We had such a great time with our first Literary Tattoos post, and we had such an outpouring of more fabulous ink that we decided to do another one! There’s even a SBTB group tattoo in the works, if we can manage to all agree on a design. Maybe these pieces from readers and authors will give us some inspiration.
Susan has a trail of books on the top of her foot, courtesy of Sharonn at Witch City Ink in Salem, MA:
Beth’s tattoo is a tree of life and said that it was “based on a pendant my mom gave me, but as a librarian, it was important to me that it grew from a book. My next one will be ‘and we loved with a love that was more than love’ from Annabel Lee.”
Elisabeth over at Duke Duke Goose got inked in honor of her first RWA:
I know you posted stories about the tattoos on the last post, so I wanted to share mine. Jane Austen has been a part of my life since I was 7 years old and my older sister watched the BBC Miniseries of Pride & Prejudice. I’m sure as a 7 year old, I wasn’t fully aware of everything, but that miniseries stuck with me. When I was a teenager I started reading Jane Austen novels like they were my job. I think in a lot of ways they were my gateway to romance as it is now. When I first read Persuasion and read Wentworth’s letter to Anne — I’m not sure there IS a literary line that has resonated with me more than, “I am half agony, half hope.” I’ve struggled with anxiety disorder and depression for the majority of my pubescent and subsequent years and often feel that I am half agony, but half hope that it will get better.
In honor of finally jumping in feet first at my first RWA Nationals this year, I decided to ink myself with the quote I’ve wanted for a decade. It seemed like the perfect time, and the perfect cap to an overwhelmingly positive experience.
Delphine Dryden shared her tattoo with us on Twitter:
Rebekah Weatherspoon, who says romance saved her life, says her tattoo: “[is] a reminder to always go back to the romance when things get tough.”
Alyssa Cole has two literary tattoos, one of which is inspired by Tessa Dare’s Romancing the Duke:
Carolyn Jewel combined books and dragons for her tattoo:
Thanks so much to everyone who sent us pictures and allowed us to post them!
What about you? Do you have a literary tattoo that you love? Or a tattoo inspired by a romance? We’d love to hear about it – or see it! Feel free to email Sarah with a photo and a bit about your ink. I know we certainly don’t mind gushing over 1) how awesomely brave everyone is to get tattooed and 2) how creative you all are!
I so need a tattoo.
If you all get a tattoo I think it should be the glasses. Definitely the glasses.
(Also I always said Persuasion is my favorite book and that tattoo makes me love it even more.)
Cool! I vote for the glasses too
I have never wanted a tattoo, but if anything could change my mind, it would be the lovely, creative literary tattoos I’ve seen here and elsewhere! I hope even more reader submit pictures, as I love to see what people have come up with.
Another vote for incorporating the glasses somehow into your tattoo.
The anchor tat is the one I got at RWA at the same time Elisabeth was getting her Agony/Hope one, but my actual literary tat is the older one below it which is a quote from Kurt Vonnegut’s Galapagos. I do also have one planned of a woman reading, that’s from an Edward Gorey book called The Curious Sofa. And I want a “stet” like Alyssa’s too, I just haven’t decided where that one will go yet!
Y’all definitely need the glasses if you do a SBTB one.
I love Carolyn Jewel’s dragon and book. I envision a dragon for my own wished-for tattoo, with a book in one claw and a cookie in the other, representing all the things I love to do. So many great ideas here.
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