Mermaids & Friends: Piper Huguley

August 15, 2014Denny S. Bryce, mermaids, Mermaids & FriendsDenny S. Bryce

I met Piper Huguley in Atlanta at the 2013 Romance Writers of America National Conference. I can’t remember our first meeting, but I do remember running into her several times and doing what you do at conferences — talking about books, the conference, the workshops, the speakers, the authors. Everything you can chat about in five-minute encounters that take place waiting for elevators or chilling at the bar or a restaurant.

Oh, and I also knew she was a 2013 Golden Heart® finalist (now also a two-time finalist with her 2014 Golden Heart® finalist nod), so some stalking on my part might have been involved:)…

But she was always gracious and chatty, and funny, and we’ve been buds ever since. I may not be a regular inspirational romance reader, but I enjoy a good book, first and foremost, and I love her books, but also her marketing savvy, and her commitment to her Sunday blog posts! If you haven’t checked them out, please do — you’ll be wiser for reading them:)!

So, I invited her here to the Waterworld Mermaid pond to answer some of my questions about her newest release, The Preacher’s Promise, and in general share some of her awesomeness!

1). Denny asked: Tell us about your setting – time and location – how does setting help you tell the story of your protagonist?

Piper said: The Milford College series starts in 1866 Georgia. This is the Reconstruction Era that follows the end of the Civil War. It’s a time of great change, unrest and uncertainty. I think it’s a lot like the Wild West where great opportunity existed alongside of turbulence and change. So when these forces of an educated African American woman comes in contact with a former enslaved blacksmith, there is bound to be conflict. They wouldn’t have come in contact at any other time.

2) Denny asked: Pick a line from your book that you’d say ’nails’ the personality of your heroine and/or hero?

Piper said: Virgil says: “Don’t address people I don’t know by their first names. Especially not young women. I got manners.”

He won’t have anyone, not even the newly arrived schoolteacher, treating him as if he doesn’t know the rules of society. The line shows his pride, but at the same time highlights his vulnerability.

3) Denny asked: You are a two-time Golden Heart finalist entering the world of indie publishing with two books debuting in six weeks, what’s next?

Piper said: Hopefully, people will be engaged in my series and I can continue to release Milford College stories. I’m still shopping my single title 20^th century series and people will be able to learn about the Bledsoe Sisters.

4) Denny asked: Name two books on your must-read shelf.

Piper said: Gone With the Wind.- Despite all of the difficulty with the way African Americans are portrayed, Mitchell still tells a captivating story. For me, the book serves as motivation—to tell a different kind of captivating story.

Mules and Men – Hurston captures pertinent stories/reflections in the speech patterns of her fellow Floridians from the 1920’s and 1930’s and gives them their human dignity.

5) Denny asked: What’s hot in historical women’s fiction and/or romance (besides your new book:)!

Piper said: The whole genre of “wife of” books seems to have cooled for the moment. I see a hopeful shift in readers being more receptive to a wider variety of time periods in historical romance. The genre will have a hard time continuing to thrive if people are not exposed to a greater variety of stories.

Thank you, Piper!

Now readers, Piper will be around all day so please ask away!

Piper Huguley is author of the “Home to Milford College” series, and to keep in touch, you can visit her blog, http://piperhuguley.com, or follow her on @writerpiper on Twitter, or find her at Piper Huguley on Facebook.The Preacher’s Promise (in print and on iTunes)

Amazon: The Preacher’s Promise (Home to Milford College Book 1) – Kindle edition by Piper Huguley. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

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The Lawyer’s Luck (in print and on iTunes)

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Love=No Apology Necessary?

August 14, 2014Kimberly MacCarron, mermaidsapologizing, Love means never having to say you're sorry, Love StoryKimberly MacCarron

As some of you may recall, I went on a bit of a rampage a couple months back about Jerry Maguire’s “You complete me.” This led me to another annoying quote from a 1970 movie, LOVE STORY. In it, Ali MacGraw’s character tells Ryan O’Neal’s character, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

Ugh. Double ugh.

How awful to never expect an apology from someone who has hurt you. And even more infuriating is the message it sends to us as well. If we behave badly, but we really do love the person, we shouldn’t have to utter the words. They aren’t necessary. What a cop-out. So apologies are completely unnecessary in a loving relationship? Why is it okay to lash out at someone you love because they should just KNOW you don’t mean it? That’s ridiculous.

