Badurday- September 15, 2012

Happy birthday this week to two of our best bad boys. One celebrant was Colin Firth and the other was Hugh Grant. I’ve got two movie trailers here for these guys for films you may not have seen. The Colin one was from the 1990s and he was a complete addict in this one- a football (soccer) addict, that is. He certainly wouldn’t win any awards for boyfriend of the year in it.

The Hugh one is from the 1990s as well and it’s kind of a disturbing film overall but I love it. He’s an absolute ass in it but that’s what we love about him, right? This movie also has the best all-time Captain Hook scene in any movie inside the play within the movie.

So, happy birthday wishes to two of our past bad boys. Join me in a toast to their continued film careers so they can keep us entertained. Cheers!

Badurday- January 14, 2012- Montage

Found this video and even though I think this chick that made it must be much younger than me based on her top five, I agree that most of the men she has chosen are amazing and special. Alas, most of her top five are probably young enough to be my much younger brothers. AND she can’t spell Colin’s name, but she picked some good pics of him, so we’ll forgive her that sin. I enjoyed the video even though she left out some of my favorites. I hope you like it.

Moonday’s Heroic Hunks in History: Celebration Day!

I’d like to officially announce the impending publication of His Obsession, a Georgian Regency historical novel, by Siren BookStrand in March, 2012. Thank you to all my Sizzling Sisters at Southern Sizzle Romance for giving me the hard push I needed to submit my completed manuscripts to publishers.

To celebrate the upcoming publication of His Obsession, Moonday’s Heroic Hunks in History salutes the gentlemen of Miss Jane Austen’s movie adaptations. Miss Austen’s books were made into movies in 1995-1996. Pride & Prejudice (1995) featured the gorgeous Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Emma (1996) starred Jeremy Northam as Mr. Knightly and Ewan McGregor as Frank Churchill. Hugh Grant played Edward Ferrars and Alan Rickman was Colonel Christopher Brandon in Sense and Sensibility.

  BTW, my Writer’s Vineyard (http://thewritersvineyard.com/) post today features an exclusive interview with Miss Jane Austen. Miss Austen will discuss the craft and business of writing romance. BTW, you can check out the blurb and excerpt for His Obsession at http://ritabay.com/montclair-chronicles/his-obsession/ or click the Montclair Chronicles Tab on this Menu, then select His Obsession.

Next Week, a salute to some paranormal characters whose series begins their new season next Monday.  RitaBay

Take Three of These & Call Me in the Morning

Ah, my dears, Ro’mama is in a bit of a funk today. I think my horoscope for this week said “Pisces, hon, the best thing to do is find a rock to crawl under,” and I now firmly believe in astrology. Coworkers going out of their way to gratuitously p!ss me off, two cranky teenage daughters, and a massive raging case of writer’s block, just in time for NaNo. Even DH, the lord of the Far Junior College, has behaved in a most ungentlemanlike manner.

Ah, me. I fear I shall go into a decline. In such circumstances, there is only one known cure: a triple dose of Darcy, stat. Only the dripping wet glory of Regency masculine pulchritude can save me now.

So, meine Kinder, not one, not two, but THREE delectably drenched Darcys for your appreciation. I defy anyone with a drop of estrogen in her body to ponder these without cheering up.

I feel better already.

Oh, Crap! What Do You Mean, Wednesday!?!?!!?

OMG. I’m going thru my day like always, fighting with the people who try to rain on my parade everyday at the day job, when suddenly someone mentions that it is “Humpday.”
Now, aside from the thoughts that occur to any normal romance writer upon hearing such a comment, I was struck with a sudden panic. All day long, I thought it was Tuesday!
On the one hand, I am a day closer to the weekend, which has to be a good thing. However, this also means I forgot my @#%^! blog post.
As always, when you get caught unprepared, go with a classic. I can always count on my sweet babboo to fill in when I forget to do my wet man research. So, because I am a dork who doesnt know what day of the week it is, have a couple of my favorite pictures of the odds-on favorite to win this Year’s Oscar, my future second husband, Colin Firth!

