Podcasting History. . . Mine!

Betina here. I made history this week. I participated in my first-ever podcast. Yeah, little old me. Lest I leave you with misapprehensions. . . it was basically a phone call with my editor where I was interviewed and which will be edited (heavily, I hope). But she asked a very interesting question that I've been thinking about ever since: What is it about historicals that makes them so sexy?

I think every good historical has an element of "time travel" about it. It transports us back in time to another era and another culture. . . lets us partake of their joys and frustrations and stimulations and limitations. . . without ever leaving the couch. Who hasn't wished to be able to see what life was like in Loui XIV's court at Versailles? Who hasn't wished to see Marie Antoinette's garden parties or Caeser's Rome in its glory or Cleopatra's palaces and her barge on the Nile? Not to mention Julius and Cleo themselves!

But the sexy part. . . ummm. . . that's a different focus altogether. My take on it is that part of the allure of the olden days has to do with the repression and rules of societies. . . which were enforced mostly on women. Women couldn't chat, be alone with, or even look too long in a man's direction without drawing censure. As late as Victorian days, women in Britain risked their reputations if they walked down the street with a man who was not a family member -- which is basically the same restriction placed on women in fundamentalist Muslim societies today! There were rules for dancing and introducing and walking and touching and speaking and looking at men. Of course, sensible women learned to parse through the bullcrap and lead decent, largely productive lives in spite of such restrictions, but there was always that cloud of "public opinion" hanging over their heads.

There was also a true power differential between men and women. . . and whenever there is a disparity in power, somebody will use and perhaps abuse that power. Women depended on men, were forced to look to men to see to their welfare, sometimes seduced men to equalize the power and pursue their own ends. Sex-determined power differentials are a gold-mine for writers looking for a good basis for conflict! Plus, they make us want to imagine ourselves in the roles of heroines who are beset and beleaguered, but persevere and come out on top. Literally! ::wink, wink::

And thirdly, but not least. . . there are the clothes. Long swishing silk skirts and lush velvets. Laces and hats and bonnets. The sexual allure of corsets and garters and bared bosoms meant to entice. And there were accessories to die for. . . fans, reticules, gloves, kerchiefs, muffs, furs, pearls. . . shoes. . . silk slippers, embroidered stockings, and veils mean to to pique a gentleman's interest. I myself have written more than a few scenes involving the peeling of layers of lady garmets. And even one scene where a heroine refused to get dressed. . . striking a bargain with her bridegroom that she would don one piece of clothing for every one he took off! Do you even have to guess how that scene ended?

Of course, when we write historical romances, we almost always write from the stand point of the privileged of the day. Who would want to read a book about a tavern maid who met a reasonably good looking, reasonably sober sailor, married him, and had 7 ordinary kids? But put that tavern girl in a nobleman's knowledgable and generous hands. . . give her access to some frothy petticoats, a good corset, and a maid who's handy with a brush. . . and there's a grand romance in the offing!

So there you have it. . . what makes a historical sexy to me. Which is probably why I'll continue to write them. I just love time traveling through the ages from the safety and conveninece of my imagination!

What about you? What era would you visit if you have a chance? And why?

Hey let's take a survey-- anybody ever worn a real corset-- for fun or for the real "staying" power of it? In my youth they used to call them "merry widows". . . I wore one for my sister's wedding!! I looked exactly like this in it:

Haven't worn one since, but I could sure see the stimulation value in donning such a garment. And they sure sell alot of them in the department store lingere departments!! Somebody out there has to own one. C'mon. . . fess up. Do you like wearing one and why?

Bald. Beautiful or not?

Betina here. In shock. Okay, maybe more simple surprise. I'm researching my contemporary for Blaze and ran up against a little rule that kind of threw me for a loop.

Blaze doesn't do BALD.

Not even shaved bald.

See, I had planned to have a balding hero-- prematurely balding, of course and a little sensitive about it. But very buff and manly in all other respects. Nope. No baldies in Blaze I was told. Wasn't given an explanation, but my guess is "bald" doesn't play well on covers. And there would be some logic to that if we were talking these guys.





But this is sexy BLAZE, after all. I know the rules and no way I'd be caught with a HOMER hero. . .no matter what Marge says. Sigh. I guess HQ thinks that it's demographic likes to run fingers through hair, not over skin. Sigh again. You suppose they've done focus groups and studies? Still, it seems a little short sighted to me. But I'm going back to the drawing board, because "bald" is not my cause. I'll leave somebody else to fight for that one.

But, I'm thinking about using a baldie in a women's fic book I'm working on. It's a built-in and has to be there to show the transformation in the hero. So. . . whaddya think about bald men?

Guys like:

Or like:

Sexy or not? Just to help you decide, I've pulled in just one more example from the ether-o-sphere:

Okay, now vote. Bald or not bald? And no maybes. I've gotta have an answer so I can get this book moving ahead! Do you think bald can be beautiful and sexy or not? Does a shaved head equate to "whoa, baby" or "ewww, momma"?

And since everyone's being so helpful, I'm adding a couple of additional images. I've seen Shemar Moore here with hair and without. You be the judge.

And to sum up, here's my opinion:

Behold one of the best screen kisses I've seen in a long time. It was tender and bittersweet, and the couple is gorgeous. From one of the best movies of the year--I think--Eastern Promises. Just came out last week. Loved the sexual tension between the two characters, but it's not a Romance. It's probably the most violent movie I've seen in a while. But, okay, I went for Viggo. If he's in the cast, I'm there.

