Everyone Loves a Man Who Can Cook

There's a big debate on Twitter right now--the YA lit world is buzzing with what could be the most pressing question of our time. Team Peeta or Team Gale? Not since vampires vs. werewolves has a debate been so heated. But honestly, I'm going to let Hunger Games experts be the ones to discuss this because, while I loved the books, this seems like a non-thing to me. Obviously, the answer is Team Gale. Obviously. 

Now.  My friend Amanda is vehemently Team Peeta. Her defense of this mousy, pasty beta-of-all-beta heroes is indefatigable. It is clear and single-focused: "Everyone loves a man who can cook."

Interestingly, this simple defense is enough to give me pause.  Because, truthfully, everyone does love a man who can cook. Me, especially. I have a total obsession with chefs. The day Top Chef was created in a back room at Bravo I swear, I heard angels sing.

I admire knife skills. I dream of palates. I think those white jackets are about the sexiest thing ever worn by man. I TiVo No Reservations. I refer to Tom Colicchio as "Big Daddy Colicchio." I heard Eric Ripert expound on the difference between sea salt and iodized salt once--and fell a little bit in love. One of my dad's closest friends owns a restaurant.  Sometimes I sneak into the kitchen just to watch the guys work the line.

My name is Sarah, and I'm addicted to chefs. 

It's ok. My husband knows. He's cool with it. (Because he's a foodie, too.)

You have only to read Bella Andre's Tempt Me, Taste Me, Touch Me or Louisa Edwards's fab Can't Stand the Heat to know just how hot a chef can really be...but what is it about chefs that makes them so. Very. Sexy? They're artists, and they work with their hands, sure.  But they're also keenly aware of the senses...taste, scent, texture, the way food looks on a plate...and I think that's where their sexiness lies--in their clear commitment to perfection in the most sensual of ways.  Yum.

Are you addicted to chefs?  Why?

Sunday Sighs...The West Wing, Josh & Donna

Every time I watch an episode of The West Wing, I think I find my favorite line from the whole show.  But, the romance reader/writer/lover knows that there's only one answer to this question.

It's in the second season, during the episode titled "17 People." This is a fantastic episode--one that shows the incredible talent of Richard Schiff (who plays the curmudgeonly, patriotic Toby Ziegler)--in which, among other things: Toby is made the 17th Person to discover that President Bartlet has MS; Ainsley Hayes (my favorite Republican on television) reveals that she is a Smithie; and Sam & Ainsley have a fantastic argument about the need (or lack thereof) for the Equal Rights Amendment.

But the very best moment in the whole show is when Donna and Josh peel off from the rest of the group, and she confesses that she came to work for the White House not (as he's always believed) when her boyfriend dumped her, but when she dumped him--because the tool stopped to have a drink with friends on the way to pick her up from the hospital after she had been in a car accident:

Josh gets superior (as he does), and says:
"I'm just saying that if you were in an accident, I wouldn't stop for a beer."
Donna replies:
"If you were in an accident I wouldn't stop for red lights."

ok.  le sigh.

But if that weren't enough, here's the kicker. The audience knows in that moment (if they didn't already) that Josh and Donna are destined to be.  But the stellar writing staff of the show doesn't give in to what I am certain was an overwhelming desire to just-get-them-together-already-and-have-them-make-out. They go another five seasons before we get the smooch we want here in season two.

And OMG it's worth it.

And that is just one of the many reasons why I think The West Wing is the greatest thing that has ever been on television.

ode to eric, on our second anniversary

my husband, he is pretty nice...
he manages my crazy and disposes of our (unwelcome) mice,

he takes the late-night dog walk when i'm in bed...
he makes me laugh when i could see red,

he accepts the fact that i write romances...
even as i sigh over darcy at country dances,

he brings me flowers just because...
and out of the sink, he cleans the scuzz,

he worries about me when i am hurt...
and, man, can that guy make composted dirt!

and, two years after we vowed in health and sickness...
i still see him as an embarrassment of riches.