Wetsday: You’re My Inspiration

Richard Armitage, Wetsday Edition

Ok, my muse is officially nuts. She is a manic-depressive, ADHD, schizophrenic b!tch. Maybe that’s why she and I get along so well.
But this past week, she has been making me crazy. I was chugging along on the historical/paranormal — not making wordcount history, but getting it done. Then, suddenly, out of the blue, Miss Muse decides I need to write a chick-lit contemporary. And she won’t talk to me about the historical til I do.
Now, kids, I don’t read chick-lit. I am faithful to my boys in boots and breeches. The last contemporaries I read and enjoyed were the Bridget Jones books. But Miss Muse is insistent, and I have to do what I am told.
So for Wetsday this week, I thought I would tell you a little about the new WIP. See what y’all think.
I don’t wanna tell the title, cause I am pretty proud of it, and I am gonna keep it under wraps til I start submitting. (SFCatty, I learned this from you when your character name was poached!) But basically, the story is a southern-fried Bridget Jones’ Diary. The main character wants to be a romance-novel heroine, but finding a hero isn’t that easy.
She meets a guy who seems to be perfect.

Richard Armitage in North and South

As I describe him in the story, I see a cross between Richard Armitage (North and South, Robin Hood) and vintage Sean Connery.

Vintage Connery

Old Skool Wet Connery

But it turns out he is no better than a Wickham

Wickham, You Cad!

or even a Daniel Cleaver!

The Dastardly Mr. Cleaver

Wet Hugh Grant

Eventually, our girl learns to recognize her Mr. Darcy where she least expects him to be.


She ends up happy ever after with the guy who has loved her all along — who happens to have an amazing resemblance to Eddie Redmayne (Pillars of the Earth,
The Other Boleyn Girl)

So, these are the guys who have been inhabiting my fantasy life here lately. Whatcha think???

I’m Going to Disney World!

It has been a wild month for the Sizzle Chix! All our fabulous guests, SFCatty taking the publishing world by storm, Sayde Grace continuing to rock the western romance! You better keep reading the blog, cause there’s no telling what will happen next!
And you all know the line of commericals Disney does, where after winning some championship or award or other mega-achievement, the celebrity says the only thing that could be better: “I’m Going to Disneyworld!”
Well, that is Romancemama’s shout this morning. While the rest of you toil away at the writing or the dayjob on Friday, I shall be hobbing and nobbing with the Disney princesses. Or actually, I’m hoping to meet the villainesses — I have a lot more in common with Maleficent and Ursula, if you know what I mean.
And while my children think that I am going to Mouseketeer Central because of their church youth trip, the fact is that I will be celebrating one of the most important days of the Ro’mama year.
Yes, it is that time again — September 10!!!
And why, you may ask, is Septemeber 10 a red-letter day? Children, it is no less than the birthday of Mr. Darcy himself, the man I would leave my husband for (ok, not really, but I would consider it!) — Colin Firth is 50 on Friday!
So here is a little video — some of you may have seen it before. As you can imagine, it is high on my list of favorite movies — right behind P&P95, both Bridget Joneses, Girl with a Pearl Earring … well, you get where I’m going with this.
So on Friday, September 10, don’t forget to lift a cup of fair trade coffee and have a scone in honor of Our Dear Boy!!!

Ok, so he’s not wet in most of these pictures, and this is Wetsday, after all. You want wet, just freeze frame P&P95 as he gets out of the pond — that translucent white shirt, that tall, wet body …

Wetsday Observations: Shhh, It’s a Secret!

When I was little, my family had a firm rule about Christmas or birthday presents. They never let me know what anyone was getting, because I am the biggest secret-teller in the family. Whatever I knew, everyone knew. As my brother puts it: “There four forms of mass communication – telephone, telegraph, television, and tell Arabella.”

