Sara - The Winter Rose (WOOHOO!)
Vampireprincess - The Bronze Horseman (HURRAH!)
Lollie Rose - Road to Paradise (YAYAYAYAY!)
Thanks to everyone for participating. As for the three lucky chickies, email me where you want the book send with “Raoul loves Harlot forever and evah” on the subject line.
I still can’t believe we just had
Jennifer Donnelly and
Paullina Simons here on TBB. Jennifer and Paullina had been so gracious and such a good sport—and very patient with me too, heh.
I particularly cherish Paullina’s hand-written emails to me (no idea how she does that). I even printed some of it and placed it between the pages of my
TBH copy. (Yes, yes, I’m a dork.) The other night with my heathenish ways, I told Paullina that her “tiny house” claims and gazillion of shoes problem didn’t change anything: I’m still holding her to her promise to name a character after me. To my horror, she replied:
SERIOUSLY, CAPS LOCK DOESN’T FULLY EXPRESS WHAT I FEEL. I MIGHT FINALLY HAVE TO KILL TROLLOP!!!
Labels: fun and games, nutella lovah, the bronze horseman’s harlot
Paullina, tell us about your new novel, Road to Paradise.Since Tully I have been fascinated by coming of age stories, and since coming to America, I have been fascinated by America.
Tully was all about one place, Topeka Kansas, but in Road to Paradise I wanted to explore a different geography.
What if you didn’t know where your place was?
I had for a long time wanted to do a road trip story but with girls. That story has been done to death with men, and probably with good reason, because girls are a lot more vulnerable on the road, but it is this very vulnerability I wanted to explore—two young girls, Shelby and Gina, reluctant travelers, once best friends but no more, set out right after high school from east coast to the west, on what they believe is a two week journey. Shelby is going to find her mother who abandoned her and whom she hasn’t seen in many years. Gina is going to California to stop her BFF from marrying someone else. Shelby is a planner, a list-maker, and Gina is more of a fly-by the seat of her pants kind of gal. On the way, everything they know about themselves and have come to believe is turned on its head, and nothing is as they have expected or planned after they do the impossible and let a hitchhiker into their little car, who changes the path of their journey and their life.
Road to Paradise begins:
“Do what you like, Shelby Sloane, the bartered bride said to me, smiling like an enigma, just remember, all roads lead to where you stand. Back then I said, what does that mean?
Now I knew.”
Road to Paradise, among many things, is my love song to America, my adopted country, and to the shameless questions of youth—questions that can only be asked in a free country, questions youth doesn’t want to ask, but still desperately wants answers to.
Who am I?
Where is the place on which I stand?
Do I fit?
Who will love me?
Am my myself capable of love?
What is love?
I tell people you write historical fiction because of the TBH trilogy. Then I’ll remember that you don’t write a specific genre. Tully is a saga, Red Leaves is a crime mystery, Eleven Hours is a thriller, The Girl in Times Square is a contemporary love story, Tatiana’s Table is a cookbook. What similarities do they have that make them PS novels? What do you think makes your books different from others in their genre?I write about things that touch upon my heart. Sometimes it’s a girl in Topeka, Kansas. Sometimes it’s murder. Sometimes it’s the isolation and terrors of pregnancy. And sometimes it’s first love. The similarities are always a certain real-time feel to them, the fullness of dialogue, the flood of emotion, the twisting of conflict that makes choices difficult if not impossible, and a touch of Russian over-the-topness.
(SKIP THIS PART IF YOU’VE YET TO READ TULLY.) Your debut novel, Tully, is like a storm. No, make that a hurricane. It builds up to this climax, lifts you from your feet and then drops you in the ocean to drown! Oh, Tully... I believe Jack is Tully’s uber true love. Why did you have her end up with Robin?I’m not sure I can answer that in just one sentence. Will there be a spoiler alert for those who haven’t read the book yet?
Sure thing. *SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER ALERT!* Ye be warned, heathens!Here goes. Tully chose to stay with Robin because he was the right choice. The point for her from the beginning was to find her life, her happiness in the place where she did not ever believe she could find either. And Jack was not Tully’s uber true love. Jennifer was.
Oho-kay. THAT I never considered.
Is there a favorite scene amongst your stories? A story that you had the most fun with, the most difficult time, or derived the most satisfaction from writing? Did you model any characters from someone you know in real life? How about the situations they’ve been in? Something you have experienced personally and just had to write about?This can’t possibly be ALL question number 11. There are like seventy questions in there, all requiring a page to answer.
Heh! :P So sorry, I got carried away—I’m too excited! Actually, if it were up to me I’d ask you just about every question under the sun: from how you got into writing, how many mansions you own—WHEN CAN I VISIT?—to how many pairs of knickers you have and which ones drive your hubby wild. *rarr* But then I realized I should just settle with making this interview different while trying to pretend I’m a professional instead of a gushing cuckoo fangirl. How I failed on the latter... :/ Well, answer any questions you like then...I will bravely try. I have many many favorite scenes among my eight novels and my cookbook. I love the 50 anniversary scene with the alternate universe in the cookbook. I love Tully falling in love with Jack at Lake Vaquero, I love Spencer and Kristina’s first “date,” I love Lilly falling in love with Spencer at Yankee Stadium. I love Lazarevo in TBH, escape from Sachsenhausen in T&A, and Bethel Island in The Summer Garden. I love the Dinner at Bobo’s scene in the Summer Garden. I love Reno in Road to Paradise. And St. Louis.
I have great trouble and great fun with all my stories. Because the number of drafts required for me to craft a story into something readable is like a number from a horror movie. Tully was draining to write, so was Lily, so was the trilogy. Nothing was harder than the trilogy.
As far as modeling after real people, yes, no, a little from everyone, nothing from anyone, most from me, much made up, some experienced, mostly imagined, felt, seen in the heart.
