How Hot Do You Like Your Romance?
When it comes to romance, some people like ’em hot and others not. How much heat do you like in the romances you read? Do you like every little explicit detail or implied sensuality? Take the poll and let me know!
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Celebrity Romance
I’m a die-hard romantic. Since I was a ‘tween, I loved movies and tv shows with romantic couples. And like some people, I got caught up in celebrity romances. I remember thinking how romantic it was when I learned that Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood had married twice. I know many fans of his 80s show wonder and wish about a relationship with his co-star, Stefanie Powers, following Natalie’s and William Holden’s deaths (Holden was the long time flame of Powers’).
Although those are old examples, today people get just as caught up in who’s with who and who’s marrying who. After the movie Twilight was released, fans were thrilled to discover Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were dating and crushed when she was caught kissing another man. I think people are still upset with Angelina Jolie for her part in Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s divorce. It seems like I can’t go anywhere without seeing Kanye and Kim or Beyonce and Jay Z in the tabloids.
What I’ve found facinating and annoying is that celebrity gossip is like soap operas: Everyone roots for couples until they’re together. After that, all the news is about whether or not the couple is in trouble. Everyone wants a happy ending, but they want angst more.
I’m not as into celebrity romance as when I was younger, although I would be sad if Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson broke up. And I’ll admit I was a little sad to Miley and Liam. But even though I don’t follow celebrity romances much, I know it’s still big news. That’s why I wrote ‘Til Death Do Us Part. It’s my tribute to everyone, like me, who’s ever gotten caught up in celebrity romances.
How about you? Is there a celebrity couple you found yourself rooting for?
Photo Credit Free Images
Romance, Romania and Valentines
I thought I’d give an update on what’s going on in Jenna’s world.
First… HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who have read ‘Til Death Do Us Part! And an extra hug to those of you who’ve left a review on Amazon or comment on Facebook. Writing is a lonely venture. It definitely is a challenge to the ego; one minute you think you have something great and the next minute it’s horrible. It’s you who validates the work and lets me know that my stories are enjoyable.
It’s nearly summer, so I’m working with my assistant on a great summer reading special. You’ll need to stay tuned for that.
As far as the Valentines are concerned, I do have more mystery, mayhem and romance planned for them. I’m currently trying to decide if their next adventure will involve a mystery being solved by Daniel and Kate, or if I should give Daniel and Kate their own story, with Jack and Tess as supporting characters. Or maybe I can just throw them all together. Perhaps you have an idea about that. Let me know. Anyway, while it may be some times before you get the next Valentine story, please know that they have more stories coming in the future.
Did you know that in November 2012, I won entry (one out of five writers) into a Harlequin pitch contest? Through that I was asked to send the first three chapters and after that the whole transcript. But by June 2013, I stopped hearing and wasn’t sure what that meant. But then in January and again last week, I heard that the assistant editor and senior editor were going to be talking about it. Of course they can still say no. Or maybe they’ll say they like it, but want some changes. So, fingers crossed!
I haven’t forgotten the Delecoeurs, who are going to get mixed up in gold and lost treasure, but I think I’m going to do something completely different for my next project (unless Harlequin calls in which case I’ll do what ever it wants me to 🙂 ) I have an idea for a story involving two women who where adopted from Romania as small children and who return to investigate their roots. I’m researching all sorts of folklore surrounding Romania… yes, including vampires…. but also much, much more. What I haven’t figured out yes is whether it will be better as a new adult story. I’m also going to attempt to learn some Romanian. If anyone has any suggestions on the best way to do that, short of going to live there, let me know. I was going to try Duolingo, but it’s Romanian course isn’t available yet.
Thank you to all the Jack and Tess fans who have followed and continue to follow their journey. I’m so grateful for you and your support!
Hot Romance…Results Are In
I ran a poll to see how hot readers like their romances. The options included:
– Soft-Caress (Implied intimacy only)
– Nothing shown behind closed doors (Foreplay only)
– Read about the lead in, but then use imagination for the big finish
– Emotion over moves (Emotional details, few touches, but nothing explicit)
– Sex (All details, start to finish)
– Scorching (All details plus. Think Fifty Shades of Gray).
With the popularity of “Fifty Shades” and books like it, I thought the “Scorching” option would do well. But interestingly, there wasn’t a single vote. The vast majority of participants (87.5 percent) voted for “Sex: All details, start to finish. (Caressing, kissing, insert tab A into slot B)”, which suggests they like it hot, but not bondage or submission hot. The only other option chosen was “Emotion over moves: Emotional details, few touches, but nothing explicit. (Caressing, kissing)”, which received 12.5 percent of the vote. None of the other three options received votes.
Interestingly, those are my top two options, as well. I like it hot, but I’m not in games, bondage, submission, spanking and all that. I like the details, but I find that my favorite love scenes are heavy on emotion and sensation over details. I’m not into the “alpha male as teacher” type stuff. I’m not knocking it, I’m just not into it.
Of course, my poll isn’t scientifically significant. Pollsters probably have read and enjoyed my books and therefore have the same taste as I do, so they voted as I would have. But I will admit that I was surprised that there wasn’t a single vote for “Scorching” considering how popular those books have become recently.
If you like it hot, but not scorching, I hope you’ll check out my books, which include passion and intrigue, with a little bit of humor.
I Hate Love Triangles
I hate love triangles. Stephanie Plum bounces between Joe and Ranger when she should pick one (Joe…I know some people will disagree). I don’t get the whole Team Jacob vs Edward when clearly it was Edward all the way. (Jacob was self-centered and mean spirited).
In my Pollyanna world, I like love at first sight that never goes away even if time or circumstance keeps them apart (i.e. Persuasion or my own Deadly Valentine). Some might argue that I have a love triangle between Tess, Jack and Daniel, but no. Daniel never stood a chance even without Jack coming back into her life.
I always wonder about authors that have love triangles, particularly with two seemingly perfect men that the female bounces between (literally and figuratively). Is that to make it seem more like real life? Is it to keep the tension up and the reader guessing? To me, it makes her wishy washy. Pick a guy already!
I know my view is fairy tale-ish. It’s an ongoing joke in my writer group. So much so that some writers warn me if the love is going to go bad. I don’t mind angst. In fact, I kind of enjoy it, as long as everything turns out in the end. While many make fun of this quirk of mine, I’ve decided not to apologize for it. Why not have have a couple who are devoted, respectful, loving and passionate? Because it’s not real? Vampires aren’t real, either. Neither is a boy living on a life raft with a hungry tiger. But that doesn’t stop people from enjoying paranormal stories or “The Life of Pi.”
Maybe I could start a club. The “I hate love triangles” Club. I wonder if anyone else would join?