“I like to keep my washboard abs covered…. I don’t want to be that guy.”

Don’t hide them on our behalf, I say; although, Starbucks might frown upon a bare barista. (points for alliteration.) 
 
‘Tis the season to begin showing off those beach bodies, should you have them, and laying claim to the hard work of many gray days. For my part most of my body will still be as covered up as possible. Not only am I as pale as a beluga whale… I also feel like my body matches one right now. 
 
Around me, though, everyone seems to be motivated to get into shape. I even caught my dog doing sit-ups the other day… or maybe she was getting ready to puke, it is difficult to tell with her. I however feel I am doing well if I take the parking spot on the far side from Starbucks. That extra .0002 mile might make a difference.

If life is about balance, than mine is sadly out of whack right now. Email seems to have taken over the majority of my day. Even with a fantastic board, being President of my writing organization has been a bit more work than I bargained for. I’m not complaining… I have enjoyed getting to know the members and the organization as a whole better. Also, as I mentioned I get to work with an excellent group of people who are doing amazing things (check  out our writing contest on our revised website: http://rosecityromancewriters.com/contest-home/ for a great example of this).

When I am not emailing about writer stuff, my communication seems to revolve around end of the year school activities; playdates, parties, and getting things in order for the summer vacation period.  Yesterday at least I got to run around at the park while helping with the school’s field day…something that may have cut a few calories anyway.

I appear to have a limited supply of motivation… and right now it is targeted in these two basic areas, career and parenting. The problem is, from past experience I know that I become miserable when the rest of my life is not
in balance. The physical, mental, social and spiritual sides of me all need to be in some sort of alignment for me to be happy.  

But even if I start now I know I won’t have washboard abs by summer. So I’ll stay in my full-on one piece while I swim my laps in the pool this summer. And I’m good with that as long as I can enjoy the view of everyone else’s hard work while I make up for my lazy spring.

“It’s a fluff book.”

Hmmmmm, as a commercial fiction author something about that overhear rubbed me the wrong way. A patient was reading a book and had been asked by the check-in person what it was about. 

But that’s not what it’s about, I wanted to tell her; That’s just society’s hierarchical placement of Genre fiction. Somehow I think she may have moved to the far side of the room from me though, so I kept quiet.

I, for one, think all books have more value than to be presented as ‘fluff’. The FreeDictionary defines fluff as:Something having a very light, soft, or frothy consistency or appearance. 

It’s true… romance books often take a light, meaning either gentle or humorous, approach to emotional topics. And certainly there are many descriptions of soft things in them; soft fabric, soft spots, soft breasts. And frothy sounds so delicious I would actually like for my books to be described using that term. So, taken apart, the word fluff isn’t entirely out of place. 

It is the idea that fluff is of so little importance that she didn’t even want to describe the storyline that bothers me. Isn’t love the most important thing in the world? And isn’t it beautiful when it is soft and gentle (or better yet, frothy). 

This debate is interesting in that it comes on the heels of a few articles lately debating the hierarchical difference between Genre and Literary Fiction. Lev Grossman has discussed it in far greater detail than I have room for here (see Literary Revolution in the Supermarket Aisle: Genre Fiction Is Disruptive Technology). But one idea which stood out for me in his article was this  –

“There’s more than escapism going on here. Why do we seek out these hard places for our fantasy vacations? Because on some level, we recognize and claim those disasters as our own. We seek out hard places precisely because our lives are hard. When you read genre fiction, you leave behind the problems of reality — but only to re-encounter those problems in transfigured form, in an unfamiliar guise, one that helps you understand them
more completely, and feel them more deeply. Genre fiction isn’t just generic pap. You don’t read it to escape your problems, you read it to find a new way to come to terms with them.”

It reminded me of another great article I read recently describing why we cry: Why We Cry: The Fascinating Psychology of Emotional Release. The very idea of escapism takes us to a place where it is safe to explore our
own feelings about our life issues like fear or rejection or love or isolation. When we can’t find that ‘safe’ place in our own daily world perhaps we look to books for it. 

After all, the best definition of fluff takes us directly there…  A covering of soft feathers, like down. To me that sounds like the perfect haven for emotional release.

“They told me Fabio was over in the produce section.”

A couple of months ago I wrote about creating great covers for our novels and so my ears were highly tuned in when I stood at the register of my favorite grocery store here in Portland and Fabio’s name was mentioned.

Sadly, he was not actually there in that store. The person was talking about a trip she’d made to Hawaii and a store she had been in there. The rest of the overhear was just as interesting. Apparently Fabio had been surrounded by fans (like, who knew?) and this woman couldn’t even get close.

I’m not terribly good at celebrity spotting; I once walked right by Barbara Walters and didn’t even realize it was her until I heard her voice as I passed. When I lived in London I used to keep my eyes peeled all the time for Madonna or Hugh Grant; and the thing is, I probably went right by them numerous times without even knowing it. 

However, I have to think Fabio I would recognize. He has been so pervasive on covers I can’t imagine any woman, my age, not knowing him. That said… I also can’t imagine making any effort to get near him; unless it was to ask about his experiences as a cover model. Personally, I’m attracted to a more clean cut type, like George Clooney or that model I always see in Vogue or Conde Naste Traveller who is usually shirtless and on a sailboat.

My knight in shining armor is more likely to pull up in a convertible Mercedes than on horseback… and he certainly is not wearing any armor, (unless it is Armani). I suppose that is why I love to write contemporary romance rather than historical… it is far easier for me to associate with modern-day heroes.

What is even more interesting, though, is discovering the type of hero my main character finds attractive. They run the gamut of tall and gangly with sandy colored hair, to medium height, athletic with curly brown hair, to tall, super athletic with straight dark hair and blue eyes. I see each of them very differently and each are uniquely suited to my
main character. Jessica, for example, would never be attracted to my hero in Molto Mayhem but then Lucia would never like Erik, Jessica’s hero.

The main thing though, is even if I could get a picture of Fabio, I doubt he’d be appropriate for any of my heroes. I’ll let you be the judge though…

I can’t bring him to New Seasons for you, but I can bring him (in photos anyway) to my blog.