint suggestion of swashbuckling arrogance. As he advanced upon her _______perceived that he was dark, his countenance lean and rather swarthy, marked with lines of dissipation. A smile was curling his lips, but _______ thought she had never seen eyes so cynically bored.

5. He came out of the bathroom, a towel looped low around his hips. He looked like a Roman god taking a breather in the middle of an orgy while he waited for the next female virgin to be sent his way. But as the light hit him, her fingers constricted around her sketchbook. This was no flawless, marble-carved Roman divinity. He had a warrior’s body—highly functional, powerfully built, and ready for battle.

6. He was grinning at her, a lazy, beautiful grin with a touch of the devil in it. He looked like nothing in the world so much as a slightly wicked Bacchus crafted by a master sculptor.

7. Nothing _______ or anyone else told her could have prepared her. Coal black hair and bold black eyes and a great conquering Caesar of a nose and a sullen sensuality of a mouth—the face alone entitled him to direct lineage with Lucifer. . . .

Who are these heroes? Do you see them as alike and different? How are some of your favorite heroes described? One lucky poster will win a book featuring a luscious her.

I’m having major computer problems, but I’ll check back in this evening to give the answers and announce a winner.

NOTE FROM MANDA: I added numbers to these snippets so that it would be easier for you guys to tell one snippet from the other. However, I’m not so sure about the first few. So, be forewarned that I might have chosen the wrong place to divide the first three. But my rationale was that there were Seven Snippets since Janga said a Week of Heroes…We’ll see if I’m right

My first post as a Vagabond was exactly one year ago today. Thanks to my fellow Vagabonds and those of you who have joined us on our journey, it has been a wonderful year. This first anniversary seemed the perfect time to share my top ten reasons for rejoicing in my vagabond status.

10. Table for the Timid
Do you remember that feeling you had in middle-school when none of your friends had the same lunch period you did, the sinking feeling you had as you walked away from the food line, tray in hand, hoping desperately to see a friendly face, anyone who would wave you over to join a table? The Vagabonds shared their table with this timid soul, and now I feel like one of the cool kids.

9. Place to Pontificate
I have decided opinions on any number of subjects, and being an RV gives me the chance to share what I think about reading, writing, books, and sometimes cabbages and kings.

8. Bounty of Books
What a joy to talk with all of you about books-old books and new books, heroes and heroines, themes and theories! Did I mention I love talking about books almost as much as I love reading and writing them?

7. Artful ARCS
I have become addicted to the thrill of receiving an ARC. I love the excitement of reading words that not everyone has access to, and being a Vagabond means more ARCs. And it leaves me red-faced to admit it, but sometimes I revel in gloating a bit.

6. Site for Squees
Another thing I love doing is celebrating the good news friends receive, and this is the perfect spot to go public with news about agents, requests, sales, and pub dates.

5. Lessons Learned
I’m committed to lifetime learning, and I have learned much this past year from the other Vagabonds and from all of you who join us here– and from writing (and posting!) weekly blogs.

4. Delightful Debuts
It has been a privilege to host some wonderful first-time authors and to hear their stories. And there are more wonders to come in this area.

3. Festival for the Fangirl
I still get a bit lightheaded when I recall exchanging comments with writers whose books have made me laugh and cry, question and ponder. Here, too, there are more joys to come.

2. Caravan Cohorts
You, my friends, with your quips and questions, your sense of fun, and your willingness to share bits of your reading lives have made this year such a great experience.

1. Gypsy Jewels
The original Vagabonds, Élodie, Lindsey, and Manda are dear friends who bear with my rants, cheer me on when fears threaten, laugh at my jokes, and bless my life every day.

Thanks y’all!!!!

According to literary legend, American novelist Ernest Hemingway, famous for his succinct prose, once accepted a challenge to write a story in six words. He won the bet with these six: “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.” In 2006 Smith, an online magazine that defines itself as “a place for storytelling, with a focus on personal narrative” invited its readers to accept a version of the Hemingway challenge and write their memoirs in six words. The response was so successful that last year Smith editors Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith published a collection Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. That book became a NYT bestseller, so Fershleiser and Smith followed up this year with Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak by Writers Famous and Obscure. Some of the memoirs are nearly as poignant as the Hemingway original: “For the children, I remain his.” Some, like writer Erica Jong’s contribution (“Much married, fourth time is charmed”), have a dark humor. Some, like poet Robert Hass’ memoir (“May I have the last dance?”) have a captivating ambiguity. My personal favorite is by poet and naturalist Diane Ackerman (“Wonder-filled, and never a dull torment.”)

