I have fallen in love, again.This is really not a novel thing for me, as I tend to fall in love quite frequently.
When I was 12 I saw Romeo & Juliet for the first time. You know, the one that actually showed Leonard Whiting's naked butt? Seems my English teacher was unaware of that feature in the movie. Oh, I was in complete, adolescent , heart throbbing love.
My Senior year I discovered The Flame & The Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Brandon....be-still-my-heart...Birmingham. And I adored this book and character so much that I went through 3 copies that year. I was in love.
During nursing school a new sci-fi movie came out about an orphan, a princess, a rogue space pirate and an evil empire called Star Wars. Oh and that rogue space pirate....yeah, Harrison Ford....I was soooooooo in love!Not long after, I met my dear husband, and I was in love in real life. Still am. Then quickly three little bright-eyed happy cherubs filled my heart with their pug irish noses, laughter, and their lives. Still love them, too.
But then I discovered another author, Julie Garwood and her books. My all time favorite is Saving Grace. Gabriel McBain was the hero of my heart. A Sco
t, loyal to those without a clan, loyal to a clan who didn't want him until they had no leader. He hates the English, but marries an Englishwoman to protect her from the English King. Oh yeah, and he has a son who may or may not be his....................I was SOO in LURVE! (And while I'm on the subject, don't you think Gerard Butler...another love of mine....could play Gabriel?)The next time I fell in love it was with Nathan Cantrell. Who you ask is Nathan Cantrell? Well, he's the hero in my first novel REFUGE. Here's his description through the heroine, Laura Melborne's eyes:
Laura stared into the shadows. At first all she could see was the red glow from a cigar. As he took shape stepping into the light reflected off the snow, her heart picked up its pace. Something in the depth of his deep blue eyes, the steeliness of his jaw and the stern set to his lips beneath his dark moustache held her mesmerized. Black hair curled just beneath his hat. His sheepskin coat, turned up at the collar, stretched across his broad shoulders. His long legs were covered in the blue dungarees she'd seen so many men in Denver wearing. He wore heavy boots and in his left hand he held the glowing cigar.
In her need to escape Nigel and the whirlwind of activity in Maryland, she hadn't given much thought to what her husband might look like. But after meeting his brother, she'd imagined him to be a younger version of the polite, kind-hearted lawyer and family man. Nothing had prepared her for this very handsome, very large man whose entire being hummed with intensity and anger.
Dear Lord, what had she gotten herself into?
Dear Lord, what had she gotten herself into?
Sigh...maybe someday REFUGE will get published. That's Tom Berringer in the movie "Last of the Dog Men" (another great movie!) and he's my image of Nathan. Mmmm yummo! Nathan and Laura started my love affair with writing my own stories. With each new book I fall in love with the hero and want to be the heroine. It's an on going affair.
So, who is my new love? That's him over there-------------------->
Peter Rabbit.
Actually, Beatrix Potter, her life, her art and her stories. I loved The Tale Of Peter Rabbit as a child, but I never knew anything about the author until I was an adult. When my kids were small I loved to read them Beatrix Potter's stories, but still knew little of her life.
Now here's a little known fact about me...I have a fascination with biographies. So when the movie "Miss Potter" appeared on my TV, I of course had to watch it. Turns out, Beatrix had a love interest. The movie fascinated me so much I had to google her and find out more.
So, who is my new love? That's him over there-------------------->
Peter Rabbit.
Actually, Beatrix Potter, her life, her art and her stories. I loved The Tale Of Peter Rabbit as a child, but I never knew anything about the author until I was an adult. When my kids were small I loved to read them Beatrix Potter's stories, but still knew little of her life.
Now here's a little known fact about me...I have a fascination with biographies. So when the movie "Miss Potter" appeared on my TV, I of course had to watch it. Turns out, Beatrix had a love interest. The movie fascinated me so much I had to google her and find out more.
[That's Renee Zellweger portraying Beatrix in the movie]
Before Beatrix became a published children's author she had a fascinating life as one of the foremost mycologist and illustrator of fungi in England. She also wrote papers presented by her uncle to the Linnean Society and the Royal Society (Big scientific group of men back in her day.) THEN she became a published author, after 6 publishers rejected her children's books about a naughty rabbit.
Yep, you guessed it, all those years ago Peter Rabbit was my first "bad boy"!
So, do you have any secret loves you want to share? Do you fall in love with characters, authors, actors as often as me? If so, who is your latest love?
Don't forget to check out four more Banditas invading Romance Novel TV today. It's been one zany day after another so far! www.romancenovel.tv
116 comments:
me?
Oh congrats on the GR, Keira!
I don't have any *recent* new loves -at least not more than one of my previous posts... but I'm thinking my new love might be my new phone - the LG Incite that is supposed to arrive tomorrow. :)
YES!! Doing the snoggy-coochee-coo dance. C'mere my pretty. We have a fun night and day planned for you though there might one stop to a grocery store during the day. You have full permission to avert your eyes and close your ears when I buy the whole roasted chicken. Everybody in our house just loves it.
OK. Now back to the regularly scehduled post.
Keira, looks like he does go to you! Congratulations.
