Oh my sweet holy mother of WTF, why did I not know of this majesty? Thanks to Wendy, we can all feast our eyes and tempt our pocketbooks with this: Sandra Lawrence’s Bedroom Adventures – “Raptures Voyage.”
Bedroom Adventures are fantasy role-playing game versions of popular historical romance novels. They have been created as private entertainments, each to be enjoyed by a loving couple on an intimate occasion.
Each Bedroom Adventure is designed to play over and over again. No two games are ever alike. While love’s quest might become bliss in one game, it could easily turn to scorn in the next. Regardless, a couple can enjoy many exciting fantasy episodes while never leaving the comfort of their own private boudoir.
I might have to own it just for the box and art alone. What cover is that?!
Plus, thanks to the many, many people who sent this link: NPR talks romance again! This time: a profile of Jack Murnighan, a dude who digs romance:
Back in my haughty grad-student ignorance, I looked down my pince-nez at the lot of them. I had seen the covers, read the titles, knew their popularity, but never cracked the spine of a single one.
But times have changed. Now, if I happen to be alone on the Greyhound and find an abandoned Harlequin or Silhouette, left in a tizzy by a lovelorn runaway, I quickly tuck it into my briefcase amid the papyri and incunabula to read furtively in my office, or in my lap during faculty meetings.
Seriously, I’m calling my glasses ‘pince-nez’ from now on.
This is my favorite quote:
Not unlike the great late-teen realization that girls like sex too, the very thought that men and women were occasionally conjuring the same sugarplums made me feel much closer to my female compeers in general, and less like a creeping lust monster.
Thanks to the many, many, many of you who sent the link. I love the idea that frank sexuality spans much in the way of difference, though I would love to hear what other romances Mr. Murnighan has read – we’ve come a long way, as many of you pointed out, since the sweet savage love.
This is definitely an interview to listen to, not simply read on the website, in order to hear Jack Murnighan speak out loud. If he ever wants to make a side career out of recording romances for audio book publishers, I’ll be happy to listen to his!
Look at the comments, though. Widely varying. The first couple were in tune with Jack, but other seemed dated. Then I realized how much my picture has changed as a result of the Princeton conference.
How do we tell these men (most negative were men) their views are past their expiration date?
I know I’ve seen that cover art from the game before. It looks Bertrice Small-ish. Off to Google Image Search and see if I can satisfy my curiosity before the staff meeting! 🙂
Bingo! In case anyone else cares, it’s the cover art from Virginia Henley’s The Hawk and the Dove . Now I’m considering dredging it up from somewhere, since I was a tender 17 years old when I last read it.
“creeping lust monster” is so going in my next book!
Loved the NPR article. I have yet to see a man tucking a romance novel into his briefcase, but I look forward to the day I do!
:o)
Question for AbbyT:
Where’d you find that cover art belongs to Virginia Henley’s “Hawk and the Dove”? I wonder, because I have 2 copies of that book and neither have that cover.
Just curious where you found it online.
Thanks.
I agree with Elizabeth above…Mr. Murnighan has a very nice voice! Whew (fans self)…
Well I think with that box cover a new contest could be had with the way his hand is placed on that sword’s hilt. And what a strategic location for that hilt in the first place! I’ve heard of brass balls, but a Silver Wily is working well for me! LOL.
In regards to the box cover art – I’ve heard of brass balls, but I love the Silver Willy. What a strategic place for that sword’s hilt and the firm hand that is grasping it! LOL.
Sorry for the double post. My ISP stinks!
That’s a sword hilt? It looks like a scrap of newspaper (or possibly sheet music) to me.
Wonder how one could work that into the plot? “The Earl of Thorne had no dick… so he made one out of sheet music. Can he seduce the spirited virgin into riding his throbbing melody or will the agony of paper cuts keep them apart forever?”
Definitely listen to the interview. What a voice!
Oh my… that NPR snippet was… wow….
*bookmarks*
That’s the cover I have for the Hawk and the Dove and believe it or not, the cover is even better in real life. the detail is fantastic.
That’s interesting, the box says the copyright is 1993 IDC Games and the cover artist is Sharon Spiak.
Could this be an antique board game from the days before online and mobile games? Maybe that’s why Sarah hasn’t heard of it—she wasn’t born yet. *g*
Slate’s XX blog has a quick slash and run piece titled “Vampires, and the Sluts and Virgins Who Love Them.” The article claims “[t]he latest craze for bloodsuckers is bad for women.” The premise appears to be that “[v]ampire shows glorify chasity and sexual violence.” As proof she offers up Twilight in both book and movie form as well as True Blood, though only in television form. She fails mention it is based on a series of books or to identify Charlene Harris as the author of the books. It doesn’t appear as though she had read the books or given much thought to the series (which I haven’t seen, though I have read and enjoyed all of the books). There are some thoughtful comments to the article. I can’t link because the filter seems to think I’m linking to something naughty. 🙂 So you will have to go to Slate.com, scroll down, click on the Double X link, and then find the article. Sorry. No quick link, I don’t know how to trick it.
Not only is the cover Virginia Henley’s “The Hawk and the Dove” but that’s Fabio in all his glory! I actually have two versions of the cover—the original has the figures embossed and then it was reprinted flat. I love that cover! Oh, and I love the SBTB site as well and was very happy to meet Sarah at the RT Book Signing in Orlando last April!
My word is progress69 and I will refrain from commenting to protect the delicate sensibilities of some readers!
Digs out vintage Virginia Henley book for a closer look…
Yep, that’s the same cover I’ve got. What he’s got a hold of (ahem) is the hilt of a dagger. What makes it look like a scrap of paper is there is a small silver hawk on the tip of the hilt.
And now that I’ve dug out this ol’ Hawk and the Dove I just may have to read it again.
spamword: french26. Uh, yeah, I’m French and 26!
The sad thing is that out of all that what my brain sticks on “but you can’t just call any old glasses pince-nez! They get that nose pinching name from not having earpieces. Calling regular glasses pince-nez would just be wierd.” I’ve always wanted a pair, but I don’t want to spend the kind of money on them that it would take to get them in prescription. They’re not exactly practical for every day activity. More of a reading glasses thing.
You might want to check the comments to the NPR piece because a lot of them are pretty offensive. Off to let Tim_R know what I think of him…