When you read a historical romance, do you find yourself wishing to be the heroine, wishing you could live her life? Wouldn’t it be lovely, for a short span of time, to go back in history and become an adventuress searching for lost treasure or a young woman hoping to find love with a peer of the realm? Who would you be?I’ve never wanted to be one of those women who had to follow the rules…I would have found it inconceivable to have someone, even society, tell me what I could and could not do (which is why the heroines I write always break the rules). I could see myself as an adventurer or even a pirate’s love but mostly, I’ve always thought I’d make the perfect saloon girl (not a soiled dove, mind you, but an entertainer). You know, the one with the heart of gold who only has eyes for the rough and tumble cowboy or the lawman with a heightened sense of right and wrong. Or maybe even the villain of a story (villains can be quite interesting, don’t you think?).
This fantasy of mine (of being a saloon girl) has been with me since I first drove through Arizona and saw the vast wildness of the landscape. I could picture it all so vividly in my head. A lawman (who looks remarkably like my husband), coming back from transporting the bad guys to jail, just happens to step into my saloon and makes my heart go pitter-patter. I know. A bit crazy but….it’s there. In the back of my head.
And isn’t that one of the reasons we read romances? To live the life of another? To experience an adventure different from our ordinary, work-a-day lives?
Happy Reading,
Marie
Hi Marie,
ReplyDeleteI didn't have to think too hard on this one. I would love to be Laura Ingalls Wilder. Obviously, that came from early reading, but it stuck with me.
I'm sure there are many other eras and woman I'd like to be. The thing that holds me back from naming others is the fact that historically women died young and had few rights. Living today makes that hard to imagine.
Hmm...I guess we both want to stay in America if we lived in another time!
I agree, Dawn. Women didn't always have it easy (oh, heck, we still don't) however, certain things have come a long way. I don't think I could live without my air conditioner, especially in Phoenix but it's still a fun thought to imagine what it would be like to live in the past.
ReplyDelete