Catwalk Tribute Wednesday - Dorkus, Charlie and Tess - RIP

In the last week we have lost two of our furry cat pals have. The first was kind of the lovecat mascot – Dorkus – who appeared on the postcards and promo items. The second was my middle “fur-child” Charlie, who passed away yesterday. So I thought I would use today Catwalk to do a bit of a tribute are furry kids.

Dorkus: 1994 - 2010

I asked Dorkus’s pet human, Diane to give me a bit of an insight into his life.

Dorkus wandered into my life in February 1994. I'd been on the phone to mum telling her how it was time for me to get another cat, and my flatmate found Dork a week later, meowing pitifully. Very quickly he was adopted. In 16 years, Dorkus became adept at moving - he lived in 16 different houses and was the master of them all. When I found him a new daddy, he showed him who was boss, and trained him until the new daddy was actually his personal slave. Sometimes known as Psycho Cat for the crazy way he would race up and down the hall, or ambush you from a doorway or the bath, Dorkus loved games with his pet humans. When he was almost a year old, I almost lost him. He'd disappeared and I finally found him under the house next door, in shock, unresponsive and so not like my Dorkus. It seemed he'd had an argument with a garbage truck and when I took him to the vet, the vet said his tail had to be amputated. My flatmate nicknamed him Stumpy Bum, but it added another quirk to his personality.
Sadly, I had to say goodbye to Dorkus last week, and the trip to the vet was his last. At 16 years old, he had a good long life (spoilt brat) and he brought a lot of love into my life. Dorkus was the ultimate lovecat.

See Dorkus' Catwalk spot here


Prince Charles: 2004 – 2010

We took him off a lady I worked with. Her cat had 3 kittens and she was a HUGE royal fan. So she had called the kittens Diana, Camilla and Prince Charles. We called him Charlie – he was the sweetest little kitten who grew into the biggest stockiest cat. He was like a shy boy who became a gentle giant.

Charlie was not really a people cat. He liked to hang around but didn’t like to be touched much… I am having a moment while writing this and the tears are welling. I can picture him sitting on the floor beside me as I prepare food for dinner. His purr really, really loud as he looks up at me. Every now and then I drop a piece of meat and his purr would double in volume as he devours his offering. It didn’t matter if he’d just be fed. He loved fresh chicken, and really loved beefsteak, but even if I was peeling potatoes he was there beside me. He had a funny little squeak of a meow. Even though he was bigger than the other cats, he was a sook. The others would dominate him every time.

Really he was a quiet, gentle boy who didn’t like hugs but loved boxes - the smaller the better (see above pic)
And I miss him.
A lot.

Tess

As I write this, it’s been brought to my attention that a friend of the lovecats has also lost a furry friend. Malvina lost Tess on Sunday and we Lovecats want to give her a cat hug.Send hugs here

Romance in Other Languages

First, allow me a moment to have a little squee that Ryder and Macy's story, At The Billionaire's Beck And Call? is out in the US. (It'll be out in Australia and NZ in November.) This is my favourite of my books so far and RT called it a "sweetly sexy romance". Okay, moment over. Thank you for indulging me. ;)

So, I'm thinking a lot about languages. My first book is out in Italian and Spanish this month and I can't wait to get author copies and scan over the words. Is that strange? I should note, I can't *read* Italian or Spanish, but I really, really want to see them.

When I was at high school, I did a term of French and a term of German, like everyone at my school. I can remember how to count to ten in each language and the names of some desserts. (Thus allowing me to order up to ten chocolate eclairs if I have the need.)

I also did two years of Japanese and coincidentally for this post, I found one of my hiragana texbooks a few days ago. I remembered pathetically little, but did feel I could maybe brush up a bit and get all my year 10 skills back (which was a long way from anything resembling fluency).

Then at uni, I did a year of Russian, which means I remember some of the alphabet and a lot about vodka. But I'm about to dig out my Russian textbooks because this year Harlequin announced they're spreading to Russia. I can't tell you how excited I'd be to get a copy of one of my books in Russian.

