Tattoos: Love 'em or Hate 'em, Rio has 'em--and so do I!

Every person in the world has an opinion about tattoos. If you’re a mother who grew up in the 50’s or 60’s, you probably told your children you’d disown them if they ever mutilated their bodies with ink forced into designs beneath their skin.

A lot of those kids got tattoos anyhow. And most of them, in truth, were not disowned. In fact, a few parents even gave in and got tats, too. I know this to be true because I did exactly that—got a tattoo for my 50^th birthday (that's it on the left).

My parents were slightly shocked. My husband rolled his eyes. My daughter (proud wearer of three tattoos) was delighted. But nobody shrugged in apathy. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why I did it. What I came up with was – rebellion.  I grew up a people-pleasing Miss Goody Two Shoes. I got a tattoo because it was something slightly naughty for a middle-aged woman to do. It wouldn’t offend, but it would shock. And I needed that for some weird reason. I love my tattoo even though it’s not very “badass.” I like it when old friends say, “You DO?” when I admit I have it.

And so, when it came time to create my inner city heroine, Rio Montoya, for

BEAUTY AND THE BRIT, I knew she would love the idea of shocking people, too. She would wear tats that meant something to her and make statements. But I also knew she wouldn’t put anything on her body that wouldn’t be beautiful. If she was going to “waste” her hard-earned money on body art, it wasn’t going to be ugly or hateful.

David Pitts-Matherson, on the other hand, had a very different opinion of tattoos. He always associated them with skinheads in England or with military braggadocio in the army—a place he wanted to forget. He almost got off on quite a wrong foot with Rio, when he commented on tattoos before he knew she had not one, but six!

Here’s an excerpt from that awkward moment—when David realized he had foot-in-mouth syndrome, and fairly severely, too!

EXCERPT #1:

Rio stopped dead in front of a store window she hadn’t noticed on the drive into town. Tattoo art from the sweet to the skeletal decorated the plate-glass window, and letters in gold Gothic typeface read Th-INK Designs – Art for Your Skin. Nora Pint, Damian Pint, artists. The few designs on display captured her. She loved tattoos—not full body ink or even heavy sleeves or cuffs. Certainly not gang symbols. But a beautifully rendered picture—

“Strange what people will do to themselves, isn’t it?”

She met his eyes, and the peaceful calm just starting to return boiled back into defensiveness.  “What do you mean?”

“What’s that phrase—whatever floats your boat? I think skin is quite nice on its own, so why shove needles full of ink into the cells trying to look prettier or tougher?”

“Oh?” An acerbic bite laced her words. “You mean like this?”

She turned away from him, hooked a thumb in the back of her waistband, and dragged it down three inches.

The pale swath of skin Rio exposed stopped the vital flow of air to David’s lungs. Or so he truly believed. He’d seen a woman’s backside before. He’d seen many tattoos.  But he stared at the exquisite picture she presented, and his body tightened as if she’d stripped to nothing. 

The horse’s head and body formed a heart shape a full four inches tall and at least that wide. It was the most unique tattoo he’d ever seen. The fine, chiseled head was centered at the small of her back and its mane swept up and left to create half the heart. The horse’s back and tail formed the other half. What enticed him most, however, was the end of the tail—the point of the heart, that disappeared below the seat of her jeans. Her thumb hid the top of the cleft between her cheeks. He’d never given a rat’s bum about anyone’s tattoo, but this one he wanted to follow with his eyes, his fingertips, maybe part way down with his lips ...

My own husband doesn’t see the attraction of tattoos. He never told me he’d prefer I not get one, but he never got very excited about it either. I think maybe that’s one reason I got one—because it was the tiniest bit of defiance—doing something someone I loved might look at askance. But—Jan got used to it. He’s even admitted to liking it. And that’s how I knew David would end up loving Rio’s, too. Men will give up a lot (even opinions) for the woman they love!

Here’s an excerpt—the moment David realized he no longer found Rio’s tattoos remotely off-putting:

Excerpt #2

 “They’re actually quite pretty, aren’t they?” A curious smoky veil faded out the blue of David’s eyes.

Rio stared back. “If I knew what you were talking about I could agree or disagree.”

“The tattoos.”

“Oh!”

She stared down to where the delicate white, blue, and lavender-shaded feather along the inside of her right breast swooped up from beneath the rounded neckline of her tank top.

