Teresa Revisits Some Beloved Old Friends

When I said I was revisiting some beloved “old” friends, you probably thought I was going to drop by Christina Dodd's or Connie Brockway's for coffee, but I’m actually referring to the fact that Bantam is re-releasing two of my “classic” romances--A WHISPER OF ROSES and THIEF OF HEARTS today at a very special price of only $4.99. When I talk about my books on-line or elsewhere, I realize that I often sound like either an incurable egotist or a raving lunatic. (Shut up, Liz.) Because when somebody gushes, “Oh, I just loved that hero!”, I can’t help but gush right back, “Oh me too! I absolutely adored him!” Or when somebody writes, “What a wonderful story!”, I catch myself sighing wistfully and thinking, “Yes, it was, wasn’t it?”

But I don’t love my stories because I wrote them. I love them because I lived them. I feel every emotion my characters are feeling. When they laugh, I laugh. When they hurt, I cry. When my heroine falls in love with my hero, I fall in love right along with her. I yearn, I ache, I burn. As I write, their memories become my own and to me that’s one of the greatest blessings of this profession. This is why it’s such a joy when a book gets reprinted. When you can not only revisit your beloved old friends but introduce them to some of the new friends--your treasured readers--that you’ve made along the way.

I still keenly remember writing one wildly dramatic scene in A WHISPER OF ROSES. (If you’ve read the book, you’ll probably know exactly what scene I’m talking about.) The theme from LAST OF THE MOHICANS was blaring on the stereo. I was writing and sobbing so hard I could barely see the monitor through my tears a la Joan Wilder in Romancing the Stone. I did the dastardly deed I knew I had to do, finished the scene with a flourish of my fingers on the keyboard, then jumped up and shouted, “Oh Lord, that was SO much fun!” See what I mean? Oh wait...I was trying to convince you that I WASN’T a lunatic, wasn’t I?

Morgan MacDonnell, the hero of A WHISPER OF ROSES broke quite a few molds for me. As some of you may have noticed, I tend to favor lean heroes with broad shoulders and narrow hips. But Morgan is a strapping fellow--a brawny Highlander with a heart nearly as large as he is. He’s also the youngest of my heroes but since he’s been herding his wild band of outlaw clansman since he was twelve, I can promise you that he’s every inch a man. It’s no wonder that Sabrina Cameron first falls in love with him when she’s only six and he’s twelve. I don’t know what it is about those wild Highland lads but I’ve never been able to resist them and judging from their continued popularity to this day, most readers can’t either. (Jamie Fraser anyone?)

Teresa Brings You "Jack Bauer's Guide to Romance"

So who else caught the 4-hour premiere of the new season of ”24“ this week? I’m in love with this show not just because it’s a taut thriller but because it never fails to evoke emotion in me and I’m a terrible drama addict. (Just ask any of the other Squawkers.) The final moments of the second episode had me bawling like a baby one minute, then rolling off the couch to my knees the next, screaming, “Oh my gosh...oh my gosh...OH MY GOSH!!!” (Fortunately there was no one else home at the time.) Yes, our intrepid hero Jack Bauer was looking a little thin and haggard after two years of being tortured in a Chinese prison but it didn’t take him much time to snap back into full-blown action mode. Has anyone ever made a kill-shot to the head look sexier?

So today I bring you…

JACK BAUER’S RULES OF ROMANCE

1) The more I love you, the higher your chances of being killed by a foreign operative.

2) Your kids will never get on my nerves because my own daughter (known in many on-line communities simply as “Spawn of Jack") is the most petulant, sullen, annoying character ever created. (Sadly enough, in six seasons, she’s the only character NOT to get killed.)

3) Forget the flowers and candy. Nothing says “I love you, baby” like a good interrogation.

4) If you catch me whispering sweet nothings in a beautiful terrorist’s ear, I’m probably just saying, “I WILL kill you.” And I will.

5) Since I only have 24 hours to save the world, I may only have time for a quickie. (As opposed to say...a hot meal and a shower.)

6) Not to worry. I always carry breath mints just in case I have to rip out someone’s throat with my teeth before meeting you for lunch.

7) If your parents just happen to be connected to international terrorists, I won’t have to worry about those pesky in-law visits during the holidays.

8) I’m an excellent packer for those romantic getaways. All I need is a backpack and a couple of bananas.

9) No need for birth control because our odds of surviving more than 12 hours without some kind of nuclear attack are not high.

10) If you like the kinky stuff, I’ve had a lot of experience with ropes and chains.

Teresa's Favorite Shade of PINK

Yes, that’s right. I’m a 30-something-year-old woman (cough cough...) who is coming out of the closet to admit that I adore P!NK! I first fell in love with her music for one simple reason--the girl can sing. In a music industry where pop stars are manufactured from every pretty girl who ever appeared in a Disney movie or hosted her own Nickelodeon show, P!NK is the genuine article--talented, smart, brash and bold enough to get in your face if she has something important to say. She acknowledges this paradox in Don’t Let Me Get Me from MISSUNDAZTOOD: (Hey, I said she could sing, not spell!)

“L.A. told me

You’ll be a pop star

All you have to change

Is everything you are

Tired of being compared

To damn Britney Spears

She’s so pretty

That just ain’t me.”

She revisited the subject with Stupid Girls on her most recent CD I’M NOT DEAD. The song was accompanied by a hilarious video of P!NK mocking her less talented contemporaries by writhing all over the sudsy hood of a car a la national brain trust Paris Hilton.

MISSUNDAZTOOD is the only CD aside from the hallowed BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: THE MUSICAL that ever stayed in my car CD player for an entire year without me ever getting sick of it.

Part of P!NK’s charm is her diversity. She sings pop laced with a sly wit and self-deprecating humor. She sings soul. She rocks like a latter-day Joan Jett on songs like Humble Neighborhood from TRY THIS and Numb from MISSUNDAZTOOD. And she can break your heart with songs like Family Portrait from MISSUNDAZSTOOD, which has to be the most honest account I’ve ever heard of what’s it’s like for a frightened child to wake up in the middle of the night to the sounds of breaking glass and her parents screaming at each other.

When we lost our 20-year-old nephew to an accidental drug overdose in August, there was very little that could give me comfort but P!NK’S song Who Knew (written for a dear friend of hers who died from an overdose three years ago) gave my anguish both a voice and a melody.

I’ve always been a sucker for smart, angry young women who have something genuine to say and refuse to take any crap off of anybody. (Alannis Morissette anyone?) They remind me of what it’s like to be racing down the road at seventeen with the windows down and the stereo blasting. But P!NK is even more fun than Alannis because she knows when to wink at her own foibles and ours.

(DISCLAIMER: P!NK’s CDs TRY THIS and I’M NOT DEAD contain some profanity. I buy the edited versions for myself and my niece but it’s still not too hard to figure out what’s missing. The good news is that she doesn’t use profanity frequently or gratuitously. So if you like your swearing to have the delicious resonance and eloquence of a good Elizabeth Bevarly rant, then it may not bother you.)