I Gave My Heroine SHORT Hair

My hair is very short. Last week I cut it shorter-still, since I have been having trouble with my arms and chest lately, and not having to style the back is a luxury. Weirdly, Ahmed was a long-hair freak when I met him. My hair was down to my butt. Life happened, and it ended up short.

My upcoming release features a heroine with short hair. I wrote another short recently with a heroine who has short hair. A woman in my writing loop harped on it. She kept insisting I change the short, since it was a romance, and romances “shouldn’t have heroines with short hair.” I ignored her. The hair stayed.

I ran into her, her sister, and mother (all have long hair). She introduced me as her “writer friend—the one I told you about who is obsessed with short hair.” They all laughed at this, since it is, apparently, hysterical.

For the record… I write these women this way for a reason.

What is Sexy?

The "Sexiest Man Alive" for the year (apparently sexy has an expiration date) is Matt Damon. Ok. I was not consulted in the voting process.

I find men over 40, slightly rough around the edges, perhaps overly cultured-- yet barely restraining an inner barbarian, smart, strong, with a beautifully made body (not necessarily muscle-bound) to be sexy. A deep voice? Umm... yes. A somewhat overbearing stature? Ohhh... makes me want to aggravate him til he kisses me very hard and then looks completely bewildered by the act. Someone who can quote Shakespeare but would not be caught dead playing one of his roles. Someone who can afford a Maserati but drives a truck.

My absolute ideal? He's in his early fifties. Dark... greying... bronze eyes that make your toes curl. He's arrogant in that way you can't hate and has a voice that's deep, cultured, and rich, but it snags at the edges under just the right circumstances. He's smart, smooth, but occasionally trips on the bottom stair. He got a dog on purpose but rescued a one eyed cat because he's a good man. He hates when people find out he secretly loves the cat, too. He'll slip the leash on his temper at the drop of a hat, but can't stand to see a child in pain. He looks like he spends all his time at black-belt karate tournaments, but he spends most of it (lately) in front of the PSP3 he got for his birthday. (Oh, but he does have a black belt.) He has shoulders that can bear the weight of the world, a tired child, an overwhelmed friend, or a pair of wings.

Three guesses.



Matt Damon? Nice kid. What's your point, again?