Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Do you remember your first?

Do you remember your first? Oh my, but I do. And with the memory comes all the feelings-- the excitement, the shyness, the sheer naughtiness of it all. I remember as I dove into the experience the nervous twinge, the flutter of joy, the tight anticipation, the tears of release, and finally, contentment.

My first was a powerful Greek. A war hero turned shipping magnate. It must be said, he could be surly, with an absolutely shitty disposition. And yes, he took arrogance to a then un-heard-of extreme. But he had a fondness for unicorns and when push came to shove, was willing to sacrifice his life for his love.

Sigh.

My first was The Honey is Bitter by Violet Winspear, a Harlequin Presents written in 1967. I read it over 30 years ago one afternoon at the beach house, where I found it on a shelf above my grandfather's Tijuana Brass albums, tucked between Harry Kemelman and Jean Plaidy. By the end of the novel, Paul had nearly died, was blinded, and never once told Domini he loved her. And poor Domini! She'd been traded to Paul to cover her cousin's debts, had nearly been crushed to death in a cave-in, and had miscarried her baby.

And some of the lines... like this one: "...as he laid his face against her heart, her hand dwelt with compassion at the back of his head." What does that even mean? Who knows? And really, who cares? The book is riddled, literally riddled with enough sentiment to make any modern woman's head explode. But, well, it was my first romance. And Paul was my first romance hero. This book was my first sortie into the written word of love and emotion and longing, and as such will always remain close to my heart.

The experience fo that first novel is forever imprinted upon my heart and mind, and I continue to seek it whenever I pick up a new book, try a new author. And as a writer, this si the experience that i want to give to my readers. It is twisty and painful and joyful and happy. An experience that begins with anticipation and culminates with satisfaction and the good kind of wanting more.

Tell me about your first, and i fyou have ever had it as good as or better since.

14 comments:

  1. "Irish Thoroughbred" by Nora Roberts when I was in high school. I got my library card taken away for a whole month because I was reading "those" kind of books. LOL! I would do it again in a heartbeat. The book is still on my book shelf and from time to time I pull it down and re-read. It takes me back to football games, braces and my search for the perfect Irishman. Ahh the memories!

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  2. I read so much as a teenager, I can't remember many of the titles. I had a closet full of Harlequin romances. But I'd say my first--and it was my mother's book--so I like to think I had and still have her blessing when it comes to writing steamy romance novels--was Skye O'Malley by Beatrice Small. Echoes of that long-ago read book influenced and linger in my first novel--The Lady Falcon, my version of a bold, adventuring female pirate.

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  3. Like Candy, I don't remember the first one I read. Too many books, way too many years ago! LOL!

    But speaking of Candy -- can't wait to read more of the Lady Falcon!!

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  4. "The Flame and the Flower" by Kathleen Woodiwiss is the first romance I remember reading, and I must have been in high school. I also read "Sweet Savage Love" early on. Forever after, I was hooked on historicals.

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  5. One summer I was stuck in hell on vacation in a small town...with no more books to read. I went to the IGA and in desperation plucked two books from the squeaky circular metal rack. "By Love Bewitched" by, yes, Violet Winspear! and "Lord Richard's Daughter" by Joan Wolf. What a strange and brave new world I had stumbled upon. Lucky me!! I still have the books - they are prized possessions. Love at first read...

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  6. Mary,
    My first Nora was Foxy Lady. I remember my cousin giving it to me, and I thought "what a ridiculous, unhip title! Foxy! that's SO 70s!" but she assured me it was good - and she was right. Finally! Humor in a romance!

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  7. Candy - I know what you mean about the echoes of the first being in my writing. Hopefully not in the characters, but definitly in the emotional reaction.
    And like Yvonne said, can't wait to revisit The Lady Falcon one of these days.

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  8. Jane, My first historical was Laurie McBain's Moonlight Madness. It had everything - the heroine who dressed as a highwayman, kidnap, secret baby, hulking estate, hunky hero. I just saw that Source Books is re-releasing it in trade.

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  9. "Lady Vixen" by Shirlee Busbee, complete with rapey pirates, dancing at Almacks and the Battle of New Orleans. Captain Saber still kind of floats my boat!

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  10. Keely, A strange new world, indeed. Up until then, I'd been reading scifi/fantasy for fun. I still have all 3 of the books I've mentioned - the Winspear, Roberts and McBain though I must admit I haven't reread in years.

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  11. Beatriz,
    ooo, there were a group of authors - Kathleen Woodiwiss, Shirlee Busbee, Rosemary Rogers, Johanna Lindsay - who told such lavish stories that so wouldn't work today, but so worked then. And the thrills they offered! Wow!
    Thanks for your comment - and I hope that you are continuing to find other "Captain Sabers" to float your boat!

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  12. Not a first for me, but my favorite Teresa Medeiros book had a pirate in it. Thief of Hearts. He wasn't the hero of that book, but he was in my heart! Captain Doom! Yo ho . . .

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  13. You and the Doom. I am so not surprised!

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  14. I read constantly as a kid but I do remember the first adult romance I read was "The Flame and the Flower." I was checking out my other books and there it was in a display next to the check out desk, in all its clinch-posed purple-covered glory. I grabbed it at the last moment and put it on my stack. I remember learning things from that book...

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