Dark, Damaged and Clingy

I just read a book that featured the kind of hero that leaves a reader a little bit in love and swooning... But in reality would drive a girl mad.

You know the type. Think John Cusack (no, really, think about him. purrrr) in Serendipity. Blindly and completely devoted to that one girl.

And you know you want to be that girl.

There are billions of books, movies and songs about that guy. Sometimes he is dark and broody and needs to be saved and only the heroine really sees him. Sometimes he is aloof and arrogant but under it all he is as soft and squashy as a bunny rabbit.

And I have fallen in love with this guy in fiction over and over again. Probably every girl has at some point.

I have also fallen for him in reality and the real thing... well, it ain't all it was cracked up to be on paper.

Dark, damaged and broody with single-minded dedication to you can also translate, in reality, to baggage, obsessive, and clingy. You will note that these three words are seldom used to describe this character in the movie or book forms... Because then women would have the good sense to be bloody creeped out. And I might also add, while I am splashing around in the cold water that so often is reality, that whiny tends to go hand in hand with clingy.

Think of the stalker song, "Every Breath You Take" by the brilliant bard Sting.

Oh can't you see
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take. I'll be watching you.

Okay, that is scary. Yet hot. Why? I don't freaking know.

In Odd Stuff, my paranormal series, I had a hero that was all dark and creepy and devoted... and I had a complete asshole. I mean, this jerk guy would come in, call things like they were, annoy the hell out of the lead character and then pop out again when it suited him.

He also, coincidentally, saw her for who she was, not some glossed over image of what he wished she was or who she could be.

In the end, I wrote her into the arms of the man who really saw her rather than the one who was darkly broody, came with a ton of baggage and would have stayed devoted to her for all time. I wrote her into love with the man who would never just do something because it was easier or because he knew it wouldn't make waves--Instead, this guy would go toe to toe with her and tell her what he thought regardless of the shitstorm that she would no doubt rain down upon him.

Because that is somehow hotter even than the dark and broody guy.

Now, not to say that I don't still fall for the bruised guy who needs to be saved... Just that with age, I want a little something more. And I think a lot of readers do. The book I just read left me in tears and a little in love with the hero... but in reality, I must admit I would have backpedaled like hell away from him.

So I thought I would point out--and understand this is strictly my opinion as a reader and author--that probably more women would fall equally hard if given a suitable hero. One who would make her pulse race AND her brain agree. What is wrong with a little logic in our love stories?

And remember... "Immature love says: 'I love you because I need you.' Mature love says 'I need you because I love you.'"--Erich Fromm

Oh... and enjoy John up there. I know I am.

Things Sesame Street forgot to teach...

Since I am homeschooling my kids, I keep thinking of what life skills they really need to learn to survive in today's world.

And most of the skills I find useful on a day to day basis aren't anything that they learned so far.

For instance (Yes it is a list. You know you love my lists...)

1. How to succeed at Farmville.

How many executives do you think have a Farmville that they are clickity clacking on while you wait? A lot. It is the new golf.

2. Eating fast.

Not fast food so much but eating while working. Eating while reading. Eating while driving. I have found that the older I get (and perhaps this has something to do with what I choose to do in life...) the less time I have to hork down a muffin.

3. Telling off traffic.

It seems to be very important to have this skill, especially if you are doing any city driving. Also, it is handy when you cut someone off. Telling them off makes you feel better for being so stupid. C'mon. You know you have done it.

4. Twitter and Facebooking.

Not playing the Farmvilles, in this one. I am referring to the ability to be interesting in 140 characters or less. Teaching a kid to write an essay doesn't help here.

5. Finding out.

What I mean is the ability, given a computer or smart phone, to find any random bit of data that may be useful. This is handy both at work (what was the gross national product of China in 1987... gimme one second... googleing... ) and at home (Depression book... um... Had to be Grapes of Wrath... C'mon... John Steinbeck!! What is John Steinbeck!! Ha! Told you, Alex Trebek.)

6. How to take rejection.

Also known as how to eat Ben and Jerry's.

7. How to walk out butt cramps.

With our increased age of tech and media, more people are making their livings clickity clacking away at a desk. Also, how to work out finger cramps. Handy skills and ones I had to learn the hard way.

8. How to avoid distractions like blogs, twitter, facebook...

Okay, I haven't figured out that one yet but I am thinking of starting a support group.

9. What antacid is the best for too much coffee and too little food?

No really... I mentioned the eating thing, right? Yeah. Coffee+Coffee+No Food=HEARRRRTBURN. So what works?

10. How to write a blog.

Because sanity is overrated but venting is good.

What things do you think kids of the future need to survive in today's high tech, low impact world?

Don't Panic...

Earthquakes rattling everywhere from Canada to the somewhat expected California have blasted through the news this week.

Hurricane Irene is blasting up the East coast, threatening big cities like New York and Boston.

Solar flares are pummeling the earth as the sun goes through her version of her monthly...

Mass animal deaths have caused end times fears to spread across the net and send biblical fears into the hearts of many...

2012 enthusiasts fear the end of the Mayan calender... which sparked a movie starring the hunkylicious John Cusack which is something that really gets my attention (So did Must Love Dogs, to be honest. He is yummmmmy)

So what does all this mean to all of us? Is the end upon us? And if so ... do you have your towel?

For those of you who don't know why you have a towel (tisk tisk) here is an excerpt from the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...(Which "itself has outsold the Encyclopedia Galactica because it is slightly cheaper, and because it has the words "DON'T PANIC" in large, friendly letters on the cover.)

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.”

— Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Get your towel here, emblazoned with the friendly words "Don't Panic." Thanks to my pals over at ThinkGeek for continuing to offer some of the coolest stuff around.

And other than that... Well, who needs more than a towel?

New Release by an author friend...

Lila Anderson’s is having visions of murdered women in the back alleys of San Francisco through the eyes of a man. She’s supposed to be a dominatrix, not a psychic! The man is Drake Bennett. Drake leads a solitary life as a vampire and when Lila invades his mind he wants her out.

Then a known murderer kidnaps Lila, and uses her life experience in bondage and domination to break her and turn her against Drake. Will the deep feelings of desire she has for Drake and their psychic link be enough to save Lila before it’s too late?


Buy your copy here.


And the author, Buffy Christopher, is holding a contest to celebrate the new release!!

Head on over to her blog, www.buffychristopher.com for a free copy of one of her Midnight books. All you have to do is leave a comment about the cover!

Good luck and happy reading!!

Disorganization is the key?

Jackson Pearce, who quickly jumped onto my list of favorite authors and blog/vloggers in the past year, did a vlog this past week called Life Fail. I will embed it below.

And I had a similar case of the duh's this week when I was working happily at my desk.

I was in the zone… writing away with happy clickity clacks and having the story flow like music from my fingertips. In a haze of happy artist, I sipped the sweet tea my kids were kind enough to pour into a mug from the fridge for me. On the second glass, I glanced into the cup for some reason.

And realized the kids gave me moldy tea and I had already drank a glass and a half.

It made me wonder, between my experience and Jackson's, if this is some kind of writerly necessity...

Maybe we have to have the ability to tune out the real world- to the point of dropping a couple of lifes little juggling balls- to be able to truly focus on the unreality floating around like thought flotsam in our heads. Maybe it is important to focus single-mindedly on our characters and our world and the plot to the point of looking like a bit of a space cadet to be able to craft something really good.

Have you had any experiences in which you flaked out on some of your real life?

Enjoy Jackson's blog:

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