Bear Awareness Week

Now, here's a male of the species who is welcome to make me very aware of bear.

I can't resist a totally --well, not totally-- gratuitous hunk to start the day. Look out for further news from me about how this manly pose was transformed into a poster representing 'Rhett (Prince Djarrhett) the hero of the sequel to Forced Mate and Insufficient Mating Material. Or maybe you've seen the ad with the temporary cover?

Even if I knew that he might "shift" into bear form at any moment, I think I'd risk letting a hero who looks like this give me a Bear Hug!

Anyway... Not only is today (Sunday May 11th) Mother's Day, but it is also the start of Bear Awareness Week.

Angie Fox, Carrie Masek, Sandy Lender, Cynthia Eden and Charlee Boyett-Compo are joining me on internet voices radio tonight between 9pm
Eastern and eleven pm to give a whole new depth of meaning to Bear men and Romance.

We'd love some listeners, even for a little while.

FOR CRAZY TUESDAY: In the last program, Jade Lee and Emily Bryan (aka
Diana Groe) talked about everything below the belt in honor of Earth
Day... from Brazilian waxes for courtesans, to castration, to foot
binding.

http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/CrazyTuesday.htm


FOR CHERRY PICKING SPECIALS, which is the irreverent and irregular
Sunday night-time show about Romance heroes and the animals they shift
into being when the right female comes along.

http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/rowena.htm


Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry
http://www.rowenacherry.com
http://www.internetvoicesradio.com

Animal Appeal

Men and animals. Men who are animals. Animals who inspire men -- or male characters. Before I begin this, let me just say that I don't consider men animals. I like men. I married one male and I gave birth to another and I respect and admire both of them. I'm also not a reverse chauvinist. I don't require that I be treated like I am a man or like I'm better than a man. I'm not a man. I don't want to be a man. I like being a woman. Heaven help you if you suggest that I am inferior in any way solely because of my gender, but different? Sure. Go ahead.

That said . . . let me also say I love animals. Never would I demean my dog by suggesting he in any way resembles a human male--

Sorry. I just couldn't pass that one up*g*.

With regard to books and writing, like a lot of paranormal romance authors, I've linked human males and animals pretty closely in my upcoming release, PANDORA'S BOX (Dorchester, Feb. 2008). One of my main characters is a puca. A puca is a lesser-known shape-shifter with roots in nearly every culture's mythology. He's a trickster who can shift to human form but usually takes the shape of a dark stallion with yellow eyes. In my story, however, he assumes the more adaptable form of dog so he can more easily pass inspection as a normal part of my heroine's life -- in spite of his spooky eyes, irrepressible personality and inability to truly bark.

Now, I will admit that it's been fun to occasionally draw parallels between my puca Riordan in dog form and my human male character Teague. Hey, when you discuss food, sex, or getting a male "fixed," I'm thinking the reaction among males would be entertainingly universal, independent of species. But more than that, having this seemingly unappealing mutt in my heroine's life is an effective characterization tool. Think about it. You can tell a lot about people by the way they treat animals. Do they feed them? Baby them? Kick them? Steer clear of them? Treat them firmly, sternly, hatefully, fearfully or dotingly? Is the animal seen as a friend, a nuisance, a baby, a rival, a member of the family?

And then there's the entertainment value. I write humor and I find dogs vastly amusing. That's why my tail-chasing hound Max shows up so frequently in my own blogs. To him, every walk around the neighborhood is an adventure fit for a knight in shining armor, with dragons (i.e., automatic sprinklers, trash cans, rival animals) lurking around every corner.

Ah, but don't forget the goopy moments. Picture your hero sleeping on the couch, with fifty pounds' worth of sleeping hound sprawled across his chest, muzzle tucked under the man's chin. What does this say about the hero? See? So many opportunities for characterization.

Thanks for humoring me*g*.

Natale Stenzel
http://www.natalestenzel.com/

Males and other animals

This is not to say that all males are animals, or that all animals are males. Nor are all animal characters in romances either male or female.

That said, this author, is at the Romantic Times Convention, where thoughts turn to the essential and decorative ingredients that make a romance novel charming, and it occurred to me that across all genres, animals play a role in a good book.

Linnea Sinclair has Furzels in her science fiction romances.
My alien royalty keep black tigers as impressive an intimidating house pets.
Deborah MacGillivray has cats in her historical and contemporary paranormal romances.
I've read about crime-solving cats.
I've loved books about shapeshifters, where men turn into dragons, bears, wolves, seals....

So I thought I'd open up cyberspace to an author blog across all genres, to talk about our animal characters, how animals inspire our creativity and move our plots, and even influence our heroes.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry