Saturday, October 16, 2010

Not Only Opposites Attract

posted by Nancy

Madeline Hunter makes her Lair debut today. For any of you who don't know, she is a six-time Rita finalist and a two-time winner. Fifteen of her books have received 4/12-star review from Romantic Times magazine, and her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Waldenbooks paperback fiction, and the New York Times.

I've loved Madeline's books since the very first one, By Arrangement, and am delighted to have her with us. Welcome, Madeline!

There is that old saying that opposites attract. There are a lot of romances that use that device when developing the hero and heroine. I am writing a book right now that does. In my recent release, Sinful in Satin, the hero and heroine are not opposites, however. Instead, they have a lot in common. The ways they are different do not interfere with them finding happily ever after, either. The ways that they are similar do.

Both Celia Pennifold and Jonathan Albrighton have lived their lives on the edges of society. Celia is the daughter of a courtesan and the bastard of a lord whose name her mother never revealed. Jonathan is also the bastard of a lord, but he knows the name very well. That lord’s family refuses to recognize him as having their blood, however. Attaining that recognition is a major goal for him. Learning the identity of her father, and meeting him, is a major goal for Celia.

These goals, and both characters’ illegitimacy, play important roles in the story and in their conflict. Because of her mother, Celia knows she will never be “accepted.” She is aware that Jonathan stands a good chance of that acceptance, however, and that he wants it badly. His chances will be much reduced, if not eliminated, if his name is connected publicly to that of the “whore’s daughter.”

Both characters also have views regarding good and bad that are different from society’s. Celia was raised to see sexuality as very normal in a woman’s life, as a right, and not something wicked or embarrassing. She is well trained in giving and finding pleasure, but she is unprepared for the emotions that can accompany sensuality ---emotions that complicate the practical views she holds when she first becomes Jonathan’s lover.

Jonathan has done bad things in the name of good in the past. Those acts led him into a state of moral ambiguity that has numbed his soul. In Celia, for all her scandalous upbringing, despite her education for a courtesan’s life, he discovers an innocent radiance that illuminates the darkest corners of his heart. It is all the more painful, then, when it becomes as clear to him as it has been to her all along, that he may someday have to choose between her and the great goal of his life.

Sinful in Satin is the third book of The Rarest Blooms series. It can be read independently, however. It has deep emotions and also moments of laugh out loud humor. I am proud that has spent two weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. More information, an excerpt, and a video, can be found on my web site www.MadelineHunter.com

Do you like “opposites attract” stories?
Of the couples you know whose love lasted, were they opposites, or did they have a lot in common? (My parents were opposites. Boy, were they!)
If you have a significant other, is that person a lot like you?

Madeline is giving a copy of Sinful in Satin to one commenter today, so check back late tonight to see who the winner is.

121 comments:

jo robertson said...

Ooooh, I'm sneaking in early tonight. Mayhap I'll get the rooster from Daz????

Welcome to the Lair, Madeline. I love the sound of your recent series and especially the adventurous take of SINFUL IN SIN.

Definitely adding it to my TBR list.

Nancy said...

Jo, you're taking the bird home? Congrats. I know you'll keep a sharp eye on him.

jo robertson said...

Duh, forgot to address the question. I definitely like stories of opposites attracting. Generally it makes for better conflict. But I am intrigued by this story, Madeline, where the characters are alike in many ways, but some powerful something keeps them apart.

In real life, opposites attracting can make for a wild, temptuous ride, but an interesting journey.

jo robertson said...

Thanks, Nancy. I have good use for the rooster Saturday because my regular house-cleaner "dumped" me. This has never happened to me before and I'm crushed. Okay, I'm also lazy at house-cleaning, but come on, my house needs hardly any cleaning because I keep it up regularly.

Sigh. Does anyone feel sorry for me yet?

Sheree said...

Although I do enjoy reading opposites attract stories, I don't know of any such couples in real life.

Anna Campbell said...

Hey, Jo, you got the chook! It's a while since he's been to California!

Nancy, thank you SOOOOOO much for having Madeline here today.

Madeline, pardon me for a moment, but EEEEEEEEEEEE! Yes, that was a very loud and rather prolonged fan girl squeal!

