Nicole Jordan's Blog

I'm going out on a limb here – and possibly earn Goddess K-Ha's wrath for my audacity – but I have a new fave romance action hero to replace Hugh in my affections. Sacrilege, isn't it? But hear me out. It's Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

The movie is based on the Prince of Persia video game, which I've never played, and is shot mostly in Morocco, so it has fab scenery. Part fantasy, part historical romance, the story takes place sometime in the 400-600's in the Kingdom of Persia and is one of those epic adventure films that you don't find much any more.

Jake aka Prince Dastan is the wayward adopted son of the King of Persia. He even does his own stunts! Leaping off tall buildings. Backflipping over horses. Sword-fighting with deadly assassins. And all the while carrying on a great romance with a princess.

Dastan and Tamina start out sparring like Hepburn and Tracy and you can just feel the sparks. Jake plays the cynical, amusing rogue to perfection, but by the end of the story, he's willing to give his very life for her and her cause. How romantic is that? Just makes my heart melt.

Here's the movie trailer if you want to see it:  Prince of Persia movie

I've seen the DVD a half dozen times now and can quote much of the romance dialogue in my sleep. It's probably pathetic to be so addicted, but I am a romance author after all. There are some great lines there…. okay, maybe not great, but at least sparkling, fun romance. Plus the life and death issues give the story substance that would be lacking otherwise.

And while I'm on the subject of entertainment… Goddess Suzie usually reviews movies and TV shows, but I'm usurping her blog subject just this once.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the new "Sherlock" series… Three 90 minute TV movies produced by BBC and shown on Masterpiece Mystery these past few week. The fun part for me is that the stories are re-imagined in present day London. It's fun seeing Sherlock and Watson deal with contemporary issues but still stay true to the brilliant stories Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created for the Victorian era.

What movies/TV shows have you enjoyed lately? Any heroes in movies, TV, or books that you just love? And if you've scene Prince of Persia, would you vote for Jake over Hugh… or is it just impossible for Hugh to have finally meet his equal? (Goddess Karen Hawkins need not comment since we already know her vote!)

I went to a motivational talk once and the speaker put forth the idea that each one of us needs to have a theme song for our lives.

Huh.

She had one for her life and it really helped her to focus on want she wanted, to remember who she was and who she wanted to be, to be the sound-track in her head that played when she was lonely or discouraged or full of joy. This song was her song, her theme. Her identity in song.

Huh.

She encouraged each of us to think of our theme song, the song that defined us, the song that we wanted to define us. She told us to claim that song, to claim the promises written in that song, for our own. Find your theme song!

So, I did. The trouble is, I can't remember what I picked anymore. I need a new theme song. Do you? What's your theme song? I think The Goddess Blogs might need a theme song. What should it be?

[image error]Have you ever imagined yourself in an episode of Sex & The City? You know, where Carrie Bradshaw and friends search for the latest in hot clothes and shoes?

Well, at a family reunion in Miami last week, I felt as if I was an extra in an episode of Sex & The City. Mainly because my family all attended a Fashion Expo to support my sis-in-law. To my surprise, it turned out to be a remarkable experience.

I knew that Patuna had started designing her own fashions, but I didn't [image error]realize just how incredibly talented she was. Her gorgeous evening gowns were the highlight of the show. Just amazing. Not only did she come up with nearly two dozen completely different looks, but they were gowns that real women would actually want to wear. Made from Italian silk and Austrian crystals, they were probably out of my price range, but I found myself lusting over every one of those gowns.  (These pics are just a sampling of that night.) Patuna also designs hand-made shoes that even Goddess Rachel would love.

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Now, you should realize this praise is coming from someone who spends most of her free time in a barn. My idea of high fashion is clothes that don't come from Walmart. I remember on a recent trip to Vegas, I loved the Armani pants-suits I saw at the Bellagio Hotel shops, but they were all in black, and that color makes me look like I've contracted malaria.

The one big fashion show I ever attended was Christian Dior in Paris.[image error]  Admittedly I was only a teenager at the time, but I wouldn't have been caught dead in any of those clothes. Seems to me that the high-end designers don't seem to have real flesh-and-blood women in mind. Who would want to wear a hat that looks like a bird cage, I ask you?

My point being that I'm super proud of my sis-in-law and want to take a moment to brag about her here at TGB.

Are you into high fashion? Do you have favorite designers? Watch the current TV shows about models and fashion design? Or are you more like me and roll your eyes at the out-there styles that many fashion designers create? Do you shop more often at Walmart or Saks and Neiman Marcus?

[image error] As an historical romance writer, I've always fantasized about going back in time to see how people really lived. I don't want to actually live there for long because of the lack of modern conveniences, but I sure would love to be a fly on the wall so I could observe folks.