I’ve noticed that children view apologizing as one of the worst forms of punishment, and this makes me wonder why. As a society, do we view apologizing as a weakness? An act of losing dignity or giving in? Do we think of it as giving someone power over us? Why is it supposed to be strong to be stubborn to a point where love no longer has a chance?

A healthy relationship should have a fair share of apologies. The give-and-take of apologies shows the other person that you care enough about the relationship to admit a wrongdoing or even a brief loss of temper. We have to meet people halfway with more than just empty words as well. For some people, mouthing the words “I’m sorry” is all that’s required, without any future changes in behavior. That’s even worse.

Children should learn to ask forgiveness in a manner that doesn’t feel like a punishment or a sign of weakness. As adults, it’s our job to teach them how to do that by example. I’ve apologized many times to my children, and I’ve never felt like I’ve somehow lost my footing as a mom. I think my kids respect me more for admitting when I’m wrong and saying so. It’s easy to pass the buck. To heap our failures at someone else’s door. To load blame onto someone else’s shoulders.

Asking for forgiveness has the potential to show vulnerability, and that very vulnerability leads to deeper understanding. We realize that when writing a scene in a book. We want our characters to go through hell and come out happy on the other side, but they should also be able to apologize with grace and without groveling.

John Wayne once said, “Never apologize, mister, it’s a sign of weakness.” I disagree. I think it shows strength of character to apologize. It’s never okay to hurt someone’s feelings and then shrug it off. If we read a book where a character did this, we wouldn’t have an ounce of respect for him/her.

In the 1972 comedy WHAT’S UP, DOC?, Barbra Streisand’s character says to Ryan O-Neal’s (star from LOVE STORY), “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” He replies: “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard.”

On that, I do agree. ☺

Can you think of a movie or book where one character apologizes to another, and it’s a pivotal scene? It doesn’t have to be a romance, but the apology has to be important.

I’ll leave you with a great quote by Ebehi Iyoha: “Sorry is hardest to say when it matters most.”

Isn’t It Romantic

August 13, 2014Kerri Carpentermovies, romance, The Sparkle PlanKerri Carpenter

(Sparkle Plan Update: Yes, I am still on my Sparkle Plan. But I thought I would take a month off from talking about it. All is still well – I’m starting to do run/walk intervals and getting back into lifting weights. Stay tuned for a bigger update in September.)

Spoilers ahead – you’ve been warned.

I consider myself a romantic.

I write romance novels. I love happy endings and riding off into the sunset and candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach, and flowers, and getting dressed up to go out on a date. Which reminds me, I have these new, totally cute pants that would be great for a date. But I digress.

You know what else I like? Movies.

But recently, I realized that none of my favorite movies are romantic movies. My two favorite movies oscillate between The Empire Strikes Back and Office Space. Both have some hints of romance, but neither can be considered A romance. Furthermore, the usual “romcom” staples don’t tend to make my heart go flutter-flutter.

Laughing like a loon….

For example, I would never consider Pretty Woman a romance because I’ve never been able to get over the fact that, oh, I don’t know, she’s a HOOKER! Sure, it’s all romantic and swell when a super-rich guy can whisk you off on a private plane to see an opera after he put a glamorous and expensive necklace around your neck and you laughed like a loon. But you’re still a hooker.

Are my standards too high?

Then there’s Legally Blonde. One of those movies I’ll always watch when it comes on TV. Is it a romance though? There IS a romance but besides knowing Elle and Emmett get together in the end, they never kiss or go on a date. Besides, the scene that really gets me going is when Elle totally wins the argument over former-love Warner in class. Then Professor Callahan says, “I believe you’ve just won your case.” Yes! #winning

You bet I won my case! Plus, my resume is pink and scented!

Frustrated, I Googled “romantic” movies. Here’s my thoughts on some of the Internet’s choices for most romantic film (in no particular order). Mind you, I’m not saying these aren’t good movies, just that they aren’t romantic in my eyes.

Titanic – everyone dies and really cold water.

The Notebook – old people, death and Alzheimer’s.

Ghost – he’s, um, A GHOST! Can never have a happy ending unless she also dies.