Are you working on another book right now? Can you tell us what is it about and will you be naming a character Harlot? :D I think you should! Shura would agree! Maybe even if it’s just a beloved cute pet bunny. Or, maybe, you could include a scene with Nutella-covered hot men: my biggest weakness. *drool* At least I’d know you’re thinking of me...Ha. Okay, in the next book, there will be a Harlot who loves Nutella. Will it be okay if the Nutella-loving harlot is actually both? And yes, I’m starting work on a new novel.
Both Nutella-lover and a harlot? Of course it’s okay; I am that after all, heh. *ahem* Just so you know, with our readers as my witness, I will hold you to your word. *big tacky neon sign flashing here!* DON’T FORGET, PEOPLE; LOOK FOR ME IN PAULLINA’S NEXT NOVEL! SHWING!
Still grinning like an idiot, eheheheh... Erm, is it true you’re writing the screenplay for TBH movie? I have to admit I’m not very keen about the idea of a TBH movie. There is NO WAY it could do the book justice. I fear the movie would butcher the story or a particular scene I love and then I’ve to do the right thing and murder the director. :S Regardless, which actors would you like to see play the characters in the movie? And what will you wear to the premiere? A strapless D&G or a seductive Versace? Perhaps a hot Betsy Johnson with your hair in braids?You’re right, no movie would or could ever do the book justice. Still, it will be valiant to try, and I shall, this year.
I haven’t thought about casting, but someone tall and dark and young for him, and someone little and cute and blonde for her.
I’m not a D&G kind of gal, and Versace pasties won’t work for me the way they did for JLO. Perhaps Carmen Marc Valvo with Zanotti strappy sandals?
Oooh, fabulous choice.
For our silly questions: have you been naughty or nice last year? Did Santa give you what you wanted last Christmas? What are your new year’s resolutions and/or wishes?I’ve been excellently both this year. Santa has given me more than I’ve ever hoped for. I’m hoping to finish my TBH screenplay, get biker thighs, finish the next book, kiss my kids a hundred times a day despite vociferous protests.
What are the two things you should never do in bed? *g*Eat potato chips and snorkel.
Good advice LOL. Paullina, thank you so much for your time. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your work, and for writing one of the most magnificent, exquisite, GLORIOUSLY EPIC love stories ever told.
Anything you’d like to add?In conclusion I’d like to say that my main prayer from the time I was little and dreamed of being a writer, through to the years I started writing, to The Bronze Horseman and beyond was this: Please God, let somebody out there feel about this story, these people, this book, half of what I felt when I was writing it, please let this THING move, affect somebody, please let it make SOMEBODY out there cry. Please.
Isn’t it nice to know there is a God?
And thank you.
Related: Labels: author interview, nutella lovah, the bronze horseman’s harlot
Paullina, my friends, playmates, strangers in the streets, everyone I’ve badgered to read your books know how much I love your novels and how deeply your characters and stories affected me. So you can imagine I almost died of delight when you agreed to let me interview you! SQUEEEEE!!!
Er, *ahem* thank you so much; this is an honor, truly truly.
Now, you’ve become a popular author in the romance genre. I’d like to shamelessly take credit on some of it seeing as I’m a self-involved maniac who constantly pimps your books. Eheh. What I’m trying to say is that you write such beautiful, BEEYOOTIFUL stories with characters romance lovers like me dream about. Just look at Tatiana and Alexander; every time they touch, oh my... *sigh* I feel it, and it feels so real. I feel like a perv—well, I am one but, y’know—like I’m spying on a couple whose passion for each other is so immense the air vibrates with it. Did you believe you had to write their story with such strong sensuality, and yep, with blinding orgasms? (Verra important that.)
Thank you for your kind words, your unfaint praise. I do like to make it real, keep it real, so you can feel it, believe it. If it’s right for the characters, that’s what I write. I don’t like to shy away or pretend I’m shy or am not writing for adults. My books are adult books and the things in them—about love, human relationships, betrayal, death, war, deep conflict—are not for children. Other stories I have told had other elements in them that Tatiana and Alexander didn’t have because that’s what seemed right to me at the time for the time, the place, the story. Same with Tania and Shura. I wrote about things that pertained to them, that made them what they were, that were important for me, the writer, to show, for you, the reader, to know.
The Bronze Horseman has excellent characterization and superb dialogue. It’s epic and overwhelming in every sense; reading it felt like being shagged hard while ridding a roller coaster—not that I’m confessing I’ve done that (verra dangerous, uh-mm...). What did your grandparents, parents, hubby, friends and harem (if you have one) think of TBH (and its sequels, for that matter)?Hubby loved it. Said it was not just his favorite book of mine, but one of his favorite books of all time. Parents didn’t read. Grandparents didn’t read. Friends read, loved, wept.
What are your fondest memories of Russia? And since TBH made me want to visit your Motherland, please do tell, which specific bench under a tree should I sit on while waiting for the bus, where a very yummy studmuffin will cross the street to lick ice cream with me? *dreamy sigh*My fondest memories are spending my summers at my grandparents’ dacha in a small fishing village called Shepelevo on the Gulf of Finland.
And for your purposes, any summer tree will do while sitting on the summer bench in a summer dress, humming and eating an ice cream cone not a cup.
I forgot the humming part! Note to self: Summer tree, summer dress, ice cream and hum, “Someday we’ll meet in Lvov, my love and I...”
Speaking of ice cream, I know Tatiana loves crème brûlée. What is Alexander’s favorite ice cream flavor and what is yours?Chocolate. Chocolate.
I knew it. Shura is my kind of man. *g*
The last chapters of TBH gave me heart palpitations. I kept thinking “don’t leave, don’t die” and I was praying “Santa, they better end up together OR ELSE!” *grrr* I sobbed and I sobbed my mom thought I’d finally lost it! Actually, I almost did. :/ I was reading and then I was like, “wait, wha... what happened?!?!?” At the time poor me didn’t know there was a sequel. (Thank God there ARE sequels or I’d have spent a lot of time complaining about the lack of a HEA with a shrink!) Did you always intend for TBH to end like that, very “light at the end of the tunnel” yet in a tragic manner? Did you ever consider concluding Tatiana and Alexander’s story with TBH, no sequels whatsoever?That was always the ending of TBH, that was what I was writing to—a tragedy at the end of which Alexander sacrifices his life for Tatiana and because of that monumental sacrifice, she has life, and Anthony has life. Originally, TBH had an epilogue, where Tatiana in 1991 returns to Russia to find Alexander, and does, fifty years after they first met. In the original version they were separated for half a century. He was in prison and in exile, and she was in Arizona, married to Edward. Nice, huh?
