Comments on: REVIEW: Jewel of the Dragon by Lynne Connolly

By: Lynne Connolly

Lynne Connolly — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 15:20:31 +0000

She’s not confident about herself for a good reason. All her life the people she trusts and loves have told her she shouldn’t be and for the first part of her life she lived in an isolated community, cut off from any other opinions or attitudes. It’s part of her learning process, to learn how to trust herself instead of other people, and Dev helps her to do that, instead of trusting him or anyone else.
But on the whole, I tend to agree that heroines who insist of seeing themselves as ugly, stupid etc are annoying if they don’t have good reasons for doing so. And especially if they are brilliantly beautiful and intelligent. However, I’ve met people like that, and they need helping, sometimes they need somebody who can help them to look at themselves in a better like. Maybe I’m a bit like that myself, but you learn to cover it up as the years go on (I haven’t met an author yet who isn’t convinced that everything she writes is dreck!)
Guess I didn’t get that across!

And thanks for the compliments about the American characters, I did hope that would work! I have some fantastic beta readers. I try to fiind someone who lives in the same area my characters do, so they can also check that the city is well depicted, as well and the language and attitudes. I visit most of the places I write about, but there’s nothing like the opinion of a resident for getting it right!

By: Jayne

Jayne — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 13:54:05 +0000

Well, I’d even settle for just a heroine who is confident about herself, her sexuality, her power as a woman rather than one who so painfully unsure about herself. She doesn’t have to bend a steel bar with her bare hands or bite through nails as long as she’s self assured.

Looking back over the review I realized I forgot to mention how well you handled the American characters. Mea culpa.

By: Lynne Connolly

Lynne Connolly — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 19:06:53 +0000

Sorry you didn’t like it so much, guys. Guess I can’t win ‘em all. The book got raves in other places, so that goes to show that personal taste is all. In a way, it’s good, because it shows I’ve taken a stance, written a book with an identity of its own that not every reader will like, but I’m assured that some certainly do!
I do try to do something a bit different, and the constant parade of kickass, confident heroines occasionally gets a bit tedious. How about some of us more ordinary girls for a change? I’m shy, unsure of myself, so maybe there’s a bit of me in Alix. Ordinary girls who believe sometimes it’s better to push open a door in the conventional way than to kick every door with a steel-capped boot!
But it won’t stop me writing. Perhaps the heroine of the second book would be more to your taste, Chana, who trains as a cop and starts her acquaintanceship with the hero by kicking him in the nadgers when he comes on to her a bit too strong!
Due to the recent kerfuffle at Triskelion, the book isn’t currently available, but with a light edit, I’m hoping it will be coming out soon elsewhere. Maybe I’ll take all those explanations out!

And maybe you’ll like the new Triple Countess book, “Last Chance, My Love,” coming out next month at Samhain. Back to the historicals and my favourite era, the mid-Georgian.