OK, takes deep breath, I'll say something sensible now!

Anna Campbell said...

Madeline, I had the best weekend about two weeks ago. I turned off the computer - which is difficult! And I curled up with the three Rarest Blooms books. I tend to do that with your stories - save them for a time I can savour them. Of course, then I wanted the fourth one but I'll just have to wait. Sigh.

I adore your writing. You're someone who never lets me down and I love the way you tell such luscious, intelligent stories! Yay, you! Like Nancy, I've been a fan since BY ARRANGEMENT. This will make you smile - Isolde Martyn who's a friend of mine brough an ARC from this previously unknown author back from RWA that year and lent it to me, saying I'd love it. She was right!

I love opposites attract stories. I also love stories when superficially you think the hero and heroine are opposites but in fact they have vast amounts in common. I think that's true about my books. At the deepest level, there's always a consonance!

Anna Campbell said...

Madeline, I'd love to hear how you got started writing romance.

Jane said...

Congrats on the new release, Madeline. I do enjoy opposites attract stories. I know some couples who are complete opposites, but their relationships work because of their differences and how they complement each other.

Congrats on the GR, Jo.

kaisquared said...

I am not so sure if opposites attract in any couples I know, more like two people complement each other and bring out the best in each other.

Unknown said...

Great post, Madeline.

I love opposties attract stories, largely because they remind me of my hubs and I.

He's all sports and newspapers, hands-on work and tidy living spaces. He drinks water and coke, and eats beef schnitzel. He's a quiet homebody.

I'm all novels and music, creativity and imagination. I am also messy. I like coffee and red wine, and will take a lobster over a deep fried hunk of meat any day of the week. We've just discovered he's allergic to shellfish, which widens the divide even more. :) I'm noisy and I love dressing up and going out, dragging my boy behind me if I can.

Written like that, it seems like our differences are huge! But, in the sixteen years we've been together, we've nearly always agreed on fundamental moral issues, which is a firm common base. The rest is just compromise.

Although, it's a bit scary that the kids who take after me are the most concerning. :)

I love it in a story, because it's instant conflict that hits you right from the start. How will they ever come together?

My repertoire of read historicals is growing all the time. I've just finished Anna Campbell's UNTOUCHED, and it was fabulous. So, if she's a fan, I'm in too! (I heard her squee and had to come see...)

Kim in Baltimore said...

Aloha, Madeline! I met you at RT/2008 in Pittsburgh. Having only discovered romances a few years before that, I was just tickled pink to meet the author who had I eagerly read while living in Europe!

"Opposites attack" provides the natural conflict for a romance story ... but it also gives teh hero and heroine to discover things in common, too!

Deanna said...

Hey well done, Jo. I saw him up for grabs but then decided that 4 days in a row would be greedy so went to take a nap instead. *grin* Have fun with him.

As to opposites attracting, I'm sure that they do. I've seen lots of examples of that happening though from personal experience, the relationship did not last long because there just was not enough to hold us together. My DH and I are very similar in many ways, but different in many ways as well.

I love the summary of "Sinful in Satin" and I'm going to add it to my reading list.

Helen said...

Well done Jo and make him clean he really needs to something I am sure he has been lazing around here in Oz for too long.

Whoo Hoo and waving to Madeline I must confess that I have not yet read any of your books but they are on the TBR pile I have your last four books waiting for me to read YAY. I have heard so many great things about them that I buy them when they are released and then I can sit down and read them one after the other.

Thanks Nancy for inviting Madeline along today. I too would like to know how you came to write romance as well

Have Fun
Helen

Helen said...

As for opposites attracting I love those stories they always seem to be stormy till that wonderful HEA. My Hubby and I are not opposites I don't think anyway sure we have different opinions on things and it makes for a lively discussion but I think that after 33 years of marriage we are similar or maybe that has happened over the years LOL

Have Fun
Helen

Helen said...

Hi Daz

Our romance reader group is having lunch in the City next Sunday if you would like to join us we would love to have you there

Have Fun
Helen

Christine Wells said...