Suz, I think my first imaginary love must've been Sleeping Beauty's prince (Disney version). Then Superman of course . . . and Batman.
Closer to my own actual age, Robin the Boy Wonder.
I know, there's something bent about having a crush on a four-color character. *sigh*
Anna Campbell got me stuck on St. Cyr, so that would be along the lines of her fault. *g*
Then there's Acheron and about half the Dark-Hunters.
I could go on, alas, too long. I, too, loved Brandon in The Flame and the Flower.
I love your excerpt! I hope it gets published, too.
Limecello, I'm such a creature of habit, I dread the day I have to get a new phone. I hope yours is lots of fun.
I feel like I'm going into confession here... Forgive me because I have sinned (and enjoyed it).
Ioan Gruffud in Amazing Grace
Gerard Butler in Beowulf and Grendel
Richard Armitage in North & South
Matthew MacFadyen as Mr. Darcy and also in Spook/MI-5
Georgette Heyer's women
Julie Garwood's men: Brodick and Gabriel (GB would make a fab Gabriel)
Anna Campbell's men
Diane Gaston's women
Candice Hern's women
Lisa Kleypas's men
Susan Crandall and Susan Wiggs' characters
As a kid and in my twenties, I fell in love and in friendship very quickly and loyal to the bone to each and every one of them; not everyone deserves or wants that kind of devotion. I'm more temperate now, less ideological, more logical, and less impetuous.
I could go on and on and on...
Congrats on nabbing the GR this morning, Keira! I was just checking to make sure the blog posted, and here y'all are!! (and I thought I was the Bandit night owl!!)
Hey limecello! The new LG Incite? A couple of nurses I work with have those. Too much fun to play with! I'm thinking you will definitely be in love with it. :)
Ooooooooooo Nancy, Acheron and the Dark Hunters...way too yummy! And then there's the whole Zadist and the rest of the Brotherhood! Both Sherrilyn and JR are straight to the top of the TBR reads for me...along with Julie Garwood and JAK!
Oooooooooo Kiera, I love all movies with Gerardin it,but the poor man dies in them all...or has a sad ending like Phantom. He really needs a movie where he's the bad boy who wins the heroine's heart and has a HEA, don't ya think?
Congrats Keira...just put an empty popcorn bag on his head as you pass the roast chook aisle....the smell of corn will divert him!
Suzanne...Tom Berenger eh!...well you've got me already! Husband! ... cowboy boots, Horses!
Now I have to tell you I rarely read extracts, mainly in case the extract puts me off, and basically I don't want to be put off any book.
Suzanne you wouldn't like a reader evaluation would you!!!lol
Cheers Carol
Congrats on the GR, Keira.
I saw "Romeo & Juliet" in junior high. I thought the guy who played Balthazar was so cute. I love Gabriel McBain, too, but Alec Kincaid from "The Bride" was my first love. Then I had a thing for Royce from "The Prize." I love all of Julie's heroes. I'm currently loving Richard Armitage in "Spooks" and Damien Lewis in "Life."
My heart is endelessly devoted to all things Johnny Depp *sigh*
Really LOL. I've had the hotes for him since 21 Jump Street days (sad to say, he didn't actually make an impression on me in Nightmare on Elm Street - prolly cause I saw most of that movie with my hands over my eyes).
I do have brief flings, though. Han Solo, mmmm. Wolverine, sigh. Aragorn, ahhhh. Legolas, yeah baby. Dillon Ward in Beth Andrew's upcoming A NOT SO PERFECT PAST. Yep, in serious love with him since his first appearance in her debut book.
But after all is said and done, I always come back to Johnny *g*
I fall in love with characters, not with actors, as in real life -or at least based on what you hear about some of them- they might not be quite as lovable.
And what comes to secret loves...
Well, there's the mathematician from Numb3rs, Jarod from Pretener, agent Booth from Bones...
True To Your Heart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS17AcMPcco&feature=related
Wonderful post, Suz. I was LOL about your many and varied love affairs. Isn't it fun how easy it is to fall in love with the heroes in the books we read?
Summer before ninth grade. Gone with the Wind. Rhett Butler. Nuff said!
Congrats, Keira!
Congrats Keira it has been a while since he visited you have fun with him
Great post Suz I always loved Peter Rabbit as well and often read it to my children and loved the movie Miss Potter. Gotta say I too loved Brandon and Gabriel and of course Hans we must think a like Suz.
You all know how much I love Hugh Jackman and as for books and authors I have loved everyone of the Bandits books that I have read and that is all of them but 2 ( I still need to get Tawny's last one and Trish's book they are a bit harder to get here in Oz)and I have really enjoyed Nalini Singh's books.
There are so many I fall in love with most of the heros I read about, and Suz I love the bit from Refuge I too hope it will be published soon so as I can read it.
Have Fun
Helen
There are too, too many of my loves to name. I think it would be wiser to state I fall in love with just about every hero in every book I have ever read. At this very moment I am in love with all three of the Rose Hunters in Connie Brockway's Series.
Suzanne -
It's so funny when someone asks my favorite anything - I'm always stumped (other than when it comes to my one love - my husband :).
But as I read through your list I thought "oh, yes...oh, yes...that too." I remember seeing the original Romeo and Juliet the first time and falling for the hero. And for Hans Solo, and so many more mentioned in these posts.