I thought that it would be fun for us to celebrate our love of love stories and the lovers’ holiday that is a mere two days away by writing our own six-word memoirs of love and HEAs. You can share your own love story or you can assume the persona of a character from a favorite romance novel. Smith’s advice to his contributors should stand us in good stead as well: “Write honestly, write truthfully, write specifically, and write quickly.”

I’ll start with a few examples:

Cherished memories console. One day—reunion. –Janga

She shot me. I fell hard. –Dain (Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase)

His walk. Lessons learned. Heart call. –Josie (Pleasure for Pleasure, Eloisa James)

Your turn, my friends. Give it a try. I promise these things are addictive. Just to encourage you, I’ll give one randomly selected memoirist six books, one for each word, from my treasure trove of books. Each one is guaranteed to have an HEA.

Until now.

For over a year now I have struggled with the name of the heroine in my contemporary. I have tried out every name from A to Z. Or at least it feels like I have tried out every name from A to Z. And none of them felt like “her.”

There’s something special about names. We form our identities around them. I had a professor in college who had a different name than the one her parents gave her at birth. She told me that the name she had at birth influenced who she was in her early years. When she turned about 8, her parents changed her name from a name that meant “warrior” or “fighter” to a name that meant “intelligence” and her entire demeanor changed. She instantly went from a trying, combative young girl, to a studious, intellectual, academically-charged student. Recalling this story often has made me think about the power of names and the meanings we associate with them.

Thus, my current dilemma. She’s kind, but fierce about regaining a sense of independence after living with a somewhat oppressive husband. And she’s definitely not a Jenny, or a Sara, or a Mandy. The qualities of those names just don’t quite suit all of her.

Ironically, I’ve know that Jake is the hero from the beginning and I even have named his two brothers Nate and Peter…

I’ve been toying with the name Madelyn, Maddy for short, for a while now. Some days I say “Yes! That’s the name!” And then other days, I fuss at myself over the name choice and say it just doesn’t fit. *sigh* We’ll see how it sticks. If I’m blogging again in 6 months about how much I hate the name for her, you’ll know.

The pessimist in me says maybe it’s a sign that this manuscript is one on which I do not need to be working at this time. The optimist in me says keep writing. Who knows? But for now, I’ll keep test-driving names…

So, dear readers & writers, what of your writing adventures? Have you ever simply gotten stumped on a name and absolutely nothing fits? How did you resolve the situation? And if you’re not a writer, what are some of your favourite character names? Maybe your faves will help get the creative juices flowing on the naming front.

Title Words (one of these words must be in the title)

1. Bride
2. Duke
3. Lover
4. Magic
5. Mistress
6. Night
7. Passion
8. Scandal/scandalous
9. Secret(s)
10. Seduce/seduction
11. Tempt/-ing/-ed/-ation
12. Wedding
13. Wicked
14. Ways
15. Kiss
16. Midnight
17. Secret Baby
18. Scoundrel
19. Desire
20. Sin

Plots (one of these elements must feature in the plot)

1. Friends to lovers
2. Amnesia
3. Secret baby
4. Small town, big city gal/guy
5. Sports star
6. Plain Jane makeovers
7. Rags to riches
8. Guardian/ward
9. Reunited lovers
10. Hero/heroine from wrong side of tracks
11. Royalty
12. Bluestocking heroine/Bookish heroes
13. Kindapping
14. Unrequited love
15. Fairy tales
16. Courteseans
17. Criminals, burglars, Pickpockets
18. Military men/women
19. Cross-dressing
20. Marriage of convenience

Cover Art (one of these elements must feature on the cover/step-back)

1. Mantitty
2. Ladyback
3. (Uncomfortable) Clinch
4. Anachronistic zipper
5. Landscape
6. Horses
7. Heaving bosoms
8. Neck-kissing
9. Thigh(s)
10. Bed
11. Beach
13. House/cabin/cottage
14. Carriage
15. Unlacing corset
16. Masks
17. Blowing hair
18. Bodies of water
19. Cut off head(s)
20. Necktie/cravat

What are some other Words, Plots and Cover Images commonly found in the romance genre? Got any ideas on some new twists on the old favorites? Let’s chat about it…

Twelve Writers Plotting

Plot, the core of any good story. It’s what gets the hero and heroine from first meeting to HEA, the author from page 1 to page 400, and readers from first glance to final sigh as we close the back cover of a book.