Madeline, welcome to the lair! We're so excited to have you with us today. Nancy, thank you for luring Madeline to talk with us.

I've been devouring the Rarest Blooms series and I'm impatiently awaiting delivery of Sinful in Satin, which I have on order. You seem to be having a lot of fun with the Duke of Castleford! I love that he only considers important business matters on Tuesdays so he can be drunk for the rest of the week. (Hmm, does that say something about me? I hope not!) I think Summerhays still has my heart, though. He is just devastating. Do you have any secret to writing fantastic heroes?

As for the opposites attract question, I think it's good to have some contrast in a relationship but it doesn't mean the couple has to be diametrically opposed on everything. I like a couple to complement one another but also have a lot of common ground at a fundamental level. A lot of that has more to do with outlook than their goals and ambitions. It sounds like you have two sides of the same coin with Jonathon and Celia. Can't wait to read this one!

Jo, congrats on the rooster!

Deanna said...

Hey Helen, thanks so much. I sent you an email.

Kirsten said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Congrats Jo... it is about time he left downunder....

Madeline... I don't think my DH and I are opposites or maybe we have been together for too long and have learnt to get on LOL 46 years tomorrow.... mind you I don't mind reading about opposites as long as there is a HEA

Daz hope to see you at our lunch next Sunday

Minna said...

I like both kinds of stories. But if the opposites don't seem to have ANYTHING in common, you wonder if it would really last.

Well, I saw more bear paw prints today. The bear had obviously come back. And it seems he likes to walk along the road.

Deanna said...

Barb, I can't make lunch - previous appointment, but hoping I can make dessert at the Lindt Cafe? I'm exchanging a few emails with Helen to hopefully sort something out.

elizabeth said...

Thanks Banditas for hosting MH. I'm a big fan and can't wait for this book to arrive in my mailbox.

The attraction of opposites can be a lot of fun, but I think I prefer it when and author can pull off the more difficult task of sustaining an emotionally satisfying and convincing story of people with greater commonalities. Such stories resonate with me, and with readers because that's what happens most often in real life. If an author can take us on that journey, it's just more personally satisfying than the high drama of the huge conflict of opposites.

But I must say, no matter if the hero and heroine are opposites or not, I'll buy anything the Divine Ms. Hunter writes, because I know I'll love it!

Kiwifruit & Cheese said...

Enjoyed the post Madeline, thanks.

Yes I too love the opposites attract stories, especially when the heroine is written as a little plain and the hero is drop dead gorgeous. It puts him in a wonderful light when you realise he looks through the facade to see her inner beauty....(sighs).

Hubby and I have a lot in common but also a few opposites, enough to keep life interesting...lol.

Your books sounds wonderful, can't wait to read it!!

Scorpio M. said...

Hi, Madeline!

I think couples who are opposites make a compelling love story. To see the beauty of someone different from one is very admirable. It takes a lot of respect and compromise though. If one loves solitude and the other is a lively, social butterfly. It won't work.

Nancy said...

Jo, I always feel sorry about cleaning!

Nancy said...

Sheree, thanks for stopping by!

Nancy said...

Anna, I like to do that--save books that fit together and read in one big burst. Your heroes and heroines do have something similar underneath their differences. It's frequently some form of emotional torture in their pasts, but that similarity, I think, helps them understand each other.

Nancy said...

Hi, Jane. I like the idea of complementary opposites. The dh and I are sort of that way. He's good in the kitchen, and I'm good with electronics. He likes quiet stories. I like things that blow up.

Nancy said...

Hi, Kaisquared, as I was saying to Jane, the dh and I are sort of complementary opposites. But we both love books, and we both enjoy reading fantasy. He prefers emphasis on character, without too much torment, and I want character, but I also like stuff going boom.

Christie Kelley said...

Welcome to the lair, Madeline!

I'm a huge fan and can't wait to read this book. I love opposite attract stories. But for me while they may be opposites there has to be some similarities for the love to bloom.

My husband and I are opposites in many ways but we also have a lot in common.

Nancy said...

Emmeline, you and your hubs sound like a great pair. I like to dress up, too, but the dh can't wait to shed a tie anytime he has to wear one.

