RuthMadison, Author at Ruth Madison

You Keep Using That Word

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Words mean different things to different groups of people. I’ve been noticing this more and more as I hang out on Twitter and other online places. Several times I’ve felt a weird mental double-take with unexpected words. Here are my examples, what are yours? Dev To me this is a short-hand for my sexuality, known (stupidly IMHO) as “devotee” or “devoteeism.” To the people at my work place and the geeky places I hang out online, this is short for “developer.” It makes me jump every time someone at work calls out, “Who has the dev copy?” Para To me and others in the disability rights field, this is short for...

Posted by RuthMadison on Aug 29, 2011 in Sexuality | 4 comments

Romantic Friday Writers: Smooth Sailing

http://fridaynightwriters.blogspot.com/ This blog has a challenge for writers of romance/love stories to write 400 words on a theme each Friday. The theme this week is Smooth Sailing. Another very rough draft today. Smooth Sailing is a difficult topic, since it implies no conflict! I have had several requests for a part two on Priya and Deepak’s story Home Country. I haven’t figured out a plot for it yet. So today I’m playing around to see what I come up with. Word Count: 388, critique however you would like. *** Priyanka had never dared to believe she could have such a good life. Well, maybe when she was very small. Before her parents had died. At that age she thought a good life would be wearing bright colored saris and dancing at...

Posted by RuthMadison on Aug 26, 2011 in Friday Excerpt | 11 comments

What do you look for in love?

When you think of your current partner or your ideal future partner, what factors matter the most to you? How has it changed over time? When I think about the man that I hope to meet someday, there are a few things I already expect from him. The qualities of being slow-to-anger, patient, and compassionate are very important. Physical appearance matters to some extent. A passion and drive in life is important. I base this ideal-man on previous experiences dating, on books and movies, on the ideas that I got as a child. Yet, I am aware of the Guys and Dolls problem. Sarah Brown thinks she knows exactly what her future husband will look like and act like and be like. She can list it in tremendous detail. Then life gets in the way and she falls in love with...

Posted by RuthMadison on Aug 24, 2011 in Blog, Sexuality | 1 comment

Romantic Friday Writers: New Horizons

http://fridaynightwriters.blogspot.com/ This blog has a challenge for writers of romance/love stories to write 400 words on a theme each Friday. The theme this week is New Horizons First, a question. If you’ve been coming through and reading my entries for the last few weeks you will see that my male characters are always disabled. I would like to know if that is a problem for your enjoyment of the story. It seems like people don’t quite know what to say. I’m guessing that it feels like you think it’s a good thing to have a story that shows a disabled person having normal experiences, but it’s not really appealing or romantic to you personally. Am I getting that right? I’m worried that I’m making people...

Posted by RuthMadison on Aug 19, 2011 in Friday Excerpt | 21 comments

Your Favorite Hero

What kind of hero do you like to read about? Forget real life and the kind of guy you married or hope to marry. In your wildest fantasies, in the most satisfying romance novels, who is your favorite? Do you like a dark and brooding man with a mysterious past? Should he be quiet and reserved, not giving much away until the heroine draws him out? Do you prefer a man who is sweet, self-deprecating, self-conscious and utterly unaware of his own charm? Should he be perfect in every way or wounded by his past? Young and innocent or bitter and jaded? Tell me, who do you love best? [Image...

Posted by RuthMadison on Aug 17, 2011 in Blog, Review | 0 comments