Thanks for reminding me of a movie I hadn't thought about in a long time. I did enjoy your blurb and hope you find a publisher for that book. You're in good company here. :)
Keira -
Congrats on the GR. Have a fun day with your catch.
Wow, Suz, what a fantastic excerpt! I can easily see why you fell for Nathan - I'm falling for him myslef *g*
I do tend to fall in love with characters often. Here are a few favorites:
John Travolta in Grease.
Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
More recent loves include:
James McAvoy in Penelope
David Boreanaz in Bones
Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki in Supernatural
I've fallen for too many heroes in my favorite books to count *g* Hope that doesn't make me fickle!
Dillon Ward in Beth Andrew's upcoming A NOT SO PERFECT PAST. Yep, in serious love with him since his first appearance in her debut book.
Thanks, Tawny! I'm a bit in love with Dillon myself *g*
Congrats, Keira!
Great memories, Suz! I saw Romeo & Juliet at the theater with my English class and, yes, our teachers were a bit surprised with that scene too. :) I made my boyfriend take me back to see it again so I could sob without being embarrassed. (lol) The music from that movie is gorgeous. I bought the soundtrack and played that album so many times I wore it out.
SAVING GRACE is my all-time favorite comfort read and I absolutely adore Gabriel.
Youthful heartthrobs? Let's see.
Early teens: Paul McCartney.
I was 14 when the Beatles first appeared on US television and fell instantly in love.
Late teens: Robert Redford in "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid". I had a lifesize color poster of him as Sundance on the ceiling above my dorm bed. Sweet dreams indeed. :)
College: My boyfriend was a hard-bodied Canadian on the hockey team. Who needed movie heroes?
Early 20's: I was dating a buff, blonde, darkly tanned beach lifeguard. 'Nuff said.
My fantasy man for the 80's was Tom Selleck as Magnum, PI. In uniform or out, Tom was my man.
Nowadays, it's Hugh Jackman. What's not to love?
Suzanne, I'd buy your book! Loved the excerpt!
Hey, Carol! LOL on the diversion tactics for the GR and roasted chicken.
Isn't Tom B yummy in that pictures? Have you seen Last Of The Dogmen? He really is the quintessential squinty eyed cowboy hero in it.
And thanks on the offer to read REFUGE. LOL...got any connections to editors?
Oh Jane, another R&J lover, huh?!
And yes I loved Alec Kincaid, too. But something about how Gabriel takes on Joanna and all those clan people, and his son, and defies the English...yep...Julie sure knows how to write a man!
Hey, Tawny! I'm sure Johnny always forgives you your minor transgressions. I mean who wouldn't go nuts over Han Solo or Wolverine? (psst, have you seen the trailer for the Wolverine movie coming out in May? Can't wait!!)
Ooooooo Minna, love the mathemetician from Numb3rs and agent Booth. In fact, I'm a recent discoverer of Bones, thanks to TBS and syndication.
Suzanne, not only is Gabriel one of my all-time favorite heroes but Johanna is one of my favorite heroines. I've read their story at least 15 times (truthfully, probably more) and I have yet to find a single wrong note in the entire book.
Hey, Helen! I'm looking forward to reading about bad boy Peter to my grandbabies, too.
Brandon and Gabriel, strong men that melted our hearts, huh? And Hans...that quirky smile and the mischevious gleam in his eyes. I do think we're kindred souls, Helen.
Thanks for the love of my Nathan...alas, he's in a book that there is little market for these days...but maybe someday.
Hey Jo!
Rhett Butler did steal my preadolecent heart, too! My aunt took me and my siblings to see it at the matinee in my parents' small hometown. Mmmmmmmm...had many fantasies about him and how I'd make him forget that Scarlet!! hehehe
Hey, Diana! Isn't that the truth? I'm currently in love with the firefighters of Station Five in Jo Davis' series. Those are some seriously hot (pardon the pun) men! And my current WIP has me in love with 2 men...Quinn and Hawke.
Hey, Dianna! Wasn't Leonard Whiting so....inspiring....in that movie? I had sloped ceilings in my bedroom growing up, so I had a giant poster of that pic in the blog hanging over my head. Went to sleep with his face in my thoughts each night for years!
Hey, Beth! Thanks. Nathan was a handful to write. Laura is a more reubenesque heroine, so it took her a little bit to get under his protective barriers, but once she did.........oh mama!
As I said earlier, David Boreanaz in Bones has become one of my new must see characters. Also Carmine Giovinazzo who plays detective Danny Messer on CSI:NY.
Oh Suz, he sounds just dreamy! (the cowboy -- not that naughty Peter Rabbit!).
I've only had a couple of true loves in my day:
The cartoon fox in Disney's Robin Hood
The Prince in Disney's Sleeping Beauty
Maxwell Caufield in Grease II (I kid you not.)
Christopher Atkins in The Pirate Movie (another 80s classic)
Patrick in Money, Honey
Oh, wait, YOU haven't gotten to read Money, Honey yet? Don't worry. Berkeley had the sense to buy it from our own Susan Sey! And seriously, I absolutely adore Patrick. I might even leave my husband for Partick. He's that good.
have a great day everyone!