*GASP* Oh, my heart, my heart! *clutch*clutch* Jesus, let me breathe!!!
Paullina, that’s vicious. *sniff* I don’t think I could’ve taken it if Tatiana had ended up with Edward while Alexander pined for her. THAT’S NOT RIGHT! It’s too... ye gods. :S Okay, I don’t even want to think about it, hmph.
This reminds me of the Orbeli thing—I LOVE it. “Got to have a little more faith, my wife...” It’s PERFECT. I was wondering, how did you come up with that? Have you done an Orbeli and made an unselfish sacrifice? Was there a time when you had to send away your “life’s sole passion” because it’s the right thing to do?No, Orbeli was an Alexander and Tatiana thing, not a Paullina thing. The part that was the Paullina thing was the thinking it all up part. The feeling it all up. How heroes conduct themselves in love, in life, in war, and in peacetime. That’s them, not me. I’ve never been in a war.
I’m not gonna lie, Alexander made me very mad in The Summer Garden I wanted to beat him with Trollop’s wooden dildo! I couldn’t believe it; how could my beloved Shura do such a thing?! Why, Shura, WHY??? *sniffles* Why did you include adultery in TSG, risking the outrage of your readers? What did you hope your readers would take away from “experiencing” that with Tatiana and Alexander?It wasn’t adultery I wanted to include in The Summer Garden, it was the Soviet Union. Their past continued to live unhealed with them in their little “izba” in Scottsdale, in their little trailer, and until they had a baby, they could not heal it and could not break free. It was really a spiral of bad upon bad that happened to them, and the reason I included it, is once again because I wanted to show how these two larger than life characters handled this commonplace awful thing that sometimes happens in marriages. I showed them in all ways handing the day to day. And the hateful Carmen was part of their journey. How do they handle betrayal? My hope is that my readers would take away from the episode how to forgive the unforgivable, how to show mercy, how to continue to love.
Related: Labels: author interview, the bronze horseman’s harlot
I thought about the way I should go about introducing the author who gave me
Alexander and Tatiana, a couple whose story I once likened to a unicorn or a double-headed penis. (I was having mojitos and fantasizing about something kinky at the time, heh—but that’s not the point. I only meant her books—and the unicorn and the penis—were a most precious find. ;)) And then I thought, why am I thinking of how to introduce her? Hell, if you’ve yet to hear about her then you’ve been reading the wrong blog. :P
Paullina Simons has been my favorite author since I read
The Bronze Horseman five years ago. Since then I have devoured every book of hers I could find. And then pimped it shamelessly. And then pimped it more. Honestly, I might as well be called Paullina Simons’ Book Pimp!
Erm, her new book,
Road to Paradise, is already out in Australia and New Zealand (lucky bastards, hmph!). Not sure when it’s gonna be available in the U.S. but it’ll be out on April 2008 in the U.K. Now, (thanks to
Marg and to a friend) I found myself having two copies of
Road to Paradise *and* two copies of
The Summer Garden. Wonder what I should do, hmmmm... Oooh, why not raffle my extra copies for two of our dear readers? *g*
Okay, all you gotta do is leave a comment in her two-part interview (which will be posted tomorrow) telling us which book you’d prefer and we’ll include you in the contest. In the meantime, here are some tidbits about Paullina:
1. Favorite comfort food: Blinchiki
2. Weirdest thing you like to eat: Raw bacon
3. Favorite TV show and/or favorite movie: Sopranos, Deer Hunter
4. If you could wake up tomorrow in the body of someone else currently living, whom would you pick? For a day? Angelina Jolie. Forever? Nobody.
5. 3 things you never leave your house without: Credit card, lip gloss, iPhone
6. Last movie you watched: I Am Legend
7. Man (besides hubby) you think is too gorgeous for your peace of mind: Keanu
8. Book you’re reading right now: I Am Legend
9. What one toiletry item could you never live without? Lip balm
10. Which famous person, now dead, do you wish you could have seen naked? Rudolf Nureyev
Related: Labels: author interview, the bronze horseman’s harlot
You’re welcome to not believe in fairies or
corkscrewy duck cocks, as there’s no proof those things ever existed, but please
never doubt my love for Paullina Simons.
Her latest book
Road to Paradise is already available—well, in Australia and New Zealand. Selfish bastards. *grrr* Not sure when it’s going to be available in the U.S. but it’ll be out on April 2008 in the U.K. To read the excerpt,
click here.
Now,
Marg told me about this interview that Paullina did on
Today Show the other day. I had the same reaction as Marg; I thought Paullina would sound more Russian, heh. Not that it matters; even if she sounded like Daffy Duck on crack, she’ll still be my uber uber favorite author. *g*
Click here.
Related: Labels: the bronze horseman’s harlot
How can I put this... tell the truth so it is believable? If you saw a unicorn or a genie in a bottle or a two-headed cock, how would you tell your friends?
Folks,
Paullina Simons is the RAREST gem, the most PRECIOUS find. Stake your claim on her book
The Bronze Horseman and I assure you, you will reap the rewards.
I have constantly pimped PS and her AH-MAY-ZING books here on TBB to a point that Trollop threatened to bang her head against a wall repeatedly until it cracks in two if I even THINK of mentioning TEE.BEE.HAITCH. again *rolls eyes* but... oh well... she’s a hard-headed heathen anyway!