Those of us who write do so with the thought of plot foremost in our minds. And those of us who read do so with similar thoughts, asking what propels the story forward, what brings the hero and heroine from point a to point b, from beginning to end, all the way to happily ever after.

And the best writers plot with a skill that keeps us turning page after page until the very end. We hold our breaths as we wait to see what happens next. These are the writers whom we hold responsible for the circles under our eyes because we refuse to put down the book until 5 in the morning for the marvelous plotting.

Some of my favourite writers-plotting are ones about whom I often rave:

1. Eloisa James – The entire Duchess series. She deftly weaves the stories of Gina & Camden, Esme & Sebastian, Henrietta & Darby, Beatrix & Stephen, and Helene & Rees throughout the series. It’s amazing. And she’s  not a one-hit wonder, she plots her way through every book and series creating worlds and characters we fall in love with.

2. Marianne Stillings – What can I say? I rave about all of her stories. I have never read an author that can plot in the unique way that she does. Comedy and suspense! Who’d've thought?? And yet, she constructs contemporary stories with a skill like no other.

3. Lisa Kleypas – Her stories astound me. One would think that an historical writer, especially one seated in her sub-genre, would have trouble bridging the gap between historicals and contemporaries, but she absolutely astounds me. I stay up all night reading her historicals and then purchase the newest contemporary and my heart pitter-patters over the characters’ love stories.

4. Julia Quinn – It takes a gift to write comedy and to write it well. Jokes can fall flat, humour might not translate well from author’s mind to the reader. But JQ wields the pen (or keystroke) in a witty, clever way that makes everyone of us laugh out loud as Kate wacks Anthony’s pink ball into the lake during Pall Mall (Bridgerton-style).

5. Anna Campbell – What can I say about my fellow Richard Armitage stalker, but that everything she writes is amazing. Her characters and stories have such depth and richness that it makes each one as compelling as the one before–even when the darkness of the story might seem overwhelming.

So what of you, dear Vagabonds? On this Christmas morn, who are your favourite plotting writers? Any stories in particular that have such fabulous plots you must rave?

Thanks so much for celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas–Romance-style with us. We’ve loved reading all your comments about your favourite rakes, heroines, plots, kisses, and secret babies.

Congratulations to MARGAY, winner of Anna Campbell’s Untouched from the Eight Tortured Heroes Blog. Email elodie with your direction.

And on a final note, the Vagabonds want to wish a HAPPY CHRISTMAS to all! May all of you receive all your hearts desire–and any hot Santas in your stocking, too!

Throbbing: beating strongly, especially as the result of emotion or excitement.

Throbbing hearts are an inextricable part of romance reading. The hearts of the characters throb in fear, in excitement, in passion. The hearts of readers throb in vicarious emotion. But my strongest association with “throbbing hearts” is connected to chemistry of the H/H.

Did you ever finish a book and find yourself unable to believe in the HEA of the lead characters? There’s just something about the pairing that won’t let you buy into the image of long, blissful years for the duo. My doubts occur sometimes when I like the hero much better than the heroine or the heroine much better than the hero. At other times I like both characters, but I just can’t see them together for a lifetime.

In contrast, there are those couples that seem made for each other. They make me believe, in the best fairy tale tradition, that they will live happily ever after, still exchanging kisses and quips when they are great-grandparents. Their story leaves my romance-loving heart beating strongly in readerly bliss. Here are the leaders in my Throbbing Hearts Hall of Fame (in chronological order):

1. Sara & Derek, Dreaming of You (1994) Lisa Kleypas
Sara: practical, gentle, open-hearted; Derek: tough, tormented, self-loathing—could there be greater opposites? Yet their love is the stuff romantic dreams are made of. Who could forget Sara’s eyeglasses or Derek’s wrenching declaration of the words he could not bring himself to say for so long?

2. Jessica & Sebastian, Lord of Scoundrels (1995) Loretta Chase
She’s an intelligent beauty; he’s a hulking beast. He abandons her to her ruin; she shoots him. They sound like a recipe for disaster, but she teaches him to accept and give love. Together they give readers a combination of wit, tenderness, and passion that is unequaled in romance fiction. It’s no surprise that LOS frequently tops lists of all-time best romances.

