The Last Awakening
(Curse of the Phoenix, #2)
Author: Rachel Firasek
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: Novella
Release Date: December 2011
ISBN: 978-1-937044-44-1
Book 3 coming January 2012!
Just a quick thank you to author Rachel Firasek for guest posting today! If you haven’t already make sure to check out her books : )
Where Is My Hero?
“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” –William Shakespeare
No matter how wonderful our true life hero is, we’ll always wonder why they don’t measure up to the Romeo in our romances. I can say this to you all with a smile because I consider my hero hubby to be the most awesome husband ever, but let’s face it he’s no Bones.
You know who I’m talking about right? That wicked sexy hunk from Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series. He has all the makings of a hero worthy of swooning:
1. Yummy English accent. Check.
2. Hot abs of steel. Check.
3. Cheeky attitude of male dominance. Check
Let’s just start with these attributes. Why do women love the accent? Hmmm… I think it’s that need for the exotic. We want a man that can whisper “Bloody hell, I love you” instead of just the plain bit of affection you get after a good lusty mating. Somehow the “love ya” and roll-over just doesn’t have the same effect. But, I still love my honey, and I’m not so sure that I could keep up with the intensity that our bad-boy book heroes put the heroines through—at least, not on a daily basis.
Then there is the always rock-hard bodies in the romance novel. I live and work in a town of about 300,000 people. I’m not sure I know of five men who could match or even think of matching the description in any of these books. Yet, authors write these yummy, want-to-lick-me abs in every novel. I’m guilty of it, too. And why? Well, I think it’s because we’re just a bunch of randy women seeking that which we don’t have or can’t. LOL! I know that this is exactly why men are so enamored of shows like the late-and-great Baywatch or the fine-dining at the oh-so-popular Hooters. So, the next time your honey wants to watch a hot girl sway to a fast pitch beat, cut him some slack. Men are visual creatures, while women are mental (er…mentally stimulated that is) and really, by reading our romance novels, we’re not doing that much different—seeking that which we don’t have.
Okay, then we hit the attitude or the male dominant. Now, in the novels an alpha male will make my heart beat a little faster. I feel a sweet sweat trickle down my temple when the hero barks a command at the heroine, or when he says, “Let me take care of you.” But, in real life, if my hero does that, I shove him out of the way and tell him I can do it myself. Faced with an alpha male, I go all catty-female-pms-crazy. I want to claw their eyes out and stomp on their over-inflated egos. But, oh how I love them in my romance novels. Fickle women? No, I don’t think so. I think it’s just the need to fantasize—the grass is always greener and all that jazz. It’s not that we really want that, but the ability to fantasize about something other than the beta I’m married to is a nice change.
So, I’ve tackled three things that we love in romance, but may not love if we had to deal with them on a daily basis, well…I could handle a few more abs on my honey, I think. I’d love it if you’d share some of the things that are most yummy when reading, but aren’t always as good in person. I’m sure you’ll come up with some great ones.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Rachel Firasek grew up in the south and despite the gentle pace, she harassed life at full steam. Her curiosity about mythology, human nature, and the chemical imbalance we call love led her to writing. Her stories began with macabre war poems and shifted to enchanted fairytales, before she settled on a blending of the two.
Today you’ll find her tucked on a small parcel of land, surrounded by bleating sheep and barking dogs, with her husband and children. She entertains them all with her wacky sense of humor or animated reenactments of bad 80’s dance moves. She’s intrigued by anything unexplained and seeks the answers to this crazy thing we call life. You can find her where the heart twists the soul and lights the shadows… or at www.rachelfirasek.com .