Romeo & Juliet – are you freaking kidding me? Double death!

West Side Story – see above, same movie as R&J but with singing and dancing.

Dirty Dancing – we don’t know what happens *after*the summer and abortion. And if Baby gives up her Peace Corps dreams that’s just lame.

Gone with the Wind – Dude, come on. Awesome flick, unhappy ending.

Casablanca – um, they don’t end up together! Also, Nazis scare me!

Grease – have to become a slut to find true love.

I will confess to enjoying and being quite smitten by a lot of scenes within the above movies. So really, maybe my problem is the endings? Because in romance writing, we have to conclude with a happily ever after or at least, happy for now.

All of this pondering leads me to the real question. Am I *not* a romantic after all? You be the judge. In the meantime, PLEASE leave some romantic movie options for me in the comments below.

Life on the Wild Side: My 2014 Summer PicSpam!

August 12, 2014Conferences, Denny S. Bryce, mermaidsDenny S. Bryce

I take pictures, and during the past six months I’ve been on the road! From the WRW-DC Retreat in April, to RT Booklovers Convention in May, to RWA National Conference in July and then onto Las Vegas and then LA (GladiatorsUnite!). So for my post today, it’s a PicSpam!

Thanks to all of the folks I met for the first time, and for all of the friends I met again. And please feel free to “tag” yourself or others in comments. Or if you see a photo you must have, let me know, and I’ll email it!

I know most of the people in these photos, but see how many you can recognize! (And yes, there are a few repeats, I got lost in the maze of iPhotos:).

Mermaids & Friends: Amy Patrick

August 8, 2014Books, Giveaway, Interview, mermaidsAmy Patrick, Channel 20 SomethingPintip

Friends, I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Amy Patrick to the pond today. Her debut, CHANNEL 20 SOMETHING, released earlier this week. It’s such a fun read, and I gobbled it up in one sitting. But don’t take my recommendation alone! Here’s a blurb:

22-year-old Heidi Haynes is almost one year into her “real life”. She has her first reporting job and her first apartment, but she’s yet to experience first love. Yes, she’s in a comfortable relationship with her college sweetheart, and according to her friends and family, he’s perfect for her. But for some reason she’s not as eager to talk about walking down the aisle as he is.

And while Heidi’s doing what she wants to do, she’s not where she wants to be. She longs for big cities, big-market breaking news, and real independence from her way-too-close-by helicopter parents. Problem is, the last time she left the security of home for new places and new people, things didn’t go so well. Disastrously, in fact, and she came running back to a local college and a “safe” boyfriend.

Well-traveled Californian Aric Serrano plans to stay in small-market-Southern-Hell just long enough to grab a cup of coffee and put together a kick-ass “escape tape”. He’ll serve his one-year contract, then he’s taking off for a higher rung on the TV sports ladder—alone—the way he likes it. But when he walks into the newsroom and meets Heidi, he may have finally found something and someone worth committing to.

Heidi would be so much more comfortable if she could avoid her new co-worker—he’s just her type—the type she’s so careful to avoid. But that becomes impossible when she and Aric are forced to work together on the weekend news. Now there’s no denying the attraction between them, and she’ll have to decide between settling for the “good enough” life she already has or taking the risk of going for what she dreams of, an exciting career and a real love.

This book was as fabulous as it sounds! Just as fabulous as Amy herself, who graciously agreed to answer a few of my questions…

Pintip: Amy, thanks so much for being here! You are particularly qualified to write this story. Can you tell us a little about your background in journalism?

Amy: This series is so much fun to write, because I get to call upon so many great (and not-so-great) experiences from my 12 year career in TV news. During that time I was climbing the career ladder, moving frequently, working at 6 different stations in 4 different states. I met so many “characters” through the years, and naturally they influence my fictional characters and events. I still work for a Boston TV station as a station host, so the story ideas keep piling up!

Pintip: Well, your expertise certainly showed in this book! Tell us the truth: did any of these scenes, or a version of them, ever happen to you? Such as, ahem, stealing kisses in the edit bay?

Amy: Hmmm. There was this one time… No actually I was not guilty of “fraternizing” during my first TV job, as Heidi and Aric are. But I was sorely tempted, because when I met my husband… he was the hot new sports guy. Unfortunately, the part about the nervous stomach and throwing up in front of the governor of Mississippi one minute before air time was also based on fact.

