Anna Campbell is awesome. Aside from being able to write one heckuva dark and brooding and super duper sexy romance, she’s also tremendously fun and willing to take risks on her heroines that make them some of the best in books. For proof, check out her most recent book — Seven Nights in a Rogue’s Bed!
I’ve loved Anna since before I met her…and afterward…we became fast friends. And all this was before she wrote a girl who wore glasses as a heroine in the 2011 release (and quite possibly my favorite of all her books–Midnight’s Wild Passion)!
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Sarah, so excited to be here. Thank you for having me as your guest. I’m almost as excited as I am to read your wonderful One Good Earl Deserves a Lover. I’m deep in revisions as we speak, but you’re first off the TBR pile once I’m done!
As a reader (and dedicated old movie watcher – hmm, does that mean I’m old or the movies? Please don’t answer!), I always adore that scene where our hitherto oblivious hero removes the heroine’s glasses and murmurs with breathless wonder, “Why, Miss Jones, you’re BEAUTIFUL!”I’m a girl who wears glasses myself so I love that your new heroine is vision challenged. Heightens the other senses, don’t you know? Ooh la la!
There’s a moment like that in my May 2011 historical romance Midnight’s Wild Passion. Antonia isn’t shortsighted – well, in everything except her weakness for rakes! But she’s hiding her identity under a dowdy disguise and that includes tinted glasses. Everybody’s fooled except the Marquess of Ranelaw who discovers the secret when he first kisses her. He sets out to discover the truth about the mysterious Miss Antonia Smith – and much mayhem ensues!
You can read an excerpt of MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION here!
So are you a sucker for the romantic clichés? The hero taking off the heroine’s glasses? The twisted ankle at a crisis point, meaning he has to carry her? The wallflower at the ball who gets to dance with the prince? There are so many and I have to say they nearly all work for me (the twisted ankle might get a bit tired!). Anna’s offering up a copy of MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION for one commenter today.
The winner will be notified on Friday. Good luck!
February 6th, 2013 at 9:21 am
I am a sucker for those. I like drama. But–it has to be well done. I want it to be a seamless part of the plot and not just a fallback “I couldn’t think of what else to do here, so here’s this cliche because that always works” kind of thing.
February 6th, 2013 at 9:22 am
Have discovered so many great authors now that I have a nook. Will add your name to my reading list.
February 6th, 2013 at 9:23 am
Can’t wait.
February 6th, 2013 at 9:31 am
I love the cliches, especially the wallflower dancing with the price, that’s my favorite. I’ve always wondered how the hero was suddenly struck with her beauty once her glasses were off, it’s kind of like not realizing that Clark Kent is Superman, just because he puts his glasses on. Really?
February 6th, 2013 at 9:33 am
I’m so happy that you have decided to write about us visually challenged type heroines! LOL.. Now every woman can experience the feeling I get every time my hero gently slids my glasses off my face to make room for his lips!
February 6th, 2013 at 9:39 am
I love the well-done cliches…and since I wear glasses.. and can remember cringinly of some awful styles…. Thanks !!!
February 6th, 2013 at 9:45 am
Heroines with glasses….can’t get enough! I personally love the clichés … It’s the best late at night when you get stuck watching the old movies…mistaken identities, wallflowers, etc. it’s even better when it’s a great book. Thank you for the opportunity to win!
February 6th, 2013 at 9:56 am
Men have this same fantasy. Think naughty librarian. I know my hubby likes my glasses for their librarian quality and he gets great joy in taking them off!
February 6th, 2013 at 9:58 am
I do like the cliches because they are romantic and make the story more exciting.
February 6th, 2013 at 10:06 am
Cliches are great, as long as they don’t make the story dreading or obvious of the outcome? I like some twists and turns you know. It’s so hard to find heroines with glasses, that I love them even more when I do find them, being a glasses wearer myself.
February 6th, 2013 at 10:23 am
I like cliches. :) They are cliches for a reason…. People like them…
February 6th, 2013 at 10:52 am
When chichés aren´t overdone (like the one with the twisted ankle – the heroines just are too weak then) I like them a lot – I totally agree with you with the glasses – love love love them – makes the heroine smart and sexy. I do have glasses myself and I totally like them!
