So far I've written three books about Evie Parish, a performer turned 'Chameleon' (a member of a government sanctioned team that thwarts nefarious con-artists). Two of the books have been released. The third will hit stores, Spring 2009.
Evie has two men in her life. A bad boy and a good boy. She's sleeping with the bad boy. She's tempted by the good boy. She's fallen head over heels for the bad boy--even though she fears he'll break her heart. Her gut says her heart would be safe with the good boy, but the bad boy holds it in his hands and, hey, maybe he won't break it. Maybe he'll prove himself the right, if not the safe, choice.
Or not.
I've heard from a number of readers who are rooting for bad boy. I've heard from a number of readers who are rooting for good boy. I understand both sides. I confess even I wasn't sure who was right for Evie in the beginning. I admire and like both of these men, but then I know things the readers don't. Things they'll learn in the third book. Even so... tough call. Evie's call.
It makes me ponder the differences in each of us. What attracts us to the bad boy/girl? The good boy/girl? Surely there are those who follow their head and those who follow their heart. I can imagine scenarios where both provide a HEA. I can also imagine scenarios where both prove disastrous.
No matter who wins Evie heart, some readers will be disappointed. Or, if I've done my work right, maybe not. Maybe everyone will be content. Hopefully. I'm just thrilled that readers care enough to voice their opinion.
**************
WRITING: Over the last two days I wrote a blog post and two pages on my WIP, plus added info to my WIP Notebook.
RECREATION: You're kidding, right? No, wait! This morning I had breakfast with a friend I hadn't seen in months. That counts!
EXERCISE: I'm up to 15 min. on the bike, 35 ab crunches, 25 butt crunches, thigh exercises and various weight exercises for my arms.
DIET: Week Two (2) of Weight Watchers. Today was weigh in. I lost TWO POUNDS! Not as good as the first week, but still a loss. That brings my total to seven (7) pounds lost in two weeks. Pressing on....
MOOD: Scattered
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Whatever is done from love lways occurs beyond good and evil." Fredrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
www.bethciotta.com
"...enchanting, madcap romance..." Publisher Weekly
"...wry humor; sexy, multifaceted characters..." Booklist
What a dilemma...
I usually go for the good guy because I have seen enough bad boys. You can never please everyone and you know Evie better than anyone.
That said, I must admit I was disappointed in the heroine Suzanne Enoch chose for Sebastian in Sins of a Duke. I saw some unkind comments about the choice and would never want to deal with that myself.
I guess I was no help?
Angel
"I can fix a bad page, but I can't fix a blank one." Nora Roberts
www.angelinabarbin.blogspot.com
Angel...
You're right. You can't please everyone... but I'm sure gonna try!
The Evie-Arch-Milo triangle plays out in EVIE EVER AFTER and I hope it's in a way that satisfies those readers rooting for Arch and those rooting for Milo. We'll see. ;)
www.bethciotta.com
"...enchanting, madcap romance..." Publisher Weekly
"...wry humor; sexy, multifaceted characters..." Booklist
Weight Watchers!!
Keep going, you can do it! I'm down 27 lbs since February. We didn't gain the weight fast, we can't expect to lose it fast either. Its so awesome that you've decided to do it!
Hmmm....I've watched a lot of friends try to reform the bad boy. Frankly from what I've seen, reforming the bad boy only works in fiction and well it makes for great fiction. Give me an attractive good boy any day.
Laughter is an instant vacation- Milton Berle
Beth
Bad boys are fun but I always root for the good guys (in books and in life) You already know I'm in the "Milo" camp, but Arch calls Evie -Sunshine and Milo calls Evie -Twinkie. So, Arch wins this one. And I really will love your book no matter what the outcome.
Good luck with the weight loss too. You are doing great so far!
Tammy
Vikki...
27 pounds? That's AWESOME. And inspiring. Thanks you for the cheer of support. I'm hanging in there. :)
I see you're in the good boy camp. In real life, I am too, but in fiction... Let's just say it's fun to play in the danger zone.
www.bethciotta.com
"...enchanting, madcap romance..." Publisher Weekly
"...wry humor; sexy, multifaceted characters..." Booklist
Tammy...
All I can say is, I wouldn't want to be in Evie's shoes. I'm totally torn between Milo and Arch.
Thank you for the WW shout out. I'll take all the cheering on I can get. I'm visiting my in-laws this weekend. Tomorrow we're attending a family picnic. A big Italian family picnic. Meaning lots and lots of food.
