What would you do for love? by Amy Andrews

Allow me to introduce you to Lee. 

Lee is an Australian idiot. 

He fully deserves this pisstake media report for his actions which involved jumping into a river, well known for it's crocodiles, all to impress a girl who didn't really look that impressed. 

Go ahead and watch the video (there's some language in it that's a little bit fruity) and judge for yourself. 

I'll wait....

Lee was damn lucky it was only his arm that got munched. It could have been ripped off, he could have been pulled under and I don't even want to estimate how much money he cost the taxpayers of Australia because he let a carton of goon and what was in his underpants do his thinking.

BUT....it does beggar the question... just how far would you go for love? Just how far should our heroes in our books go? Have *you* done something outrageously risky for love or know anyone who has? Have you read a hero who did something hold-your-breath stupid to get the girl?

PS The moral of the story is, dont be like Lee. No girl is worth being shoved under a log by a prehistoric beast.

Cry baby

I watched Love, Actually again last weekend and you know that moment at the end of the film? You know the one I mean when, Sam (the little kid) gets the kiss at the airport from the girl of his dreams…and then he turns to his stepdad (Liam Neeson’s character) with that smile, his arms raised above his head…and then Liam Neeson holds him aloft and swings him around… Oh, man, that moment makes me tear up every single time.

I never used to cry much in movies when I was younger. But there was still the odd movie that could tear the heart out of my chest and stomp all over it. Who remembers the final moments of the film Gallipoli starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee? OMG I bawled my eyes out! Until then I hadn’t known that movies and stories could end sadly. Oh, and then Dead Poets Society came along. One “Oh, Captain, my captain,” and I was in floods.

Nowadays, though, a movie can have me sniffling and wiping my eyes at the drop of a hat, and that’s started me thinking about books that make me cry. It hardly ever happens. As a reader, I rarely cry. Why not, I ask myself?

Don’t get me wrong. I can become totally invested in a character's story. My heart can pound with fear for them, and it can ache so badly for them that if I’m interrupted in the middle of a scene of high emotion I'm likely to snap the offending interrupter’s head off. I breathe many a happy sigh at the end of a story too when everything has worked out brilliantly. Is there a better feeling in the world? But the fact remains that I hardly ever cry while reading.

Off the top of my head I can think of three books that have made me cry:
* The final three chapters of Seven Little Australians when Judy dies
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Cedric has been killed and Harry gets him back to Hogwarts and then won’t let him go
* And in the Forsyte Saga (John Galsworthy) in relation to a particular character’s reaction to the death of their much-loved son

I reread the Harry Potter scene again yesterday…and it didn’t make me cry (though it did make me ache). I couldn’t find my copy of the Forsyte Saga so I couldn’t reread it, but I did find Seven Little Australians. So I reread those last three chapters and by the end of it I had tears running down my face. Those chapters are as harrowing now as they were when I was a kid.

So what about you—do books make you cry? Are there one or two guaranteed to start the tears flowing regardless of how many times you’ve read them?

The luxuries of life

Writing for Harlequin Desire it's often my arduous *cough* duty to have to research some of the luxuries and indulgences of life and to make them seem every day to my characters--well, my heroes, usually. There's something quite appealing about a man who can provide you with everything your heart desires, even if you're equally capable of providing it yourself, don't you think?

Things, for example, like the gift David Beckham gave his wife, Victoria, for Christmas one year--a rare diamond-studded bag of which only three are made in a year. The Silver Himalayan, as the bag is called, is made out of fine white crocodile leather and has a 3-carat diamond on the lock and, at the time, it cost a cool US$125,000.00.

Or, the beautiful Taj Mahal which was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan to celebrate his love for his beloved (and, sadly, dead) wife Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj is mute testament to the lengths a person will go to declare their love and devotion.

And then there was the incredibly extravagant gift giving of one of the richest men in the world, Roman Abramovich, who paid around $14 million on a bronze sculpture for his girlfriend. The sculpture is by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti and is called “Femme de Venise”. Abramovich is also reputed to have spent $60 million in a month buying expensive pieces of art for his girlfriend. A MONTH!!! I wonder if they're still together?

For me, while extravagance is nice from time to time and certainly fun to read about, I prefer the simpler things in life. Like the gift of time, when everything is pressing down upon you, or coming home to find the chores you'd planned to do are already done. Or a gift that's incredibly thoughtful and unexpected and precious to you at the same time. Mind you, a surprise diamond or two wouldn't go astray, either, LOL!

So, I'm curious, what's your idea of luxury and indulgence and what's the nicest thing your sweetie has ever done for you?

Happy Valentines Cat Tray-ler Sunday

Valentine's Day Cat Tray-lers are all about love.

As usual there is Simon's Cat. The second is a couple of unusual friends - a cat and his mouse friend - it's love.

The third is montage of love cats.

And lastly I have added some cute to make you go aaawwwhhhh!!!!

So enjoy our CAT Tray-lers on its own dedicated page right here