Samhain Publishing

Thanksgiving at my in-laws was a fairly typical affair—the now young teen nephew and nieces eating in a frenzy, then shuffling off to their corners to check emails, voicemails, and fan forums. Somewhere after about 1990, I lost track of what turns on kids. Hanna Montana? What’s that? High School Musical? Shudder.

There are a few universals, however, and I pulled them out just before my MIL was about to start fuming over the lack of familial bonding. Books. My husband’s niece is sixteen going on thirty, loves the paranormal and scifi, and of course, has developed a dozen hardcore crushes on stars. Aha! A prime candidate for a paranormal romance. I hopped into my car, drove the 10 minute round trip to my home, and returned with the booty.

My husband’s nephew is a tough nut to crack. Brilliant, a little shy, a trife arrogant. I drew him out with talk of Lovecraft and Robert Jordan. He hadn’t read Piers Anthony? I drew him into a long conversation about the great names in scifi and fantasy. Dazzled him with Asimov. Mesmerized him with a summary of Thomas Covenant’s story.

The little girl likes suspense, but hasn’t read Nancy Drew! Throw away that American Girl stuff, I ordered.

I’m not a parent, and I admire those who have to day in and day out find ways to talk to reach their children’s inner lives, their imaginations.

You know so many wonderful books, don’t you? I watched Black Friday shoppers wrangling over items that plug in, and tune out the outside world. I skipped those items, and went to the book section. Books are (relatively) cheap, and are treasures far beyond the cover price. What else gives you a return for under $20 that lasts a lifetime? Long after the barking iPod holder breaks, I’ll be able to talk to the kids about their first tastes of some very magical books. Books ARE magic. They’re better when you share them, and get better with age. The only other thing I can think of like that is cheese, and no teenager wants a good round of bleu for the holidays.

Happy Bonding!
Ciar Cullen

Happy Labor Day weekend to those of you in the states. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union.

There’s no other “peoples’” holiday, really. It’s not about religion, wars, etc. It’s for everyone who works. I heard recently (okay, it was on a game show), that about 20% of Americans work two jobs.

I got thinking about romance novels. I just wrote the ending to Unholy Vows, my Sept. 7 release at Samhain. My character, a reincarnated spirit of a character from the “main story” needed a job. I was going to make her a lawyer, or a shop owner, thought about a professor (I tend to overdo that one).

It struck me that it would be much more appropriate to make her a Walmart associate. A clerk in a store. Because, honestly, isn’t that the sort of job most Americans have? Why are our stories always about CEOs, detectives (they are rarely beat cops), etc. How many of us really have those jobs?

I know, romance is escape. But can’t we escape into the worlds of folks we know, folks who represent the real world? They aren’t all miserable, blue collar workers like my family. They fall in love, too. I’m a little tired of sheiks and vamps and whatnot.

I love Labor Day. The end of summer makes me sad, but there’s a promise of a snap in the air and new beginnings, a leftover feeling from going back to school. New notebooks and pencils, new shoes.

Have a good one!

Ciar Cullen http://www.ciarcullen.com

Get your mind out of the gutter! I meant, book your hero an appointment with a therapist. He won’t go, of course, because he’s an alpha, right? He doesn’t have time for nonsense—he’s busy out saving his kind or rescuing the heroine. But perhaps you can be the therapist—and apply some basic psych concepts to the hero you’re reading about or creating. It will tell you a lot about yourself!

I asked readers on my Yahoo group to tell me what they like in a hero. Because I think the whole alpha/beta/gamma thing is not only worn out, it’s wrong. My pals didn’t mention hair color or big, um, attributes. No talk of fangs or fur or immortality. To a person, they wanted a guy who knows what he wants, will take care of things and them, and is vulnerable. Vulnerable?

Romance readers want their beefcake and the chance to eat it too. What would make a guy vulnerable? A million possibilities—many of which you’d never want to read in a romance. Why would a guy who can get any woman he wants be vulnerable over the heroine—her alone? Of course, he’s really in love for the first time.

I give you as exhibit A, Viggo as Aragorn. While a sweeping romance in the grandest sense, LOTR is not a bodice ripper. But this guy fits the bill. Mysterious, courageous, a bit aloof, smart, handy with a sword, and completely vulnerable to one woman. Against everything we’ve been told about heroes, the one thing they all have in common is a weakness. Love makes them cross oceans, give up crowns, risk their lives.

What does psychology say about these guys? That they are Avoidant personality types. “I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others; I find it difficult to trust them completely, to depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close, but deep down, I crave that closeness.” That can also describe a heroine. But she’s often the Anxious/Ambivalent type: “I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I often worry my partner won’t want to stay with me. I want to merge with someone.” Combine these two types, and you have a recipe for conflict and passion. Do it in your own real life at great peril! I think great romances make these vulnerabilities really believable. We recognize ourselves in them.

The classic “alpha” profile is a Secure fella: “I find it easy to get close to others, am comfortable depending on them, and don’t often worry about being abandoned or someone getting close to me.” Boooooring for romance. Great for real life. I think I met one guy like that a few decades ago.

Most of us love to read about our own personalities. Try http://www.humanmetrics.com/ for some classic personality tests, and if you’re a writer, put your hero to the test. If you aren’t a writer, put your SO to the test. Just don’t be surprised if you actually fell in love with a nice guy. They make good heroes too.

Ciar Cullen http://www.ciarcullen.com