What a great blog. Finding new loves is always so fun. My first love has always been music. My sister and I had a little white record player, the kind that actually closed like a suitcase. We had a 45 (for you young people that's a small vinyl record) of Little River Band's Lonesome Loser and completely wore it out. I was six.
For hours I would sit by the radio waiting for my favorite songs. Then in 2nd grade I won the school walk-a-thon and had to choose between the giant stuffed bunny and the portable 8-track player. (For you young people, that's a giant cassette...lol) I took the 8-track player and wore out my Queen, Reo Speedwagon, and Journey tapes.
But by 6th grade I'd found books and never looked back. I remember eating up the Woodiwiss books. And McNaught. And just about anything else I could get my hands on.
Outside of books and music, I had a healthy crush on Han Solo myself. And my most recent crush has to be James McAvoy. Not sure what it is about that boy. It's just....something.
Congrats on the GR, Keira!
BTW - In the tags you included Clive Owen. Did I miss his picture in there somewhere? LOL!
Yay, Keira! I know he will have fun at your house!
I am so glad to hear that even after we're all grown up we still have crushes on actors, characters, etc.
I fell in love with Mr. Darcy when I was nine and read Pride and Prejudice. I fell in love with Matthew Mac as Mr. Darcy the first time I saw the film version of P&P he starred in.
I fell in love with Hugh Jackman's Leopold in Kate and Leopold.
Fell in love with Roger Howarth as Todd Manning in One Life to Live.
Fell in love with Gerrard Butler in 300.
Fell in love with Kylemore and Matthew - Thanks La Campbell !
I've always been in love with Mozart and Beethoven !
Oh and at age nine I was in love with Black Beauty too!
I have a few secret loves I'll confess to you--I'm a goner for John Krasinski on The Office (though not so much these past few seasons--season one & two though? Whew.)
I love Christian Bale, & have since Empire of the Sun. (It was a long time ago, he was a kid. But heck, so was I.)
And more recently (this one's embarrassing) I've been nursing a little cougar crush (I have to call it this since I'm so old compared to the object of my affect)...Shia LaBoeuf. It all started with the Transformers movie a few summers back--you know the one where talking robots from outer space turn into vehicles & suchlike to fight crime? (I like popcorn flicks, what can I say?) Then I saw him in Disturbia & it was all signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours.
But Han Solo will always hold a special place in my heart. :-)
And, awwwww, I just read Kirten's comment about my bad boy with a heart of gold, Patrick from Money HOney.
Aren't you the sweetest thing, Kirsten? :-)
I have to admit, though, I despair of ever creating another hero I love so much. *sigh*
I'm looking forward to meeting Patrick, Susan. I have a feeling he just may steal all our hearts!
Hey, PJ! You're a Saving Grace fanatic, too? I've read it ...gulp, 27 times! I kid you not. And each time I find something new to go ooooooh over or giggle at!
Oh and oh yeah on both Robert Redford and Hugh Jackman.
Hey, Kirsten!
I liked that Disney movie, too! The only one I liked better was the Moon-spinners with Haley Mills.
And I can't wait to read Money, Honey by Susan. And you say the hero is too yummy?
Hey, Terrio!
I forgot all about music. I was a serious Monkeys and Dave Clark Five fan, until I found the Stones and CCR!
Oh and yes, Clive was to make an appearance, but then I edited, but he is a current love of mine. Just saw him in Shoot Em Up....too weirdly good!
Ah, Lousia....Gerard in 300. There was so much naked male flesh to oogle in that movie and still HE dominated the movie with his acting!! Be still my heart.
Hey, Susan!
My daughter has been in love with Christian Bale since he starred in "The Newsies". (She and her brother can sing and quote that movie til the cows come home!) So I've gotten to watch him for years. To me, he's really brought out the bad boy in the Batman!
Suzanne - I fell in love with the Monkees on their 2nd time around thanks to MTV. I was 13 and they were old enough to be my dads, but I still loved them.
Yay to Pirate Movie and Newsies! And wasn't Christian awesome in Little Women? *sigh*
I can't not mention Russell Crowe. I know he's not everyone's cuppa, but to me he's THE guy.
Suz, I loved The Moonspinners! I was a huge Haley Mills fan.
Ditto on The Monkees and The Dave Clark Five too. My dad took two girlfriends and me to see the DC5 at McCormick Place in Chicago. It was my very first concert. Very memorable. :)
I saw The Monkees in concert in Toronto. I've told this story before but I'm not sure if I've told it here. The concert was at an outdoor stadium at the CNE and seating was a stand of bleachers. There were several people in wheelchairs at the end of the bleachers. More people rushed in when the concert started and before long there was a crowd standing in front of the wheelchairs totally blocking the view of the people sitting in them. The Monkees stopped the concert and had security push every person in a chair to the front of the stage. The guys jumped off the stage to shake hands and dispense kisses then continued the concert. If I hadn't loved them before, that would have sealed the deal!
Keira, congrats on getting the GR...I think. Now, explain the "snoggy-coochee-coo dance" to me...Or do I NOT want to know about this?
Snork.