I tend to be messier than he is, and he's a much better cook.

Nancy said...

Hi, Kim--Isn't it fun to meet authors whose books we love? That's one of the fun things about RWA for me.

I met Madeline when she came to my local RWA chapter to do a program.

Nancy said...

Daz, you make a great point, I think, about the need for some commonality underlying the differences for a relationship to work.

Nancy said...

Helen, someone else who reads in bursts! :-)

I tend to read a series as the books come out, but if life is nuts, I'll save them, as I said earlier, and read in one marathon, just immerse myself, and that can be great fun.

Nancy said...

Christine, you're striking a chord a lot of people have today, with the need for something complementary under the differences.

You wrote: I love that he only considers important business matters on Tuesdays so he can be drunk for the rest of the week. (Hmm, does that say something about me?

I've seen you tend to business on multiple days of the week, so I suspect not. Restricting chores to just one day a week would be great.

vanessa said...

I loved Madeline's books. She knows how to grab the readers attention and keep it. The whole time i was reading it I was saying to myself Celia thinks he's going to go away and he's not. I loved every min of it and cant wait til the next one. Now that is going to be true oppisite's attraction.

Nancy said...

Hi, Kirsten. Opposites seem to have more immediate potential for conflict. I also like stories where the hero and heroine seem perfect for each other but there's this one big, difficult thing keeping them apart.

Nancy said...

Hi, Barb. Congrats on your 46 years! How terrific!

Janga said...

Hi, Madeline! I am loving The Rarest Bloom series. I read Sinful in Satin the day I got it and posted my five-star review on GoodReads. Like Anna, I am eagerly awaiting Dangerous in Diamonds now.

I know lots of successful pairings of opposites in RL, but in every case the opposites in experience, temperament, and/or tastes share core values and goals. I need to see that same kind of commonality to believe in fictional HEAs.

Maureen said...

Congratulations on your new book and it's success. I do like stories where opposites attract because the couple has to make a real effort to find a middle ground.

Nancy said...

Minna, a bear? Wow! Here in the city, our idea of wildlife is the rabbit that comes through to graze every now and again. We did see a peregrine falcon in our yard a couple of weeks ago, though. Sitting on a tree branch, blithely ignoring us as we stood under it talking.

I suspect it figured it could take any of us, and it probably could.

I like commonality under the h/h's differences, too.

Nancy said...

Elizabeth wrote: I think I prefer it when and author can pull off the more difficult task of sustaining an emotionally satisfying and convincing story of people with greater commonalities.

I agree that's tougher, or at least it seems so to me. Making a conflict real between people who are similar takes more digging, I think.

Nancy said...

Hi, Janga. Waiting for the next book in a series can be torture, can't it?

Nancy said...

Kim Colby wrote: Yes I too love the opposites attract stories, especially when the heroine is written as a little plain and the hero is drop dead gorgeous. It puts him in a wonderful light when you realise he looks through the facade to see her inner beauty....(sighs).


I enjoy these, too. It gives the hero depth right off the bat.

Nancy said...

Scorpio, for me the fun of seeing opposites in a story is watching them work out those compromises you mentioned.

Nancy said...

Janga, waiting for the next book in a series can be torturous, can't it?

Nancy said...

Hi, Christie--I like the similarities under the differences, too.

Nancy said...

Hi, Vanessa--Isn't it great when the author keeps us guessing that way?

Nancy said...

Hi, Maureen--I like that struggle for the middle ground, too.

vanessa said...

Me and my boyfriend are total oppisites. First I'm from NJ an he's from AL. So we have major difference on alot of things. But we have been in a relationship for 4 and a half years and are about to get married. He's the more laid back type and I'm the more outgoing type who wants to do things. So i believe oppisites do attract and can truely live happily ever after!

vanessa said...

Hi Nancy, yes it is great that is one thing i love about books. What are the chracters going to do next and will i like it or be mad at the characters for actin crazy.

Nancy said...

Vanessa, the dh and I come from different parts of the country, too. He grew up in the Colorado Front Range, and I'm from a small town in North Carolina.

I say "Coke" (because, with due deference to Jo, and to the people who make RC in this part of the country, there is no other cola in my universe), and he says "pop."