So, I speak very little of any language other than English but I'm ridiculously thrilled about seeing foreign language editions. I blogged yesterday in Argentina and my blog post was translated into Spanish. I stared at the screen for ages, trying to work out which word was which, and called dh in to show him.

Share with me a moment - do you speak other languages? Is a language other than English your first language? Is there a language you always wanted to learn?

Prize and Fun!

Thanks to everyone who played the Romance Game last weekend. As promised, I've picked a commenter and will post out a copy of At The Billionaire's Beck & Call?. The winner is:

Anita Mack!

How could I go past the audacious Aphrodisia who has amnesia once she gets into amorous action with the aloof Alexis? Anita, email me at rachel at rachelbailey dot com and I'll get the book out to you.

And now for a bit of fun. I think everyone in the world must have seen this ad by now, but just in case you haven't (or want to see it again!), here's the I'm On A Horse commercial. The connection to this blog is that he's on a horse and we love animals here at the Lovecats. Plus, he looks like hero material to me. =)

Greatest Romance Movies of the 20th Century

READING: The Young Romantics; Shelley, Keats & Byron.
WATCHING: Tonight? Bounty Hunter.
LISTENING TO: Joan Armatrading - retro phase
MAKING ME SMILE: Dh making my favourite dinner.

For over ten years now, my husband and brother-in-law have been arguing over which is the best movie of the 20^th Century. My brother-in-law believes it to be Doctor Zhivago, one of the greatest stories of all time. The acting is incomparable, the cinematography stunning and Lara’s Theme is haunting and beautiful. It’s set against a backdrop of some of the most significant historical events of the century.

My husband declares Star Wars to be the most significant film of the 20th century. It tackles the great themes of good vs. evil, plus has amazing fx. Everyone knows the film so well that it has been parodied in The Simpsons and Friends. It has been played in theatres in every country on the planet (my dh says it’s still running in corners of northern China).

He’s cooking my dinner as I write this but he says “Star Wars singlehandedly turned Sci Fi from a B grade genre into mainstream box office success. All villains before and since are now measured against the standard of Darth Vadar – he’s the ultimate baddie.” Luke Skywalker, Princess Leila and Hans Solo are all names tattooed into our subconscious.

(Unfortunately, my brother-in-law is not available for comment at this time....)

Which brings me to the point of today’s blog: which is the most significant romance movie of the 20^th Century?

Now, you may have noticed, my brother-in-law and my husband have been using different criteria so, in the interests of scientific and impartial assessment, I’ll state them now:

· It has to be a film we all (or most of us at any rate) have heard of. Little known art house specials – however wonderful - don’t count

· It has to have love

· It has to have something “extra” – setting, other themes etc.

· Everyone can name the actors

· The name of the hero and heroine should be known

· It doesn’t have to have a happy ending

· It has to be widely quoted and/or imitated

Hmm. I’ll give latitude on the last point. I’m going to put a few into the arena, see what you think.

1. Gone with the Wind. Of course. “Frankly dear, I don’t give a damn”. The costumes. The sweeping historical backdrop. Clarke and Vivian. Rhett and Scarlett. And Tara! As for a happy ending - what do you think? Could Scarlett win him back?

2. Titanic. Can you hum the melody? Name the characters, not just the actors? Yup, Rose and Jack. Looking good. Famous historical setting. You can mention this film in any international group and everyone knows it.

3. Pretty Woman. Okay, well-known Pigmalion spin-off. Names of characters? Hmm. However, Julia and Richard will do for one point. Fabulous setting? Eh, no. Quotable? “Big mistake!” (when she’s bailing the shop assistant up for blowing her off the previous day.). Has most of the world seen it? You betcha.

4. Ghost. Actors: check. Characters? Ah, well I’ve drawn a blank. Memorable scene – the potting wheel with one of the all time great love themes playing in the background. Sigh factor? (a new criterion I’ve just made up). 10/10

5. Casablanca. Characters? Rick and....Elsa? Significant historical backdrop, famous song. Famous line. “Play it, Sam” (not “Play it again, Sam”). Sigh factor? 11/10.

