...But you look so normal?

Not too long ago I was at a friend's framing shop. I had stopped in to say hello and catch up, but seeing as she was busy, I told her I would come back another time. Needless to say, she asked me to stay, saying she'd only be a minute finishing up with a client that had come in from New York City to have some custom work done.

We all got chatting, and my friend mentioned that I was an author, and had been successful with recent book signings at a few local Barnes & Nobles. The look on the client's face was nothing short of incredulous. It wasn't because she had read my work and couldn't believe I had scored book signings at such a big chain, nor was it because I was a small pubbed author...it was because she couldn't believe I was an author at all. And her reason?

"But you look SO normal!

She simply couldn't wrap her head around the idea that someone with talent could walk around without being pierced, tattooed, or sporting mutli-colored neon hair.

"That's certainly not what we see walking around the city?" she said staring at me like I was some sort of anomoly. I half expected her to turn me round and ask me to open my mouth so she could examine my teeth.

I politely told her that while those things may very well be the "costume de rigueur" of people who consider themselves creative, true creativity lies in how one dresses the mind, not the body. And while fashion choices may be an outward show of a creative mind, it certainly ISN'T a pre-requisite for one.

Now I'm no stranger to the stranger types...I hold an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, and have my fair share of friends who choose to dress as such, but that doesn't automatically make them more creative or talented than anyone else. Sadly, in my opinion, it almost makes them cliché, a stereotype of just the thing they are trying to rage against.

For Romance Writer's the stereotype is even sadder. When most people think of us, it's usually the image of a lonely woman sitting in a bathrobe and fuzzy slippers, conjuring lovers and adventure in her imagination. In other words, one step away from being the neighborhood cat lady. If that description just made you go "eeewww", then you get it. Thankfully, for most of us that image is far from accurate, and the same goes for the people who read our work.

On one of the Amazon forums, a woman once described what we write as 'white noise', what she reads to dumb down her mind after a busy day. While I don't mind the idea of our genre being escapist, I do mind the stereotype that it's somehow less than, and to say that it's something one reads to "dumb down a mind' is insulting to those of us who work so hard at our craft.

Stereotypes are hurtful and wrong... especially when they bleed into your personal space.

Marianne Morea

Welcome to the world of Marianne, Marianna, Maryann, and Mary Anne!

CONTEST BELOW!
Our name is unique...so many ways to spell it but it sounds the same (with the exception of Marianna since there's an "a" at the end, but it's close enough for our group!). We're all writers/authors of romance with a passion for different genres.

Busts of French "Marianne"


"Marianne" on face of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

Here are some facts about "Marianne":

Songs of "Marianne":

"C'mon Marianne": The Four Seasons
"Fare Thee Well, Marianne": Happy Traum
"Marianne": Toni Amos
"So Long Marianne": Leonard Cohen
"Mary Ann" (sifting sand-most popular): Harry Belafonte
"Mary Ann with the Shaky Hand": The Who
"Jimmy Loves Maryann": Josie Cotton
"Frustrated Maryann": Arlene Hattori
"My Girl Maryanne": The Spongetones
"Mary Ann Regrets": Burl Ives
"Marianna": Gibson Brothers

Famous "Mariannes"

Mary Ann Cotton: English Serial Killer!
Mary Ann Shadd: Journalist, lecturer
Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot): Author (Silas Marner)
Mary Ann Mobley: Miss America 1965
Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke: Famous Civil War Nurse
Marianne Faithfull: Singer
Marianne Moore: Poet
Marianne Williamson: New Age Guru
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Actress
Marianne Timmer: Olympic Medalist
Marianne Vos: Netherlands Athlete

Meaning of "Marianne": Sea of Bitterness


History of the name, "Marianne":

Marianne is a national emblem of France. She represents France as a nation and its history.
Her profile is on the official seal of France, first appeared on a postage stamp in 1849, was on the French franc and now on French Euro coins.

Both artist Honore Daumier and sculptor Francois Rade gave "life" to images of "Marianne".


French "Marianne" Franc Note

French "Marianne" Stamp






Stop by on our blog days and see how "Mariannes", although we share a similar sounding name with different spellings, all have one thing in common...romance!

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