Pintip: Oooh. I didn’t know that was how you met your husband! How romantic! Or maybe I just think it’s romantic after reading your book, lol. What was your favorite scene to write?

Amy: I’m a sucker for first-kiss scenes, reading and writing them, so that was probably my favorite.

Pintip: What was the most difficult scene?

Amy: There were a couple scenes I cried through while writing, but I won’t tell you which ones– don’t want to ruin it for someone else.

Pintip: Good idea! We’ll see if the readers can figure it out once they get to those scenes. I adore your voice. Your heroine, Heidi, is utterly charming, and I love how she says, “Oh, sugar” when she curses. How did you come up with her character?

Amy: Oh, thank you! I’m so glad you found her charming– I can’t help but sympathize with her, because though she’s flawed, she tries so hard to please everyone (sometimes too hard), as many of us are apt to do in our early twenties. She’s a born and raised Southern girl, and there’s still a bit of a taboo about “ladies” cursing in the Deep South, thus the “sugar”. Also, Heidi has a really quirky boss who’s made public cursing, short skirts, and fraternizing grounds for firing at his TV station, so she has to be careful. She’s also living very close to her crazy-but-loving family, and struggling with being a daughter and sister to them while striving for real independence and trying to figure out who she really is. I started my first TV job at 21 years old, three weeks after graduation. So while I was a “professional” and a “grown-up” on TV, I was still very much developing as a person and sometimes felt like a kid faking my way through it all.

Pintip: Ha! I still feel like a kid faking my way through it all! You also write YA under the name Amy DeLuca. How is writing NA different from writing YA?

Amy: I’d say the voice is more mature, and the consequences of your character’s decisions are often more dire. By the time you’re out of college and starting life in the “real world”, you’re making decisions that can have lifelong repercussions, good or bad. And you’re making them with little (if any) influence from your parents. NA characters are in relationships that have a real chance of lasting forever, which is sometimes, but not often true of the relationships in YA books. Of course, everyone who marries their high school sweetheart and stays married for 60 years proves that wrong, but they may be the happy exception. My YA characters never even think about getting married, but I think twenty-somethings are much more likely to have that in their minds somewhere.

Pintip: So true. Lucky for us, we get to experience it all again by reading this book. And I hear there are going to be more books in the Channel 20 Something series. What’s coming up? Might these books involve Heidi’s friends, Mara and Kenley?

Amy: You guessed it! Book 2, STILL YOURS– A 20 SOMETHING NOVEL comes out in September and tells Mara’s story. She’s taken a new TV job in Providence, Rhode Island, the last place she wanted to work because it’s way to close to home and to him, the only guy who’s ever tempted her to abandon the Himbo-hunt and open herself up to actually loving someone.

And in October, Kenley’s story comes out. It’s called STILL ME- A 20 SOMETHING NOVEL. Kenley is reeling from a shocking change in her relationship status and regretting the day she ever left her on-air job for a man. Then she lands a new job at WNN in Atlanta and meets the network’s rising star, and even at the network level, what happens behind the scenes is the real story.

Pintip: Oh, wow! I can’t wait to read Mara’s and Kenley’s stories! I’ll be the first in line to purchase them. Thanks so much for being with us today, Amy!

Amy: Thank you for having me Pintip! It’s a thrill to be here with the Waterworld Mermaids today. And I’d love to give away a copy of the CHANNEL 20 SOMETHING e-book to one of the commenters. I’m curious to ask them: are there any moments from your own career that would make a great scene in a book?

Pintip: That’s a great question! Comment away, friends, and you’ll be entered to win this wonderful book!

BUY LINKS:
Amazon
NOOK/Barnes and Noble
KOBO
All Romance

Amy is a two-time Golden Heart finalist (2013 and 2014) who writes Young Adult fiction as Amy DeLuca and New Adult romance as Amy Patrick. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two sons and actually craves the heat and humidity of Mississippi, where she grew up. She’s been a professional singer and news anchor and currently narrates audio books as well as working as a station host for a Boston TV station.

Using Your Power for Good

August 5, 2014Alethea Kontiscant stop the signal, internet emergencyAlethea

A few years ago, I played a joke on the internet.