So. Let’s talk about TEE.BEE.HAITCH.—yep, again—shall we? *g*
Fact: If I’m only allowed to recommend one book in my life, I will say TBH faster than you can say “fuck”. I’ve “pushed” friends, postmen, kissing partners, everyone, to read TBH and those smart enough to follow my iiiimmaculate advice, ALL OF THEM (50 at least, I lost count already!) ended up kissing my pritti manicured feet while bringing me martini. Uh-mmm... :P Well—fine—not really, but they should have! Ungrateful beotches! *hmph*
Fact: Even Vicious “I hate Shura” Trollop loved it. I have proof! She said, “I have to say it’s been years since I read such a well written novel. PS is a truly gifted writer; the pages seemed to vanish one into the other, to the point where you didn’t know how many you’d already read, and didn’t care how many more you had left.” SEE SEE SEE. And no, I didn’t twist her arms for her to say it. (Her BF loved TBH too! :D)
Fact: I recommended TBH to women who despise me and they looooved it. *snicker* Most of them didn’t admit it to me, of course LOL, nor do they acknowledge I’m the one who brought PS to their Island of Doctor Moreau—but hey, it tingles my bones whenever someone in their cult sends me “TBH emails”. Funny that even when I got saved from that rotten place, it’s as if my harloty ghost is still there; probably irritating the hell out of some people. *g*
Here’s an example of one of those emails I mentioned. Yes yes, I’m a vain fuck and shameless enough to post this:
I have to say I do think it annoys the people when we talk about it and go, “Harlot, wherever you are, thank you for this.” LOL! [IDM] has not only been pestered by it (and consequently the ghost of you), but there is also a TBH underground. I love it.
But seriously, it’s truly MY pleasure. People are loving TBH and that makes me happy—really really *sniff*—as I adore PS and her books are verra special to me. So yeah... I WIN. *smug laugh* *mwa ha ha ha* *choke*
Well, *ahem* I can talk about TBH forevah and evah but my poor babe’s head is bruised already, her trollopy ears bleeding. (She’s incorrigible, I tell ya!) If you want more info, here are my previous TBH posts: I said it before, I’ll say it again: I’m afraid there will never be a book series that can come close to my beloved TBH trilogy. It is UNIQUE. It’s devastatingly powerful it renders you breathless, seizing your heart like a hungry nympho gripping for cock—and you know, you’ll never EVER be the same.
Tatia and her Shura, they’re one of the reasons why I love books... why I love romance... why I believe in fucking love... why I shouldn’t give up on love even when EVERYTHING in my body says I have enough because I’ll cease to exist without it. Thank you, Ms. Simons, for one of the most magnificent, exquisite, GLORIOUS love stories ever told. For love, for life, for memories, for ever... My hat’s off to you. If you like, my pritti knickers too. ;)Labels: the bronze horseman’s harlot
I was reading the comments in my
letter to the insensitive warts who have defiled *grrr* the sacred name of my one and only uber true love, and I thought, hey, we should have a little survey! :D
Huh? Of course not to gather names of other gits I should run through with my trusted pitchfork, sheesh... but to ask you, luvlee TBB readers, who you think is the HOTTEST, YUMMILICIOUS, SWOONSOME hero you’ve ever yearned to clasp to your heaving bosoms. Aye, the hero soooo fuckable you can’t help but be tempted to rip your corset and pounce on his tight breeches like a starved Cookie Monster attacking girl scout cookies.
I’ll go first. (But you know about him already. :P) I have a list of “to die for” heroes (Alexander Barrington, Phin Tucker, Edward Cullen...) and other honorable mentions—but even if I’m dead drunk out of my wits and couldn’t even talk, I would do my bestest to sign language using my FEET just to let the world know Matt Farrell is MY man. Oh, my love, my darling... I hunger for your touch... He is IT for me. I do, Matt—I doooooooo!!! The father of my imaginary children, the husband of my dreams, the passionate lover who has given me Paradise... *sniffles* Oh, MAAATTHEEEEWWWWW!!!!!
Er, *ahem* where were we? Oh. Right. So what about you? *g* BTW, if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the top 10 literary crumpets list from the Telegraph. Dunno, might help you heathens decide. :/ (I know this was from last year but it’s the latest one I could find. I operate on my own time here, anyway! *hmph*)
1. Mr. Rochester, Jane Eyre: irresistibly high bastard factor.
2. Sydney Carton, A Tale of Two Cities: cynical romantic who makes the ultimate sacrifice for love.
3. Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice: paradigm of repressed emotion—just add water.
4. Rupert Campbell-Black, Riders, Polo and assorted other Jilly Cooper novels: yestosterone-charged stallion of the shires.
5. Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind: handsome, dashing and gloriously perverse.
6. Yuri Zhivago, Dr. Zhivago: sensitive soul who loses his love in a cold climate.
7. Tom Jones, Tom Jones: rambunctious combination of virtue and vice.
8. Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights: bad and mad—what more could a woman want?
9. Sharpe, Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series: Napoleonic swashbuckler with a gleam in his eye.
10. Daniel Cleaver, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason: wolfishly seductive, should have got the girl.
P.S. Please, Outlander Nutters, don’t even think of “let’s bombard Harlot with ‘Jamie Fraser is the best hero evaaah’ till her teeth hurt”! *grrr*
**Editing to add (as requested by Babz): Apparently, you are all greedy when it comes to heroes!—like me LOL. :P If you can’t decide which crumpet you’d like to drool over forever ever more, feel free to categorize them. I.e. historical, contemporary, paranormal, etc. ;)Labels: bibliophile’s affair, contemporary por amor, for the love of rakes and rogues, paranormal oh joy, the bronze horseman’s harlot
You all probably know
Paullina Simons** is my favorite author and how uber loca I am about her books,
The Bronze Horseman and
Tatiana and Alexander. So why was I hesitant to write about its climactic conclusion
The Summer Garden? Well, I had to calm myself first to actually be able to write something because SHURA DROVE ME FUCKING NUTS! He made me soooo mad I wanted to beat him with Trollop’s wooden dildo till I seriously draw blood! *grrr* Why, Shura? WHY WHY WHY? *wails while thrashing on the floor*
Okay, breathe... *breathe* What can I say? PS is such a brilliant author. She writes so compellingly that I can’t help but be drawn in. Her stories always suck me in I forget everything, including the fact that her characters are just that, characters from a book. Seriously, Alexander and Tatiana are more real to me than, say,
Gisele Bundchen? (Who knows if she’s actually a hologram thingy of some alien ship serving as bait to kidnap drooling men. :/)
As I was saying, what TBH started, followed by T&A, TSG now continues with a sense of closure. Of course, it doesn’t come without feeling like you’re being shagged hard while ridding a bloody roller coaster. (Not that I’m confessing I’ve done that. Heh, verra dangerous, y’know. :P) Up and down, highs and lows, and—oh my... you feel EVERY moment of it.