So I open the Friday Entertainment section of the paper this morning, and I see that Hollywood is pumping up the raunchy sex for the holiday season, citing the latest Ben Stiller/Farrelly bros collaboration, Heartbreak Kid. They did There's Something About Mary, which I loved. But the trailers for this one don't interest me. I could be wrong. But the premise doesn't seem to go with 6th grade boy humor, which I enjoyed in Knocked Up and 40-Year Old Virgin, but the premise of HK doesn't sound like it would work for me. According to the Strib, "There's never been so much sex and skin in theaters." Graphic violence seems to be hitting a new high, too. For me, theses are elements that only work in the hands of a master storyteller. Otherwise, it's just titillation, which, on its own, pretty much turns me off.

I want character, and Eastern Promises has it in spades. Viggo plays the "driver" for a Russian mob boss's son. He's wonderful. I don't know whether he's actually fluent in Russian, but I was convinced. He plays this mysterious character with such restraint that you can't take your eyes off him lest you miss some nuance. You know he's dangerous, but it's more about what you're conviced he could do than anything he actually does. Well, until those thugs attack him in the steam room. Yep, that's quite a scene. Yep, the full monty. But it's not gratuitous. It's ... you have to see it. I looked away from a couple of parts of this movie, but not this part. Not that I considered the violence gratuitous, but I'm a wimp when the bloodletting looks real. But when the story is this gripping, I can look away for a few seconds and appreciate the fact that this is about real people caught up in a real-world situation that ain't pretty.
But they have their pretty side, their good side.

Can we talk about personal boundaries regarding sex and violence in our entertainment? Any examples of popular stuff that just didn't work for you? Anything that really (and maybe surprisingly) did?

The Second-Look Guy

I think we can all agree on the First-Look Guy. He's the one we know, with a mere glance, is handsome. He attracts us. He is visually perfect, or pretty darn close. He makes our hearts beat. He makes us think thoughts we should never mention to our significant others. His name is Johnny, or Brad or George or Orlando, Joaquin, Antonio, Matthew.

But I want to talk about my favorite kind of guy, the Second-Look Guy. He's the one we have a tendency to walk right by on the street. We don't give him a thought. Initial glance doesn't pull at our heartstrings or nudge us to wonder if we're wearing our sexy lingerie or the holey cotton undies. (We pray it's the sexy stuff should he be a First Look.) No, the Second-Look guy is the one we pass. But then...

...we do a fast look over our shoulders. Or we see him again down aisle three and this time are drawn to a distinctive feature on his face. Perhaps a crooked smile. He is worthy of a second look, and we go there. Sometimes, we even go for a third look. No matter if it takes a 2nd or 3rd, something about him attracts us. We often can't even put a finger to what it is that we find attractive about him, be we know it deep inside.

I've been a fan of Second-Lookers since I started dating at 17. I think I dated two First-Looks; the rest were all Seconders. Now, I'm using celebrity photos as examples, but we all know our own Second-Lookers who may be friends, lovers or hubbies. And I'm being shallow and talking purely physical looks here. We don't have time to look beneath the surface to the mental and emotional man. Second-Looks are for letting your eyes learn new seductions and interesting enchantments.

I submit to you, Jean-Hughes Anglade. He's a French actor. He of the Gallic nose and small chin and a scatter of messy hair. He is plain, and yet, there is something about those eyes. He will not look past you. Ever. He likes to look into you.
How about this fellow to the right? Jason Statham. If you had not seen him on the big screen, you'd likely walk past this almost-bald, scruffy guy on the street. But a second-look discovers an intensity to him and an interesting angled nose. And what about that short hair? Wouldn't you like to buff your palm over the top of it?

Even older, John Malkovich has an interesting allure. He made me take a second-look as the Vicomte de Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons, wearing a long black wig and seducing a woman he both loved and reviled. I know we're only looking at the surface, but that brow just screams intelligence, and don't you want to have a conversation with him?

All angles and bones and surprises of bright blue eyes and almost girlish lips on Guy Pearce. He treads First-Look territory for me, but he is an actor who enjoys looking grungy. And even beneath the stringy hair I want to know why his tendency to androgeny appeals to me.

He's wearing a silly black wig, but Michael Wincott has another of those faces that is all angles and overpowering features. A bold, masterful nose, and a chin to go along with it. But what is that? Those, eyes, they appear so soulful. You can't tell from looking at him, but he sports a two-pack-a-day rumbling voice that sounds like Lucifer has come up for oxygen. So sexy. I don't have to look at this one, all I want to do is listen. :-)

Another Frenchman for you, because I can't resist the awkward allure of the classic Frenchman's bold and defiant face. Vincent Cassel. Look at that nose! Mischief twinkles in this Second-Looker's eyes, and not the nice kind. He's thinking naughty thoughts, and I want to know what they are.

So what about you? Do you agree with some of my Second-Look choices? What are some of your favorite Second-Looks? One girl's First Look could be another's chick's Second, so don't be upset if I've listed one of your Firsts as my Second. :-)

Here's to men, no matter their looks, and especially for their looks. They are a wondrous and delicious bunch, and I, for one, intend to never stop looking again, and again, and again.

Michele