Stacy's Place on Earth
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Friday, November 06, 2009:
A child in need of an early Christmas - updated
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Shiloh Walker passed this on after checking it out through Snopes.com and it appears legit. Let's brighten this little guy's day. I have mine all set to go....

ATTENTION FACEBOOK FAMILY & FRIENDS! Diana Harrison Biorkman has a 5-yr old son in his last stages of a 2 1/2 year battle with Neuroblastoma cancer. They are celebrating Christmas next weekend and Noah loves Christmas cards. Please take a minute to send a card to: Noah Biorkman, 1141 Fountain View Circle, South Lyon MI 48178. THANKS. PLEASE REPOST THIS MSG & EMAIL YOUR BUDDIES!


***this was sent to me, please pass it on***
~ Edited to add link to a story about Noah ~

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Sunday, May 25, 2008:
In honor of a soldier...
See if this touching story doesn't make you cry. I bawled like a baby when I read it. Please remember all the heroes, past and present, this Memorial weekend, and who they are fighting for. God bless.

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008:
You think WHO is sexy???
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There's a lot of DIK talk in blogland these days (for those who don't know, or who just have dirty minds, those are Desert Island Keepers). The buzz has gone from books to one of my favorite topics - the hot men. And with all this talk of favorite, to-die-for heroes, and it got me thinking:
What heroe(s) do you just not get?
Maybe you can't figure out why tons of women are willing to forgive Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent, after the horrible way he treated Lillian in "It Happened One Spring".
Or maybe you believe Dain from "Lord of Scoundrels" is just a jackass and doesn't deserve Jessica in any way, shape,or form.
Could it be Roarke sets your teeth on edge (and not in a good way), or Ranger should just leave Stephanie the hell alone already.
I'm curious to know which heroes leave you cold while they definitely float someone else's boat. What heroes leave you baffled at their appeal?

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Thursday, February 28, 2008:
Can you relate?
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Are we compatible???



I'm reading a very good story by Nicole Jordan, "Touch Me With Fire", which was released in 1993, and the heroine, Blaise, is all of 18 years of age. Now I know, back in the day, in this case, 1813, it was very typical for ladies of even a younger age to be married with children, and I've read many a romantic historical with similarly aged heroines, but this time around, I keep focusing on her because of it. Blaise's actions are in line with that of an 18-year-old who's been somewhat spoiled by her father and yet also lead a bit of a sheltered life after he passed away. She doesn't care for Englishmen at all, but of course, that is exactly who she ends up attracting: an Englishman, one who's been to war, and has been both physically and emotionally scarred. He's at least 10 years older than her, and has plenty 'o baggage to deal with as it is, much less having to put up with the complication of a troublesome hellion who sets his blood on fire.

Now let's forget historical accuracy for a moment. Picture that young woman as the heroine. Imagine her catching the eye of the hero, and reacting to the circumstances she finds herself in. Maybe she runs off. Or she battles with the hero. She throws a tantrum and rather than deals with the reality she's facing, she rebels. Totally understandable for a woman of her age and situation, and rather easily accepted in a historical romance. I don't much blink an eye because it sounds fitting to that time period. Rather immature, but I can deal.

Now this age thing gets me thinking of some of the contemporary stories I've read in the last year, where we have a 22-year-old heroine and a 30-year-old hero. Maybe she's an artist, or an admin assistant. A cop. A waitress. A taxi driver. She catches the eye of the hero, the epitome of the kind of man we all fantasize about. (Gasp! This sweet young thing has stolen our man!)

Anyway, 15 years ago I had no problem reading about this kind of heroine, because she was my age, and it was rather sexy and exciting to have an older hero, especially if you consider how girls mature faster than boys. If the hero was 22, well, back then it might not have bothered me too much, but now, oh yeah, it definitely would. I'd feel like I was reading a teen drama, and that just doesn't appeal to me in an adult story.

And while I'm at it, here's another issue: the level of sexual experience a heroine has. Nowadays, a 22-year-old has had their fair share of relationships, and not all of them were chaste and pure. And a 35-year-old woman surely can have, and should have, a satisfying sex life before hooking up with our lusty, hot hero. Why should the guys have all the fun? Women should definitely be allowed to experiment and enjoy themselves, so reading about a heroine who doesn't have orgasms with a man until she meets Mr. Wonderful is rather far-fetched and honestly, annoying. (I will say that I am still hung up on historical heroines being a little more pristine than her contemporary peers. My little hang-up that I'm trying to get past, as more and more historicals showcase experienced ladies).

So tell me what you think: how do you feel about stories that feature really young heroines? Does it pull you from the story, or can you accept a 22-year-old in that role? Does it make a difference if it's a historical or contemporary, or can you suspend belief as long as the story is believable? Do you feel her sexual experience should reflect her age, or doesn't it matter to you?

