Leap into Marriage

It’s February 29th, the leap day that occurs every four years.  According to Folk Lore dating back to Saint Patrick, Leap day is the one day that women can propose marriage to men.  This got me thinking about my heroines. Many of my heroines are the ones facing down the hero in the black moment and  putting their heart and soul on the line, asking the men to take a chance on love. The one exception is The Doctor Claims His Bride, where my gorgeous hero gets rejected.

Of course when the woman suggests committment, the hero at that point hasn’t realised that this remarkable woman in front of him is THE best thing that has ever happened to him. That comes a little later and the hero goes cap in hand,  down on bended knee, begs forgiveness and proposes.

So how does it happen in real life in 2008?  THE AGE newspaper reports, “Australian men with long-term girlfriends be warned, 20 per cent of women support the tradition which says they can propose during a leap year. And, today could be the day they pop the big question.

“We all love a bit of old-fashioned romance,” says Donna Armstrong, editor of New Woman magazine which has surveyed women for their views on marriage proposals.

“But the days of waiting around for men to sweep us off our feet are long gone.”

The magazine’s survey found 20 per cent of women felt the only acceptable time for them to propose was during a leap year.

On the question of who should pay for the engagement ring in these cases, only 20 per cent said they were willing to foot the bill for their own ring.  More than half of the women (52 per cent) said the cost of the ring should be shared, while 28 per cent expected the man to say yes and then pay for the engagement ring.” 

 Meanwhile, the ever-ready commercial market is promoting ‘leap weekends’ with special deals at 5* hotels!

My take is that generation X and Y women will be proposing more than any other generation because they have moved in with their bloke, lived with them for five years and are starting to think about children.

What’s your take? Do you know any women who have proposed?

Coupling

Men and women think and speak differently. DUH! I hear you say.  But this is something not every writer actually manages to nail. Often male and female characters end up sounding very similar. I’ve read some good books on this topic, to help a writer make dialogue sound real but I ‘ve just stumbled onto a fantastic example that is really helping me with my writing AND it’s fun too!

At Christmas I was given the BBC show Coupling, all four series. It usually takes a topic and you see it dealt with from the male point of view and the female point of view which makes for a great comedy.  Hearing this witty and sparkling dialogue really drives home what should come alive on the page when you are writing in the male point of view.  And the best part? Watching Coupling is so much more fun than reading a dry text book on the subject.

So check it out from your DVD shop today!

Volunteering Boosts Happiness

So says the research and if this is correct then I should be off the bliss scale! But this week all my volunteering hats collided and instead of happiness I have heartburn. Added into my volunteering (school council, RWAustralia conference committee) this week I have also been a travel agent, organising a holiday for later in the year. What an exciting thing to do BUT what a time SOAK!  Here it is almost the end of Wednesday and I am four pages into my ‘chapter for the week’. 

Finding the balance isn’t easy. I had a great week two weeks ago where I wrote and wrote but never got out of the house and by the end I was craving adult company. This week I crave the solitude of the office.  And a wife or even a PA would be fab!    

 And if you’re interested in where the holiday in June will be…….Borneo!

A Buzz of the Best Kind

Writing is a solitary occupation and one that is plagued by doubts. As I sit at my desk wrestling with my characters who won’t do what I want them to do, where the writing can go from ‘flying from fingers’ to ‘every-single-word-means-blood’ I have been known to question, ‘why am I doing this?’

And then I will get a letter from a reader and I know why.  I was so excited to see this review which was followed up by a lovely letter, that I wanted to share because it really made my day.  And it will help me organise Tessa and Callum who are being bolshie at the moment!

A Woman To Belong To

Book Review created  on February 14th, 2008, 8:55am

There are some authors who tell the reader about an emotion and there are others that make that emotion so palpable that it is throbbing all around the space the reader is in. Fiona Lowe has the gift. She creates characters that live and breathe. It doesn’t always make it an easy read because the pain the character is feeling becomes visceral; the reader is feeling it right along with the character. But it does make it a very satisfying read.

NFM

Romance’s Day of Days

It’s Valentine’s Day and I just got a basket of goodies delivered to me by my work which was very nice indeed!  Life this week has been crazy silly with so many school based events that happen at the start of the new school year …BBQs, information evenings, planning meetings and DH and I have been flung in different directions every night of the week.  He is out of state tonight and I am off picking up kids so a candle lit dinner isn’t on the agenda.

But Cupid is about even though this Valentine’s Day he isn’t carrying red roses, champagne or chocolates. Instead, this week Cupid has been  disguised as the man who irons all the clothes in the basket, the man who put  my publishing stats onto a spread sheet and the hero who lugged grey water all around my garden at 9pm after a full day at work so that my plants will survive the drought.

What disguises did Cupid wear in your house this week?

p.s not my DH but hey, he’s cute and he irons )) …just like my guy!

WIN IT

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and to help you get in the mood, I’m offering a chance for you to win an advanced copy of A WEDDING AT WARRAGURRA.

To enter you need to click HERE and follow the instructions.

Thanks to Nicola Marsh, for organizing this super competition!

Which Jane Austen Heroine are You?

My mother gave me her copy of Pride and Prejudice to read during the summer I was fourteen. It was bound in green leather with gold lettering and was a school prize. I sat under the shade of a large peppercorn tree and tried to read it.

‘It’s so slow,’ I complained at lunch.  Mum looked knowingly and said, ‘keep reading.’

The next day  over lunch I hotly exclaimed, ‘That Mr. Darcy, what a horrible man!’  Mum looked knowingly and said, ‘keep reading.’

A day after that Mum called me to lunch. I skipped it and kept reading.  To this day, Pride and Prejudice is my favourite book. I have read all the Austen’s and Emma is a close second but Elizabeth and Darcy have a special place in my heart. I have seen all versions of the film and my fave is the 1980’s Faye Weldon adaptation although I confess that Colin Firth is my fave Mr Darcy.

So which Austen Heroine are you? Take the Quiz here!

And then tell me!

Congratulations Kate Hardy!

Being acknowledged in your field of expertise is always a thrill. In the world of Romance Writing there are three prestigious competitions. The biggie is the RITA, the highest award of the American Romance Writers Association. Australia has the RuBY and the UK has the RNA Novelist Award which was announced at a swanky luncheon in London yesterday.

I am thrilled to say that my mate and fellow Harlequin Author, Kate Hardy won this prize with her 25th book, Breakfast at Giovanni’s. Kate writes fantastic stories with great character arcs and it’s wonderful to see her peers in agreement in awarding her this prize.

Kate gets to keep the Betty Neels Trophy (Rosebowl)for a year and I hope she keeps it filled with Roses!

CONGRATULATIONS KATE!

(to read more about all this visit Kate’s Blog)