Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Too Close to Home?

Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my family in Wyoming on a dude ranch owned and operated by my mother's family. Which, as some have pointed out, means I should have cowboy stories pouring from my fingertips.

Or not.

Don't get me wrong, I have definitely known some sexy cowboys. But I have also known many who have breath that smells like Coors and Copenhagen, and have the world's most ridiculous tan lines from never going outside without a hat, long sleeve shirt, jeans, and boots on. Which means that the entire torso and legs are milky white, while the hands and face up to the forehead are dark brown. In short, not a sexy look. Which reminds me - there's a cowboy cover floating around featuring a built, shirtless guy on horseback. Lots of people have said it's sexy. Several years ago, my brother's friend came riding back to the barn shirtless. They're still talking about it, still snickering behind his back, making unflattering references to Chippendale's. So when I saw that cover, all I could think about was gooey, velveeta cheesiness. Which is not to say I don't love cowboy heroes - I do. When I'm reading. But when I try to conjure up a cowboy hero, I get too bogged down in the reality of people I've known, and I fixate on those stupid tan lines.

So my point/question (and I do have one) is this: are there any classic romance hero types - cop, special agent, military man, firefighter, etc - that you have trouble writing about because you can't screen out the reality of your own experience?


# posted by Jami Alden : 9:23 AM
Comments:
Good question. I've set a couple of books in the NCal Wine country (where I live) and to some degree, I've found that it can be more difficult to "romanticize" a place you know so well, rather than writing about Tuscany or Paris or somewhere else that I've vacationed but haven't truly lived in I can give myself up to the fantasy much more readily.

Not a reply about careers, but I think career and place are very similar in that respect.
;-) Bella
# posted by Blogger Bella Andre : 10:49 AM
 
Great post, Jami. I had to laugh as I read it, as I've never thought about those aspects of a cowboy.

I agree wholeheartedly with Bella's comment about romanticizing where we live and what we do, as those are the things that I struggle with. But I think there's an advantage in "romanticizing" something you know in that the character or location ends up sounding more realistic with only the pertinent information included.

For example, I went to Mexico to research a city for a current WIP. I was so excited about this place, that the middle of my book started to sound like a travelogue and I lost the story. When I write about San Francisco or place characters in a corporate setting ... well, trust me, that doesn't happen. LOL

So maybe you should tackle a cowboy story, Jami ... :-)
# posted by Blogger Rachelle Chase : 11:06 AM
 
I'm sure I will try a cowboy hero again (my first, unpubbed and collecting dust book actually features a cowboy). It's funny, because a few of my heroes have also been businessmen and venture capitalists, not the kind of thing where you go, ooh, what a stud! but maybe that's why I have an easier time making an unexpected sex symbol rather than trying to use a more traditional alpha male archetype. And with cowboys, I also get hung up on the unromantic nature of the work, the harsh reality of owning, running, and (not) making money off of a ranch - definitely not romantic!
As for place - I'm so lazy! all of my books are set in and around San Francisco. But like you said, Bella, it's hard to step back and romanticize where you actually live, or view it through the eyes of a tourist as you do in your next book.
# posted by Blogger Jami Alden : 12:37 PM
 
I heard a story about a Silhouette Deisre author whose editor was constantly after her to write a sheikh story, since she was married to a man from the middle east.

She said there wasn't a chance in H-E-double hockey sticks.
# posted by Blogger Diana Peterfreund : 3:00 PM
 
Diana, *that* is hilarious. The whole Sheikh thing is a mystery to me, but I have a friend who wrote a couple for Silhouette, and they are by far her biggest sellers. But yeah, that's another area where I would get way too bogged down in the reality - politically, socially, or otherwise. Maybe my problem is my imagination isn't good enough to get past it...
# posted by Blogger Jami Alden : 5:13 PM
 
I love this. Talk about a walk down memory lane. My husband was a cowboy when I married him. He'd been a truck driver before, became a paramedic and fireman shortly after marriage, works in a winery now. I told him he's hit all the hero jobs and totally screwed me for writing about any one of those! My one cowboy story, Cowboy in My Pocket, features a clueless cowboy hero. Our daughter read it and said she liked it except every time Tag (hero) opened his mouth, she heard her dad...
# posted by Blogger Kate Douglas : 10:07 PM
 
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