3. Desdemona & Harry, As You Desire (1997) Connie Brockway
A dyslexic scoundrel named Harry—who could buy such a character as a romance hero? A bluestocking called Dizzy whom one critic termed a female Indiana Jones—this is a romance heroine? In Brockway’s hands they become characters the reader accepts and loves and roots for. And in the end, after they are married, Harry says, “Anything was possible now.” Isn’t that what love is supposed to do—make us stronger and bolder and more confident?

4. Anna & Cam, Sea Swept (!998) Chesapeake Bay series Nora Roberts
He’s an angry, abused child who becomes an adventure-seeking commitment phobe; she’s a traumatized, rebellious child who becomes a hard-working public servant who keeps her wild Italian identity mostly repressed under conservative business suits. Together they push past fears and doubts to love and trust. One of my favorite things about this series is that the reader gets to see Anna and Cam as they grow in love.

5. Jemma & Elijah, This Duchess of Mine Eloisa James (May 26, 2009)
A pair of adulterers who have little in common except skill in chess and plans for an heir, Jemma and Elijah are unlikely candidates for the kind of obsession their relationship has inspired. I freely admit that I’m cheating by placing them in this group since their story won’t be published until May 26. But I am a devout Jeli, and I refuse to believe that EJ will allow Elijah to die. He and Jemma belong together. I’m sure EJ knows this. If I’m wrong, my face will be red and me heart will be broken.

Sara and Derek, Jessica and Dain, Dizzy and Harry, Anna and Cam, Jemma and Elijah—that’s ten throbbing hearts. What about the eleventh? That one is mine, throbbing away when I reread or anticipate reading these much loved books.

Who are your candidates for the Throbbing Hearts Hall of Fame? What couples exemplify for you what love in Romancelandia truly is?

One lucky poster will receive a copy of the reissued The Last Hellion by Loretta Chase.

Congratulations to Maureen, the winner of an autographed copy of Blythe Gifford’s Innocence Unveiled. Maureen, send me your contact info and I’ll get your book to you ASAP.

The RV’s Twelve Days of Christmas wraps up tomorrow. Don’t forget to stop by for your last chance at a great prize.

Ahhh. Now that’s more like it. What is it about rakes that romance readers love? Is it their charm? Yes. Is it their bad boy image? Yes. Is it the sex appeal that oozes from their every pore? Yes and yes! It’s all of these things, but I think what draws us to a rake more than anything else is the wounded heart that lurks beneath that oh so broad and manly chest. Who doesn’t love a badass with a heart of gold?

So, in honor of rakes everywhere, I give you a Rakes-a-Wooing Jumble!

Match the ten scrambled rake names with their books and authors. Send your answers to me, Manda. I’ll pick a name from the entries and the winner will receive an autographed copy of Crazy in Love by Lani Diane Rich.

1. curiamalanet

2. middlenoisesigh

3. carcinogenicstudupidear

4. reckzinglie

5. crashjeankid

6. airdropeventegg

7. yamen

8. abscissaeinventtnt

9. quincearmnon

10. borneclan

A. NICK ZIEGLER-Crazy for You, Jennifer Crusie
B. GIDEON VISCOUNT CARRADICE-The Perfect Rake, Anne Gracie
C. SIMON IDDESLEIGH-The Serpent Prince, Elizabeth Hoyt
D. CAL BONNER-Nobody’s Baby but Mine, Susan Elizabeth Phillips
E. REGGIE DAVENPORT-The Rake, Mary Jo Putney
F. JACK SHERIDAN-Virgin River, Robyn Carr
G. SEBASTIAN ST. VINCENT-Devil in Winter, Lisa Kleypas
H. LUC MARTINEAU-See Jane Score, Rachel Gibson
I. CAMERON QUINN-Sea Swept, Nora Roberts
J. MAYNE-Pleasure for Pleasure, Eloisa James

Congrats to May B, winner of Friday’s giveaway, an autographed copy of Jennifer Crusie’s Manhunting. Drop me an email, May, and I’ll send it out to you!

In the meantime, let’s talk about Rakes! Who’s your favorite rake, historical or contemp? And what do you think makes them so irresistable?