Congrats on your 4+ years together and your upcoming marriage! I hope all your wedding arrangements go smoothly.

Joan said...

Good morning Madeline and welcome to The Lair!


Sinful in Satin sounds fabulous and I mean FABULOUS! I adore opposites attract storylines. So much more emotional vs societal rule conflict. Yum.

vanessa said...

Thanks and i know what you mean i say im gonna get some groceries he says he gonna make grocies. hes tried to explain why he says it but it still doesn make sense to me. but i love him.

pjpuppymom said...

Hi Madeline! I've been having a wonderful time reading the stories of your Rarest Blooms and,like others, I'm also eagerly anticipating Dangerous in Diamonds!

I enjoy the conflict, comedy and all-important compromise that comes with romance between opposites. While my late dh and I shared the same core values and some common interests, in most ways we were opposites. It kept our 26 years together interesting, lively and never, ever boring! lol!

Donna MacMeans said...

On my way out the door so I'll be back later - but just wanted to share a story with Madeline. One of my client's employees is an avid romance reader. Right before heading out for an RWA convention, I asked her if there was an author she'd like to receive an autographed book from. I figured with all the authors signing at the literacy signing, I could indulge her in this. She chose you. Unfortunately, you didn't attend that year, but I've always remembered that you were the first name on her list.

Have a great day in the lair. I'll be back.

Donna MacMeans said...

Oh - and welcome back to the USA to the GR!

Deb said...

Hi, one and all.

I like opposites-attract stories and agree with Kim C. when the heroine is just a little bit on the plain or bluestocking side and the hero is handsome and he sees that something special in her.
I also like the girl-boy-next-door stories, too, where the hero realizes that the precocious "brat" has grown up into a pretty and desirable young woman.

Unknown said...

OMG, I sleep in after a night of deadlining writing, and wake to all these comments! You guys are wonderful. I'm getting some coffee and will be right back.

Unknown said...

Jo, I hope you enjoy SiS! And I feel sorry for anyone who has house cleaning in her post, even if she isn't going to do it herself

Unknown said...

Hi, Anna! Thank you for the very nice words from a very wonderful writer. How is Isolde? I haven't seen her in years, but remember meeting her at a few RWA conferences.
I did not realize people did what you do---hold off and read a series all at once back to back---until a couple of years ago. You have more self-discpline that I do. I tend to grab and read at once.

Unknown said...

Jane and Kaisquared, I think that is the cool part about writing opposites attract---how they discover that they do complement each other, and have that deeper "in common". My parents were very different in personality and interests, but their values and life goals were identical.

Unknown said...

Emmeline, my DH and I are like you and yours. I like to think he adores my differences, LOL. Even my messiness (um, no, probably not). Now, we both read, but we read very different things. You can tell which are his shelves, and which are mine.

Unknown said...

Hi, Kim in H---- that was some conference. I was so glad to get there and meet readers like you. Can you believe that hotel still is not finished. It just went into bankruptcy and lost its Hilton name. Took long enough!

Nancy said...

Joanie, I think emotional versus societal conflict is the heart of romance versus, oh, SFF or thrillers. Societal conflict may ramp up the emotional conflict in a romance, and often does, but it can't be everything. I find that even though I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy, I gravitate toward authors who have a romantic arc in their books. It makes the characters more rounded for me.

Unknown said...

Anna and Helen, I am one of those "I wrote my whole life" people. I had written two novels (unpublished, and never will be) prior to romance. I found romance late as a reader, got very hooked, and decided to try one. It was very exciting---I loved writing that story---so I kept going. It took a while to get published, but all the romance novels I wrote were eventually published, although the earliest ones did havre some revisions firt :)

Nancy said...

Vanessa, I chuckled over the "get" versus "make" on the groceries. Nobody in the South says "pop" for soda. We call it by the brand name. Isn't it funny how different areas have different customs?

Unknown said...

