Today's Special - - Deb Marlowe

Today is the week for great authors and great friends here at the Romance Dish.  Today, we're bursting with excitement over our special guest, Deb Marlowe!  Those of you who are regulars here and at Romance Bandits will no doubt recognize Deb's name as a regular commenter at both places.  She's a bundle of fun and also a darn good author of Regency romances from Harlequin Historical, like her newest release, How to Marry a Rake. This Pennsylvania native now lives in North Carolina with her husband and two sons where she spends much of her time writing but, as she says at her website, "she does occasionally abandon her inner world for the domestic adventure of laundry, dinner and carpool."  You can find out more about Deb at her website and connect with her on facebook.   

Take it away, Deb!



I adore a fool for love. I don’t mean the stalker sort, or someone who would lie or worse to impress a potential mate. No, I’m in love with the idea of a person with the guts to stand firm, to shout to the world—even up to the point of making a fool of themselves: I am here. I am in love. With you.

Sigh.

The classic movie example of this phenomenon is John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything, blaring ‘In Your Eyes’ from his boom box, trying to get through to Diane. There are lots of other examples, not always so dramatic. How about Adam Sandler in 50 First Dates, when he halts the pursuit of his dream voyage, turns the boat around, and rushes into the hospital ward to desperately ask Lucy if she knows who he is?




 

Women can be fools for love too, of course. In The Proposal Margaret confesses in the middle of her wedding, choosing deportation over the possibility of hurting Andrew or his family.

Lucky for me—and for all of us—fiction is full of these examples, of wonderful characters sacrificing their name, their dreams, even their dignity, for a chance at love.

Which makes it a little ironic that Mae Halford, the heroine in my Regency historical, How to Marry a Rake, is through with being a fool for love. She’s been there, done that. She tumbled head over heels for Lord Stephen Manning at their first meeting and spent her adolescent years as his unofficial sidekick, trying to attract his attention, and even manipulating him into her first kiss. And though Stephen might have been oblivious, not everyone was, and all Mae got for her trouble was his rejection and banishment abroad.

But now Mae is back in England, and Stephen is the last person she wants to see. This of course, guarantees that he is nearly the first person she bumps into. Literally. On the dance floor. She vows to stay away, but Stephen is in trouble again. He needs an ally—and who better than his old partner in crime? They make a bargain, and the search is on: for a missing Thoroughbred and a husband for Mae! Each is determined to find what they need to fulfill their dreams. Both vow they will never again act a fool for love.

Or will they?

How about you? Have you ever acted a fool for love? Do you have a favorite moment in a movie or a book when a character has thrown caution to the wind in the name of love? Share your stories and one randomly selected commenter will win a copy of How to Marry a Rake!