Squawk Radio

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Xtina Dodd does THE SHEIK AND THE VIRGIN SECRETARY


I’m a sucker for the classic romances — I love Harlequin Presents with their tough, aristocratic, alpha heroes and their sweet, young heroines with their slender ankles. So when Susan Mallery started writing her SHEIK series for Silhouette Special Edition, I was in heaven (a disclaimer — Susan Mallery and I have been friends for about, oh, about a million years, so factor that in if you wish). THE SHEIK FANTASY works for me — a wild, primal man riding across the desert, capturing me in his arms and riding with me to his tent where he forces great, hot sex on me over and over until I’m mindless with ecstasy.

Oh, wait. I mean — with wild primal man riding across the desert capturing THE HEROINE in his arms … ah, never mind.

The point is, a lot of women adore the sheik fantasy, and I’m one of them. It’s my second favorite fantasy. The first is the SECRETARY FANTASY, the one where the downtrodden, homely secretary is totally in her boss’s power, but by taking off her glasses and letting her hair down, she suddenly becomes a siren who seduces him and makes him a prisoner of her power.

So when Susan Mallery wrote THE SHEIK AND THE VIRGIN SECRETARY, she put two of my favorite fantasies together and I was overcome (ha) with pure lascivious joy. I devoured the book from the opening line (“I wondered if you were currently looking for a mistress”) through the long slow seduction and the plot stuff … did I mention the long slow seduction? I had a great time with that book.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one. THE SHEIK AND THE VIRGIN SECRETARY hit the bestseller lists with a vengeance, sweeping away the competition.

But of course some women hatehatehate the SHEIK fantasy. Some people hatehatehate the SECRETARY fantasy. Some women hate them both which makes THE SHEIK AND THE VIRGIN SECRETARY a double hate.

What about you? SHEIK or SECRETARY? Love them or hate them? What plot always makes you pick up a book regardless of time period or author? What plot do you hate with such a violent passion you will never ever read it?
Christina Dodd, 2:49 AM
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