Christine, I am writing Castleford's story now. That is always a challenge---writing guys like him, and going into their heads. I hope I am doing well by him.
It is the going into their heads that help me write male characters, and if you think I do it well, thank you! It is a little disconcerting to become a man when I write those scenes, but I try to so that they will have some depth and be human, and not charicatures. And, of course, I make them what I would like men to be. I sometimes quiz DH on that. How would a man react to this? He has been helpful in saying "No man would do that. Ever. It is wimpy." sometimes.

Nancy said...

Hi, PJ--Interesting that so many of us this morning are pointing out compromise as a key to relationships between opposites. The dh and I compromise on the hours we keep.

He's a morning person (one of those who's fully functional about the same time the sun is), and I'm a night owl. Ten is the perfect time for my morning to start, though life usually forces me out earlier. We sort of juggle the time.

Nancy said...

Hi, Deb--"Girl next door" stories are fun, aren't they? I like those, too. I suspect one reason I like bluestocking heroines is that I kinda am a bluestocking. Definitely a book geek, anyway.

Unknown said...

Kirsten, Barb and Minna, as I write my current book, the finding common ground on important things is what is the challenge. This hero must change, or readers will hang me. But I also know some readers want to make sure that he still remains who he is. Hopefully, the fuller "who he is" that is in the book will allow those readers to accept the changes. We will see :)

Nancy said...

Madeline, I'm sure we're all rooting for you on the deadline. We want ot read that book!

Unknown said...

Thank you, Elizabeth. I really appreciate your support!

Kim, I love the different levels of beauty too. I enjoy seeing that heroine through the hero's eyes,and he does not see her as plain, and never describes her that way. The same with other than thin heroines. The hero sees a womanly lushness, not chubbiness. In my current wip, people think the heroine is a bit cold. The hero realizes at once that her composure and rereserve is a shield (that he delights in making her drop.)

Nancy said...

Oops--that's we want TO read that book, not OT. *sigh* Shouldn't od this without my glasses.

Unknown said...

scorpio, I think that you are right and if opposites attract, it will only work long term with a lot of respect for each other's preferences. I think that can work even with the different social things, though, too. A middle point can be found, if each one moves a little.

Unknown said...

Janga, thank you, and thank you very much for the review.

vanessa, I am so glad you liked it too.

Maureen, that is the cool part of opposites attract for a writer---having the h/h realize they care enough to make those compromises, and care enough to see that some change would be good for the relationship. It requires a kind of selflessness, even if the change is small.

Unknown said...

Hi, Nancy---yeah, I am in deep do-do on this deadline. But it is pouring out, so I am not panicking. As long as my fingers can move, I should be okay.
I'll be dropping in again a little later, guys. I really appreciate the warm welcome here.

MrsTemple said...

Reading now! Have homework so I need to put it down! Thank you for all of your wonderful books! Read them all!!

Kristi said...

Hi everybody! :-)

Madeline, I love your books and I am proud to say I have ALL of them on my Keeper shelf. Some of them I have read many times when I don't have a new book! As far as opposites attract goes, I do enjoy those kinds of scenarios but to be honest I am not as particular about that as long as the storyline is mostly unique and the dialogue is excellent. The characters obviously have to have robust personalities and great chemistry. I love my females with a backbone and no fear of saying what is on their mind! And alpha males are a favorite, but as long as he's strong and confident, I'm pretty happy! Can't wait to get the newest book!! Peace!

c21joanne said...

LOve, love her books!!!

catslady said...

My husband and I are definite opposites!!! Of course that's what attracted him to me and vice versa. We've been married 41 years and never a dull moment. Sometimes I think I would have had a less stressful life with someone more like me but I probably would have been bored to death lol. I especially love reading about opposites lol.

Nancy said...

Juli, thanks for stopping by, and good luck with the homework!

Nancy said...

Hi, Kristi--I like heroines with backbone, too.

Nancy said...

C21joanne, thanks for stopping by! We love Madeline's books, too.

Nancy said...

Catslady, congrats on your 41 years! I'd rather have a little stress than be bored, too.

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Hi Madeline!!! **Waving madly**

So great to have you in the Bandit's Lair! I love your books, as you know from when we met at WRW several years ago.

So exctied about the new book. Just popping in to wave and say hi before I head back out to baseball tournament games. Grins.

