A Sporting Weekend

with Bronwyn Jameson

Our driveway and creek crossing

The October long weekend always seems to sneak up on me. Perhaps because I don’t recognise it for a reason, such as Anzac Day or Queen’s Birthday or Australia Day. I had to check to reassure myself of its raison d’etre – Labour Day, that would be, although for many sports-loving Aussies it’s the Footie Long Weekend. At least it has become so since the AFL and Rugby League scheduled their grand-finals on this one week-end.

Given the current flooding, no-one in my household was going anywhere this weekend!

No caption needed!

 I am a bit of a sports tragic, so settling in for a weekend of football grand-finals and other games/events was no hardship. I am not a hardcore supporter of any teams, as in I have my favourites but I don’t don team colours and watch every game from season’s start to end. So although the Swans (my fave AFL team) lost, I didn’t shed tears...except in response to the good-guy, good-news stories that followed. 

Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? Or a gesture that defines a man as one of the good guys? Or a Hemsworth viewing?

At Ohio State University one year ago

I did not watch the Rugby League grand-final. After the World Cup of Hockey final, the AFL grand-final, two American College Football games – we got to see an Ohio State University game while in Columbus this time last year and I became an instant fan – and the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix (yay, Daniel Riccardo!) I was pretty much sported out. I needed a walk, some gardening, and a (non-sporting) book* to round out my weekend.

*Although if you’re looking for a sports-themed read, check out Amy Andrews’ Sydney Smoke Rugby series.

How do you spend this past weekend, whether short or long? Are you an armchair sports fan? Do you enjoy sports-themed romance (and if so, do you have any recommendations?)

Book Brothers

Photo: Gage Skidmore

I've been thinking about sets of brothers lately. 

In September and October this year, the last two Hawke brothers will have their stories out in the world, so it's particularly topical for me. The first Hawke brother had his story last year. 

For those interested, the series goes:

Liam Hawke (middle brother): 
The Nanny Proposition - out now

Dylan Hawke (youngest brother): 
Bidding on Her Boss - September

Adam Hawke (oldest brother): 
His 24-Hour Wife - October

I think my favourite set of famous brothers at the moment is the Hemsworth brothers, Chris and Liam. Though, this may be influenced by my love of Thor and The Hunger Games!

But there's also:

• Ralph and Joseph Fienes, 
• the many Baldwin brothers, 
• Owen and Luke Wilson, 
• Benji and Joel Madden,
• Beau and Jeff Bridges,
• Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen,
• Prince William and Prince Harry,
• Ben and Casey Affleck.

What about you - do you have a favourite duo or trio of brothers? 

Blonde Heroes: Love Them or Avoid Them?

What do you think about blonde heroes? If you're reading a book and the hero is blonde, are you less interested in him than if he'd been dark-haired?

There's a rumour in romancelandia that readers prefer the tall, dark and handsome type. In fact there are stories of blonde heroes turning up dark-haired on their covers so as not to scare the readers away.

I've been thinking about this rumour lately because my October Desire, Countering His Claim, has my first ever blonde hero, Luke Marlow. The image in my head for Luke was Rupert Penry-Jones (from Persuasion, Spooks, etc). This is him in his Persuasion costume with co-star, Sally Hawkins:

Image: BBC website

However, had I wanted another actor as inspiration, I wouldn't have had to look far. In fact, there are so many blonde potential-heroes that it makes me wonder if we have different expectations for heroes in books to heroes in movies, or whether the rumour is simply not true. In the spirit of healthy debate, I've gathered photos of some of those blonde potential-heroes for your consideration...

Chris Hemsworth

Image: Wikipedia

Owen Wilson

Image: Georges Biard

Alexander Skarsgard

Image: Gage Skidmore

Simon Baker

Image: Angela George

Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, aka, James Marsters

Image: Wikipedia

Captain America, aka, Chris Evans

Image: Marvel Website

Ryan Gosling

Image: Wikipedia

Ryan Reynolds

Image: Wikipedia

And this is how the Desire art department portrayed Luke Marlow on the cover of Countering His Claim.

There were many more examples I could have given, from Jensen Ackles to Paul Newman, from Dan Stephens (Matthew in Downton Abbey) to Jude Law. What do you think? Do you have a soft spot for blonde heroes, or do you prefer tall, dark and handsome?