What if Cinderella Had a Cell Phone?

The fairy tale world might have been just a tad different if Cinderella had had a cell phone. For one, she might have been able to call out for some real help, instead of relying on mice to get her out of that jam with her evil stepmother.

What if Cinderella, or Snow White, or any of those fairy tale princesses, were stronger women, too? Women who could take care of themselves, not women who sat around in the woods, singing of the day when their prince would come and take them away from it all? (One of the things I like most about the Drew Barrymore version of the Cinderella tale; she's a princess-in-waiting who isn't waiting on a prince.)

Those are the kind of women I like to write about. I really can't stand heroines who are so needy, they're waiting on a man to solve all their problems. I read a book recently where the woman wasn't just too stupid to live, she was too needy to live. The hero rescued her over and over again and at the very end, when the hero had been incapacitated by the bad guys, I thought, great, the heroine's going to take matters into her own hands. But, no. A small, well-groomed dog came to her rescue instead.

Ugh.

HER FROG PRINCE, my new book out this month (December 14th officially!, click below on excerpts to read the first chapter), is a retelling of a classic fairy tale but with a modern heroine who doesn't need a man, isn't waiting around for a man and can take care of herself, thank you very much. She's strong, she's determined and she's not about to let someone else hold the reins in her life. She was fun as all heck to write. Those are the best kinds of heroines, in my opinion. They have vulnerabilities, sure, but outside, they're tough and strong.

If those are the kinds of books you like, or if you want to find out how to write a book like that, join me over at eHarlequin. For this week ONLY, I have my own thread over there. I'd love it if you popped by, asked a question or two, so I don't end up talking to myself ;-)

http://community.eharlequin.com/WebX?50@@.3b9c2f1a

(Sorry that's not a clickable link; for some reason when I put in the HTML links, they don't show up in my blog. When I have more time, I'll figure it out. Right now, I have my 2500 words to write today!).

I did meet my word count yesterday, bringing me to just under 8000 words in BACHELOR. Off to make it over 10,000 today. That's when I start to feel like I'm actually making progress!

Oh, and in the being productive department...I did get the outdoor lights hung last night, thanks to DH's help. We even added a twinkling star over the front door. Took us a few tries to get the lights all done right (and all sets working; I swear, these things are made to infuriate people) but now they're all pretty and bright again. I only have half a set to mess with tomorrow, when it's supposed to stop raining.

And, alas, all the cookies are gone. Time to get down the mixer and make another batch!

Have a great Monday!

Shirley