Sunday, July 24, 2005

Breaking My Cardinal Rule

One reason I write romance is because of the chance it offers to sweep me away from the drudgery of my daily life to a world of glamour, adventure, beauty and...NO CHILDREN. My one rule to my writing, no matter what the genre, is the exclusion of children. People just emerge on the scene fully formed and attractive at age 21.

Sigh...My new WIP requires the heroine to do something she would otherwise never do. A woman will sacrifice all for her children, so I had to write a couple of them in. Those of you with children know we end up sacrificing big and little things in the name of motherhood. And why, I ask? Because they appreciate it?

I think biology does something to us. Maybe the placenta releases a self-sacrificing hormone into our bodies that makes us do bonehead things to make our children happy. How many times have you skipped a show you wanted to watch because the crumb crusher wanted to watch "Teletubbies?" Are you driving your dream car? I kind of doubt when we were 16 we dreamed of driving a big SUV or Dodge Caravan. Heck, with what I paid for my Expedition, I could have gotten a Jag "S" Class. Shall we get into our writing and how family life has affected our writing? Too depressing to think about?

So I shall see how this kid thing pans out in my book. Shudder, shudder.


Bears...

Jill Shalvis isn't the only one with a bear story. The following appeared in my very local paper:

In this heat wave, everyone needs a little cooling off. For a couple of bears spotted recently in north Claremont near Blasidell Ranch, a refreshing dip in the pool is just the thing to bring the temperature down. Lt. Van Horn reports that some bears have been seen ambling into residents' backyards, taking a swim in the pool, and then moving on to the next neighbor's pool.

"We're just waiting for someone to call us because he's sitting in a Jacuzzi, drinking a beer," said Lt. Van Horn


The neighborhood they are talking about is half a mile from my house. I do not have a pool, but I do have a Jacuzzi and beer.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL...well, if you keep the bears away, a jacuzzi splash and a beer sounds good!

I write kids in my books sometimes. Hm...never a baby though...

Anonymous said...

Keep the camera handy, LOL!

Crystal* said...

Kids appreciate us? *blinking*
I'm still waiting on that self-fulfilling prophecy. Believe me.
And yes, our IQ's lower and our self-sacrificing gene steps to the forefront. All for the sake of our little chickens.
Hopefully your rugrat will make the impact you desire from your manuscript. And if not? Well, at least you can delete that one. heh
Grins*

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

I know what you mean about kids in romance. A lot of people dislike that aspect in a romance. To me, it's reality, and I usually like to write some realism in my stories. But it's very understandable people read to escape realism too! ;D

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean about sacrificing all for your children. In my case, I've sacrificed sleep. My two darlings don't know that 5 a.m. is an inhuman time of day to be up and about. Sigh...

Anonymous said...

I wonder what brand of beer nine out of ten bears prefers....?