An amazing story! Definitely a keeper.
A must read. A good page turner.
A enjoyable read. An average book.
A book that has flaws and is hard to finish.
Terrible and couldn't finish it.
Hello Everyone,
This post was created by Lauren Grimely. She is hosting a fundraiser and giveaway for Brest Cancer Month. This is a very good cause and we would appreciate any help.
Top ten things more fictional (and
real-life) females ought to do:
5. Embrace their
sexuality.
6. Champion
their femininity.
7. Appreciate
chivalry.
8. Celebrate
girl power.
9. Eliminate
cattiness.
10. Cry a little
& laugh a lot.
I am surrounded
by real-life women warriors fighting life’s toughest battles, something that’s
become even more evident as I’ve talked with people about my recent project: Romance for a Reason.
Yet, as a reader and writer of romance (among other genres), I find few
admirable fictional female warriors. So I decided to explore the issue, making
a plea to writers and readers to demand more of their fictional heroines and
explaining my reasons in posts throughout the month. Today, I’m talking up to
number six on my top ten list. (See the calendar on the Romance for a Reason
page for dates and links to the other posts.)
Real Heroines Don’t Need Steroids
Or leather. Or
tattoos. Or guns of either the literal or figurative types. Real heroines can
kick butt without having to dress or act like dudes.
In addition to
paranormal romance, my series also falls under the urban fantasy category. Take
a minute to do a Google images search of urban
fantasy book covers and you’ll understand were this rant is coming from.
The women on these covers are either scantily clad swimsuit models or leathery
steroid users—or both. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against a
female in fiction, or real-life for that matter, taking pride in her ‘assets,’
nor can I deny wanting abs worthy of baring, but I think some of these books
(or at least their cover artists) have gone too far.
If the only way
we can turn our women into warriors is by slapping some nail polish on an
otherwise masculine character, we have some problems. Heroes don’t have to be
big and tough. They don’t have to have perfect bodies or know how to use a gun.
Instead, they can be smart, compassionate, inventive, and—yes, our heroes can
even be feminine.
This might all
seem hypocritical from an author whose main character is a proclaimed tomboy
and black belt. It’s not. Alex’s character traits developed from having two
older brothers whom she idolized and a father who knew what she’d eventually
face in life—all of which play a crucial role in the plot. Just as important to
her character is her unfaltering compassion and her vulnerability, two traits
that some readers might see as weaknesses, but that I see as an honest
portrayal of a twenty-something woman facing reality for the first time. At one
point in my revision process of Unforeseen
I wrote a note in the margin, “Does A. cry too much?” When I thought more about
it, I realized what my real concern was: I didn’t want my heroine to come off
as too emotional. But women are more openly emotional. I don’t think that’s a
stereotype or at all a bad thing. Being emotional means we care and are brave
enough to show it. If I had given in to that impulse to make her ‘tougher,’ I
would really have been implying to my readers that women, as we are, aren’t
strong enough to be heroes.
I don’t believe
that. Nor do I believe most writers, romance or otherwise, believe that. Yet
it’s too easy to get sucked into stripping our female characters of all that
makes them fabulously female—the ability to fight without immediately resorting
to violence, to care for others despite what the rest of the world may think of
them, and, yes, to cry, to smudge our mascara, and to be okay with the world
knowing we care so we hurt.
So go ahead and
teach your heroines how to shoot a gun or execute a roundhouse to the ribs, but
also let her giggle, mother, and cry. Dudes in dresses are funny in the right
time and place, but not as the heroines we’re asking readers to love and
admire.
The Romance:
Unbridled:
A collection of short stories from the Alex Crocker series
By Lauren Grimley
“Think
Law and Order SUV meets The Breakfast Club” was Ellie’s trite
explanation of what Alex had been dragged into. Add a few fangs, Fifty
Shades of Oversharing, and a dash of Dr. Phil, and she was in for quite a
Thursday night.
Alex
couldn’t deny she had become the pint-sized poster child for PTSD lately, but
she didn’t exactly expect to find a support group for teachers turned vampire
chew toys in Bristol, MA. Listening to the tales of the four other females
gathered to help her heal, however, she accepts that perhaps both the worst and
the best of life can blossom from the unexpected.