[image error]My first choice for my perch as a fly would probably be Jane Austen's parlor. Wouldn't it be cool to actually see her writing the first draft of Pride and Prejudice by hand with a quill pen? It would be fab to see if she struggled with characters and conflict and plot and dialogue and narrative as I sometimes do.[image error]

Some other intriguing places I'd love to be for at least a moment in time: Queen Elizabeth I's court to see how she ruled her subjects. Albert Einstein's laboratory to glimpse his brillance. Alexander the Great's command tent. The studios of Leonardo De Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh's, Claude Monet.

[image error]But I don't have to go back in time to fantasize either. Sandra Bullock's living room and Brangelina's bedroom would be cool, too. Well, maybe not the bedroom.  That would be a little too intimate.  But the breakfast table would suffice.[image error]

How intriguing it would be, though, to see how such fascinating people lived/live out their daily lives! I would give a lot to be able to experience a few such moments.

Are there people and places you would love to see if you could be a fly on the wall? Special moments in time that ring your chimes or send chills down your spine?

[image error]Women are notoriously bad about hiding their lights under bushels. So says a writer friend who recently reached a milestone in her career by selling a series in a different romance genre. She had to work really hard at making that success happen, but when it came time to share her good news with her local RWA chapter, she was sheepish about it. Then she decided it was silly to feel awkward about such a wonderful accomplishment.

I have another friend who's vastly overweight. Yesterday she worked out with a personal trainer for the first time in her life, only 30 minutes, but it's a great start. So today's blog is dedicated to bringing out lights from under bushels.

There are a lot of things I'm no good at. Make that hopeless. I can't read a note of music, despite having several years of piano lessons as a kid and a highly musical mom and grandmom. I couldn't draw anything to save my life. Nor could I sell anything, even though I greatly admire some friends of mine who could sell ice to Eskimos, as the saying goes.

[image error]But I can claim a few talents. I can tie a cherry stem with my tongue. I could probably still tap dance if someone put a gun to my head. I used to be pretty good at math, although recently I saw one of my old [image error]college notebooks on advanced structures/differential equations and I swear I couldn't tell the answers from the questions. Last week, however, my young hunter mare was champion in 3 divisions at a week-long show — two with my trainer riding (which is not that unusual) and one with me riding (which is). I'm really proud of that accomplishment, in part because I've worked so hard at learning the ins and outs of jumping hunters.

[image error]So what lights can you share with your fellow Goddesses? Any recent accomplishments or talents you're proud of, even one as weird as having a cherry-tying tongue? Some skills you wish you had but have to work hard just to master the basics?

 [image error]You probably know that the word SNAFU originated with the military and stands for "Situation Normal All eFfed Up." The word doesn't appear in Webster's Ninth, probably because of the effing lauguage, but it means "totally screwed up as usual."

I seem to have snafus regularly, despite working hard to prevent them. Last week one of the big bookstore chains was supposed to offer the digital verison of my first Courtship Wars romance at a nice discount, accompanied by a big promotion effort...

[image error]I did it! I finally did it! I went and got myself a tattoo. Actually, it wasn't just one tattoo, it was two. And they aren't called tattoos but permanent make-up. I'm now the proud own of two brand-new eyebrows.

That was a big, bold step for me, since I grew up in the South when Good Girls like me didn't get tattooed. But I was getting tired of penciling eyebrows every time I wanted to look nice.

You see, I had thinned my eyebrows too much over the years. Really, I don't know how I did that...

[image error]An interview in a recent equestrian magazine had a interesting interview format: First it asked" Who, What, and Where" about the interviewee (name, home state, occupation). Then it asked her to describe 10 things she loved. That seems like a great way to get to know somebody. Plus it focuses on the positive instead of the negative.

This particular young lady's answers were: "My Blackberry, video chatting, my friends, my school, food, food, helping others, riding, my horse, poker, and family." ...

[image error]"A picture is worth a thousand words." The proof of that cliche was driven home to me this week when I received a precious gift: A restored photo of my late father holding me in his arms when I was practically a newborn.

You see, it came about like this. My mom was cleaning out old files and found a very small 2″X3″ snapshot of my dad and me in my grandmother's scrapbook. So Mom mailed it to me to add to my baby book, which she had also recently handed down to me. (I think she's bent on...

[image error]You may be too young to remember the days of Green Stamps, but Dh and I can recall how our grandmothers collected stamps from grocery stores, then pasted the stamps into books and redeemed them for prizes and/or cash. I can also remember as a kid doing the licking and stamping for my grandmother because she had so darn many her tongue would go numb.

Well, I just read a magazine article about ways to save in the current tight [image error]economy. While grocery store stamps weren't on the list, there were l...