Please welcome Mary Jo Putney to Mt. Oly! Mary Jo has been so incredibly kind to offer a signed book from her backlist to one commentor.

Welcome Mary Jo!

It’s great to be in Goddess Land! Because we’ve all been laboring so long in diverse vineyards of romance, I know many of the goddesses already, so it’s Old Home Week here in Olympus.

Today is the official release date of my first straight historical romance in several years, and I have to admit that I’ve reverted to one of my bad writing habits by killing off the hero again. Of course, this is romance—it’s not hard to figure out that my half-Hindu duke may not be as dead as is generally presumed.

Even though my second Regency romance, written over twenty years ago, had a hero who was dying of his Waterloo wounds and a heroine who wanted to be a merry widow, it was only a couple of years ago that I realized just how often my heroes (and more rarely, my heroines) barely survive my attentions. Somewhere off in Character Land, I imagine handsome, honorable studs and strong, compassionate females fleeing when there’s a casting call for my books. But they can’t escape me for long!

Death as a plotting device has a lot of merit because it raises the stakes for the reader. The story is literally a matter of life and death. Lots and lots of writers do it; even Shakespeare is solidly in that pack.

Besides, I adore over the top plot elements—which is why in Loving a Lost Lord, the hero is not only missing and presumed dead, but amnesiac when the heroine drags him up on a shingle beach in the far north of England, barely alive.

Amnesia is a jolly plot element, but also, an intriguing puzzle. What is a person when memory and inhibition are stripped away? What is a man or woman when he or she is no longer constrained by the expectations of others? What emerges then? Does the amnesiac person have the chance to become a truer, more honest self?

I’d like to think so. Certainly that’s what I did with Adam, the Duke of Ashton, who has deliberately concealed the Hindu side of his nature so he can appear to be a proper English gentleman. That works until his near fatal accident and his meeting with a beautiful woman who has reasons of her own to claim him as her husband. At the end, Adam and Mariah have both been through a lot, but they’re grateful that I brought them together. (They’re swearing to keep any offspring out of my dangerous hands, though. )

Historical romance is saturated with false identities, amnesia, switched identical twins, highwaymen in disguise, girls dressed as guys, etc. It’s all good fun, and heaven knows I’ve done more than my share! Loving a Lost Lord is the first of my new Lost Lords series. It should be rather like my Fallen Angels series, but instead of Eton being the bond that holds the heroes together, I invented the Westerfield Academy, a school for “boys of good birth and bad behavior.” The academy was founded by an eccentric duke’s daughter to provide a refuge for aristocratic boys who are square pegs in round holes.

The series will be open ended—I’ve already written the first two books (the second is scheduled for May 2010), and I have characters and general story ideas for several more. And as I look at these future books—presumed death and masquerades and even a pair of identical twins figure prominently. This is obviously what my Muse likes, and she isn’t budging!

How about you as readers? What are your favorite plot devices? The ones you can’t stand? The ones you can’t stand, but you’ll read them anyhow if done by a favorite writer? I’d love to talk about it!

Mary Jo Putney, thanking the Goddesses for letting me visit

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Yeah, I know, we’re on a theme here, but I guess I’m just in a mood. It never occurs to me, though, until I watch some old movie, how much I miss certain actresses. Oddly enough, though it happens with actors, they tend to stay around longer. The women, however … well, I just don’t get it. I wish Hollywood would figure out that a woman doesn’t HAVE to be young and gorgeous to be interesting.

Madeleine Stowe, for example. She was great in “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Blink” yet she hasn’t had a major role in years. Is it by choice? Or does Hollywood just throw away good actresses when they get old? I saw her play a doctor in “Raines,” a TV show that didn’t make it past 6 episodes, and though the show was so-so, she was fabulous as always. I want to see her in more stuff! Or how about Mary Stuart Masterson? I loved her in “Benny and Joon,” opposite our Johnny, and “Fried Green Tomatoes.” 

An actress that was never well-known, but whom I loved is Lori Petty. Not only was she fun in “Tank Girl” and her brief sitcom, “Lush Life,” but she was the voice of Stephanie Plum in the audio of the first three books, and she is STILL Stephanie Plum in my head. She’s barely working now. I hate that!

So are there any big actresses whom you loved who just faded away? Anyone you’d like to see on the big screen again? And do you think it’s Hollywood that forgets them or they who forget Hollywood?

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PORTUGAL! Yup, we’re continuing on our quest for the best international FROS on the planet. This time we’re on a comfy air conditioned bus heading to a soccer match.

“A soccer match?” you ask, your heart thumping a little harder. “A soccer match in Portugal? You mean-”

YES! It’s Cristiano Ronaldo, the HOTTEST soccer player EVER!

Need more proof? Then climb off the bus and take a gander at this:

And this:

And after the match, we’ll see THIS walking toward our bus:

Happy For Refreshment Only Sunday, m’dears! May your day be SOCCERIFIC!

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I’ve always been a reader. I could read before I started kindergarten, and I read everything I could get my hands on. During the summer we would go to the library every other week, and I would check out twenty books, carrying them stacked up past my head. Little House in the Big Woods and all of the accompanying books are the first ones I remember reading, though my mom would read books to her three girls during lunchtime during the summer even before that.

I recall reading the Hardy Boys, the Adventure books by Willard Price, Zane Grey, and Louis L’Amour. I ventured into non-fiction as well, with Joy Adamson, Jane Goodall, Stan Brock, and Jacques Cousteau being my favorites.