I was meeting up with my Aunt Theda in Baltimore — as many of you know, my Aunt Theda Kontis is a well-known ENT and Plastic Surgeon. She has her own practice, but she still teaches and consults every so often at Johns Hopkins. On this particular day, she let me know that it would be easiest to meet up with her by coming through the ER entrance.

So, for funsies, I took a picture of the ER sign in the Johns Hopkins parking garage and said something flippant.

Within 45 minutes, I had about 28974 Tweets and FB messages asking if I was okay. I received texts from multiple friends, including my sister, and then finally one from Aunt Theda (who had talked to my sister) that said, “You should call your mom.”

So I called Mom, who had *not* been on the internet in the last hour and knew nothing about it, so she found it a little amusing that I was calling to tell her to not be alarmed over something that hadn’t happened. When I told her not to be worried, she laughed and said something to the effect of, “I am even less worried about you after this. Now I know that if anything does ever happen to you, the whole world will jump up to save you before I even find out about it.”

I vowed from that point on to only use my powers for good.

This past weekend, my father called a friend in Belgium who was having a birthday. The conversation went fine for a little while, but then Dad started repeating himself over and over, and finally hung up the phone. He was worried that his friend had had a stroke, because he kept repeating the same thing over and over. The connection was clear the whole time and the friend never said anything about not being able to hear my father…but we were worried. This friend was alone, and we were worried.

We were also NOT in Belgium.

If you have ever attempted to contact the emergency service of a country that you are not actually in, it’s virtually impossible. Dad spent the next half hour trying to get in touch with people overseas while mom and I looked up words like “stroke” in French. Finally, when dad was so scared and frustrated he was ready to give up, I went online and put out my own call for help.

It was answered almost immediately, and the situation is now under control. (The friend seems to be fine, but we still have a note out to other friends in Belgium to keep an eye on him, and I will be updating everyone as soon as I hear something more official.) I learned a lot all those years ago from my “fire drill” with Aunt Theda, and I learned even more this time around:

1.) When you post about an emergency on social media, some people will think you’ve been hacked. It is important that you edit your status or post a follow-up tweet that this is not actually the case. You certainly don’t want some social media spam police shutting you down before you can get your situation resolved.

2.) As soon as you find a person that will help you resolve your situation, let everyone else know. Unfortunately, the FB algorithms being what they are, a lot of people won’t see this and know that the danger has passed (or is being handled).

3.) As soon as you find a person to help you resolve the situation, delete the original status/post of your cry for help. This will stop the status from being shared or retweeted. However, people who have shared the status on FB will still have THAT status out there. You need to go to your notifications, find the list of people who shared your status, and then post a comment thanking them and assuring them that all is well.

I only regret that I did not first write down the names of the people who RTd me on Twitter before I deleted the status — I would have liked to thank them personally.

4.) It is possible that clean-up will take longer than resolving the actual emergency. I urge you to be patient with people asking you three hours or three days later if you still need help. Remember that these people are your friends, they are still willing to help you, and for whatever reason the internet is just bringing them this news now. It’s not their fault.

5.) MY FRIENDS ARE AMAZING. It was late on a Sunday night, and I was introduced to a woman in Belgium who shared a mutual friend with me on FB. Her husband called my father’s friend and spoke to him, so that we could be assured everything was fine. (The friend blamed it on a bad connection, but we were still worried.) I will definitely be sending her a huge thank you package. Subsequently a few other people on Twitter who lived in Belgium contacted me, and I thanked them just as profusely for being so willing to help a complete stranger.

6.) If you are ever on the other side of this equation, only comment if you can be helpful. Before I was put in touch with someone who could actually aid me in my emergency, I got a lot of stuff like “Too bad this wasn’t a year ago, I used to live in Belgium.” While this might be a lovely data point for your profile bio, it doesn’t help…and in an emergency situation, I can assure you that the freaked-out person who sent up the Bat Signal is only interested in information helpful at that exact moment.

Have you ever had an emergency in which you needed to turn to the internet for help? I’d be very interested to hear others’ experiences.

And again, to all of you who boosted the signal for me this weekend — thank you again, a million times. You are loved and treasured more than you know.