As to loves...so many men, so little time. :> I fell in love with a guy from church when I was a kid, then Donny Osmond even though he was an older man (I know, I know, groan all you want, but he could SING!)
Then there was Barnabus Collins from Dark Shadows - not attractive, but SO mesmerizing...the oldest son in My Three Sons. Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins and everything else.
The boy-friend in National Velvet. Han Solo (Nobody falls for Luke, have you noticed?), Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan (whom my kids call Obiwand), Liam Neeson, Clive Owen, Hugh OMGosh Jackman.
I spent years having a I'll-take-a-hall-pass-from-being-married crush on Jean Claude Van Damme. :>
Right now, I'm perving on Rufus Sewell in Eleventh Hour, Joshua Jackson from Fringe, and as always, the CSI guys - Nick (Las Vegas), Flack and Dr. Sheldon (NY), and the-on-so-yummy Delko (Miami)
Courtesy of the kids, I'm not getting in many movies - sigh - but I thought Robert Downey, Jr. was rockin' in IronMan. :>
Suz:
Wonderful discussion! And I can't find a single thing wrong with any of the men you named. And Julie Garwood does write the most wonderful heroes....I think I may still be partial to Caine, though.
As for my favorite book hero....hands down it's Matthew Farrell from PARADISE. And he's closely followed by Roarke in the In Death Series and Killian in ICE STORM by Anne Stuart.
And movie star love - well, that's one of the most wonderful things about watching movies! Gerard Butler, Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman....the list of delights goes on and on.
For me, though...the one who stands above all the rest...I have loved Anthony Michael Hall since I was 12. Watching Sixteen Candles, my heart sped wildly in my chest as he walked down that bus aisle and I've never been the same since. That intense blue gaze and ever-so-slightly-naughty smile have held me captive for 23 years and counting....
Addison
Yes, yes, yes to Gerard Butler!!
Okay, just had to get that out of the way.
Great post, Suz! I, too, fell in love with every single thing you mentioned! Julie Garwood, Han Solo, Kathleen Woodiwiss. And Gerard Butler. Did I mention him? Sigh. And OMG, I loved Last of the Dog Men!!
Were we separated at birth? :-)
On the other hand, I haven't seen the Beatrix Potter film, but it's going on my list this minute!
Keira!!! He loves the snoggy-coochee-coo dance! No wonder you snagged him for the day!
And then there was Wolf Larson as Tarzan -Disney's Tarzan isn't bad either, both Robin Hoods from the series Robin, the Hooded Man, the guy from Bony...
Disney - Tarzan and Jane (Strangers Like Me)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvkZjn7ROIY&feature=related
Clannad - Robin the Hooded Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXEmd0mCBxk
Oh, yeah. And Shang from Mulan isn't bad either. Disney movies sure are not what they used to be. *g* What's with all those barechested guys?
It's gonna be love - Mulan and Shang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ffp8L9ZRR7c&feature=related
PJ wrote: My fantasy man for the 80's was Tom Selleck as Magnum, PI. In uniform or out, Tom was my man.
Me, too, PJ! And he's TALL! I could've stood next to him in heels, and it wouldn't matter. I only ever had one really tall boyfriend.
People were not allowed to call me on Thurday nights at 8 because that was reserved for Magnum. Then 9 was reserved for Simon & Simon, and 10 for Hill Street Blues.
I didn't see him on Friends, but he was great playing opposite Candice Bergen on Boston Legal!
Suz, I love Christian Bale's Batman. He's great in both parts of the role, Bats and Bruce!
Jeanne, if you're that into Rufus Sewell, you really have to rent Cold Comfort Farm. He's great in it, and it's a different kind of role for him.
The story doesn't have much of a plot arc. It's more like a series of character studies revolving around the Kate Beckinsale character and her visit to the farm. I really like it, though. Made the dh watch it, and he liked it too (though not for Rufus *g*).
Jeanne--I forgot to say, I fell for Luke. I like Luke better than Han. And Mark Hamill was really seriously cute, though I think his face has gotten more interesting with age.
I saw that movie on opening day, reluctantly, because a friend pushed me to go. And came out of the theater totally, like Alderaan, "blown away."
Yes, I can still quote lines from it. How pathetic is that?
However, I have a friend who's seriously into bad boys. I made her go for my second viewing, and when Han shot Greedo, she punched me in the arm. She was hooked. As I knew she would be. *g*
How funny, Nancy, I saw it on opening day too! My brother had seen an ad in the NYTimes for this "great new sci-fi flick" and wanted to go. He was supposed to babysit me, so he "made" me go. *rolling my eyes* We were the only two in the theatre until one of the ushers popped in and sat in the back for a bit.
The next week, when I went back to see it with friends, I waited in line two hours. :>
Love, love, loved it. I actually liked Luke best in Return of the Jedi. He was such the callow youth in all the others. :>
Suz, we've been to Hilltop, Beatrix Potter's farm, and to the museum in her husband's former law office. It was long ago, so things may have changed, but parking was impossible. We finally found a spot.
They controlled access to the house even then, and I hear they're stricter now because the structure can't take lots of people tramping through it at once. She was a kind of commercial machine in the Lake District. You couldn't turn around without seeing Potter-related stuff for sale. It was mostly Peter Rabbit, but the other characters played into it, too. Even when you entered the Hilltop grounds, you entered via the shop. And exited the same way.