February 6th, 2013 at 11:00 am
I just love a macho hero (even better if he’s a bit tortured!). I fall for the old cliches all the time too.
February 6th, 2013 at 11:24 am
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Anna Campbell’s novel, Untouched. It is honestly one of the
most underrated romance novels out there, and that is a true shame! It is one of the most
beautiful stories I’ve ever read. It’s packed full of suspense, drama, passion, and the most
tender and exquisite love scenes, oh my!! Read Untouched by Ms. Anna Campbell, it’s my favorite of all time!! Thank you Sarah for having Anna on your site!!
February 6th, 2013 at 11:27 am
I also wear spectacles and I am in the middle of reading One Good Earl Deserves A Lover…I love, love it! The fact that she is a “bluestocking” as well, very intelligent, and the “hero” admires both…well, I am hooked! Wish it had happened to me in real life but now I can “live” in stories…especially this one! Thank you so much!!!
February 6th, 2013 at 11:40 am
YES, YES and YES :)
February 6th, 2013 at 11:47 am
I too am visually impaired and love the cliches in many of our favorite novels…the “best friends” when he finally sees her as something more, the smart guy/girl who finally looks up from his/her microscope and realizes their is more to the relationship than academia….love them all….
February 6th, 2013 at 12:44 pm
As a girl who used to wear glasses (I wear contacts now!) it was ALWAYS a dream of mine to have some one so that to me. It never happened and learned to deal with disappointment. Still, I do love the big “reveal” once the glasses come off. Still one of my favorite moments.
My fave reveal is Tessa Dare’s “A Night to Remember” when Colin is taken to task by Minerva and they are arguing about her glasses. In typical Colin fashion, he tells her she does look different without them.
“You do look different without your spectacles.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. You look squinty. And confused.” Only after he places them on her face does he tell her: “There, that’s some improvement.”
It may not be a typical response, but is so lovely and funny and typically COLIN, that I just had to love it because I’m sure every man is thinking it but no one is saying it!
As for the other clichés, they have to be surprising and done in a fresh way to stand out against the over use.
February 6th, 2013 at 2:28 pm
Sometimes the cliches get a bit worn especially if used to dumb down a heroine. But any cliche that gets your man is worth it! Anna Campbell is one of my favorite authors!
February 6th, 2013 at 2:36 pm
I always love when the heroine thinks she’s a misfit but the hero sees right through to her soul. Am enjoying One Good Earl Deserves a Lover & loved Seven Nights in a Rogue’s Bed. Looking forward to reading more Anna Campbell (& Sarah MacLean)!
February 6th, 2013 at 2:37 pm
Sarah, thanks so much for having me as your guest today. That’s one bodacious introduction! Thank you for all those lovely comments – I must say Midnight’s one of my faves of my books too. Nicholas fights becoming a REFORMED rake so delightfully! ;-)
February 6th, 2013 at 2:40 pm
Hi Kerrie! So glad you’re another sucker for a romantic cliche, but as you say, it needs to fit the story. I think people who don’t read romance never quite get that those themes/elements that pop up a lot are often there because readers absolutely love them. It’s like a code for the centre.
February 6th, 2013 at 2:42 pm
Sorry – not long out of bed – not quite sure how ‘genre’ turned into ‘centre’! Need to get through my first cup of tea for the day and I’ll be coherent. Or at least that’s the plan!
February 6th, 2013 at 2:47 pm
Hey, Paula, how cool is that? Thanks for checking out the blog! Love it when I find a new author!
February 6th, 2013 at 2:48 pm
Christy, I think that’s the fun of these cliches – they’re often just a little bit silly but we love them anyway. There’s a wallflower dancing with the prince moment in Midnight too – had wonderful fun writing that bit. This was basically the book where I decided I was going to incorporate a whole stack of my fave scenes into a classic romance. There’s an elopement and a duel too!
February 6th, 2013 at 2:49 pm
Kelly, what a lovely comment. Laughing at you getting to experience the romantic cliche in real life. How cool is that?
February 6th, 2013 at 2:50 pm
Cate, I wear glasses too and the first pair I got were like Sophia Loren’s in the 70s – huge bug-eyed things. They looked great on Sophia, not so much on me. I think my fave pair was from a few seasons ago – some little John Lennon lenses.