Mermaids & Friends: Larynn Ford

August 4, 2014Kerri Carpenter, Mermaids & Friendsebook giveaway, Interview, Larynn Ford, mermaids & friends, Rescued, Soul Mate PublishingKerri Carpenter

Can you believe it’s August already! We, Mermaids, are spending extra time splashing around the lagoon to cool off and enjoy this last month of summer. So we thought we would invite one of our friends to join us today. Let’s welcome, Larynn Ford!!!

Besides being one of my fellow Soul Mate authors, Larynn has a new release, Rescued, she’d like to talk about. Plus, she’s giving away one copy – details below. Take it away, Larynn….

**************************************************************************** Continue reading →

Denny S. Bryce Wins 2014 Golden Heart

July 27, 2014Alethea Kontis, Denny S. Bryce2014 golden heart, rwa14Alethea

In which our very own Denny Mermaid receives the 2014 Golden Heart Award for Romantic Suspense…and we couldn’t be prouder! (As the following video will attest...)

CONGRATULATIONS, DENNY!

Nationals!

July 23, 2014mermaidsSusan Jeffery

Already, our fabulous mermaids are storming the wilds of Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

Yuppers, it’s #RWA14 – Romance Writers of America National Conference, 2014!

Yes, it’s hot (90 degrees at 10 p.m.). Yes, it’s crowded (4,000 women in one hotel means very crowded). And yes, it’s busy (just try to make all those workshops you had on your wish list!)

Yours truly isn’t in attendance this year, but already has intercepted various Facebook posts from others. We know they’ve survived, and some are probably, at this minute, buying cowboy boots.

Check back tomorrow, to see if I’ve managed to snag a few pictures from the Fishy Ones, and we’ll see just how sparkly their fins can be!

In the meantime, here’s what this Mermaid was doing in their absence…

We were artists!

At last the Internet Gods cooperate… here we are, painting our hearts out instead of writing.

Hey — better than San Antonio? Hard to tell, some people were feeling pretty good about themselves as the evening went on…

Pretty shakey, i must have been excited…

All said and done, I think we did pretty well for Left-Behinders.

Tomorrow: experience, planning and my full-on assault of a first draft.

Guy Day! Welcome The Kentucky Gent to the Pond

July 18, 2014Carlene Love Flores, Guy Day, Interview, WritingJosh Johnson, male perspective, Men's styling tips, The Kentucky Gent, Writing Romance HeroesCarlene

Happy Friday Fishy Friends! I’m incredibly excited for today’s guest because simply put, Josh Johnson is a really great guy with a unique perspective. (You’ll see why below.) I also love the random way I found him. As writers do, I was Google image searching clothes for a character. My rock star drummer needed a tank top. Here’s how it went down: I typed in “Man Tank Tops”, scrolled through loads of images and then Bam! I saw this cool, adorable guy … right away I knew I was looking at Will.

A little further digging and I found he had a blog of his own. A very awesome blog mixing men’s fashion with honest, positive and creative narrative bits that you’ll want to check out. Just my luck, he had a contact link should someone want to work together on a post. I practically shouted yes and not long after, I had myself a Guy Day guest! As you’ll see from our interview, he’s got a fresh, entertaining male perspective that I know will be appreciated by our writer and reader friends alike. And he’s so darn charming. And cool. Please welcome Josh, The Kentucky Gent…

Me: For our fishy friends not familiar with The Kentucky Gent, please tell us a little about yourself and what you do, Josh.

J: I’m a blogger, foodie, free lance writer, and runner from Louisville, Kentucky.

Me: Cool, and what do you love about your job?

J: I love that it never feels like work. I get paid to do what I already love to do. Talk, eat good food, drink good drinks, and wear killer clothes.

I like to call this one “Will Hotness” 😉

Me: The above outfit is pretty killer. So, what type of outing are you typically most excited to get ready for and why? Ie: work, a concert, a walk in the park, a non-stop flight to Aruba?

J: Dinner and drinks with friends. I don’t tend to get dressed up much, but I always love putting together an outfit.

Me: Speaking of Aruba, I know you love the beach which is awesome sauce with us Mermaids. What is the current consensus on hero-worthy swimwear? This is always the one thing I think you’ve got to be practical about, especially with sand and water involved but obviously we all want something flattering too. I hand it over to you, oh mighty subject matter expert.