I think I'm going to write WILLPOWER on the back of my hand. :)
www.bethciotta.com
"...enchanting, madcap romance..." Publisher Weekly
"...wry humor; sexy, multifaceted characters..." Booklist
You can have everything....
Just in much smaller amounts than usual!! I love my flex points....
Laughter is an instant vacation- Milton Berle
You're scaring me, Beth....
... with this talk of not knowing who is the better man for Evie! Bad-boy Arch, of course! LOL. Seriously, I was thinking I had your Evie books figured out (Arch & Evie, Milo & another woman), but if I don't.... well, I'm sure this last one will be good no matter how you end it. It's a fun series all the way around! And you have done an AWESOME job writing them!
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
Amanda...
Ah, the anticipation.
Here's hoping you like what I have in store!
Oh, and I hope you had a fun vacation! Welcome back.
www.bethciotta.com
"...enchanting, madcap romance..." Publisher Weekly
"...wry humor; sexy, multifaceted characters..." Booklist
Thanks, Beth....
I did have a good vacation. It's nice to sleep in my own bed again. I'm such a baby! Anyway, I've been super busy since coming home. Flood cleanup in our town is still ongoing. I'm helping with a fundraiser to gather toys and books for the kiddies who've lost theirs.
Yep, I had a hard time with my healthy eating plan during my vacation. You might even say it was nonexistent. But I'm hopping right back where I left off. On that subject, I can see where the family picnic would be hard for you to resist. Hell, I know it would be for me! I mean, come on, Italian food! Real Italian food! Yummy! Seriously, some gentle advice...there'll be times when it's unavoidable to splurge a tiny bit. Attempting to deprive yourself totally can only set you up for disaster. Take it from someone who's lost a lot of weight and had a heck of a time doing it. But I did. And you will too! Please don't give up your diet if, at the party, you're tempted to eat a few goodies. So long as you don't gorge, the worse that can happen is single pound gain. But, so what? It's not the end of the world. As Scarlet O'hara said, 'Tomorrow is another day'. Pick up right where you left off, and keep marching toward your goal, knowing that occasionally you must treat yourself. My treat every two weeks was something decadently gooey and chocolatey. It still is.
I'm rooting for you, Beth. You CAN do it!
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
Beth - when I went to WW, a lot of women used to panic about
the weight they would put on between Christmas and New Year (because of all the cake and goodies) but the ladies had a timely reminder for us - it's not the weight you put on between Christmas and New Year that does the damage, it's the weight you put on between New Year and Christmas.
As for the family picnic - it's one day! Even if you were tempted to overeat, it's not a perfect excuse to give up your diet, because it's ONLY one day. The way I coped with family does was I did myself a favour and sat a bit too far away from the aperitif nibblies, I took ONE (bit of quiche/pizza/peanut) when they were offered and drank loads of fizzy water rather than alcohol. If you take one spoon of the dishes you really go crazy about and politely refuse the ones you can quite happily ignore, then you don't feel deprived and you don't necessarily overeat. But my worst problem was that people had got into the habit of treating me as a waste disposal unit, and didn't want to accept that it wasn't up to me to finish the dish so that it could be washed (unless of course I really wanted to finish it) - if you sit far away from the food action and let the others take care of the clearing up, then temptation shouldn't bite you that badly - and of course WW are very keen on you having a little treat every day so that your taste buds don't feel so deprived you have to binge.
Keep up the good work!
Hugs
Sadhbh
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
Beth, you helped to goad my latest blog....
Your 'Torn Between Two Lovers' was a partial springboard to a blog of mine. Here's the link: http://community.eharlequin.com/content/craving-bad-boys-fiction-or-movies. Of course I know you're busy, but let me know what you think, if you have the chance.
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
Amanda and Sadhbh...
Sorry I'm behind in responding here. I just want you to know how much I appreciate your posts. Very inspiring for me. Outing myself as a Weight Watchers participant was the smartest thing I've done in awhile. Support and shared battles have been amazing and motivating.
www.bethciotta.com
"...enchanting, madcap romance..." Publisher Weekly
"...wry humor; sexy, multifaceted characters..." Booklist
Your Blog Entry...
sounds delicious, Amanda. On my way over...
www.bethciotta.com
"...enchanting, madcap romance..." Publisher Weekly
"...wry humor; sexy, multifaceted characters..." Booklist