“I’m sorry. “He hesitated, measuring his words. “I was unkind yesterday.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to like tattoos.”

“In the army I saw plenty of, how should I say it kindly? Unfortunate ones. It wasn’t fair to judge by those standards.”

“I was picky about mine. I knew I wanted beautiful art. They represent a lot of savings and, some would say, wastefulness.”

“How many do you have?”

She hesitated. “I have six.”

His eyebrows twitched a fraction higher, but he nodded and scratched his nose self-consciously. He looked positively cute in his awkwardness.

“Are they showable?”

She smiled and couldn’t help arching her own brow. “Not all of them.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. Warmth flooded her cheeks.

“I expect that was a rude question considering my actions last night. I never apologized.”

She looked instinctively down the barn aisle.

“It’s all right,” he assured her. “I sent Bonnie back to the house to get

something to drink. I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“We’re adults. I didn’t exactly run screaming, David.”

“No. And I was glad you didn’t. Although tell me nothing happened during that kiss and I’ll feel a lot better.”

Over the two days they’d known each other the only thing she’d grown slightly self-confident about was teasing him, and suddenly she couldn’t even do that. So much had happened during the kiss she didn’t dare open her mouth.

He nodded. “That’s what I thought.”

Rio's horse, feather and moon and stars along with herbroken infinity heart, her Monarch butterfly, and her owl are all shown here--and they each mean something important to her--as she explains in the book. 

I fell in love with them as Rio revealed them to me.  Can’t say I blame David for doing the same!

What about you? What do tattoos make you think of? Are they associated with negative things in your mind? Are they a beautiful form of art? Do you have one? Would you ever get one?  I’ve asked these questions before, but the answers always fascinate me.  I’d love to know—where do you stand on tattoos?

And if you want to see exactly how David ends up feeling about the subject—I’d love you to check out BEAUTY AND THE BRIT.  You’ll be surprised at his changes of heart!

I have a BEAUTY AND THE BRIT prize pack for one commenter today—an e-book and some snail mail-able goodies too!  Thanks for stopping by to celebrate BEAUTY’s release week with me!

Husband Meets Hero: Jan Selvig interviews David Pitts-Matherson

BEAUTY AND THE BRIT

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We girls love our romance heroes—and one of our favorite things to do is get the straight skinny on what they find romantic, sexy even, about life, love, and especially  their heroines. In other words—give us an interview with a hero any time and we’ll rush to find out what his favorite color is, how he felt when he met his heroine, and what made him fall in love with her.

But, I found out something fun the other day when David Pitts-Matherson from BEAUTY AND THE BRIT met up with my husband, Jan Selvig. I wanted to know what my guy would ask my hero. Guess what?  Ain’t the same things I’d ask—not even close!

But the questions led to some great answers and David seemed relieved to have some non-touchy-feely questions to put his mind to.  Never fear—I got in a couple of girly questions at the end—but, mostly, here are all the simple guy things Jan wanted to know.

Jan Selvig:   Here you go, David, since my wife is making us do this thing, sit and have a home-brewed beer, and let me start with this: how the heck did you end up in East Podunk, Minnesota all the way from England?

David Pitts-Matherson:  Good beer, Jan, thanks. And, good question—it does seem odd, doesn’t it? Bottom line is,  because of the unhappy circumstances surrounding my discharge from the army—you might remember from the book—my then-fiancée left and my father was none too pleased with me.  I felt a very long trip to someplace less judgmental was in order, so America was my choice of destination. Wouldn’t you know, my mother, an ace of a busy-body, determined that my father should plan a trip as well and we should go together. He traveled around teaching riding clinics, and I followed until I found the farm in Minnesota for sale. It was love at first sight—I stayed and sent my father on his way. I’ve never looked back.

JS: Where are you from in England?

DP-M: I was born in the north, in the Yorkshire dales. My grandmother had a bed and breakfast there, which is where my mum and dad met. Da’ moved in, married Mum, and we stayed there until I was six. After that we moved to Kent where my father built his successful riding stable—and where I learned the horse business as well.

JS: Are you related to royalty?

DPM:  There are times when we all wish we could get some good out of a direct line to the Queen. Sadly, I have no provable thread to the Windsors. There’s a rumor that my mother’s great uncle, who married into our family, was a cousin to a cousin of Prince Philip-but I’m afraid that puts me pretty far down the line of succession.