J: The shorter the better, honestly and seriously. Not so short that we’ve got special bits exposed, but take a hint from the Euro males and show your thighs some love. It’s more flattering on most all body types. Longer, boxy shorts make a guy look short and squatty, which should be the last thing we want to impart on someone when we’re poolside. Prints and bright colors are my go-to’s.

Me: In your opinion, are men actively aware of their style or are they winging it? Do you think the average guy puts more thought into his clothing choices than the average person realizes?

J: I think it’s a toss up. It honestly takes MORE time to look like you didn’t take any time getting ready than to actually look put together. Men are masters of emulation. We do what we see our guy friends doing, and that’s where I hope I can help out. I keep it simple, most of the time, and don’t wear designer duds. I want to appeal to the average Joe and show him that you can look like a million bucks while still looking like a guy next door.

Me: I like that. Do you listen to music when you get dressed? What’s a great song to get your clothes on to?

J: I almost always listen to music when I’m getting ready. Typically something upbeat, but it does depend on my mood. Currently I’m obsessed with Sia’s new album.

Me: Adore Sia, big time. As romance writers, we are taught to give our characters quirks to help them leap off the page. What are some quirky fashion choices you can give to help us achieve this for our romance heroes?

J: Take iconic pieces and give them a personal twist. Two of those for me would be jeans and chucks. They help me seem more relatable to the average Joe, but I’ll spice up the shoes with some funky socks, or by cuffing my jeans up at the bottom.

Me: If you could style anyone, who would it be and why?

J: That’s a tough one, but I’d definitely style Nicole Richie. Only because she doesn’t really need to be styled, and I’d love to get a glimpse into her life and closet.

Me: Nice. In romance novels, we love a tattooed hero. When I searched out your tank top pics, your tattoos immediately caught my eye. What do yours say about you and are they just as much a part of a man’s style as any other piece of his wardrobe?

J: They all tell a story. Each one of them a different part of me, and a way that I’ve chose to deal with and cope with things that have happened in my life. Tattoos are wearable art, and because of that they’re the ultimate accessory.

Me: Cool, now let’s have a little fill in the blank fun:

J: A stylish man can also be… insecure.

J: A stylish man shouldn’t be afraid to… stand out.

J: Every stylish man should own a… leather jacket.

Me: Can we talk pj’s? First off, what do you men call them? I probably spent way too much time deciding how my hero would refer to his jammies in my latest book only to realize he probably wouldn’t refer to them in the first place. Am I right or wrong? But we do tend to talk about men’s sleepwear in romance novels so help us out, Josh! Are they pajamas, pj’s, bottoms, pants, lounge pants? Or something else entirely?

J: To be honest I’ve never been a PJ’s kind of guy. I’m incredibly hot natured and HATE sweating while I sleep. When I’m lounging around the house I’m in gym shorts and an old t-shirt, and most guys that I know are exactly the same way. When it comes to sleep I’ve always heard it’s best to sleep in the buff, but when I’m not doing that I’m usually calling it a night in just my skivvies.

Me: There you have it, romance writers, don’t overheat your men! Buff or skivvies, take your pick. 😉 And for the sake of those writing details, let me pick your brain a little further on this topic. For a woman, wearing a nightgown to bed can be a hassle because she ends up getting tangled and twisted. Is there anything similar for a man as far as sleepwear goes that the average woman wouldn’t know about? Anything uncomfortable?

J: I hate wearing a shirt to bed, if it’s too tight you can feel like you’re being smothered, but if it’s too big you end up getting it stuck underneath you as you try to roll over. It’s a pain.

Me: Is there ever a time when fashion just isn’t important to you? I’m looking for a day/situation when you’ve got something going on or nothing at all and you simply say “Screw it. Not worrying about what I look like today.”

J: I have a lot of those days. Luckily for me my style is incredibly laid back, so even on those days I still keep it looking purposeful. If I’m having one of those days I grab for my favorite pair of jeans/shorts and a loose fitting t-shirt. If I’m wearing shorts I’ll cuff up the sleeves on the shirt, and if I’m wearing jeans I’ll cuff them instead. It takes about 2 minutes to get dressed, and I’m still looking fly.

Me: When trying on clothes, are there any body parts guys are checking out on themselves to see if they look good? You know, kind of how we ladies are checking to see if our tushes look good in those jeans.