February 6th, 2013 at 2:52 pm
Hi Jillian! Clearly I’ve fallen among friends when it comes to the romantic cliches. How cool is that? I think my first girls who wear glasses book goes right back to my early teenage when I used to read Barbara Cartland. There was one where a husband didn’t recognize his wife when she put on glasses – in that case, I think HE might have been the one who was visually challenged!
February 6th, 2013 at 2:58 pm
Andrea, great comment! Actually I love those model pics you get of really good-looking guys in glasses. The whole sexy nerd thing really works for me. Love that character in a romance novel – and the equivalent of her taking off her glasses in terms of romantic cliche is him turning into a man of action when the chips are down.
February 6th, 2013 at 3:02 pm
Maureen, I agree with you. We love that moment where they touch and their skin tingles – there’s a really nice movie version of that in the Keira Knightley Pride and Prejudice. Always works for me!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:03 pm
Ki Pha, I wonder if so many of us wear glasses because we strained out eyes reading romance novels! I know I used to read in the half-dark way after my parents told me to turn my light out!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:03 pm
I’ve been dying to read Seven Nights…As soon as payday comes around, it will be on my handy dandy, trusty tablet! Thank you so much for giving us a snippet of you Anna and Sarah I cannot say enough about One Good Earl. I could not put it down. I dragged into work 2 days in a row!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:04 pm
May, beautifully put! I know as a reader I adore them.
February 6th, 2013 at 3:05 pm
Claudia, it’s cracking me up how many of us commenting on this blog, including me, wear glasses! Obviously glasses are the new sexy. Can’t wait to read Sarah’s take on the classic! Yeah, the twisted ankle thing gets a bit tired. Apart from which, as a terminal klutz myself, it HURTS!!!! ;-)
February 6th, 2013 at 3:06 pm
Oh, Betty, the tortured hero who is ripe for redemption. That’s another romantic cliche that always gets me too!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:07 pm
Wow, Maddie, what a wonderful thing to say. Thank you so much for the rave about Untouched. I had a nice game with the cliches in that one – the virgin isn’t the heroine, for example!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:08 pm
Joy, don’t you just love a bluestocking heroine? I’m currently putting the finishing touches on my second Sons of Sin book A RAKE’S MIDNIGHT KISS and the heroine of that one is a medieval scholar. Love that. Another wonderful bluestocking heroine is Daphne from Loretta Chase’s Mr. Impossible if you’re looking for another one once you finish Sarah’s latest masterpiece, Joy.
February 6th, 2013 at 3:09 pm
Well, I’m a gal who wears glasses so I kinda like the idea of men who make passes at gals who wear glasses. :-) And I don’t mind cliches in romance stories if they fit the situation the heroine or hero is involved with at that point in the story; i.e., if they make sense.
February 6th, 2013 at 3:09 pm
Christy, I’m laughing. I’ve got that scene from WHEN HARRY MET SALLY in my mind right now! Hmm, do I want a sandwich for breafkast?
February 6th, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Theresa, those are two of my favorites too. Do you read Sarah Mayberry? She does some of the best of those friends into lover books – there’s always such high stakes in those, isn’t there? The friendship could die if they take that step into a romantic relationship!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:13 pm
Christina, I haven’t read that book. But what a gorgeous scene. Love it when people take the cliches and give them that little tweak to make them fresh again. Thanks for swinging by!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:14 pm
Ha ha, Karen! The cliche means justify the ends! Works for me. And thank you for saying such lovely things. Mwah!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:15 pm
Oh, Maria, the hero with (soul) X-ray vision. ALWAYS love that. Got one of those now and I’m having such fun writing the interactions. Love it when at the end of the book, both hero and heroine have become so much more than they ever envisaged they could be. That ALWAYS works for me in a romance novel. Thanks for saying you enjoyed 7 Nights. I’m up to my ears in Richard’s story right now!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:32 pm
Randi, thanks so much for saying you’re looking forward to reading Seven Nights! Laughing at you dragging into work. I know that feeling! These days when I’m on a tight deadline, I can’t allow myself to pick up something compelling like Sarah’s books or I don’t get any sleep and then everything goes to phut the next day. Curse you, good writers! ;-)
February 6th, 2013 at 3:33 pm
Janice, absolutely you’re right – the cliche needs to fit and as I said above, if there’s a little twist that makes it fresh and new, even better. Perhaps the hero ought to twist his ankle in a chase scene in my next book! LOL!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:38 pm
LOL! I love all those! It does not take much to please me. I really love the nerdy hero and the bold herione! Thanks for sharing today!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:44 pm
Yes, I am.
