Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Blame It On My Brother...

That's right. He's always telling me that he has big shoulders... he can take it. So I can blame it all on him. I love Romance.

This morning I got to thinking about when I read my first romance novel. Just when did my addiction begin? The first instance that I recalled was an acquaintance in college loaning me a copy of Georgette Heyer's "The Devil's Cub." I loved it! Where had these stories been all my life?

But, no. That was not the first instance. As I thought back even further... there was another instance. The seeds of my addiction were sown long before my college years. I had to go back even further. I thought back to the dim, innocence of a bored twelve year old who would do anything to annoy her older brother. To his credit, instead of killing me, he tossed me a book, saying, "Here, I think that you'll have fun with this." It was a copy of Baroness Orczy's "The Scarlet Pimpernel." As, in my mind's eye, I watched Sir Percy and Marguerite fall desperately in love, I was lost. Fifty years later, my heart still goes pitter pat at the thought of a man loving a woman enough to kiss the stones that she has walked upon. Sigh!

So, you see, it really is all his fault. Now, I simply want to write stories that others will sigh over.

Thank you, Brother.
Frances

BTW, I still have that original poor, tattered paperback of "The Scarlet Pimpernel."

Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Scarlet Pimpernel is one of my all time favorite books!!! A copy sits on my keeper shelves. Great blog Frances!!

Frances said...

Hi Roberta. I am so glad to find another Sir Percy fan. Have you ever read Mary Jo Putney's The Spiral Path? The hero and heroine are actors who meet while filming The Scarlet Pimpernel. Their modern day lives reflect Sir Percy's and Margarite's with the big secret and learning to trust. It is a great book.