Years later, we went to the V&A, which has her fungi drawings, to see an exhibition of them. The dh teaches children's lit and wrote a book about children's lit sites in Britain, so we were scoping out locations for that.
She also donated a lot of land to the National Trust and was renowned for breeding sheep--Hardwicks, I think.
She was a fascinating person and, as you point out, more complex than one might assume from her children's books.
Nancy, I've wanted to see him in Cold Comfort for a while, but haven't gotten around to renting it. He was King Leopold in The Illusionist - totally unrecognizable - and was also in something Elizabethan, and I've seen him play a villain in something, but he's slurpy in Eleventh Hour. :>
Jeanne, people forget how cheesy sf movies had been up until that point. On opening day, we walked up to the booth, bought tickets, and walked right in. The theater was maybe 1/4 full. We went to the second showing, and when the first let out, a local TV reporter came out (in shorts and a t-shirt, clearly not working), saw someone he knew in the crowd, and opined that "it's great."
When I took my friend back, the line was around the theater. And so it went.
Yeah, Luke was naive, but he did have a character arc. He came a long way from reluctance to accompany Ben to Alderaan to the ability to defeat Vader with a lightsaber and recognize that winning the fight would not win the larger battle.
Jeanne, Rufus was the villain in that Heath Ledger movie, A Knight's Tale. He was actually sorta sympathetic--up until the point where he punched Heath's character while that character was tied up.
And he was the (imho, though others strongly disagree) largely spineless lover in Dangerous Beauty, which I think is R rated, justifiably.
Addison, hi--what's the Death series? Sounds interesting.
hrdwrkdmom Dianna wrote: I think it would be wiser to state I fall in love with just about every hero in every book I have ever read.
LOL, Dianna! When I was assembling my first response to the post, I could've saved some time by just saying this.
I did love Julian Lord Worth (is that the correct way to write that reference?) in Heyer's Regency Buck, the first Regency I ever read. Though I didn't like him much in huge parts of the book, I must admit. And Alverstoke in Frederica. Those are my two favorite Heyers.
As they say in Moonstruck, Nancy, THANK you, for answering my question. :> (There's another of my loves - Nick Cage - Moonstruck, Con Air, The Rock, etc.)
A Knights Tale. Loved that. Have't seen Dangerous Beauty, but if he's spineless, I'll skip it.
BTW, speaking of period pieces, I also fell in love with Cary Elwes in Princess Bride. :> He's not nearly so attractive now, the years haven't been as kind, but in PB? YUM! (As youuuuu wiiiiiiish!)
Louisa wrote: I fell in love with Hugh Jackman's Leopold in Kate and Leopold.
He really was yummy in that, wasn't he? *sigh*
Jeanne, he's not spineless all the way through. He can't marry the heroine because she's a courtesan, but they have a relationship. He does speak up for her at the end, but I thought it took too long. As I said, others with whom I saw it disagreed. Vehemently.
Hi Nancy-
The In Death series is a WONDERFUL series written by JD Robb - Nora Roberts' alter ego.
The books are about a futuristic New York (about 50 years in the future) and revolve around a homicide detective named Eve Dallas. Roarke is her husband. They meet in book one and 28 books later are still going strong.
If you haven't checked these out, I highly recommend them. I'd read an insurance manual if Nora wrote it, but these books really stand out for me as work of hers that I just love.
The first one is NAKED IN DEATH. Definitely start with the first one. These books are serious keepers!
Addison
I agree, Addison. They're keepers!
I've been in love with Roarke and one of Nora's other heros, Rogan from Born in Fire, for years.
Grins.
Gosh, Suz..
Where do I start?
I get crushes on characters--not actors. It's the role that I fall for.
Yeah, I had the crush on Han Solo. Big time. That one probably lasted two or three years. And Jeanne, you're right. Nobody gets crushes on Luke...Isn't that wierd? I think it's just that he was in such a growth arc, and although Han Solo had a growth arc, he stepped into the film in so much more "ready-made-hero" mode, to me, than did Luke. Luke was a kid and we sort of watched him grow up. Hard to fall for that. Han Solo was all man when he walked on screen. I have to wonder if that's part of the difference?
Lessee....I did have a crush on Aragorn for a little while--not long though. Never had one on Legolas. Thought he was a little too pretty.
And I know, I sound like a broken record, but I fell hard for Daniel Day Lewis in LOTM. That one lasted for years. Hmmmm. Maybe I'm still not over him.
Books...oh, man, that's harder. There have been so MANY! Lemme think a bit on that one.
Oh, Keira, congrats on the rooster!
Addison, thanks! I'll have to check these out.
Oooh, Cassondra...DDLewis in LOTMohicans. *dreamy sigh*
He's not been in anything quite so slurp worthy since.
Aragorn on the other hand...YUM. Clean though. Can't stand the greasy hair thing. (Shudder)
Booyah, booyah! The GR and i are having a lot of fun. The temps warmed up and we even have a sun break. We're so rockin'...
Decided not to subject the GR to a roasted chicken. I'll go tomorrow.