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Hey Jo! Make that bird work 'round the house, or hand with the grandkids and get chased around or something. He's been eating tooooo many TimTams down at Helen's house. :>

Barbara E. said...

I do enjoy opposites attract stories. Of the significant others I've had in my life, they were definitely opposite of my personality and I think that was a good thing. We had a few things in common, but our differences complimented each other, such as their extroversion brought me out of my shell, etc.

Sinful in Satin sounds like a great story, and the more I hear about it, the more excited I am to read it.

Barbed1951(at)aol(dot)com

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

WOO HOO!!! Welcome to the madness that is the Lair, Madeline! Like everyone, I'm sooo thrilled to have you here and grateful to Nancy for enticing you over for a visit.

Your latest book sounds just as fabulous as your previous ones! Can't wait to get my hands on it, and that cover is LUSCIOUS. I do love a good opposites attract story, since my DH and I are opposite in so many ways. But couples with something in common can be equally as fun. ;-)

Congrats Jo-Mama on snagging the GR. I say he should start with bathroom cleaning duty, as I happen to know that is your LEAST favorite of all the icky housecleaning chores. :-P

AC

Nancy said...

Hi, Barbara, hanging with somebody who's really different can be fun, can't it? I dated a couple of people who were really different from me, but there wasn't enough common ground for things to last.

Nancy said...

AC, isn't that a gorgeous cover? The cover fairy likes Madeline, I think. She always has fabulous covers.

Nancy said...

Jeanne, I hope your guys win!

Nancy said...

Jo, I second AC's suggestion re: cleaning bathrooms. Not long before our lab died, the GR was here, and she stood over him until the shower and toilet met U.S. Navy standards for clean (per my training from my parents, though I don't always live up to it).

jo robertson said...

Sheree said...
Although I do enjoy reading opposites attract stories, I don't know of any such couples in real life

That's probably because they're no longer couples, Sheree LOL!

jo robertson said...

Thanks, Daz, for leaving the rooster for me. I've put him to good use today!

jo robertson said...

Madeline said, "Jo, I hope you enjoy SiS! And I feel sorry for anyone who has house cleaning in her post, even if she isn't going to do it herself."

Thanks for the sympathy, Madeline! I can't wait to read this series, especially after all the wonderful comments about your books.

Can you tell us a little about the first two books in the series?

Anna Campbell said...

Ooh, Emmeline! Who's my favorite lobster eater? Hmm, that sounds kinda naughty! ;-) So cool you loved UNTOUCHED. And I love your description of your marriage. My parents were like that - on the surface quite different (especially in their younger years - they grew towards each other as they got older a bit like big, old trees) but at a rock level, they agreed on a lot of stuff.

Anna Campbell said...

Madeline, Isolde is a wonderful writer, isn't she? Reading her THE LADY AND THE UNICORN inspired me to have one more go at writing a historical (I'd basically given up at the time after all those years of trying and not getting anywhere). She's writing more in the historical fiction line at the moment - some really interesting projects!

Anna Campbell said...

Wow, I just noticed how lovely your message was! THANK YOU! It's very early in the morning here and I've got a Mammoth short story to finish - I'm just out of bed and I'm as dopey as a very dopey person.

Unknown said...

Thank you, PJ. I am so glad you are enjoying the series.

Donna, if you have a way to get in touch with that reader, please send it to me and I will send her some signed plates at least.

Unknown said...

Juli, you are a good student if you put down a novel to do homework. I was known to keep saying "one more chapter" when I had homework in the olden days, I'm afraid.

Unknown said...

wow, you have them all, Kristi. I am really flattered, and that you reread some of them. Thank you.

c21joann, thank you!

catslady, I like to thnk that the way DH and I are different keep things interesting. It helps that he loves me enough to see my differences as cute, and not irritating, of course :)

Unknown said...

Jeanne! Hi, girlfriend! Thanks for dropping in on what must be a busy day.

Barbara, I think the quiet ones like you gravitate to more extroverted types. My father was quiet, but my mom sure wasn't. LOL. She could keep up both sides of their conversations, if necessary. She did draw him out of his shell, too. But she let him have that quiet time in his head as well.