In TSG, the intense love of Shura and Tatia is still the focal point; but unlike the first two books we see some cracks in their relationship. They now have a son, Anthony, and what started from Russia now shifts to America, the land of freedom and hope. But instead of happiness, my poor Shura and Tatia are lost *sniff*; they become strangers due to their separation. Still, I gotta say, there’s no moment where you’ll doubt their love. PS handles the scenes like a marvelous pianist, enthralling you with her music; there’s no question that they love each other because—oh, they do! Madly, wildly, desperately you’ll ACHE with them. *sigh*
Whenever Shura and Tatia touch, oh god... I feel it. And it feels so freaking real it seems like I’m a peeping perv spying on a couple whose passion for each other is soooo immense the air vibrates with it. That’s why even when there are fights, you’ll never forget that their love is historic, colossal and oh-so-splendid.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but I almost didn’t finish TSG. (Trollop, no smart-ass comments! Hmph!) Not because it’s bad—NEVER THAT. It’s just, the tension is too overwhelming. Take that big fight, for example. Gah, I’ve never read anything like that! I cried and I cried, I couldn’t breathe; I wanted to grab Shura and Tatia and shake them and yell at them for making me suffer! It’s worse than when I was promised a mind-blowing orgasm and didn’t fucking get it. *grrr* At least when that happened I was able to kick the guy out and tell my GFs he has a small penis but this... I didn’t know what to do. :/ I felt so helpless, and I had no choice but to continue. Mind you though, readers who think of giving up, that’d be a pity. You have to read on, you HAVE to. I couldn’t believe it but I actually loved TSG better than T&A.
I’m afraid there will never be a book series that can come close to my beloved TBH trilogy. It is UNIQUE. It’s devastatingly powerful it renders you breathless, seizing your heart like a hungry nympho gripping for dick, erm—and you know, you’ll never EVER be the same.
Tatia and her Shura, they’re one of the reasons why I love books... why I love romance... why I believe in fucking love... why I shouldn’t give up on love even when EVERYTHING in my body says I have enough because I’ll cease to exist without it. Thank you, Ms. Simons, for one of the most magnificent, exquisite, GLORIOUS love stories ever told. For love, for life, for memories, for ever... My hat’s off to you. If you like, my pritti knickers too. ;)
**OMG. The Bartered Bride? THIS AUGUST? Is this true??? I’ve been bitching/bemoaning/wailing the lack of new PS book as I crave her stories so I NEED BLOODY ANSWERS!!! Heh, please. :P
Related: Labels: the bronze horseman’s harlot
My wonderful BF is spending the Xmas holidays in Spain with me (mostly shagging each other blind after two months of horrible celibacy—and you wondered why I wasn’t around!). Last night during dinner, someone was talking about world hunger—or some such other crap that’s supposed to make people seem intelligent and caring *gag*—and BF said, “You don’t know hunger until you’ve read
The Bronze Horseman.” *SHOCK* *GASP* *HUH?* I’d forgotten I lend his sister a pile of books just before leaving DR, including
TBH, and it seems he read it and loved it “until they get to that Sarajevo place and start doing it like bunnies in heat.” LOL
Do you see what’s going on here? This is all part of
Harlot’s master plan to drive me insane with that bloody book. I don’t get it; how can everyone absolutely love it including my non-reading BF while I’ll always think of it as the book with the two stupid sisters and the cheating pig? *grrrr*
On a side note: BF and Harlot are ganging up on me!!! Need to recruit some of you to my side as I’m short on people to explain to them how good I really am!
On a second side note: We need to make a choice for the next BBC ASAP! Since I haven’t read a book in freaking months, and it’s my turn to choose, I could really really use some suggestions!
Er, another side note:
Watch my elf-self dance! Isn’t that cute? :D
Labels: a trollop in madrid, holidaze, the bronze horseman’s harlot
In my
Amazon post from last week, a lot of you commented on buying books recommended by friends or peers. I’ve always believed that word of mouth is the way most people find great reads. I mean, people will only suggest someone read a story they themselves loved (unless they’re sadistic fucks); but what happens when that “highly recommended” book, that “wonderful novel you wont be able to put down” turns out to be a pile of rubbish in your eyes? Do you come clean and tell your friend, or do you pretend you loved it and start a fan club for the author?
This is the way I see it. You have a right to be disappointed in a book that was recommended by a friend or anyone else. You do not have to like a book just because someone else did. And I think, in this case, honesty is the best policy. I’m not saying you go trash the book to within an inch of its poor existence, but at least mention the reasons why it wasn’t exactly your cup of tea. Maybe saying something good about it wouldn’t hurt either LOL, like me with Outlander. *g*
How about if the person bought you a copy of the book to read? Mmm, that’s tricky. I would probably be honest anyway, but advice everyone else to be dishonest! LOL If someone goes through the trouble of buying something for you, for god’s sake pretend you liked it! (Similar to me liking The Bronze Horseman. *whispering* Harlot gave it to me so I have to pretend Alexander wasn’t a cheating bastard!)
Now, and this is where I get mad. If, say, Harlot loved a book and I bought it—not because of her recommendation but because I randomly got it—and after reading it I mention how I didn’t like it, how the hell can she get upset about that? Do I not have a right to dislike a novel I purchased with my hard earned money, something she didn’t guide me to, and something that I simply found lacking for my taste?
