Monday, May 16, 2011

SEEKING THRILLS BETWEEN THE SHEETS...


...of paper. The pages in books, that is.

Ha-ha! Made you look. (Tee-hee.) I KNOW. What a cop out. But still...*giggles* Okay, Juvenile Moment over.

Now comes the... 

HORRIBLE CONFESSION:

In real life, I am not much of a thrill-seeker. I am, in fact, a kind of a wimp. Driving more than ten miles an hour over the speed limit makes me nervous. Getting on an airplane requires a major pep talk (and maybe an alcoholic beverage or three). Roller coasters, in my esteemed opinion, are the invention of the devil. Crowds, with their unstable hive mind, horrify me.

Which is why I seek my thrills on the written page, either reading or writing. When it comes to the written word, I am FEARLESS!

Car chases, jet planes, kidnappings, restive throngs of iffy people? I am there.

Roller coasters? Pffft. Child's play.

Skydiving, bungee-jumping, cliff-scaling? I'm your gal.

I know, I know. Here you've become used to thinking of me as a Total Badass, and now I've disillusioned you. Sorry. But I haven't really been dishonest with you. I AM a total badass...vicariously.

And really, for a writer, isn't it all about vicariousness? (Vicariosity? Vicaritude?)

How about you -- real life badass, or only adventurous beneath the covers?*

Or maybe both, like my fellow author in the blogoverse, Dianne Salerni, who does things like step off platforms into thin air with a mere wire between her and a terrifying plunge to earth?

*You know I'm referring to books, but you're welcome to expound upon your boudoir-linen adventures if you prefer. Just don't say anything that will get me banned from Blogger. ;)

25 comments:

Al said...

I love it! A vicarious badass!

Hmm that makes me really nassty in a vicarious sense.

Teri Anne Stanley said...

I also have very little real badassery in my personality repertoire. Heck, I can't really even talk a good game. If there is a conflict, I am as far away from it as possible, usually hiding in my minivan eating white bread.
I tried to make 2011 the Year of Living Fearlessly, but my first foray into New Things (learning to snow ski) gave me a rash, a pulled hamstring, a bump on the head and an anxiety attack.
So now 2011 seems to be the Year of Reading Even More Than 2010.

Anne Gallagher said...

I'm with you. I just read a book over the weekend with crashes and bombs and life saving stuff and my shoulders still hurt from the tension. Books are how I get my jollies these days. The biggest thrill I get is mowing the little hill in the front of the yard. I lean way over to the side so I don't tip over. Yee-hah. Who needs a roller coaster.

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Oh, you did get me with that title! Naughty, naughty!

Thanks for the shout out! Normally, I'm a big chicken, and I'm still not sure why I was brave enough to step off that platform.

I credit the magic of Catalina Island!

Summer Frey said...

Hmm. I think I'm badass in certain areas of real life. Anything outdoors, I'm game. I haven't had the opportunity for more extreme sports, but I think the only one I'd negate is sky diving. I'm a little scared of plunging from heights, but I've accompanied my hubby on some height adventures. I love the woods and water (not the ocean).

I don't like speeding, though. I've never gotten a ticket, never gotten a warning--never even had lights flashed at me. I live carefully in the public eye.

I run into the traffic to save various animals, though. Is that brave? :)

abby mumford said...

in real life, i fall somewhere in between bad ass and agorophobe. for the days when i'm not feel like riding the roller coaster, i dive into the fictional world of kick ass characters. and if the book i'm reading isn't providing me with enough kicks, i get out there and get it done myself. you know, things like, living on your own and climbing the step ladder to reach the bowl on the top shelf. ;)

Sage Ravenwood said...

I tend to stretch the limits whenever I can, on and off the page. I've taken some road trips on mountain roads that were barely the width of the tires, with a deep ravine on both sides. The more precarious and dangerous the bigger my smile.

I'm probably one of those friends that won't need to hear about a night in jail after a reverie, I'll be the one right there beside you. I guess to some extent if you've leaned over the precipice of life enough, you become a bit daring. (Hugs)Indigo

Linda G. said...

Al -- Vicariously nasty, eh? You sound like my kind of writer! ;)

Teri Anne -- You should take a trip to the dark side next time you're avoiding conflict in you minivan: try pumpernickel. ;) But seriously, I think there's a word for people who prefer to get their thrills from reading: "smart."

Anne -- We have a hill like that in our yard. It terrifies me whenever I mow it (which is as rarely as I can get away with).

Dianne -- It takes no courage to do something that doesn't scare you, so count yourself as truly brave. :)

Summer -- Yes, that is brave. Also a little foolhardy, as so many brave things are. But I know the animals appreciate it. :)

Tara said...

I have found my new motto:

I am total badass - vicariously.

Love it.

Linda G. said...