At this stage, I’m going to step aside from impartiality and just say that French Kiss has a special place in my heart. I can’t remember the names of the characters but Meg and Kevin do a splendid job. The setting is France – need I say more? It’s funny. It’s light. It’s touching. When I have flu I settle down to watch it and it always makes me feel better. Now that, for me, is the mark of a really good movie!

So come on, give me ammo for the next family discussion. Which film do you rate most significant romance of the 20^th Century and why?

Catwalk Wednesday

Name Miss Winifred Menzies

Human Slave The slave would be Damon. Nicky thinks she and I are equals. Obviously we are not equals. I am her superior.
Likes Sunbeams and what the humans refer to as "wet food".
Dislikes Dry cat food & vacuum cleaners (they take away all that fluff I leave around for the humans).
Ambition To sleep on Nicky's pillow when she doesn't know it. Entering the Forbidden Room (the teen's room).
Night Owl or Early Bird I will stay up late if required to supervise the teenager doing assessments, or Nicky doing her writing. However I also rise early when I think it's time for breakfast.
Favourite Pastime Sleeping. Particularly now I’m 17!
What do you like to sharpen your claws on Damon.

What's the Catch?

Reading: Forbidden by Christina Phillips
Watching: Glee
Listening to: I like it by Enrique Iglesias
Making me smile: My day at the beach yesterday

Rachel’s great Caturday fun got me thinking about my fav romance plots. What catchy hooks guarantee that you pick up a book? I find category books are excellent at giving us those hooks that suck us in every time.

Here are some of the favs:

 Revenge
 Secret baby
 Reunion
 Marriage of convenience
 Amnesia
 Rivals

A rivals story guarantees I at least take a look at a book. My last Nocturne Bites, Hunter’s Surrender was a rivals story and I loved writing that story!

Maybe it’s the kind of characters that hook you:

 Cowboys
 Vampires
 Doctors
 Firefighters
 Werewolves
 Race car driver
 Secret agents

Image: Pandora1 | Dreamstime.com

You had me at vampire. Yes, there are lots of vampire stories around but I’ll always check them out. And secret agents…they’ll always get my vote.

Or maybe it’s the exotic settings or nationalities that draw you in:

 Australian Outback
 Mediterranean heroes: Italy, Greece, Spain
 France
 Middle Eastern Sheikhs
 Some fabulous tropical island

Image: Natalia Sinjushina | Dreamstime.com

I’m not so fussy about location, but something exotic (different from my everyday life) will always suck me in.

So what hooks have I forgotten? Have you got any favourite ones?

Caturday Fun!

I thought a game would be fun for caturday today. So, I'm making up The Romance Game, and I'll be giving away a copy of At The Billionaire's Beck & Call? to the person who makes me smile the most with their answers. =)

Here's how to play. You need to answer the following questions, and they all need to start with the first letter of your name (and to show how generous I am, you can choose the letter from your first or your second name).

1. Best romance hero name:
2. Best romance heroine name: (not your own!)
   
3. Best romance hero trait:
4. Best romance heroine trait:
5. Best romance plot:
6. Best romance cover pose:
   

I'll go first...

1. Best romance hero name: Ryder (ok, I cheated - that's the name of my hero in ATBB&C =))
   
2. Best romance heroine name: Roesia (French for rose!)
   
3. Best romance hero trait: Rich (naturally)
   
4. Best romance heroine trait: Regal (either literally or inside herself)
   
5. Best romance plot: Reunion (love them - I'm writing one atm)
   
6. Best romance cover pose: Ravishment (any variation of)
   

So, give me your list - I'm standing by to be dazzled. =) Then I'll choose someone to win a copy of At The Billionaire's Beck & Call?. (Or if you have it already, one of my earlier books.)

Ready? Set. Go!