February 6th, 2013 at 3:49 pm
Johanna, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE nerdy heroes. I don’t think they’re used quite enough. Susan Elizabeth Phillips does some wonderful nerdy guys but they generally get the secondary romance not the principal one. I think it’s time the Nerd stepped out into the spotlight!
February 6th, 2013 at 3:50 pm
BN, I think you’re among friends. We all love the classic themes in a romance (I’m going to stop calling them cliches!).
February 6th, 2013 at 4:43 pm
I love all of Anna’s characters and I fall in love with all of them (sigh). And the most gorgeous covers too!!
February 6th, 2013 at 4:51 pm
Hey, thanks, Catslady! I’ve had a run of gorgeous covers, haven’t I? I think Seven Nights is just gorgeous. And Midnight’s Wild Passion and My Reckless Surrender aren’t far behhind it. Can’t wait to see the cover for A RAKE’S MIDNIGHT KISS. Hoping it’s soon!
February 6th, 2013 at 4:55 pm
Of course, I’m a sucker for cliches. Now that I’m wearing glasses full time in addition to being *sorta* old, I’d still like for someone to make a pass! Ha-Ha! Just kidding, Hubby! :-)
February 6th, 2013 at 5:02 pm
I love it when a romantic cliche sneaks up on me in the most delightful way. A skilled author can make me fall in love with the romance genre all over again.
Why does your bespectacled heroine hide her identity? Intriguing. I’m going to have to read that one. Maybe I’ll be your lucky winner!
February 6th, 2013 at 5:11 pm
Connie, as another glasses-wearing gal, I support your efforts!
February 6th, 2013 at 5:12 pm
Sally, it’s the good old romantic standby, she’s been ruined by a rake and she’s trying to hide her scandalous past under a dowdy disguise. I told you this one was my take on the classics! ;-) Good luck in the draw!
February 6th, 2013 at 6:12 pm
Wonderful post, Anna. I tweeted.
February 6th, 2013 at 7:49 pm
Thanks, Ella! Glad you enjoyed it!
February 6th, 2013 at 8:55 pm
I do love the cliches, especially those where the wallflower or bluestocking gets the Duke/Prince/etc. And I love the “ruined heroine” and when the couple get caught in a compromising position and have to marry or else she will be ruined.
February 6th, 2013 at 9:38 pm
Ha ha, June! I too love how all those social mores can lead to romantic intrigue. My next book is based on a couple caught in a a compromising position who have to marry – a real staple of romantic novels, isn’t it? And such a good one!
February 6th, 2013 at 10:44 pm
Thanks, Sarah, for hosting me and thanks, guys, for all your wonderful support for classic romance elements (no more cliches from me!). Have fun with Sarah’s girl who wears glasses! And don’t forget to check back to see who won the copy of MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION.
February 7th, 2013 at 11:37 pm
Yes, yes & yes!! Especially the wallflower one; adore it when they turn out to be swans. Guess I have a hankering for that to happen to me *sighs*
February 8th, 2013 at 3:06 pm
Linda, that whole Ugly Duckling thing really works for me. Such a lovely theme in a romance. I also love it when the hero sees the heroine’s beauty even if other people don’t.
February 8th, 2013 at 10:27 pm
I like all the cliches, but really love the heroine with glasses because I can really relate to that. I enjoy seeing a heroine who has flaws get the handsome hero. I think that is every girls dream. To have a handsome man fall in love with her and have him choose her over the more perfect beautiful woman. I also love damaged heroes and just have to add that I loved your book Seven Nights in a Rogue’s Bed!
February 10th, 2013 at 4:10 pm
too late for entry, but the wallflower cliche is a great one
February 10th, 2013 at 6:56 pm
Anna, I love them all. Whatever works lol And I really enjoy the Wallflower dancing with the Prince as long as he’s willing to let me dance him right through those French Doors. :)
Carol L
February 12th, 2013 at 10:57 pm
Hey, Anna. I love your books! I do like reading when the hero takes the glasses off his girl and makes her feel beautiful.