Abby -- LOL! You know what? Living on your own DOES take courage. Stepladders, too. :)

Indigo -- OMG! Just THINKING about roads like that can make me hyperventilate. (Hmm...I may have to write one into my next book.) And, yeah, I guess you can become accustomed to almost anything. Even precipice-leaning. Hugs back. :)

Linda G. said...

Tara -- We should make bumper stickers. Or T-shirts. ;)

Trisha Leigh said...

Well I am shocked at this confession, Ms. Grimes, just SHOCKED.

OKay, I still like you.

I'm not a natural thrill seeker, but I've done things like jump off cliffs or bridges simply to prove to myself that I can overcome my fears. I'm stubborn about NOT wanting to fear things, so I do them even though I don't want to. Silly, probably.

As for crowds, I am totally with you. I don't fear them as much as fear what they do to me - turn me into a squirmy person sweating with anxiety who is a step away from snapping at any moment. Ugh.

Sara {Rhapsody and Chaos} said...

And this is one of the BEST PARTS about writing. You can do things between the cover of your book that you'd NEVER do in real life. I think that's why my protags are always kind of badass. So I get to live vicariously through them, especially because I write YA and there are sooooo many things I wish I'd done differently as a teen...

Kimberly Sabatini said...

Oh dear...yeah, I didn't get the fearless gene either. Fortunately in compensation I got the Fake-it-till-you-make-it Gene which is just as good but a heck of a lot more stressful! *grin*

Unknown said...

OMG I really want some sheets like those!! :D

And me? I was fearless a while ago--did bungee jumping and all those crazy things. But then I became a mother, and I don't know, but now I'm scared of everything! LOL

Diane Henders said...

I'm a careful badass. I'll tackle just about anything (particularly if somebody dares me - I coincidentally just wrote a blog post about that).

But when I'm not doing badass things, I drive at the speed limit, always put on the safety equipment, call home when I'm done...

Unknown said...

So, you're still trying to convince us you're a badass, huh? Okay, well, if it makes you feel better about yourself ;)

just kidding. you're a total badass. i on the other hand, am not...in real life or in books *sigh* but it's the truth

Steph Schmidt said...

I wonder what story is on those sheets. But moi? A badass? Ehhhh yeah books & my imagination make for some pretty fearless moments that I would never do under pain of never eating chocolate again.

Michele Shaw said...

I think I'm like 3/4 wimp 1/4 badass irl. Sometimes I'll do something daring, but not all the time. I like a good rollercoaster and I ride on my husband's Harley with him, but I start shrieking if he goes too fast. Now, writing, well, when I do my horror stuff, you never know what could happen...

Linda G. said...

Trisha -- I knew you'd be shocked. And, yeah, that's about the reaction I have to large crowds, too.

Sara -- Exactly! With writing, you can experience it all. Er, from a safe distance. ;)

Kimmie -- LOL! Yeah, I kind of do that fake-it-till-you-make-it thing, too. That's how I worked up the guts to start submitting my manuscript. ;)

Monica -- I'd like some sheets like those, too. And I hear ya about the motherhood thing. That's when my fear of flying kicked in -- I started worrying about what I'd be leaving behind if anything happened.

Diane -- Guess it would just be mean to dare you to eat black licorice, huh? ;)

Karla -- Hey, you ARE a badass writer. You're good! :)

Steph -- Not sure about the sheets. They sure look cool, though, don't they? And it's okay to be an imaginary badass. I suspect we have a longer life expectancy than the real kind. ;)

Michele -- Don't let that 1/4 get you in too much trouble! ;)

Bess Weatherby said...

Oh boy. I'm MUCH more adventurous when I'm reading or writing. Yesterday I spent three hours surviving a zombie apocolypse. They ATE New York!

But I guess Manhattan is kind of an adventure. Almost got assaulted by a hobo yesterday. All I did was give the guy a sandwich . . .

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

When I was young, foolish, and bullet-proof, I did some adventurous stuff, usually in response to a dare, or because somebody said something couldn't be done. Then I grew up. Nowadays, the most daring thing I do is put raw onions on my burger. Vicarious thrills suit me just fine. (and don't hurt nearly as much!)

Linda G. said...

Bess -- OMG! Zombies ATE NY? Before my book comes out? Curse you, Murphy! Re the hobo: what'd you do, give him ham & cheese when he wanted pastrami on rye?

Susan -- Ah, the bullet-proof days. I remember them well. I've heard from older friends that (if you live long enough) those days can return. Or am I confusing "bullet-proof" with "no longer give a crap"? ;)

Terri Tiffany said...

Oh I am a wimp!! Maybe I need to think more like you:)

Jen Stayrook said...

I pretend well enough, but I'm a big scaredy cat. I'm absolutely terrified of the dark, hate roller coasters, and I can't watch ANY scary movies. Love flying though. So yes, like you, I live vicariously through my daredevil characters.