Unknown said...

Loucinda, I loved the cover on this one too. We writers are known to hold our breaths on that, since the publishers just do it pretty much as they choose. My next one has a cover I really like as well. I just saw the proof yesterday (big exhale of relief when I opened the file!)

Unknown said...

Anna, yes, Isolde is so talented. It is cool that her book inspired you to take another shot. See how things work out in this world?

Nancy said...

Anna, I loved The Lady and the Unicorn, and meeting Isolde in person at RWA was a real joy. I look forward to seeing another book from her.

Anna Campbell said...

Hey, Nancy, you know Isolde? You two would get on like a house on fire - you could talk about those Plantagenet neighbours!!! ;-)

Nancy said...

Anna, Isolde and I ended up standing in a corner at the DC conference prior to this last and talking exactly that, Plantagenets. She's a member of RIII Society's Australian branch. Or was. I keep meaning to renew my US branch membership. And here it is October, the start of their membership year.

It's an omen.

Minna said...

Minna, a bear? Wow! Here in the city, our idea of wildlife is the rabbit that comes through to graze every now and again.

Yes, Nancy, a bear. He should be asleep by now, but there was so little food for bears this year, that he might very well stay awake all winter. And you know, "city bears" aren't unheard of around here -even in Helsinki area, but the those bears often get a bullet to some part of their anatomy if they don't find their way back to forest fast enough.

Nancy said...

Minna, I hope this bear goes back to the forest quickly.

Christine Wells said...

Nancy, thanks for the vote of confidence! In fact, I tend to be the reverse of Castleford--I only drink one day a week! Otherwise, I'm useless for writing.

Madeline, you are, indeed, one of the best in the business at writing the male point of view. So glad to hear the current book is flowing so well. Good luck with the deadline. I can't wait to read this one!

Louisa Cornell said...

Way to catch the bird, Jo! Maybe you can wean him from that decadent Aussie treatment!

Can I just say SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE right along with La Campbell. I am such a huge fan of your books Madeline and have been from the beginning! And you will always hold a special part in my writer's heart as you are the one who called to tell me The Raven's Heart was a GH finalist!

I just finished Sinful in Satin recently and I absolutely LOVED it! Then again I have loved them all. The romances are SO lush and the characters are so intriguing and simply demand that you care about them.

My question is, how do you manage to get better and better with every book you write? Each one is a jewel but as each one comes out I marvel at the endless depth and breadth of your stories.

I like an opposites attract story. My Dad was a hard-partying, rowdy rough Pennsylvania Welshman. My Mom is a Native American Steel Magnolia from Alabama. They wrote to each other for a year before they ever met. (He was stationed in Germany with her brothers, saw a photo of her and wrote her a letter. It was the 50's and having a military man as a pen pal was not a novelty.)

They met May 4th. They had one date. They married May 11th and were married for over 40 years when we lost Dad.

Their differences complimented each other and both of them made compromises to make their marriage work.

The most important thing, I think, was that they were best friends. They genuinely enjoyed each others company, accepted each others differences and laughed all the time. I didn't know it then, but I know now our home was a rare place in which to grow up.

Anna Campbell said...

Louisa, I always love to hear about your parents! That's such a romantic story!

Nancy said...

Louisa, what a wonderful story about your parents! Thanks for sharing it.

Beverley Eikli aka Beverley Oakley said...

Hi Madeline, I love the concept of your novel - definitely something I'd love to read! Thank you for giving such a deep and thoughtful analysis of two intriguing characters. I like the idea that it's the factors that they have in common which provide the conflict. Great emotional fodder!

Beverley

Nancy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nancy said...

Beverley, doesn't this book sound great? Thanks for stopping by.

Trish Milburn said...

Madeline, sorry I'm just getting here today. I've been at a Deb Dixon workshop all day.

I love opposites attract stories, but your story of characters with similar backgrounds sounds really interesting. And I love that cover, that pink dress.

Nancy said...

Hi, Trish--Glad you made it by. Yes, that's a gorgeous cover, isn't it?

Nancy said...

Just a reminder that the prize post will go up at the end of the day, so please check back.