I’ve heard of so many people getting mad because someone dissed a book they loved (*cough* the tons of hatemail I’ve gotten because of Outlander *cough*). This confuses me to no end. Do we all have to like the same thing? Am I not allowed to hate something you loved?Labels: bibliophile’s affair, bitchy mcrant, the bronze horseman’s harlot
After some thought, instead of extending it till tomorrow, I’ve decided today is going to be our last
TBH discussion. Why? Well, ask your lazy selves!!! :P
Don’t worry, dear readers, after all, this is only our first time. *wink* Trollop and I will be changing our BBC rules. People are more compelled to talk about a book when they have just finished it, so we are considering some options that would suit everyone who wants to participate in their own time. For those who have some ideas as to how we could improve our BBC, please feel free to speak up; we are open for suggestions.
Now, together with our last question, here are some pictures of a guy I think could be Alexander (he’s Russian, btw). Enjoy!
- What do you think Alexander is trying to say to Tatiana the last time she leaves him at the hospital? What does he mean by “Remember Orbeli...?” Does the book come to a suitable conclusion?
Related: Labels: bitches book club, fuckalicious, the bronze horseman’s harlot
Now that our discussion is picking up (those who are sleeping, wake up!!! LOL), here’s our next question:
- The human suffering, death and disease caused by the siege are vividly shown in The Bronze Horseman. Is this more shocking for the reader when Tatiana herself is appalled, or when she has become immune to the horror of the situation? How do you feel about the hunger of the Metanova family?
Trollop also got some new interesting pictures for us:
Leningrad 1942
Russian nurses
Summer Garden
Tomorrow we will be posting some pics of women who could be Tatiana, and then Friday for Alexander. For the record, I think I’ll hate it if
TBH is adopted into a movie. :/ There’s only so much a film can deliver.
Related: Labels: bitches book club, the bronze horseman’s harlot
Hello, wonderful readers. *big grin*
Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, should I slap all of you who have read
TBH but are not participating in the discussion around? I’m not very strong so that isn’t much of a threat LOL, but fear not, because I can yell with the best of them: “POST COMMENTS, YOU LAZY BITCHES!” *angelic smile*
Here is the next question (and I’ll be passing attendance!!!):
- What do you think would have happened if Dasha had made it to Lazarevo? Could the situation from Leningrad have continued when Alexander arrived? Or would he have ended the charade out of frustration, preferring to lose Tatiana altogether than to have to continue pretending?
I found some interesting pictures in
Paullina Simon’s site, and did a bit of research for others. I will be posting a couple with every question as we publish them every day this week. Enjoy...
Fifth Soviet Building
“The Bronze Horseman”
Red Army officers, circa 1942
Leningrad, winter of 1941
Labels: bitches book club, the bronze horseman’s harlot
As promised, today is the start of our first Bitches Book Club discussion. We are very excited about our selection for this month as the feedback from our readers has been incredibly positive. Our bitchin’ floating tagboard, for one, has been hopping with comments (especially at night, when I’m not around!!!): “Why did Tatiana act like that?” “How could Alexander do that?” “Are you on the sex part already?” “IS there even a sex part? Because I’m half into the book and they’re still wearing all their clothes!!!” “OMG, the sex was feaking hot! *gasp* They were doing it like rabid bunnies in heat!!!”
Based from all that, we can tell there are a lot of eager people awaiting the start of this discussion. *g* There were even some we had to gag and tie to a chair in order to stop them from discussing the book 24/7! LOL Er, you know, I was actually in that group. *wink*
So let us start with the week long discussion of
The Bronze Horseman. We’re hoping all of you who have read it will join us in exploring this wonderful piece of literature more thoroughly.
Here are the first three questions:
- Tatiana matures during the book. Would you say the book is more about her coming of age than the romance between herself and Alexander?
- Does Tatiana develop her personal strength during the course of events? Does she gather it from her relationship with Alexander, or is it inherent in her personality?
- How do your feelings/thoughts about Alexander evolve throughout the book?
P.S. Blogger has been wacky all day and we’ve just been informed that it’ll be down for maintenance this afternoon from 4 p.m. PDT to 4:45 p.m. For those who are unable to post comments, please email us and we will post them after Blogger is back up and running. If you want to wait and post them yourselves, of course, feel free to do that too. :D Thanks!
Related:Labels: bitches book club, the bronze horseman’s harlot
The other day, Trollop and I were having another discussion about
Tatia and Shura. I know, I know, but you’ll be surprise that it’s actually Trollop who ALWAYS brings them up in our talks. You see, despite what she says, deep down, we both know she loves
TBH...
So, since I lub my Trollop (eventhough she has a shameless obsession with fucking and has the tendency to want to “beat me with a stick” :/), I have to make sure she’ll read T&A. Well, you know, I don’t want her to miss an outstanding read.
Babe, you’ll see, this is for your own good. *g*
**For those of you who are wondering who the hell is Gumbi, it’s Trollop’s new poodle!Labels: fucking around, the bronze horseman’s harlot, trollop and harlot’s stuff
Last night, Trollop and I had a “little” discussion about PS’s
The Bronze Horseman. I have to concede that she does have some points (dammit!) that I should take into consideration when I next reread—especially when she told me she would BEAT me with a stick if I ever let a guy treat me like Alexander did Tatiana. Yeah, I know. Who’s worried of brutality when Trollop lubs me so? :/
It’s no secret
how much I love TBH. I always badger—I mean I recommend this book to people because I truly believe it’s one of those rare reads a booklover like me, who appreciates an inspiring and well-written story, should not miss.
Last week we finally announced our long-overdue project,
The Bitches Book Club. :D And as promised, today, being the first of the month, it’s time to reveal our first ever book selection!!! Yayayay! Am so excited LOL.
Huh? You’ve guessed it already???
Oh, fuck that, you horrible little guessers—I’m still announcing it! Grr. Well, after much deliberation, here it is (hmph!):
The Bronze Horseman
by Paullina Simons
These three questions are to be pondered while reading the book; we will discuss them at length the first day of the discussion:
- Tatiana matures during the book. Would you say the book is more about her coming of age than the romance between herself and Alexander?