Limecello, how's the new LG? Mine is an LG, too. I love it. It has a flip-open full keyboard in maroon.
Oh,yes! I remember seeing Romeo and Juliet with my English class at the theater, too. Leonard Whiting's butt...*sigh* I sobbed during the movie then and still do!
Crushes from my youth:
Shaun Cassidy
John Travolta
Donny Osmond
My husband (in high school)
Now:
Hugh Jackman
Sean Connery
Gerard Butler
Clive Owen--do you sense a trend--men with accents!
And yes, my husband!
I just finished reading an ARC by Cindy Miles, MACGOWAN'S GHOST, and the hero, Gabe MacGowan is a tall, dark handsome Scot! My favorite! And there's a sexy pirate ghost, too. Charming book!
Usually am pulled toward darker hair
but one of my current favorites is
Simon Baker of The Mentalist, the
Aussie with the smile that just will
not quit! My all-time favorite is still my 1970s NFL running back LOL!
Pat Cochran
Pat said: My all-time favorite is still my 1970s NFL running back LOL!
Is this your DH, Pat? Or another famed NFL running back??
Keira, I'm glad you and the bird are having fun. It's pouring rain here.
Gannon, Shaun Cassidy really was cute. I wonder how the years have treated him.
I still remember the chorus to "Da Do Ran Ran" (not sure of the spelling).
Pat, Simon Baker has a big following in the Lair. Wasn't he also in The Devil Wears Prada? As the guy who helped Anne Hathaway get the ms. for the editor's kids?
PJ! You got to see DC5 and The Monkees in concert?!?!? I am soooooooooo jealous, girl!! I loved Mickey and MIke!!
Ooooooooo Jeanne...forgot about Barnabas. I mean, there was nothing pretty about him, but ooooo did you not just love that character? I rushed home from middle school every day just to catch the episode!!
And I agree about Liam. Have you seen the trailers for TAKEN? That's definietly a see at the movie with popcorn movie!!
Hey, Addison! Are you getting to play hookie from work today because of the ice in Big D?!
And how did I know Anthony Michael Hall would be at the top of your list? Probably closely followed by Daneil Craig and my man Gerard? hehehe
Hey y'all, Addison is a good friend of mine who is going to have a new book out next year with NAL!!
Hey, Miss Keira! Congratulations! You've JUST missed out on him so often, it's great to think he'll have the day with you! Ooh, and Limecello was snapping at your heels too.
Actually, Keira, the rooster just sent me a smoke signal SOS (courtesy of P226 where he learnt all his wilderness skills). He finds the snoggy-coochee-coo dance a bit scary and he wants to come back to nice warm Australia where people only threaten to lock him in the chook run!
KAATTEE!!! YOU saw The Last Of The Dogmen too? Yes, my dear, we may have been twins seperated at birth!! And wasn't Tom just gobble up good in it?
Suz, LOVE your post. I was 17 when I saw R&J with Leonard Whiting and I fell madly in love with him. It seemed the height of romance to me at the time - I still love the music. And as you know, Verity's looks were based on Olivia Hussey in that film.
I've fallen in love numerous times since then - I'm so fickle. If I see a prettier face, it's off with the old and on with the new! Actually that's not completely true - the old can exist perfectly happily with the new. Look at DDL in LOTM and Richard Armitage in North and South. Wouldn't kick either of them out of bed for eating crackers!
Nancy and Jeanne...what is it about that first Star Wars movie? My best friend had seen it 5 times by the time I got out of nursing school for summer break and dragged me to see it!! And of course I went back three more times before classes started again. It was definitely Han that had me coming back for more.
Nancy, I am quite jealous that you got to go to Beatrix home and tour!
What I found fascinating was she was an accomplished fungi painter using microscopes to see her subjects. And the drawings I've seen are quite detailed. And all that while in her late teens and twenties! Something not entirely approved of for women at the time.
Minna....I'm detecting a definite love of......Tarzan for you!!
Ah Cassondra, I think it's the characters that start our crushes on actors, and if they're really good actors, we'll transfer some of that love to the new character.
I loved Liam in Rob Roy, then in Nell, I even liked him as the bad guy in Batman Begins.
But as for DDL in LOTM....I don't think there's a better role for him before or since. And I do watch that once a month! But I also love Uncas in it!
Gannon! Yes another Romeo's butt fan! Whoohoo!
I find, my current movie crushes all have accents, not my hubby though, unless you count midwestern flat! hehehe
Pat, I've liked Simon Barker in almost everything I've seen him in, but as the Mentalist he is really good. Last night's episode especially seemed to bring out all the emotions in the man...along with his reasoning and observation skills!
Ooooo Anna, Romeo and Juliet had me crying at the end, I mean even then I wanted HEA's! If she'd just woken up sooner, if he'd just not gotten so despondant and waited just a few minutes longer.....why, oh why?
See...still makes me want them together!
Past Loves: Patrick Swayze, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Harrison Ford
Current Loves: Hugh Jackman, Daniel Craig, Patrick Dempsey, Brad Pitt, and the hero of whatever romantic novel I am reading at a given moment
GREAT post, Suz!!!
