Do SHOES maketh the heroine?

As long as the shoes fit and my toes don't get squased in them, I'm quite happy.

After 20+ years of wearing heels to work, I wear runners with orthotics in them every day now.  On those rare occasions when I must wear heels (weddings), I prefer the open heels (even in the wintertime) so my toes aren't squished.  (Must be a recurring theme!)  I wear the same shoes I wore back then but they've been reheeled and polished many times, as I find I don't wear my newer, uncomfortable, shoes.  Besides, our feet flatten as we age, so pumps just don't fit anymore and hurt like h**l.

Guess I'm not a shoe person.  I have my everyday runners.  I have my court shoes for badminton each night (which actually become my everyday runners after a year).  I have a new pair waiting (bought on sale, of course) to become my court shoes.  I have loafers in three colours (blue, brown, and black), as at 5'10" I try not to be any taller.  I have suede shoes in those three colours.  I'm down to one pair of sandals that aren't worn very often now either (due to orthotics and I prefer wearing socks all year round).  And I probably have three pair of "heels" I wear irregularly and a half dozen I should chuck.

Oh yeah.  In answer to your other question, I couldn't care a less about affording certain shoes; I find the more expensive they are, the more uncomfortable and worse for your feet they can be.  I do not take my feet for granted.  A simple blister can lead to amputation if you have diabetes (I don't, but I'm overweight so could get it anytime).

Good luck with your "survey"!  I DO think that the heels compliment everything well on your cover.  I absolutely love Desire covers; they are "clean" - the H/h are prominent, you can see the titles clearly, and you enjoy the people themselves (and background afterward).  In a word?  Your cover is indeed perfect!

I have to say that I'm completely aware that I'm an abnormal girl.  I don't like to shop.  I don't often wear make-up and shoes are just not that important to me.  I'm a tomboy through and through and the only girlie things about me are my inherited addiction to soaps (handed down from grandmother to mother to me), my love for precious gems, and romance novels.  Other than that, I'm a hang out with the guys kind of girl. 

What does that mean?  My favorite shoes are my running shoes.  They are a beautiful lightweight pair of Nikes that makes me feel fabulous everytime I put them on.  I always buy Nikes and I always buy red accents on my shoes.  Red is a color gift from the gods. No pair of shoes makes me feel stronger, more powerful and successful than my Nikes after I complete my daily run or when I run a road race. 

On the odd day though, I will get a wild hair and put on some girlie shoes for the office.  I like to keep them guessing around that place so it gives me perverse pleasure to show up in a dress or heels everyone in while because I know they expect my normal pantsuits, slacks and funky sweaters that I favor day in and day out.  There are rules though.  I never, never, never wear open-toed shoes.  I don't know what it is but I just don't like them.  Not sandals.  Not flip-flops.  Not peek-a-boo toes.  Nothing.  My idea of killer heels are at least three inches of narrow heel with a closed toe and something strappy around the ankle.  I love straps and I have no explanation for that part either.  Should I add that to my girlie attributes?  Are straps girlie? 

 I have to say though, I love your cover and I'm adding to my "to buy" list of books.  And the shoes?  Yeah, those are pretty awesome.  Even a tomboy like me has to admit that! 

I am a shoe person who has probably 35 pairs of shoes.  My favorites are sling back pumps - closed toes with a strap around the heel so they stay on.  This summer I did invest in a pair of good sandals for weekend wear and one good pair of shoes to wear to work that I can walk in.  They are well worth the money and will be worn next summer also.  The have arch supports and my feet do not hurt when I wear them.  Since I can get at least two years wear from them I did not mind the investment. 

Most of the shoes I buy are on sale so I do not mind paying for them.  I bought some this weekend that normally are 65.00 and got them for under 12.00 so that is always a good buy.  

Oh wow... shoes. I ABSOLUTELY love shoes. I am always buying shoes... I tend to buy cheap shoes for every day use (running after my son or running errands). I like them comfty and nice. If I find a model that fits the profile, I buy them in several colors. And if they get wet (it rains so much here) or ruined it won't hurt because they were dirt cheap to begin with. It just means I get to buy more.

THEN there are the shoes I buy to go out... I easily have 30 pairs of shoes at home right now... and many others that are still in my closet at my parent's house. I even go there sometimes and change shoes. I am not that short, but I love stilettos... there are no more femenine shoes than those. I used to wear them daily, the higher the heel, the better. I toned it down when I got pregnant and all, but as soon as I get a chance I put my beautiful shoes on.

I don't do crocs, my son and fiancée have them in several colors... but I can't for some reason. I actually found out that the crocs manufacturer makes other shoes for women so I might end up getting one of those. My flat shoes are usually ballerina style, I currently own a pair that is rapidly becoming my favorite (so cute and comfortable). It is black saten, with a little bow detail in the front.

I also have a lot of sandals (w/straps, ankle wrap, slide in) with different heels (wedge, mid-heel, stilettos)... the weather here allows you to wear sandals all year round. For closed toes shoes I prefer to compromise: peep-toe. Oh, slingback shoes are also great. I prefer pointy over round toes. I have a pair in blue that are impossibly high, and I find myself buying clothes that will match these shoes often.