- Does Tatiana develop her personal strength during the course of events? Does she gather it from her relationship with Alexander, or is it inherent in her personality?
- How do your feelings/thoughts about Alexander evolve throughout the book?
From April 24 to 28, we will be having a colloquium in which we’ll post the remaining questions (one per day, starting the second day), during which we’ll exchange our different views on the topics supplied. I’m sure this will get pretty heated. LOL
For those who have read the book, please wait for the 24th to start exposing your thoughts/comments, as to not spoil it for the ones that haven’t read it.
I have done a search for used and new editions of
TBH, for those of you who want to buy a copy. Here are some nice options:
That’s it for now. Until then!
Related: Labels: bitches book club, book selection of the month, the bronze horseman’s harlot
I discovered
Paullina Simons by accident three years ago in a UBS when the books I’d gone to buy were not available. Since I refused to go home without purchasing at least one title, I dived into a mountain pile of possible new finds and came across a novel titled
The Bronze Horseman.
Hmmm, I thought, acceptable cover, no half-naked man groping some buxom plastic blonde doll on a legless horse, interesting title too, kinda sounds kinky—one can only hope LOL. Not to mention, it has a plot I lurve: an epic drama with a love story alongside war (I need lovin’ on my books *g* no matter what genre, as I tend to get bored without it). So, even though I’ve never heard of this
TBH, or its author, I decided to give it a try.
I thought I was just getting another WWII romance; but, oh boy... could I have ever been more wrong???
Never had I imagined the imprint TBH would leave on me. No other book has ever touched me like it did. EVER. It felt... like being a virgin—book virgin—touched for the very first time!—and TBH is this big, throbbing, powerful... er, book! The main characters’ (Alexander and Tatiana) love for each other is so overwhelming, so INCREDIBLY intense that I cannot help but feel their anguish, their adversity, their every passionate thought and pleasurable sensation. It can almost be likened to having mind-blowing sex that generates a drumbeat, pounding and pounding and pounding, until it feels like you can’t breathe and your soul and your heart will burst! Oh, my... *sigh* UNBELIEVABLY GOOD.
One can even say TBH spoiled me for other books; especially when you pair it with its wonderful and A MUST read sequel** Tatiana and Alexander (it’s surprisingly excellent when sequels don’t usually fare that well—like an unexpected second orgasm *wink*). I mean, how can I find any more exceptional reads when faced against such a compellingly beautiful story, unforgettable characters that will probably haunt me forever, and an exquisite love that burns the pages and my heart? *sniff* Like refusing to have sex with an ugly guy with a small cock who doesn’t know what foreplay means and will only last a minute, I refused to read terrible writers and their equally dreadful work marring the beautiful memory of my beloved Alexander and Tatiana. It even came to a point when I was already asking, what am I going to do now? How am I going to move on? How, how, how?!? *sob*
As of now, all books seem to pale in comparison with TBH and T&A. Of course there are other equally outstanding books (the Harry Potter series always come to mind), but never will there be another TBH/T&A for me. But, who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and another stellar one will come by; I’m still yearning, hoping and looking. However, after all this time, after all the books I’ve read... I’m beginning to doubt there will actually ever be another Tatia and her Shura...
**In other countries, Tatiana and Alexander was released under a different title, The Bridge to Holy Cross.
***A third installment for this series has just been released last year, The Summer Garden. Though, I’m still looking for a copy, the injustice. *sniff*
P.S. It has come to my attention that a lot of people have now read/been reading TBH/T&A (even TSG!) because of my pushing. *big grin* I just want to say that these books are very special to me so it’s truly my pleasure as, apparently, they all loved it. Unfortunately, the one who should be reading it (Trollop!) is actually the only one who hasn’t yet—and to think she’s the only one I actually sent a copy of TBH to!!! Grrr... (See here how I first tried to convince Trollop to read TBH, that evil woman. Afer this post, she better read it now, especially when you think she’d rather read a lot of crap! Seriously!)
Related: Labels: the bronze horseman’s harlot
While I was being a good bitch, trying to finish a blog post, Trollop (who was supposed to be blogging too but wasn’t doing anything!) kept bothering me. This is our real conversation:
From fave heroes...Trollop: My fave hero list is long.
Harlot: Yes, mine too, but haven’t finish it yet. I think Tart is already finished with hers. Babe, can I have five heroes? Or just three? It’s really hard to cut them down even just to five.
Trollop: Well, mine are Cal, Matt, Calder, Bobby Tom, Luke.* But Bawdy has BT and we don’t want to be repetitive. Maybe we should just post our fave ever? Who is your fave?
Harlot: I want Matt too! Plus, he needs me. Hmm, I really can’t choose. I want them all...
Trollop: Three then; mine will be Cal, Calder and Matt. Will reread
Bet Me this weekend. Cal, *sigh* he’s so perfect.
Harlot: Mine are Matt, Alexander, Royce.** But, that would be two McNaught’s. I want to add dirty Calder but I’ve yet to read the whole series.
To alpha males...
Trollop: Royce? I have to read A Kingdom of Dreams again.
Harlot: Yes, he’s amazing.
Trollop: All I can remember is a brute with scars, two sisters and a dead horse.
Harlot: He’s not a brute! Don’t you remember what he did for Jennifer? OMG, he was to DIE for.
Trollop: We must have read different books. Didn’t he practically rape her?
Harlot: NO, he didn’t! That’s Clayton.
Trollop: She was his mistress or something, right? He blackmailed her: the sister could go if she slept with him—or something like that?
Harlot: Strategy. But he never forced her. Never. Unlike Clay.
Trollop: Still, that’s not my idea of playing nice. Blackmailing someone to bed like that. I think I’m too much of an independent woman to take that sort of crap.
Harlot: Jennifer wanted to stay; she was a tramp (go Jen!). Her sister was already away and safe. She was the one in charge and had the option to choose whether to sleep with him or not. She stayed.
To deserted islands..?
Trollop: LOL I bet you would love to be secluded in an island and forced to fall in love with an alpha male. Mmm, actually so would I.
