Man of the Month needed

Welcome back to a bright, shiny new year. Are you all excited for the fresh start offered by a new year?

Since it's been ages since we had a Man of the Month Poll here on the Minxes blog, I thought we could kick off the year with some eye candy inspiration. But coming up with a theme for this month's selection has been tough, and I'm stumped.

We've already done English hotties, Scottish hotties, Irish hotties, Welsh hotties, Jane Austen hotties, Disney hotties, medical hotties, policeman hotties, bearded hotties, Formula 1 hotties, Golf hotties, Athlete hotties, Rugby hotties here and here, Australian hotties, French hotties, Favourite TV hotties ... you get the picture, right?

What is there left to do?

Well, that's where you come in. Nominate your favourite hero in the comments section and we Minxes will happily do the research and present you with a delectable selection to kick off 2013.

I'll get the ball rolling by nominating the inspiration for the hero of my newest work in progress: Chris Hemsworth.

It's time for a Hotties poll

It's been way too long since we had a fresh batch of hotties up here on the Minxes blog. So thank you very much to Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler, the joint winners of our Golfers hottie poll, but it's time to move over and make way for some fresh ... um ... faces.

Unbelievably, we don't seem to have had an Aussie hotties poll here yet, so this month's selection comes from Down Under. I'll stop with the words now and let the pictures do the talking.

The obvious first choice - Hugh Jackman

Sam Worthington

For Suzanne Minx (who seems to have a thing for men who can sing): Jason Donovan.

For Sally Minx: Keith Urban. (Great choice, Sally!)

Guy Pearce, the man with the piercing blue eyes:

Eric Bana.

Bad boy Russell Crowe.

And finally, my personal favourite, Simon Baker.

So who are you going to vote for?

January Man of the Month Poll: Disney Heroes

Yes, you read that right. I really am going to do a Hotties poll on animated characters.

But first, Our Man of the Year for 2011 was Jonathan Rhys-Myers, with an overwhelming 80% of the vote - thanks to a little help from the JRM Fan Club, it seems.

Since the voting may have been skewed [rose pruning flashback!] it’s worth mentioning that NCIS LA's Chris O'Donnell came in a more honest second.

Now back to our January poll. For something a little different to kick off the new year, I’ve chosen the theme of Disney heroes. After all, these are the most classic of all romances.

Before you all roll your eyes, you haven’t yet seen the work of artist David Kawena. He has a completely different take on the Disney heroes.

So without further ado, here are today’s contenders in chronological order.

Skipping over Prince Frederick from the 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarves - and yes, he really did have a name - I’m starting with Prince Charming of Cinderella (1950). This is the one contender David Kawena hasn’t drawn, but I’ve chosen to include him for the benefit of any blog readers who are suckers for a man in uniform.

Next up is Prince Philip of Sleeping Beauty (1959), the man who braves a dragon to save the Princess Aurora. Now tell me that’s not alpha hero material.
















Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid (1989) is our third choice. I’m not too taken with a man so easily duped by a sea witch, but luckily for him Ariel has balls enough for the both of them.













 

  The Beast from Beauty & the Beast (1991) isn’t given a name in the movie itself, but reliable sources inform me he’s credited as Prince Adam. Robbie Benson’s voice is just melt-worthy in this role.  

 

You have to admit that any man who can take his girl on a magic carpet ride and introduce her to wonders she’s never seen before, is worth a vote. Just in case you’re not as familiar with the Disney movies as those of us with kids, that’s Aladdin (1992).

If you can get your head around the idea of Mel Gibson as a romantic hero, then John Smith of Pocahontas (1995) fame makes a pretty swoon-worthy hero.


















Next up is Li Shang from Mulan (1998), another man strong enough to handle a strong heroine.

 

More recently, after a decade hiatus, Disney finally gave us a hero and heroine worth watching. Prince Naveen of The Princess and the Frog (2009) becomes a better person because of his love for Tiana. And of course I just love the 20s flavour of this movie.

Flynn Rider is Disney’s newest addition. As the bandit who inadvertently comes to Rapunzel’s aid in Tangled (2010) he rivals Prince Philip for his Rescuing a Damsel in Distress abilities. What’s not to love about a bad boy made good? 

Well, there you have it: nine dashing heroes to choose from. Though I think the winner this month should be David Kawena. Don’t you agree?

July Hotties Poll: Jane Austen Heroes

Winner of last month’s Policeman Hotties poll was Chris O’Donnell of NCIS: Los Angeles, narrowly beating out Eddie Cibrian (CSI: Miami) and Simon Baker (The Mentalist).

For something a little different, we have a literary theme for this month’s hotties: all of them have been in Jane Austen films.