**with apologies to poets everywhere.

Where I will be on September 21st

On my couch. With yummy takeout (cuisine TBD). For the TWO HOUR premiere of HOUSE, MD. You can't stop me, Internet. Neither Twitter, nor Facebook, nor the latest in viral video will keep me from the TWO HOUR premiere of HOUSE, MD. I'm not even going to wait the normal buffer period that is required in our home to be able to fast forward through commercials. I'm watching every ad during the TWO HOUR premiere of HOUSE, MD. Every. Single. One.

Oh, and did I mention it's TWO HOURS LONG?

Squee.

Bourne or Bond?

In the realm of existential questions, there are a few to which I believe that everyone should have an answer. These challenging mental inquiries include: Who would win in a fight: Batman or Spiderman? Best Harrison Ford character: Indiana Jones or Han Solo? Most irritating Tom: Cruise or Hanks?

Well, I'm adding one to the list. After a girl's night in last week during which I watched Quantum of Solace, I wondered, who is better? Handsome, dapper, charming James Bond? Or extraordinarily skilled, physically remarkable, dark-historied Jason Bourne?

So, I did what people do in 2009 when they are in a conundrum. I put it to Twitter. and Facebook. Bourne? Or Bond?

NB: Ok. I used Daniel Craig above, but for the purposes of this existential question, please replace Mr. Craig with the Bond of your choosing.

Now, look. I know this appears, at first blush, to be a deceptively easy question. Bond is dapper, charming and just plain awesome. He has a steady job. He's a spy, but that doesn't seem to stop him from showing his face everywhere. If you were his chosen Bond Girl, you'd go to the Opera, you'd eat at all the fanciest restaurants, you'd gamble in Monte Carlo and you'd have sickeningly awesome clothes. Plus...there are SIX OF HIM. Soft spot for Connery or a longing to be Mrs. Remington Steele...Bond accommodates. And, for the men in the crowd...you'd be JAMES BOND for God's sake. He wins. Hands down.

But, wait. Let's look behind door number two. Specimen: Jason Bourne. This man gives dark and brooding a brand new look. I mean, seriously. He makes Heathcliff look like he could star in Hairspray, for goodness sake. Dead wife, dead kids, dead parents, totally reprogrammed by the CIA (or whatever organization he works for) and made into a Killing. Machine. Good looking? Sure! Handsome as they come! Skilled? My word. This guy does his job WELL. He can kill a Russian (or an American, for that matter) 16 different ways before breakfast. And, for the record, no one crashes through a window like Bourne. In a dark alley, you want Bourne on your side.

And, if you're a woman...well...if you've ever wanted to save a guy--THIS is the guy you want to save. I mean, if you can get him to settle down and have a catch with the kids--you are one heckuva woman.

And so here we are again, which one do we pick? Let's consider some of the scenarios in which one might need a Bourne. or a Bond.

* On the Lam -- Bourne. Bond might bring his gorgeous Tux and you might get to tool off in a cigarette boat, but when you're trying to hide--or run--you want a full-on professional by your side.

* Traveling -- Bond. He lives the high life. And the bill goes to Her Majesty. Yes. You can afford that D&G gown. Get two.

* On Date Night -- Bond. He's clever. He's fun. He knows his way around a Baccarat table. And if you get yourself in a bind, he's got the gadgets to get you home. (Well, maybe...maybe not. An alarming number of Bond Girls die. And not in pleasant, she-didn't-feel-a-thing kind of ways)

* At home on a Sunday afternoon -- Bourne. Bond may have all those fantastic toys...but my bet is on Bourne for the handy stuff. I mean, really. Can you see this guy at the Home Depot? (But consider, Dear Reader, what I've said before: Bourne is a wounded hawk. He needs years of therapy. The expensive kind. I'm not thinking he's going to star in a Kevin Costner movie any time soon.)

Hmmm. I'm still stuck.

What do you think?

Real Men Read Austen

Ok, y'all. Seriously?