Which is why I am sitting here, about to explode with the fabitty fabulousness of some secrets I am in on! I can’t reveal all yet, but I will just say, “Look out Publishing World – the Sizzlers Have Arrived!!!!”

I will give y’all one clue – it isn’t me! But some members of this wild and wonderful group have got some really good things in store for their readers in the next few months.

And that’s all I’ll say. Y’all are just gonna have to keep checking in here at the Sizzle to stay up on the news.

And speaking of secrets, some of you may be starting to get suspicious. Yes, it’s true. I am having a mad passionate affaire du coeur with Colin Firth. We meet up at the Hampton Inn in Crestview between his oscar parties and my school board meetings. What one must do for love. . . .

That last bit was just to annoy SaydeGrace, who thinks my obsession with all things Firth is a bit weird. And also so that I can use ODB as the wet man this week. Here he is, in all his British glory:

It’s A Dirty Job. . .

. . . but I am willing to do it for you people. Yes, hours of slaving over a hot keyboard, to serve up the finest in wet gentlemen.

As some of you know, I have dreadful insomnia, and tonight just happens to be one of those nights when I am not going to get any sleep at all. So, having written two scenes for my WIP, I got to play around on the net, looking for the perfect post for Wetsday. Dear Lord, I suffered through videos of Gerard Butler and Richard Armitage, stills of Colin Firth and Naveen Andrews, candids of the Wilson Brothers, and more shots of Josh Holloway and Liev Schrieber than I can count. As I said, someone has to do it, and I am willing to make the sacrifice.

But I was looking for something a wee bit different this week, something to give you a break from the predictable BBC hero or Lost castaway. Someone more approachable, someone almost real . . . .

And then I realized I had never shared my dirty little secret with the blogosphere. There is one guy I get to watch whenever he is on, without the smart-mouth comments from the teenage daughters or the eye-rolling from DH. Cause they love his show too, for all the wrong reasons.

Yes, it is funny and sometimes unbelievable, so the DD’s like it. The DH feels all macho and warm inside cause watching it makes him a member of the He-Man-Woman-Haters Club. But you and I know, the real reason for watching Dirty Jobs is the chance to see stripped down, sweaty, yummy Mike Rowe.

Doesn’t it make you just want to wash him? And btw, he does clean up very nicely. . .

Still Limping Along on Wetsday

So I went back to the doctor today, just sure that I would be getting rid of my stinky old boot and be driving again. Quel depression!!! I can start getting used to walking on the broken foot again, but I have to wean myself from the Bella Boot slowly. And only very limited driving starting this weekend. I am not happy. I mean, yes, the break is healing, but it is going to still be some time until I am my frisky self again.
This has really helped me get into the mindset of my historical heroines, though. It is difficult for us modern, on-our-own-two-feet kind of chicks to understand what it was like for women throughout most of history. My regency girls were not able to just hitch up the gig and go off for a weekend road trip with their buds from the Society for Orphan Welfare. Nice women were dependent on other people — especially men — to a degree we cannot begin to grasp. And knowing what it has been like to have to ask if I can go to Target or Books A Million has truly brought that home to me.
So if Lady Anne seems just a little shrill about telling the Marquess that she can take care of herself, thank you very much, y’all will know where that came from!

But as to the more important news of the week, I trust that you are all aware that true genius has at last been recognized: My Darling Colin Firth has been deservedly nominated for an Oscar! And not for best wet shirt in a supporting role, though if you follow his career, you know that he has a real talent for finding ways to get wet — not just P&P, but Valmont, both Bridget Joneses, etc. (And speaking of Valmont, if you only saw the version of Dangerous Liaisons with that bizarre Malkovich person, you have not seen the wicked Viscomte as he was meant to be! Highly recommend you find a copy of Valmont; my dear one is beyond perfect in it.)

So in honor of Colin’s nomination, and to pay tribute to all those wet shirt scenes, here is a little video of the Fabulous Mr. Firth: