Friday 'Fuscius

With sick kids, two days spent subbing in 2nd grade, and now dear daughter's 11th birthday, it's been something of a wild week. Please excuse the uber-short blog for today.

Mrs. Cornfuscius says: You know life is too hectic when you put on your makeup and rush off to work, only to discover halfway through the day that you forgot one key element: mascara! (in case you're wondering, Mrs. 'Fuscius' eyelashes are about the length of microsuede fibers, so yes, it IS a big deal to be without mascara.)

Autumn
Got romance?

Do we still believe in fairy tales?

In case you missed this month's issue of The Lyriodical, John B. Rosenman wrote a thought-provoking article (from a man's point of view) on why women's fiction (and especially romance) always must end happily.



He and I had a fun discussion about the subject, but what it boiled down to is: Because it's women's fiction. Naturally we want a happy ending. Men like to finish a book or movie on high alert, forecasting evil on the horizon a la every episode of Batman, Spiderman, Hulk... yuck. Need I go on? Whereas we chicks have an innate desire to believe happily ever after is attainable. We're in a romance for the warm, fuzzy, awwwwsome ending! Clearly we do not read a contemporary romance for reality's sake. If we did, there'd be epilogues like this:



TWO YEARS LATER


At eighteen months old, Romeo Junior is the apple of mommy and daddy's eyes. Too bad daddy doesn't get to see him much - he's working extra hours, as mommy is expecting Baby #2 soon. She got demoted from her demanding fashion job for missing so much work when Junior had all those ear infections. Then her cute classic car broke down for good and it made more financial sense for her to stay home in the suburbs and babysit full-time for the family next door, than to assume the burden of a payment for a new car. Juliette's got a closet full of cute outfits from the old days, but none of them fit, even before the second pregnancy. Now she spends her days in stretch denim and hoodies, some without stains. Lunch means Kraft Mac-n-Cheese with preschoolers instead of Chili's with her pals from work. The hot body Romeo worshipped isn't likely to make an encore, but he swears he doesn't mind. Well, he has to work out extra hard these days to fight the beer belly, too. And those buff, buff shoulders and pecs have gone the way of Juliette's perky bosom, since they left the city and their gym membership. It's all good, though. He's up for a promotion. If things go well and he gets a good enough raise, they'll be able to afford their dream car - a new Honda minivan! Let their old single friends laugh at them through MySpace. They've got their parenting group pals and neighbors. And each other. Which was all they really needed, right?

Reality in novels? No, thanks.

Happy Thursday!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Watcha Readin' Wednesday

At long last, I've finished Duma Key, by Stephen King. And yes, I did finally have to "get my own copy".



After middle-aged construction baron/millionaire Edgar Freemantle is struck by a construction crane, he loses an arm, much of his vocabulary, his wife, and frequently, his temper. But what he gains from the accident - a connection to something, dark, evil, and ancient - is the focus of his story.



Edgar's voice is authentic, your average midwestern guy. (I imagined Jack Nicholson.) The other characters are vivid, the story - at least to me - realistic. For the most part, I didn't find this novel quite as creepy as most of King's work, but that's okay. Edgar's not alone in his fight against evil. He gets help from his friends Wireman and Jack, and also from a little old lady who well knows the power he's up against.

I'd rate this book a

Keeper. See ratings system below.

Autumn
Got romance?

Get Your Own Copy! A book you love so much, no way are you loaning it out. Worthy of high praise and frequent recommendations – but trust us, if you let someone borrow this one, they’ll “forget” to return it. Don’t miss the next title by this author.

Keeper. You won’t regret either time or money spent with this book. It has a permanent spot on your shelf. Recommend it freely and lend it carefully to that trustworthy “inner circle” of reader friends. Put the author on your To Be Read list.

Nice Bang for Your Entertainment Buck. Well worth your time and money, but not necessarily worth a re-read. Pass it on to someone who’ll enjoy it and keep the author on your radar.

Borrow It. An okay read, but try to borrow it from a friend or library. This author will likely improve with experience, so remember him/her.

Don’t Bother. We won’t sink into varying degrees of badness – one size fits all in our “not worthy” category. Do remember, this is just one opinion, so take us with a grain of salt.

Guest blogging

Today I'm the guest blogger on the Lyrical Press blog.

Bounce on over there and take a gander, will ya?

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Things that suck more than Mondays

And still more...

• Foundation smeared on the white sweater you want to wear today.
• Scraping ice from car windows
• Losing your purse pen
• ALL the night time talk shows, except for Leno and Letterman
• When your bookmark falls out of your book
• Growing out of your shoes during pregnancy and never fitting back into them

Happy first-o'-the-holiday-season Monday to all!

Autumn

Got romance?