How am I supposed to be articulate in the face of this yumminess?

Dominic West reads from Pride & Prejudice.

In the immortal words of well bred ladies everywhere:

Hubba Hubba.

uhm...hello, sparkly edward.

have you seen this?



wow. i renew my desire for RP to play Gavin in the movie of The Season. :)
That said...isn't New Moon the one without Edward?

Top 10 Sigh-Inducing Moments...

In honor of the day, I give you my top ten list of sigh-inducing romantic moments from literature and film.

10. "Nobody puts Baby in the corner." --Johnny, Dirty Dancing

9. "Aaaaaassss Yoooouuuuuu Wiiiiiiiissssshhhhh!" --Wesley, The Princess Bride

8. "Loretta, I love you. Not like they told you love is, and I didn't know this either, but love don't make things nice - it ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It makes things a mess. We aren't here to make things perfect. The snowflakes are perfect. The stars are perfect. Not us. Not us! We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and die." --Ronny, Moonstruck

7. *sigh*



6. From Breakfast at Tiffany's:

Paul: "I love you."
Holly: "So what."
Paul: "So what?! So plenty! I love you! You belong to me!"

5. Have you ever loved a man, then lost him, then learned he lives on Fiji with a new lover? Is Fiji still Fiji? Coconuts and palm trees? --Tomcat in Love by Tim O'Brien

4. "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." --Harry, When Harry Met Sally

3. Meet Lloyd Dobler:



2. From The Odyssey:

Then with a burst of tears she ran straight toward him, and
flung her arms about the neck of Odysseus, and kissed his head, and spoke:
“Lo, thou dost convince my heart, unbending as it is.”
And in his heart aroused yet more the desire for lamentation;
and he wept, holding in his arms his dear and true-hearted wife.

1. "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." -Fitzwilliam Darcy, Pride & Prejudice

Ok...so what have I missed???

the one that got away

so, as i've mentioned, i'm working on a new project, a romance that revolves around catching the uncatchable.  in this particular case, i was inspired by the concept of the one that got away. 

we've all got one of these--the boy in our college chem lab with the great smile who seemed the perfect catch, but whom we could never quite muster the courage to speak to; the girl in high school we dreamed of but who never quite noticed us; the boyfriend who dumped us because he just couldn't commit; the girl who we dumped because we were just plain dumb.  The ones that got away. The ones that might have been. 

Now, that's not to say that we didn't turn out just fine--in many cases, we crawled into the tall grass, licked our wounds and then, several days and far too many pints of coconut sorbet later, we rose again to meet the world--and the next one.  Who maybe, just maybe, turned out to be The One...not just the one that got away.

But the project I'm working on explores the age old question: "What if the one that got away was The One?"  And, more than that, "What if we got another chance?"  

My heroine, Callie, is in this very dilemma.  She's been in love with that proverbial guy from chem lab for her entire life (if they had chem labs in regency england--or if women went to college in regency england--this metaphor would be perfect, but just go with it).  And now, it's her 10 year college reunion, and she's got her chance.  He's still single.  She's still single.  But how does she get him to notice her now that she's a decade older and a decade shyer--and he's a decade darker?  Here's her chance to finally catch the one that got away...but how?  Especially when he's so very handsome and she's so very...well...plain. 

And that's the premise of the love story I'm working on. 

I should say that I actually caught the one that got away, so this is a premise that's rather near and dear to my heart.  But Callie's story is far more exciting than my own.  At least, it's shaping up to be.  

Now it's your turn...do you have a one that got away story?  willing to share? 

in honor of the day...as jane would have it

today, everyone is thinking of love, and so i give you these, perhaps the two most beautiful lines ever placed in the mouth of fictional heroes:

"I cannot make speeches, Emma. If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more."

and

"In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

*sigh!*

and, an added benefit!

The dreamy Jeremy Northam as George Knightly in Emma:

and the unparalleled Colin Firth as Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice:

happy valentine's day!!

xoxo