Harlot: To be forced? Of course not. That’s like the old Chinese way and I’ve always hated that. I just like my men similar to Matt, Royce and Shura. If they’re the so-called “alpha males,” so be it. LOL I’d gladly jump off a plane to be alone in an island with them.
Trollop: Not forced! Unless you’re into S&M.
Harlot: Ack! Thank you, no S&M for me. Hard and fast?—yes, please! But if you try to whack me or whip me, then get off, I’m outta there.
Trollop: A deserted island with an alpha male? You have to agree it’s quite romantic. Though must admit, would probably end up shooting the guy. Anyone I’m forced to see 24/7 will eventually have it coming.
Harlot: Yes, why not. If he has Nutella and he’s yummy —oh, if he can fish!—and cook!—since I’ll die otherwise. I can’t eat grass...
Trollop: Yes, you will have quite a hard time cooking.*** LOL
Harlot: Unless there’s a magical microwave there, I’d die of starvation. Sand doesn’t taste nice.
Trollop: No, it doesn’t.
*Cal Morrisey- Bet Me, Matt Farrell- Paradise, Calder Hart- “Deadly” series, Bobby Tom Denton- Heaven, Texas, Luke Costello- Rachel’s Holiday.
**Matt Farell- Paradise, Alexander Belov- The Bronze Horseman, Royce Westmoreland- A Kingdom of Dreams.
***Yes, for the life of me, I cannot cook. Shut up! *sniff* I’m an expert with pushing microwave buttons though, thank you very much.Labels: contemporary por amor, dame judith mcnaught, for the love of rakes and rogues, romance baby, the bronze horseman’s harlot
Okay, I’ve been waiting a long time for my fellow Book Bitches to pass me their best and worst reads. Apparently, they are either: swinging in the jungle, busy shopping for granny support hoses, or just too lazy to do anything but have sex to answer my request. *pout* Since we’ll soon be doing our “Best of 2005” list (keep checking the site, people!), I decided to go ahead and post mine without them, hmph. (They better follow!)
Here are my top three favorite books, which are, of course, very highly recommended:
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. No other book has ever touched me like this book did. EVER. The love, the war, Lazarevo... *sigh* Tatiana and her Alexander’s love for each other is so overwhelming, so incredibly intense that you cannot help but feel their anguish, their adversity, their every passionate thought and pleasurable sensation. I’ll try to explain it this way: TBH is like a drug that generates a drumbeat—pounding and pounding and pounding, until it feels like you can’t breathe and your soul and your heart will burst! Oh my, unbelievably good.
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Rhett Butler. Scarlett O’Hara. Do I really need to say more?
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling. A paramount gift to the literary world, the HP series is beyond astounding. Each book is as important as the others, but book 3 is my favorite yet. It certainly is the most intriguing: not one word lost, not one idea without great significance, incredible twists and turns are added, as JKR deepens Harry’s background, delves more into the world of Hogwarts, and introduces new characters who factor into the past and future events.
Now, let’s move on to the “what horrendous crime have I committed to deserve to read such rampant stupidity?” which I recommend to people whom I want to see suffer:
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. S-H-U-D-D-E-R. Iiick!!!
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. You can call me unrefined and say I’m lacking in literary sophistication, but I find this “great classic” HORRIBLE. Anna is detestable, she doesn’t evoke even the tiniest bit of compassion (actually, quite the contrary as I spend half the book thinking up creative and fun ways in which she should DIE!). As the book progresses, it gets to the point where it’s almost physically painful to continue reading, each chapter worse than the last (no small feat, I can assure you!). I honestly think even Tolstoy himself got bored of Anna that’s why he threw her in the path of a train (gotta give it to the author for doing the world a favor and delivering a very creative “die you useless bitch!” scene LOL).Labels: bibliophile’s affair, harry potter nutter, the bronze horseman’s harlot
Seldom do I find myself reading a book that is literally “unputdownable,” and when I do, no one can make me shut up about it. I’ll badger my friends to read it, stopping only when they finally give in. Hey, I’m just being a good friend! Don’t want them to miss an outstanding read. *g* Here’s an example of how I do it:
Harlot: THE BRONZE HORSEMAN!
Harlot: Read it, read it, read it, read it!
Harlot: YOU VICIOUS TROLLOP, READ TBH! Do I have to send you my copy? I would die to part with it, but you HAVE to read it.
Trollop: I’ll get one, don’t worry, especially since you will have a coronary if I don’t.
Harlot: Good. I promise you’ll love it.
Trollop: But honestly, babe, Russia, starving people during a war, two sisters fighting for one man, prostitutes? It’s not my idea of a fun read. I might have to start taking Prozac after that.
Harlot: It’s not about that! But about exquisite love. *sigh* Yes, you’ll cry buckets but afterwards you’ll feel really good about it. You know, I probably won’t stop harassing you till you read it. I mean, you keep complaining there are no good books out there and I’m telling you to read this one and you’re not listening because, “Oh, I dunno, it’s just about Russia, sisters, blah blah..!”
Trollop: Oh, it’s not only that, I’m also very lazy.** Like, I was thinking of handcuffing BF but then I would have to be on top. Hate being on top.
Harlot: God, you are lazy.
Now that you read a tiny example of how I go about convincing friends to read books I love, let’s get down to business. For those who have yet to read Paullina Simons’ The Bronze Horseman (Trollop and Bawdy!), READ IT. Read it, read it, read it!!! Don’t forget the sequel too, Tatiana and Alexander, since it’s a must read after TBH.
P.S. Am very, very, VERY jealous *pouting* of Tart, that lucky bitch! She has already finished the third book of the series, The Summer Garden. Unlike in NZ, Ms. Simons’ books don’t get released here in my PS-free country. *sob*
**Trollop was being unusually lazy since most of the time, we actually need to stop her from working (she needs the money for her shoes addiction) just so she can have time for sex LOL. Nah, she always has time to make her BF delirious: on top, under, sideways, bending, standing, sitting... Honestly, I could go on and on.
Labels: the bronze horseman’s harlot, trollop and harlot’s stuff
