I can still remember the day I heard that men, in the old days—I mean, really old days, would bite the ear lobe of their lovers whilst de-flowering them. Sounds...barbaric.
But, if you think about it, men often do things that take us out of our normal, or push us into a different mindset. Like when he said he likes short dresses, so you go out and buy ten new mini dresses. At times, it’s not even what he said, it’s more what he made you feel while doing a thing, and the slightest insinuation can make you want to try something new. I don’t mean in a bad way, like encouraging a mate to do something dangerous, but in a way that is adventurous and outside of the traditional manner of doing things.
Since art imitates life, it’s no wonder that as readers we find outselves drawn to heroes that push the envelope on their heroines' ‘normal’, and thereby awaken something inside of these women that makes them feel more desirable, more confident, more open to new experiences. And if we put this in terms of, say, ice cream, these heroines go from vanilla to rocky road or wild cherry.
The book at the very top of my list of case-in-points would have to be the first novel I read in 2013 that made me pull an all-nighter: Vanilla on Top by C.J. Ellisson. In the book, nice girl Heather is encouraged by her friends to attend a speed-dating event, where she meets Tony. He’s hot, of course, and she is kind of hot, but she's not awakened just yet. Kind of like a lot of us, right?
Eons ago (okay, 2001 or so), there were books that summed up the plight of women who weren't married by age thirty. “Singletons,”’ we were called, and women everywhere united in our common cause—to take control of our sinking ships, become independent and learn to embrace the women that we had become. It was liberating. It was the dawn of modern day chick lit.
There’s something that's worse than Chinese water torture in my mind. And that is the day that my sweet little girl—the one who used to play in my high heels and whose hair I styled in a thousand different styles of ponytail—picked up my copy of A Hunger So Wild by Sylvia Day, or flipped through my Kindle and said, “Wow, Mom. Fifty Shades of Grey? I heard this was an awesome book!”
One of the most common types in romances as of late is the extraordinary heroine. Heck, maybe it’s always been that way, but heroines are either exceptionally smart, incredibly rich, overwhelmingly beautiful or all of the above. In paranormal romance, the trend is usually that she is ten times more fabulous. And there’s really nothing wrong with that, except that it can give the reader the notion that being a woman, with our weight issues, job woes, relationship struggles and what-have-you isn’t quite good enough.
I like to look at the makings of a good romance novel in the same manner as that of a truly great cake. As a woman with roots in the South, I know how difficult it is to find the perfect balance between precision measurements and perfect timing and finding yourself with, after an hour and a half, a perfect mess. If the recipe calls for a pinch of salt, two cups of sugar and a cup of flour, it is best if you follow those precise measurements. 
Fans of ’80s nighttime soaps remember having to wait through a whole summer in 1980, and an actors’ strike, to find out 
We’ve often focused on the men of True Blood, and for good reason—an inability to wear shirts, serious sexual charisma, and many, many abs. But what about the ladies? So we thought we’d represent them as well, and do a H & H Throwdown on which True Blood woman you like the best. First we had vampire Pam pitted against faery Sookie. Now we’ve got Merlotte’s waitresses Tara and Arlene in the ring. Let us know in comments which is your favorite, and that winner will go against the winner of the next round. 
Earlier this year, we did a throwdown between the Brothers of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. So we thought it might be fun to have a similar contest between our favorite hotties from True Blood. First up, we’ve got the Sookie’s suitors: Bill and Eric. Which will you choose?
Like arch-enemies the Lannisters and Starks, Aliza and I—A.J.—fought to the bitter end for the right to pen this post, but alas, it was a tie, the result of which is that both of us will be offering our perspectives—as avid viewers who haven’t read the books—on what happened during Game of Thrones Season 1, and what might happen in Game of Thrones Season 2.
Some of us have been concerned, to say the least, about 
Right around this time of year—for the past three seasons anyway—my blood starts to course rapidly through my veins. Fear of withdrawal symptoms impel me to watch HBO OnDemand (along with 12.7 million other viewers), for hours and hours. I read my old Stackhouse series books—including Dead Reckoning, 
I looked forward to May 3, 2011, for a long, long time.
In 2003, my divorce became final. I was happy to be away from my personal tyrant, but having suffered a great blow to my crystalline image of love, relationships, and marriage, I found it difficult to imagine finding a new guy. I don’t even think I wanted to find a new guy.
When someone says “faerie,” 'fess up: Do you think of Tinker Bell? A tiny little blonde who hangs around with a tribe of cute and helpful, frolicking pixies?