Oh, of course some ladies footwear tip... To make legs look thinner and longer...

• Women should use pointy toes footwear
• Heels make the legs appear thinner
• Open toe will give calves and thighs a slimmer appearance as compared to a closed-toe shoe
• Match the footwear to tights or hose.

You know, when my hubby asked my dad for my hand in marriage, Dad's only comment was "Do you really think you can keep her in shoes?"

Ahahahahahahahaaaa, ah those were the days...if I couldn't decide between two pairs when I was shoe shopping I'd just buy both. So much easier than making a decision. I think my youngest has inherited my shoe-love gene.

I do own some toe crushers, too, but fortunately I don't need to wear them very often. And high heels have always been an absolute no-no to me. I want to keep my ankles intact.

Rachel, firstly, congratulations on that lovely lovely cover! I can't wait to read CLAIMING HIS BOUGHT BRIDE! 

And yes, those shoes pictured are as lovely as the heroine! I admit I'm a bit of a shoe nut. I love looking at shoes and touching shoes and even though I sometimes can't control myself and buy lots and lots of shoes, I sometimes don't wear any of them. From all the shoes I have, the ones I always seem to pull out are my UGG boots! Still . . . there's something about a delicate shoe and a delicate heel that makes me lose it (in a good way)!

Hello Rachel-with-the-gorgeous-cover

Being vertically challenged, I love a shoe that gives me a bit of height. Unfortunately, teeny people also tend to have teeny feet so I've been known to resort to the children's section and there ain't a lota heels to be found there.... Oh, for filly-like limbs and six inch heels.

You know, the only thng that equals my love of shoes is my love of handbags, but you don't see a lot of handbags on covers these days....

Barb 

I like nice shoes, but have no idea about the differences between different shoes - as a general rule, if I can afford it, it is comfortable and I like what it looks like then I'll wear it. I had the misfortune of messing up one of my ankles just prior to my teens so I've never truly gotten a chance to wear heels regularly.

There are so many great covers coming through at the moment. I can't help it my list of books to buy just keeps growing.

Rachel -

Ha!  I have you fooled with my girlie side because we're on the Harlequin site.  If you ever get on ESPN site with me and my smack talk you'd never question my tomboyishness (can that be a word?).

Vanilla is my favorite scent on soaps but there's a local store here where I live that has a Christmas spice scent that rocks my socks.  It's vanilla but also cinnamon and pumpkin spice.  Oh yeah.  I set my calendar to the days when they'll sell me new bucket loads of that stuff. 

 And could someone please explain to me why they call it a kitten heel?  I checked my cats and there's nothing on them that looks like that heel.  I can't figure it out.  *giggle

I love shoes, Rachel, that is a fact. I think my dream job would have been shoe designer... but I guess shopping for shoes is a big part of the fun.

Slingbacks and ballerinas... I will look forward to your heroine's shoes.

You know, I do pay attention to that. Shoes can be extremely sexy... We often read about the hero's ultra-expensive Italian handmade shoes... why can't we read about the heroine's shoes as well???? I have read some sex scenes (Blaze, of course) where they make hot, steamy love with her wearing nothing but shoes... it keeps things sizzly and different. But my favorite is when the hero is amazed that our heroine can walk so well in those high heels (real men DO notice our shoes and feet!!!!)... and then we hear her perspective, that she is really shaky in them.

I personally am not a shoe person either. If I can wear my dress boots or my tennis shoes. I am good to go. I just always try to make sure my outfit matches one of the other. If I need dressy heel type shoes I call my cousin Tracy and make her pick out a pair for me. Between Shoes and Purses I don't see how she has ne money.

I just go get something out of her closet when I need it. So she buys all that I buy books. works out perfectly for me. She don't read though so she might not agree..

Soory Rachel, I'm shoes-hopeless too. The closest I got was in my early twenties where i owned 6 different pairs of 'cool' sneakers. I wore lovely cream heels on my wedding day but as soon as I hit the reception i changed to sneakers - the were my very best electric blue suede ones... all hidden by the dress anyway!

Lovely cover, and her shoes look great!

Or am I paranoid? Are you cruising somewhere nice and flat? 

No, you're not paranoid.  I only wear them long enough to get me to dinner and back.  Other than that, I'm usually in flip flops or sandals. 

Today I bought some platinum peep toe heels and some white flats.  The flats are for my costume...  My flight leaves in just over 13 hours!!!!!

Hugs,
April

I love shoes. So much. My feet don't love them as much. I'm more of a cute pair of flats girl, but I will drool at gorgeous heels while window shopping. If I do have to wear heels, I like to find ones with more of a wedge heel, much more comfortable and easier to walk in. On the odd occasion, I have worn stilettos, but my feet still haven't forgiven me for that one. I'm a suck for them though, and I definitely love when authors describe them. I was reading a Susan Elizabeth Phillips book last night and she described what sounded like the cutest pair of heels ever, I wanted a pair. I just like being able to imagine the shoes in my head, especially in this particular book "Natural Born Charmer" the heroine kept commenting on the hero's 'gay' cowboy boots