I have to wonder if these are the reasons some readers go through slumps, or feel they cannot relate to the heroine - because she's just not written to reflect the modern sensibilities of women today. A lot of our attention is focused on the hero, but I feel an equal amount should be about the heroine as well. I remember liking Whitney and Skye O'Malley and Sara Fielding just as much as I did Clayton and Niall (or Adam or...), and Derek Craven. Of course I read them all years and years ago, but the point is, the heroine stood out just as much as the hero because there was something significant about her, maybe she's someone I could relate to in the smallest way, and it was a connection that made sense to me. A factor that made her memorable not just to me, but to many other readers as well.

What do you think?

(Disclaimer: Believe it or not, I had a point to this post, but somehow it got lost in the rambling. Feel free to post any thoughts you have on heroines).


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Friday, November 09, 2007:
MY Fave Romance Book heroes
My good pal MaryKate tagged me on this:

Here's the deal: I answer, tag you...you answer.

“Ten Literary Characters I Would Totally Make Out With If I Were Single and They Were Real But I’m Not, Single I Mean; I Am Real–But I’m Also Happily Married and Want to Stay That Way, So Maybe We Should Forget This…”

except that for me it's

“Ten (or Eleven) Literary Characters I Would Totally Make Out With Since I *AM* Single. Oh Wait, They're Not Real. But I'd Totally Make Out With Them If They Were."

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-Jamie Fraser from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Young, rugged, masculine, what's not to love? Plus he's Scottish, and that so totally works for me. No metrosexual is our Jamie, and thank the Lord for that.

-Sam Starrett from Suz Brockmann's Troubleshooter series. I don't know what it is, but I love this guy completely. Part of it was/is because he was just so into his heroine that I just completely fell for him. Yeah, he could be selfish, hot-headed, a complete idiot, but then he does something so sweet and sincere that I am toast. Another masculine alpha with an accent. Yum-mo.

-Zachary Bronson from Lisa Kleypas' "Where Dreams Begin". Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's Derek Craven, and Sebastian, and they are both totally hot, but Zach had me at that first kiss, when he becomes infatuated with Holly and starts a sneaky campaign to bed her. A blue-collar rich man, Zach is earthy, sexy, and arrogant, but when he falls, he falls hard and forever. Makes me melt everytime.

-Kenny "Wildcard" Carmody, another SEAL from Brockmann's series. The thing about Kenny is that he totally wears his heart on his sleeve, and yeah, he's a big, bad SEAL, but he's also prone to falling "in love" quicker than you can say "you had me at hello". There's just something so vulnerable, so sweet about him that I wanted to take him home. At first I didn't like the woman he ended up falling for, but she eventually won me over, and my Kenny got his HEA. Love him.

-Roarke. Come on, you know who he is, from JD Robb's "In Death" series. Roarke is like the ideal hero - rich, gorgeous, intelligent, sexy...and he has an accent. An Irish accent. Shiver me timbers. The man is not perfect, but that's what makes him so perfect. The biggest flaw that I see with Roarke is that he smokes. Huge turn-off, but for Roarke, I'd seriously consider him anyway. He's just too good not to.

-Zarek from Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Dancing With the Devil". He was literally one of the most tortured heroes I've ever read about, and he was so close to being inhuman, without emotion, until Astrid. Even then, he didn't change much, but his love for his woman gave him back some of his humanity. He holds a special place in my heart.

-Zsadist from JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. True, Z is almost a carbon copy of Zarek, even down to being a vamp. The similarities are so startling, but Z made his own mark on me. That first kiss with Bella is enough to melt the coldest of hearts. Wowza.

-Simon from Jennifer LaBrecque's "Daring in the Dark". Quiet, intense, brooding, a photographer with a sexy accent secretly in love with his best friend's fiancee. But is he going to do anything about it? Of course not. The man has morals, and would have never gone near her, were it not for a black-out and a life-altering secret.

-Jamie Creed from Lori Foster's Visitation series. Jamie is mysterious, a bit strange, quite the loner, yet always shows up when he's needed. Always. He is like a wise old soul in the body of a man in his prime, yet he yearns for love for himself. Thank God he finally gets it. Who could resist?

-Joe Morelli from Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. He's a tough, sexy cop who is just crazy about that lovable, inept bounty hunter Stephanie. Italian and all about family, Joe is the guy you bring home to dinner, and she does. Quite frequently. And he rocks her world.

-Ranger, also from the Plum series. Sorry, it had to be said. The one reason Stephanie is not married to Joe, cuz see, he rocks her world too. Ranger has a thing for Stephanie, though he's not looking for forever. He's the ultimate mystery man: resourceful, connected, loaded, with a secret past that he doesn't share.

Who are your favorite literary heroes?

Why?

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