And may I just say that Gerard Butler could probably successfully play just about ANY romance hero!!! Including the hero of my new release (even if he is Irish and GB is a Scot)! :-)
I saw that same version of R&J and I bought the soundtrack. I had HUGE chunks of the dialog memorized and can probably still recite it with a couple of margaritas under my belt.
PJ, my first SERIOUS crush was on Paul McCartney too! I was 12 when I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. I had no idea what to do with him, but I WANTED PAUL BAD!!! LOL!
As for fictional heroes... Jamie Fraser, THEN, NOW, and ALWAYS!!!
AC
Suz-
You guessed it...snow day (or should I say ice day) here in Big D meant no driving to work. Conference calls are SO much better in sweatpants. It's been so much fun to sneak some hooky time and play with the Banditas!
And you know me so well! AMH and DC and GB....that about covers it!
Thanks for the excitement about the book. I am super excited to be working with NAL!
Addison
Well, all of Anna C.'s heroes for a start. Pretty much all the heroes of romances that are on my "keeper" shelves. My daughter bought me a notepad that says "She liked imaginary men best of all" because I told her reading romances is probably the main reason my marriage has survived 38 years! Sometimes I think about that fact that all these great heroes were born in the minds of women, but no...that gets too weird!
Back in the day I was all Paul McCartney, all the time. I never much liked blonds but Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy? Oh yeah, I'd make an exception for him.
LOVED Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, but not so much for Romeo. More for the whole movie: I wanted to eat it up.
Also Tom Conti in American Dreamer.
Oops! Looks like blogger somehow ate my response earlier!
Suz, I loved your post. Snork at Peter Rabbit as your first bad-boy!
Those who know me will know I can get a leeetle obsessive about books/movies/TV shows that I love. My first imaginary love was probably Gilbert in Anne of Green Gables, although my mother took me to see a stage production of Pride & Prejudice when I was 11 and I fell hard for Mr. Darcy in that one!
Keira, congrats on the rooster! And I want to see that snoggy-coochee-coo dance when I meet you next!
Oooh, Uncas! Hmm, does that sound dirty to anyone else? Clearly I've been hanging around with Tawny Depp too much recently!
Hey, Becke, thanks for the mention of my heroes. You know I don't invent them, don't you? They're alive - they just come to me and allow me to tell their stories. I have no control over them whatsoever!!!
I've been making a list of my favorite chick flicks at Barnes and Noble:
http://my.barnesandnoble.com/communityportal/List.aspx?ListID=4820690&
Addison (by the way, that's the MOST distinguished name!), congratulations on your sale! Whoo-hooo you!!!!! Can you tell us about it?
Addison, congratulations on your sale! Good for you!
Jeanne,
Not my DH, just another favorite
fellow from the distant past!
Pat C.
Hey, Cheri!
Glad you popped in today. I love your list of past crushes and new ones!
Oh, Gilbert!!! I lurve Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables.
Too bad, Pat. I adore football players. :> For the most part...slurp!
Hey, Cindy! You and Sandy Blair love some Jamie Fraser!! Must be the paranormal authors in you guys!
Hey, Becke!
I used to not be big into blondes, but Robert Redford was always an exception, then Sean Bean and now Simon Barker.
Those imaginary heroes are the best, aren't they?
I agree, Christine! Gilbert really redeamed himself for that carrot top pig-tail incident, didn't he?
Anna & Nancy-
Thank you!
I found out the news a week before Thanksgiving and am still floating! The book will be the first in a paranormal romance series about an immortal band of Greek warriors and will release in spring 2010.
Speaking of releases...Anna - TEMPT THE DEVIL is FANTASTIC!!! Congratulations on another fabulous book.
Addison
PS
I have to admit I wish snow days rolled around more often! I've had so much fun playing in the Lair all day! :-)
Wonderful post, Suz. I too fall in love a lot -- of the character kind. There was Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and well before that were several of the guys in The Young Riders, also Agent Booth on Bones. So many great characters to love.
Addison, wow, that series sound fantastic! I was a Greek myth junkie when I was a young 'un. It was sort of like the respectable way to keep reading fairytales ;-) And thanks so much for saying such lovely things about TEMPT THE DEVIL!!!!
Trish, the lovely thing about falling in love with characters is we can be a bit of a flirt and nobody really cares. I mean, I really doubt that Richard Armitage knows about my crush on Vane, Christine's latest hero. Nor would be care ;-)
Oh, this is too fun and I'm sorry I didn't find it till late in the day. Wonderful post, Suz. Most of my "men" have been mentioned here. But as for my all time favorite...ah well...Cary Grant will always be the ultimate. They just don't make 'em like that anymore.
Smoke signals? The GR has sent no such things. Your nose is growing. Ha! That must be the smoke bomb RA sent you because you claim to love Vane more than him.
Kay, I love Cary G. My mum had a lifelong crush on him and honestly, you can see why.
Hey, Miss Keira, are you telling me (chokes up and gets misty eyed) Richard actually cared about my wicked straying behavior? Oh, be still my beating heart!
This is totally unrelated (sort of), but look what I found:
http://www.amazon.com/RS002-The-Golden-Rooster/dp/B000W9E7XK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1233204409&sr=1-4
Too funny!
OMG, Becke!! Too funny!!
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