J: I always lift up my shirt to check out my butt in the mirror. Other than that I check my stomach and love handles.

Me: You. Are. Awesome. Onto … Grooming! This could be an entire blog post of its own and Josh, if you’ve ever read a romance novel, you know we ladies are OBSESSED with man-grooming. Our heroes’ whiskers in particular. I’m not even gonna go there as to why that is. I guess I want to know how your grooming affects or is related to your sense of style. Is facial hair something that is trendy kind of like hairstyles? Also I’m curious to know how practical is facial hair for a guy? Are these things a chore for you gents to maintain? Are you like, “Damn, I hate having to shave but this is the look I want.”

J: I actually hate shaving, and haven’t done so in years. I keep a trimmer in the shower, and when I start looking unkempt I trim down the scruff and even up my neck. Growing out a full beard is definitely a task and commitment. It’s important to keep your neck trimmed up at all times or you end up like a wooly mammoth, not a sexy lumberjack. But in the end it’s worth it. Facial hair styles come and go, but I think we can all agree most men look better with at least a 5 o’clock shadow.

Me: Agreed. 😉 It is beyond exciting to have a stylish man in the pond and so I’m taking full advantage! For this last bit, I’m going to give you a couple hero backgrounds and ask you to give us romance writers a practical outfit or piece of clothing for the guy and his particular task.

Our first hero has been set up on a blind dinner date which he’s not too thrilled about, but it’s not the date’s fault so he’s doing his best. In this frame of mind, what would this guy show up in? So he’s trying to be nice but not trying for a second date. And he’s probably a bit of a loner and doing that adorable brooding thing.

J: That would depend a lot of what he knew about who his date was with, what they liked/didn’t like. If he wasn’t shooting for a second date he’d obviously do his best to be as far from what they were expecting as possible. Based on what I know about romance stories I’m sure the date would expect him to show up in a leather jacket, tight jeans, and an even tighter t-shirt, am I right? (You’re so right, Josh!) I’d tell him to show up in relaxed fit jeans, a t-shirt, and a blazer. He’d still look dapper, but would not be the apple of his date’s eye anymore. He may however garner the eye of a few admirers in the bar.

Me: I like how you think, my friend. So our second hero is the one who’s gonna end up in a sticky and dangerous situation with his love interest and have to save the day. Um, let’s say they ended up running from a nasty ole stalker after an evening walking the local street scene. Our dashing hero should probably be wearing…

J: …Chucks not sneakers. There’s a BIG difference between fashion footwear like Chucks, Vans, etc. and thinking it’s ok to wear Nike or Adidas gym shoes on a date, or in public in general. It’s a no, no. If a date shows up wearing the same shoes he wore to the gym it’s probably best to let the stalker nab him, so kick off your heels and run Forest, run.

Me: I can’t run because I’m too busy cracking up and rolling on the floor. Whew, okay so this last guy, boy my heart really goes out to him. The poor young man just woke up with a swollen neck, two tiny puncture wounds and looking way too pale. Josh, please have some fun and style our newly made vampire for all those paranormal romance writers out there.

J: In true Edward Cullen (I heart you, Josh) fashion, stick to neutral tones, like beige, gray, tan, and black. It’ll keep from washing out the already pale skin. Keep it simple with a basic t-shirt or woven, jeans, a leather jacket, and boots for that bad-ass broody vibe that we all know we lust after.

Pretty sure I see sparkles in this one. Love.

Me: All right, that’s it. If I could throw you in a net and keep you here in the pond I would! Bare minimum, I hope you’re okay with honorary Merman status. Thank you, Josh. You really rocked it out for us today. Now please share where our readers can follow you for more excellent tips and insight into the stylish man’s world.

J: You can subscribe to my blog by visiting TheKentuckyGent.com, or follow along on the below social media handles.

Facebook: Facebook.com/TheKentuckyGent

Instagram: TheKentuckyGent

Twitter: TheKenGent

Pinterest: The Kentucky Gent

All right friends, so what do we think? Ready to write some well-dressed heroes? For our readers out there, share your faves when it comes to what your romance hero is wearing. And let’s all give Josh some love!

Fishy kisses,

Carlene Mermaid

Psst… All the awesome pics used in this post are credited to the very gracious and stylish, Josh Johnson.