The first romance I remember reading is Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer. After that, I was hooked. My fondness for romance, though, didn’t stop me from reading Tolkien, Heinlein, Harper Lee, Dumas, or Anne McCaffrey. I secretly read Jaws in fifth grade, which could be the reason I’m still afraid to go into the water.

The transition from reader to writer seemed the most logical thing in the world, and in fact I knew from the age of six that I wanted to be a writer. No back-up plan, nothing else that interested me nearly as much (except for Star Wars, and collecting memorabilia really isn’t a job).

What’s the first book you remember reading? What was your favorite book as a kid? Have you always been a reader?

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I have a pretty eventful summer planned. The fun starts on the fourth of July when Mr. G and I and all the kids head up north to spend the weekend on the lake. We set off tons of fireworks, eat great food, catch up with relative, and have a great time.

Then I’m off to the RWA conference in DC where I will see a lot of my writer friends. It’s a long and exhausting trip, but I’m really looking forward to visiting the Holocaust Museum. Last time I was in DC, I didn’t make it there and I’ve always regretted it.

In August I am going on a real vacation. One that has nothing to do with work and kids aren’t allowed. Mr. G and I are flying to the Oregon coast with friends. Just adults. No visiting seals or sea lion caves or listening to the children fight over who’s breathing on whom. We’re just going to spend a week laying around on the beach eating salt water taffy. It sounds like paradise.

What are you plans this summer?

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I was talking to someone recently who told me that suddenly, after years of flying, she had developed a terrible fear of it.  It is so bad that this summer, her family is driving their vacation instead of flying.  When I asked her why, she had no explanation other than she thought about it one day and realized planes can fall out of the sky.  It didn’t help that one had recently fallen out of the sky over the Atlantic Ocean.  But as horrific as that was, it doesn’t make me fear flying.

I suddenly fear the ocean.  Several years ago, during a family vacation to South Padre Island, several of us decided to swim out to a sand bar that was way off shore.  I have no idea how deep the water was, but it was a long enough swim that I, in my early thirties, and in good physical shape–I was playing a lot of tennis then–was exhausted by the time we reached the sand bar.  And then we swam back.  I was thinking about that the other day and felt the nausea you get with terror.  I don’t know why I thought of that trip, or why it suddenly terrified me, but right now, I don’t think there is any way you could get me to swim in the ocean.  This fear has just cropped up out of nowhere.

I think about stuff I’ve done in my life, like when I was a kid, we’d skateboard down this huge hill and jump off our boards right before we might have slammed into a wall.  How did I make myself do it?  I don’t remember being afraid.  Or, after several limb-mangling, bone-jarring crashes on bikes, I would get right back up and ride again.  Once, my brother and I found a big hole in the side of the canyon wall and went in.  I wouldn’t do that today because I am smarter about why there are holes in the side of canyon walls (snakes, bobcats, coyotes)…but I’m not so sure about him, hahahaha.

Oh, and bugs and such!  There was a girl I knew who, at the age of eight, had to see a psychologist every week because she had a profound fear of spiders.  At the same time, I was catching horny-toads and keeping them in shoeboxes under my bed.  My mother, God bless her, did not freak out about that.  Yet if you were to show me a horny-toad today, I would find it so repulsive I would lose my appetite.  I could never bring myself to touch it.

And don’t even get me started on worrying about the Cutest Toddler Ever.  I think there is a reason people are wired to have babies when they are younger–because they are too inexperienced to know all the things that baby could do to himself.  I, on the other hand, am much more experienced about the dangers lurking and fear that he’s going to do something insanely stupid, like race down a hill on a skateboard toward a wall.

Do you have any relatively new fears that have magically appeared?  What sort of things did you do when you were younger that you wouldn’t do now?  What sort of things did you like that you don’t like now? Or do you find fears fading away as you get older?

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It’s nearing decision time at Chez Jordan. I’ve asked my dh for an upgrade in music entertainment for my next birthday (which isn’t for a while yet, but I’m planning ahead!) And I know you goddesses can help advise me on the best music, systems, and download access.

Right now in our great room, we have a fairly decent sound system with a radio receiver, 100 CD-changer, duel cassette players, and pretty good speakers. But I’ve been eying various MP3 players for some time now to bring us into the 21st century. The issues I still need to figure out:

– Should I get a whole new sound system such as an iPod with its own dock and speakers (don’t care for ear plugs so I gotta have speakers.)

– Or should I just plan using my current system and download songs to my computer and burn CD’s? (My new computer that should be arriving any day now has a nifty burner for CD’s and DVD’s, but can you burn CD’s legally nowadays?  I told you I’m still in the last century!)

– Where’s the best place to download songs? (It would be great if I could listen to a verse or two first if it’s a song I don’t know it well.)

– What should I have on my Playlist? (Years ago I made up 4 cassette tapes with some of my fave songs, and I would love to do something similar for all the great songs that have come out since then.)

If you want to know my tastes in music, I like most pop rock. Also some R&B, easy listening, jazz, country, folk. Not wild about hip-hop or really hard rock or horns or piercing voices. New Age tends to put me to sleep if it’s too mellow, but some of it is cool.

So help me, goddeses, to figure out a great playlist!

 What’s your all-time fave song(s) that I should check out? What’s your most recent fave artist and song(s)? Any advice on sound systems or places to download songs?

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