Tuesday 7 January 2014

Top Posts of 2013


I'm taking a leaf out of the delightful Kathy Hamilton's book and doing a breakdown of the most popular posts of last year.

So here we go:  The Most Popular Posts of Exploits of a Chick Lit Aficionado in 2013:

Sex for Sex's Sake

Back in March, one of my first posts was a discussion about sex in novels.  I am continually frustrated by people who delegate books with sex in to the trash pile, almost as much as I do those who continually perpetuate myths about chick lit.

Then again, look at the title of the post - I think it's pretty clear why it was my most read post last year...

The Unexpected Wedding Guest, or How to Write a Perfectly Flawed Heroine

August brought with it my first review copies of Modern Tempted, and therein began a love affair that continues to this day.  my review of Aimee Carson's first book of The Wedding Season Quartet ended up having a bigger impact than I expected.

Not only did Matt Gardner as one of the first Mills & Boon boys make a bigger impact than could ever have been expected, but the quartet itself sparked an idea that's now developed in a paper at this year's IASPR conference!

If You Can't Stand the Heat, or Why Delayed HEA are M&B's Answer to Nietzsche

Nietzsche is my favourite philosopher (mainly because wow the guy can write:  "In some remote corner of the universe, poured out and glittering in innumerable solar systems, there once was a star on which clever animals invented knowledge.").

I'm particularly fond of his idea that it is only by identifying what something is not, that we can truly understand what it is.

And in some ways, that's what delaying a Happy Ever After does - just as in Joss Wood's If You Can't Stand the Heat...

Girl Least Likely to Marry, or Geek Chic Romance

Amy Andrews continually writes books that has me questioning what I expect from romance novels.  I love this, and it was great to see this in Girl Least Likely to Marry where Turk is way more aware of his feelings than Cassie.

Plus there are stars, great sex scenes and a smattering of delicious moments.  Yum.

Rugby Players: The Perfect Alpha Male?

Rugby is my favourite sport.  In part due to the tight sportswear (all hail the scrum!) and in part due to the fact that it's an awesome game.

The past year has raised questions about England's ability to play, as well as why more rugby players should dance (oh Ben Cohen, how we miss you) but most importantly, it has cemented why I think more rugby players should be heroes in romance novels.

Plus I'm prepping for 2015.  Road trip to Twickenham!! #RugbyWorldCup2015

On Being a Modern Tempted Girl

RIVA returned this year in the form of Modern Tempted.

There is very little to say that I have not already said - although any men of my acquaintance who fancy offering themselves up as sacraficial Mills & Boon boys, drop me a line... :) 

Dabbling with Erotica...

And my writing.  I don't talk about my creative writing very much on here - mainly because this is where all my journalistic tendencies lie - but occasionally it rears it's head.  And I like to think that writing the occasional sex scene's essentially flexing my writing muscle.  So yeah.  This seemed popular too.

And there y'all have it.  What posts/books/writing exploits are you most proud of from 2013?

2 comments:

  1. Hey Ali. Pleased to see MOdern TEmpted is up there :-)
    My blog I did for the Momentum Moonlight blog - He Of The Mighty Wang - is apparently one of their most visited and was a total hoot to write :-)

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    Replies
    1. Oh I loved that - genuinely hysterical with many laugh out loud moments!! :)

      And of course MT's up there - it wouldn't be my blog without it!!

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