JS: What do you think of Prince Charles?

DPM: Well he got a rum go in life, didn’t he? I mean, really. He’ll be seventy, like tomorrow, and what’s he had to do all these years? Wait to be king. What kind of job is that? It’s no wonder he’s a bit bonkers. At least he has Camilla—not that the whole thing with Diana wasn’t tragic. But Camilla, turns out she’s a bit of all right. Stable. Keeps her place quietly. People like her well enough. Better than Charles I daresay.

JS: Have you ever seen the Crown Jewels?

DPM: Sure, yeah, on a school trip to London once. I was just a proper tourist like everyone else. It seemed like a lot of gold wasted on scepters and things to me and what for? But it goes back centuries, I suppose, so it’s impressive.

JS: Have you ever met a Druid?

DPM: (Nearly snorting beer out his nose). Nobody’s ever asked me that before. You know what? I have, actually. My mother had an old friend once who studied the ways of the Druids. She used to travel to these stone circles all over England and Scotland and participate in the old solstice rituals or whatever they were. She was nutters, the old girl, but my sister and I loved her. She’d bring us sweets from all over the country.

JS: Have you ever shopped at Harrods? Can you really get anything there?

DPM: I’ve been into the store but I’m not much of a shopper. My Mum is shopper enough for half of England. I’ve heard you can order everything from golden toilet seats to camels, but the weirdest thing I’ve ever known about was when my Mum ordered fifty gold-plated toothpicks the year my father won an Olympic gold medal. Splashed down a couple of hundred quid, I think. How mad is that?

JS: Is it true all you eat in England is lamb and fish-and-chips?

DPM:  (Laughing again.) Why, because of all the sheep in Yorkshire? In truth, we did eat a lot of lamb in things when I was a kid, and I hate mutton. But fish-and-chips were rare at home. That was a town treat. Although, ever had mushy peas? Mum made those and served them with everything. I miss a good dish of mushy peas.

JS:  I have had them—and I don’t blame you for missing them.

JS: Have you ever met the Queen—because of your father’s status as an Olympian, for example?

DPM:  I haven’t ever, but we did meet Princess Anne and her family. Since she’s an accomplished horsewoman, she was at the reception for my father after he won his equestrian medal. She’s pretty down to Earth. Now her daughter rides. My dad has taught her.

And here’s where I (Liz) jump in to stop the travelogue—since my husband is clearly as big a fan of England as I am. But I have to ask a couple of romance questions—or I’ll be drummed from the girls’ club!

Liz:  David, what was your first impression of Rio—remember her?

David: (Laughing) Nobody ever forgets Rio once he or she has met her. My first thought was that she was a little human volcano. Fiery red on top, with flashing blue sparks from her eyes and steam coming from her ears when she was on a tear. But it turned out that she was tough but a big faker about blowing up. She’s nothing but soft and kind and understanding beneath it all. And smart and practical. Best thing that ever happened to me.

Liz: Will you stay in the U.S. now? Or would you and Rio ever consider going to England to live?

David: I’ll take Rio there as often as she’d like to visit, but, no. I’ll never move back. I’m a U.S. citizen now, and I love my adopted country. I love England, too, but this is home—with Rio.

Liz: Tell us about that tattoo. The one for Rio.

David:  All I can say is—I wanted something that would prove I’d do anything for her. Considering what a hard time I gave her about tats, this seemed like the perfect thing. Infinite infinity. I actually quite like it now.

Liz: Can you describe it?

David: Don’t you think it would be more fun if people read the book to find out?

Liz: You’re right!  Run out and buy the book everyone!!

And that’s all the time and room we have. David and Jan—thanks so much for the awesome interview. I certainly learned things about David I never knew!

David: My pleasure! And thanks for the beer, Jan. You can interview me anytime. Your questions were easier.

Jan: Thanks for your time, David.  I’m gonna run now and get you that home-made maple syrup I promised you.

I hope everyone enjoyed the goofiness! I have three e-books to give away this weekend—one each of “The Rancher and the Rock Star,” “Rescued by a Stranger,” and “Beauty and the Brit.”  Just leave a comment for a chance to win. Let me know your answer to ANY of the questions we asked David!  Or ask one of your own.

Come back on Monday for two excerpts from BEAUTY AND THE BRIT and a chance for more prizes!