Nine Ladies Dreaming

Dreams are yet another common trope of the romance novel. Bad dreams that leave a hero or heroine needing comfort. Sexy dreams that indicate yearning – or sometimes turn out to be half-asleep realities, and big dreams that lead the characters towards adventure, growth, and true love. But perhaps the biggest dreamers are the fantastic authors who bring us these stories, who capture our imaginations and lead us to dream big as well.

Below I’ve listed nine of those fabulous ladies as well as nine dream-titled books. Match the author to the correct book for a chance to win the prize we’re all dreaming about, some fine, European chocolate.

Email your answers to Lindsey to be entered to win.

And you can also win by commenting. Post about your favorite dream-inspired romance, a great dream scene, or what you dreamed last night. I have more chocolate to give away!

Congrats to ZARA and KH – winners of THE BIKINI DIARIES ARCs. Email Lindsey to claim your prize!

Eight Tortured Heroes

Heroes. A core element to the romantic story, they are what make the HEA all the sweeter. We love them. We drool over them. We fantasize about them (c’mon, we all have fessed up to our unadulterated worship of Mayne). And none more so than the tortured hero. They’re damaged goods, only these aren’t the dented cans of creamed corn that we put back on the shelf at the grocery store. These are the banged up, bent in half ones that make us sigh in empathy over their delicious tragedy and hope for the peace they’re own HEA will bring.

It’s the classic Beauty and the Beast story. And who doesn’t just love the healing that true love can bring? A romance novel staple, we look for that tortured quality, even if it only exists in the tiniest element. Because of the richness and depth this characteristic provides to a hero and story, we find the tortured hero in a variety of stories.

Here are eight of my favourite tortured heroes of both screen and book:

1. Sir Phillip Crane from Julia Quinn’s To Sir Phillip With Love. Sir Phillip is one of my favourite tortured heroes. My first JQ novel to read, the tortured Sir Phillip made me fall in love with her books and find the rest of them. Trying to raise two wild children, Phillip doesn’t quite know what to do with them and it takes the love of a crazy, zany chatty woman to heal his wounded soul.

2. Morgan O’Connor from Samantha James’s Just One Kiss. I absolutely love this book and SJ writes the most amazing tortured heroes, especially her early ones. The victim of a harsh childhood and having suffered betrayal in his personal life, Morgan finds trust nearly impossible, especially when it comes to his heart.

3. The Earl of Mayne from Eloisa James’s Pleasure for Pleasure. Dissolute, scandalous rake, simply known as Mayne. We’ve drooled over him an  fought battles over the rights to him. He is one of the most delicious tortured heroes of all time. Denying himself the love of a good woman on makes him all the more compelling.

4. The Beast from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. There have been many versions of this classic tale, but I sigh in happy delight every time I see the transformation of the beast because of Belle’s love for him. It’s a classic, time and again.

5. Lord Sheene from Anna Campbell’s Untouched. I shiver with anticipation in that first meeting between Grace and Sheene. Locked away from society and called mad by an evil uncle, Sheene is the ultimate tortured hero and absolutely delicious.

6. Soldier McKennitt from Marianne Stillings’s The Damsel in this Dress. I just can’t let a favourite hero list pass without including Soldier. Haunted by the death of his partner on the police force, he is terrified to let himself fall in love for fear of dying and leaving behind loved ones. Meeting his match in Betsy is the only thing that can save him from the torture of guilt.

7. Logan from X-Men. Okay, I know this may seem an odd stretch, but he has been through a pretty nightmarish life, been used as a science experiment by the government, and doesn’t know a sense of home and belonging until he finds the X-Men. And that unrequited love for Jean Grey just makes my heart sigh for him. *sigh*

8. Clark Kent in Smallville. Although there have been about a million (I exaggerate, maybe it’s more like 500,000) retellings of the Clark and Lois and Superman love triangle, Smallville’s Clark Kent is one of the most soulful, tortured Clarks I’ve seen in all the stories. Everyone he loves and who knows his secret ends up hurt in some way and so he has to hide a part of himself. He hasn’t found love with Lois yet, but I can’t wait to see what happens!

Are you a fan of tortured heroes? Who are some of your favourites? Any of these folks make the list? One lucky commenter will receive a copy of Untouched, one of the best tortured hero novels!

And congratulations to AVERY, winner from the Four Kisses blog! Email your particulars to elodie and I’ll post off your Christmas treat! Keep checking in with us until Christmas Day as we celebrate 12 Days of Christmas–Romance Style!