Coffee Time Romance Review Gave Me 3 Cups

I am so pleased. Coffee time romance gave me 3 cups (out of five) GREAT for a 'sweet' historical with only a little romance in it. Read The First 2 Chapters Here:
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/Thepledge.html

THE PLEDGE
KATHERINE HUNTER
ISBN# 978-0-9784865-0-1
November 2007
Enspiren Press
2060 Victoria Street, Box 193, Gorrie, Ontario, N0G 1X0, Canada
Trade Paperback / E-Book
$12.99 / $4.99 E-book
245 Pages
Historical Romance
Rating: 3 Cups

Gillian Winston, secluded daughter of an English Baron, was raised by nuns away from her childhood home. When she receives notice that her family has been murdered by reivers, she immediately heads for home to assess the damage and help in any way.

Laird Calum MacKenna, known as The Wolf, was also a reiver. When he discovered that his enemy, Baron Winston, had been defeated, he heads south to Winston Holdings.

Gillian encounters nothing but death and destruction at her family’s estate. When Laird Mackenna arrives, she has no choice but to marry him to protect her serfs and she also needs his wealth to rebuild her lands. Calum is a hard-nosed fighting Scot. He did not expect to be brought to his knees by a small English lady. When she is in danger, he will stop at nothing to find and protect her, not from a Baron determined to marry her and not even from the Queen of England.

The Pledge is a fun and exciting novel. Sweeping descriptions of scenery add to the authentic historical feeling of the story. The hero and heroine are traditional. Gillian is spunky yet stubborn as she ends up making some poor decisions. Ms. Hunter’s Scottish romance is sweet and classic.

Bonnie-Lass
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books

What’s Wrong With Romance?

There comes a time when every single person asks themselves ‘whats wrong with me.’ Romance writers ask this question, but often miss the mark in their answers. They create serious emotional problems, that cannot be realistically fixed, and in return, write unbelievable novels.

I was beautiful, intelligent, and vivacious as a young woman. At 35 I could still hand out with the brat pack. I had a keen wit, although I did lack a sense of humour. My confidence level was a little higher than it should have been, but that is to be expected when people always treated me like I was special – except men. They treated me like a prize to be conned, coerced, and even forced.

Beautiful women secretly enjoy the ‘date drought’ in the same way that you would enjoy a vacation. It is a time when it is okay to go through the day without doing their hair, or without someone wanting something from us. Whether it was to be seen in public, or for us to treat them like they are the most special person on earth.

The entire thing creates a mindset which drove our self esteem down. Most women would be surprised to know that most beautiful women do not feel good about themselves. That is because no one is concerned about their love languages, or feeding their emotional needs. A beautiful woman is something to be taken for granted, a prize earned.

Woman’s Fiction writers have ‘got it.’ But, romance writers are still far behind.

Many women go through relationships, never alone, because they want the other person to feed their needs. Instead, they should enter a relationship looking for a balance between what they give and what they get.

Affirmation addicts are always relationship hopping, because there comes a day when their partner tires of giving constant affirmation. These people are terrified of being alone, but they are such an emotional drain that no one can be around them for very long. No one ever says, ‘where is Julie.’ They always say, ‘where is Julie and Mark.’

The thing is, most people are single because romance is about taking, not giving. A relationship is about what they get. I knew one woman who thought her ‘prince charming’ was suppose to make her life perfect. Three weeks after marrying him, she was devastated because he actually expected her to act like a wife. And, he wasn’t doing all those Fabio type things she expected from marriage. Instead, she said, she had to do laundry because he got mad when there were no socks left.


I was almost 40 when I met my husband. Husband #2 was so much different than the first edition. He did not parade me around like I was nothing more than a coat hanger for his wealth – in fact, as time passes, and I am no longer ‘noticeable’ he actually pays more attention to me.

A lesson learned, only 15 years too late. Not that I couldn’t have learned it. I knew a beautiful woman who married a 300 lb man from a jovial, but rather alarming family. We thought she lost her mind. It took me 15 years to realize that we were the ones who ‘didn’t get it.’ We were the ones to be pitied.

I think that, instead of worrying about emotional depression and abusive problems, writers should just take time to learn about relationships and use ‘real’ problems/conflicts in their stories.






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Sexy Men

Why is it so hard to find sexy men on television. I do not refer to 'fun to romp with men.' I am talking about the type of man that you wouldn't mind being married to for 50 years. I mean the type of man who could be dominant, in control, and 'take charge', and you, as a woman, wouldn't mind.

Really, there are men like Conrad Dunn with really sexy (sultry) voices. And, Colin Farrell has eyes that could melt an ice queen. Romance writers need to take a look at all types of men. What makes them work. What doesn't make them work.

We have all grown past the Sean Connery days when loud, aggressive, and bossy was enough to make us fall in love. It is now more difficult to find a character, and I have made a discovery - the true heroes are rarely the main character in the movie.

Sean Panzer has it together. He could make anyone a good husband, and lover, because (at least in character) he doesn't need affirmation. He can elicit it, even from Nero Wolfe, but he doesn't pander and grovel for it the way Archie does.

Colin Farrell plays characters who don't 'need.'

I think that is most important. A real man shouldn't need a woman to make him feel like a man. He needs a woman to complete him. There is nothing more draining on a woman than being stuck with a man who needs to be constantly reminded that he is in control - or needs to push the issue.

The problem with romance writing is that the hero must exude sexuality - there are no great screen shots to stir the woman's emotions. The man must be innately sexy, even if he doesn't fit the Hollywood ideal.

I am sure there are others - Who do you think would make a great hero?

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Heroines

How far can a heroine be pushed before she breaks? I have read so many historical where the heroine didn't break. She was pushed to the brink, and then pulled back. Of course, I would never betray my book's fans by having her break for real. However, I did plan a wonderful breather after her 'disheartening experience' which she would always remember fondly as 'one of the most pleasant times of my life.'

I was captivated by the story of Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard, a German princes, who believed that she could be pregnant because "my husband kisses my hand and wishes me good night, and then kisses my hand in the morning - is that not enough?" What amazed me more was that she was over 20 years old when she married.

I was facinated by the fact that women would not understand about sex, and how easily many of them were toyed with and mislead to believe the things men told them. I thought that it would be a fitting twist in the story if our heroine believes she is barren, only to learn that she her first husband had never consummated their marriage. To this end, I also arranged the marriage that was arranged by Mary I of England between a Northern Lord who was loyal to her religion, and the 13 1/2 year old countess whose family died of the plague.

This child entered marriage with no understanding of a woman's rights, power, passion, or duty.