Unbridled is
a novella-length collection of four connected stories focusing on the unlikely
friendships and less likely lovers of the female characters from the Alex
Crocker series.
“Grace
and Dignity”
Ireland,
1713
Even
a female whose mating has been arranged most of her life still thinks about
what she wants in a mate. Not one of the qualities Sarah had hoped for were
easily evident in her betrothed, the future Regan of the Rectinatti coven.
Perhaps, though, there were more layers to Darian than he liked to reveal, but
how does a subject unmask a prince?
“Rules
and Recollections”
Bristol,
Massachusetts, 1902
You
can’t fall in love with someone you barely recall, but that, Vivian supposed,
was the point. After a terse meeting with the Knower, a mind reader, memory
manipulator, and the coven’s most notorious lecher, Vivian isn’t herself. She
can’t shake the feeling that the solution to her mood lurks just below the
surface of her consciousness. Only plunging into darkness, though, will bring
everything to light.
“Blood
and Secrecy”
Bristol,
Massachusetts, 2008
The
shared need for blood brought them together, but individual desires for secrecy
are keeping them apart. Each already left behind a life of privilege for
reasons the other likely couldn’t understand. Now both Rocky and Ellie need to
decide if they’re willing to open up about their pasts in order to ensure a
future.
Series: Alex Crocker series, can definitely be
enjoyed without reading the first two books in the series, but is written to
fit after the events of book 2, Unveiled.
Genres: paranormal romance, vampire series,
urban fantasy, short stories
Release date: October 1, 2013
Available formats: ebook & paperback (178 pages)
Website page: http://www.laurengrimley.com/Unbridled.html
Purchase links:
Amazon
Unbridled: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FIS0KF4
Or for those who
want just a bite, three of the individual stories are available as well:
“Grace and
Dignity”: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FIS0VCQ
“Rules and
Recollections”: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FIS1FIA
“Blood and
Secrecy”: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FIS15SK
For the other
books and stories in the series see Lauren’s Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007Y5ZZSG
Barnes & Noble –
“Grace and Dignity”: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grace-and-dignity-lauren-grimley/1117001984?ean=2940148813279
“Rules and Recollections”: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rules-and-recollections-lauren-grimley/1117001985?ean=2940148768425
“Blood and Secrecy”: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-and-secrecy-lauren-grimley/1117001986?ean=2940148768432
The Reason:
October is National
Breast Cancer Awareness Month and National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
As the daughter of a breast cancer survivor and a friend and teacher of too
many women who’ve been affected by violence, I chose it to also to be the
release date for Unbridled. I may not
love wearing pink or purple, the colors of these two issues, but I do love a
good fight for great causes. I’ve just chosen to battle this one with my pen.
Please consider helping in your own way!
How you can help:
Read some romance. Proceeds from Unbridled
will be donated to the two charities listed here.
Donate. Make your own
individual donation to these two charities or choose a local charity supporting
these and other causes affecting women in your area. To learn more about each
charity and my reasons for choosing them, visit the Romance for
a Reason page. Or click through to donate directly.
Party hard. Gather the women (and men!) of your book club or
just a group of friends for a Romance for Reason party. Party ideas? Check
out my blog for ideas on how to plan your gathering.
Then download the Romance Reading Questionnaire and/or the Body Lingo Bingo for some fun party
activities!
Share. Tweet, status update,
review, or just chat with friends about the books, the tour, and the charities
(mine or yours)!
Lauren
Grimley lives in central Massachusetts where she grew up, but her heart is on
the beaches of Cape Cod where she spends as much of her time as possible. After
graduating from Boston University she became a middle school English teacher.
She now balances writing, reading, and correcting, all with a cat on her lap
and a glass of red wine close by.
Unforeseen, the first novel in the Alex Crocker
Seer series, was Lauren’s debut novel. She was thrilled this spring to continue
the series with Unveiled and now Unbridled. To learn more about her or
her writing or to connect with her online visit her website at
www.laurengrimley.com
Author website: http://www.laurengrimley.com
Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Lauren-Grimley/e/B007Y5ZZSG
Twitter @legrimley: https://twitter.com/legrimley
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/authorlegrimley/
1 comments:
Thanks so much for hosting me, Danielle!
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