Love is in the air for Leonard & Penny, Buffy & Angel, Lois & Clark
Today's featured authors: Ashley Ladd, author of Business or Pleasure; Jorja Lovett, author of First Floor: Cosmetics; and Faith Ashlin, author of Pathfinder. We're talking favorite TV couples and keeper books.
Ashley Ladd, author of Business or Pleasure
My three favourite TV couples:
• Lois Lane and Superman. I've loved this couple since I was 6 years old. In fact, I wanted to be a journalist like the intrepid Lois Lane so I could have my very own Superman rescue me whenever I got into trouble. Although many actors and actresses have played this dynamic duo very well, my favorite pair were Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher, although I also loved, loved, loved the teenage Superman played by Tom Welling. I love a strong man who speaks softly and acts like a gentleman.
• Penny and Leonard Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory. Leonard is such an adorable, lovable nerd who is hopelessly in love with the beautiful girl-next-door, Penny, who may not be a brainiac like Leonard and his buddies but who has a lot more street sense. He'll do anything to win her love and make her happy. I want to be one of their friends, to laugh and giggle with them over the annoying anal Sheldon. I also want a man who will adore me the way Leonard adores Penny.
• Luke and Laura Spencer on General Hospital. Yes, I'm dating myself, but this romance kept me glued to my chair every afternoon from 3-4 p.m. for many years. I loved the dashing, adventurous, take-charge Luke and wished I was the gorgeous Laura who was being swept off her feet.
Here's the blurb for Business or Pleasure:
Guy Rogers is extremely attracted to his new realtor, Tom Beaudreaux. As a passionate vegetarian and animal activist, he's ecstatic that Tom is a kindred soul. He could never be with a carnivore. Unfortunately, Tommy isn't really a vegetarian or animal activist. He never said he was either, he just didn't eat meat when he was with Guy. And maybe he emptied his house of all meat and dairy products before inviting Guy over. In fact, Tommy's family owns the most popular barbecue restaurant in town and if his family has their way, he'll manage the new location.
When Guy finds out that Tommy eats meat and his family owns a restaurant that is a monument to eating meat, he's livid and doesn't know if he wants anything else to do with Tommy.
But then Guy's life gets crazy –his dad's paranoia blossoms into violent dementia, he gets arrested for picketing a doggy mill, and then he winds up in even more legal trouble. When Tommy sticks by him through all his trouble and does everything he can to help him, Guy wonders if he's been too militant and narrow-minded. Perhaps he can learn to live with people who have opposite views.
Find out more at www.ashleyladd.blogspot.com.
Jorja Lovett, author of First Floor: Cosmetics
My three favorite screen couples:
• David Addison and Maddie Hayes. I think Moonlighting nurtured my love for using banter as foreplay in my books. I love me a wise-cracking hero who meets his match in the feisty female lead.
• Buffy and Angel. I know Team Spike will disagree with this, but I loved the doomed romance. Angel was the perfect brooding hero and a stunning example of how to torture your characters. I Will Remember You was one of my all-time favorite Angel episodes because he got to be human for a little while.
• Temperance "Bones" Brennan and Seeley Booth. Even without David Boreanaz, Bones would still be a must-see for me. Such is the strength of Seeley's love, he accepts all Tempy's quirks and we see her character growth in every episode.
Here's the blurb for First Floor: Cosmetics (The Department Store series):
Take one younger man, add some illicit outdoor sex, and Maggie Fenton is inclined to forget she's the oldest cosmetics girl at Kelsey's Department Store.
From the outside, it looks as though Maggie Fenton has it all. The glamorous head of the cosmetics department lives a life of luxury, but money definitely hasn't bought her happiness. In reality, she's married to a serial cheat who has made her life a misery for over a decade. With her husband chasing younger women, and her teenage co-workers' catty comments ringing in her ears, Maggie's resigned herself to being on the scrap heap. Until Jonah Hamilton puts temptation in her way and reminds her she's still a red-blooded woman.
Commitment is a four-letter word as far as Jonah is concerned. He has no intention of settling down when he has the whole world at his feet. The only reason he takes a summer job at Kelsey's is to fund his travels. Well, that, and the sexy older woman he can't help flirting with over the makeup counter. Maggie soon becomes a good friend and someone who shows him how good love can be.
The chemistry between them is undeniable but is a fling enough to satisfy their desires, or is it simply the start of something bigger?
Find out more at jorjalovettauthor.weebly.com.
Faith Ashlin, author of Pathfinder
Three books on my keeper shelves:
It's so hard to pick only there, but I'll have a go!
• She by H. Rider Haggard. I first read it when I was about 12 and I found it really hard going. I had to look up so many words as I didn't know what they meant. But I persevered, as I loved the adventure and the idea of a mystical woman, waiting for thousands of years for the reincarnation of her love. That's the sort of love I wanted.
• Maurice by E.M. Forster. I love the feel and atmosphere of this book, the stifling manners of a bygone time and how one man finds his way through to be himself. This was one of the first books I read that focused on a gay man falling in love and it felt real and human and just want I wanted in a book. It was the beginning of my realisation that it was a subject that, maybe, I could also write about.
• One Summer by Karen Robards. This is my guilty pleasure. It's an undemanding, beach read, but I love it because the older heroine gets the gorgeous bad boy, Johnny, in his tight jeans and riding his motorbike. If she can get him, well, perhaps there's hope for all of us who aren't in our 20s anymore!
Here's the blurb for Pathfinder:
During the Second World War, two airmen from Texas join the Royal Air Force, while America is still neutral. The attraction between them is immediate. Bobby, a navigator, has given up on thoughts of relationships, concentrating instead on the war he fervently believes in. Lewis, his new pilot, is full of life, and passionate about planes and playing his part in the war.
They connect immediately with intense, but furtive, sex. Their bond grows during many tough raids and passionate nights, until Lewis pushes Bobby to admit how he feels. Bobby didn't think love was a possibility. But now Lewis is here, real, and offering everything he could never admit he wanted.
Can they have a future together during the war?
Find out more at www.totallybound.com.