When I started researching this post I’ll admit my first thought was “What was I thinking? There’s a shortage of good looking men in the Austen films”.
Boy was I wrong!

An image search proved there are a whole bunch of great looking men in the various adaptations, but since I figured ten hotties was about as much as one poll could take, I’ve left out a few, including the rather more obvious choices. If your favourite isn’t here, feel free to tell us about it in the comments section. And please still vote!

First up is the other Mr Darcy, Matthew MacFadyen (Pride and Prejudice, 2005).

Matthew MacFadyen

Next up is Jonny Lee Miller who has played not one, but two, Austen heroes: Edmund Bertram (Mansfield Park, 1999) and Mr Knightley (Emma, 2009)

Jonny Lee Miller

From the same version of Mansfield Park is Alessandro Nivola, the lone American in this poll.

Alessandro Nivola

And also from the 1999 Mansfield Park, James Purefoy, who played Tom Bertram.

James Purefoy

The role of Frank Churchill in Emma has been played by numerous actors. among them Rupert Evans (2009).

Rupert Evans

I know a few Minxes who’ll be voting for the next hottie: Rupert Penry-Jones, who played Captain Wentworth (Persuasion, 2007)

Rupert Penry-Jones

From Sense and Sensibility comes another selection: Greg Wise (1995), Dan Stevens (2008) and Dominic Cooper (2008).

Greg Wise

Dan Stevens

Dominic Cooper

And finally, from the must-see Bollywood version of Jane Austen, Bride and Prejudice, is Daniel Gillies, who played Wickham (now to be seen on TV screens everywhere as the villain in my favourite TV series).

The Ultimate Romantic Hero

As promised, here is the Minxy version of the poll to see which male celebrity is the Ultimate Romantic Hero. Please vote in the poll section on the right sidebar. The poll will stay up for a full week, so feel free to send your friends over to cast their votes.

To assist you in your choice, the Minxes have kindly assembled the reasons why we think each man is a worthy candidate. (Or in other words, here's the eye candy, dear blog readers).

Jo C's choice is Gilles Marini. I've decided to play it safe with this picture, but feel free to google 'Gilles Marini shower' and enjoy the view.

Jo P's choice is Josh Holloway, in his role as the delectable Sawyer.

Lacey's choice is Orlando Bloom (yum!)

Lorraine's choice is James Bond himself: Daniel Craig.

Maya's choice (no, for a change it's not Henry Cavill!) is Joe Flanigan of Stargate Atlantis fame.

Romy's choice is Aussie, Simon Baker. (And I must tell you, it was a tough choice. There are a lot of wonderful contenders out there).

Sally's choice is yet another Aussie, Hugh Jackman (and she insisted he had to be wearing nothing but a towel!)

And last, but most certainly not least, Suzanne's choice is Colin Firth, preferably as the wet-shirted Darcy.

Don't forget to check back here next week to see who the winner is.

Friday News & A Poll

You know that show So You Think You Can Dance? Ever thought of attempting it? No? Me neither! But, for every writer out there, there’s another challenge - So You Think You Can Write? For most of us the answer is...yes, or maybe.

Whatever your response is, the lovely people at Harlequin are setting us all a challenge. In their words…

Does your imagination run wild with vivid characters? Have you ever dreamed of becoming a USA TODAY bestselling author? Well, our editors want to make those dreams come true. We are hungry to find talented new writers for Harlequin Books. Through podcasts, blogs, and discussions with our expert editors and current authors, we’re going to help you understand the appeal of the romance genre. And there’s a special daily challenge with feedback that will give some great insights into crafting the perfect story. So for the next week, come by to hone your skills and get started on the path to publication. So you think you can write? Here’s your chance to show us!

Seriously, this a truly spectacular chance to show what you can do. And, pssst! We’ve heard one of the podcasts is by friend of the Minxes, Maisey Yates! We've also heard she's got the cutest accent so do check it out!

So, sharpen your pencil, or pens, or keyboards (hmm, maybe not the last one) and prepare for this awesome event. For more details click on the link below

http://harlequinblog.com/so-you-think-you-can-write/

In other news, I wanted to chat about pitches. In case you haven’t heard (yet), I did an online pitch on Wednesday for Carina Press and I truly wanted to encourage anyone who's ever been too intimidated or (like me) too scared out their wits, to attempt one. Yes, it's scary, yes you'll shake like a leaf in an autumn wind, but believe me, it’s so worth it just for the experience. I know some people prefer face-to-face pitches where you can tell the other person’s body language, see their smile of encouragement, or hear the nuances in their voice, but for me, letting my fingers do the work was enough for me. Of course, sitting in my jogging pants and covered in biscuit crumbs also gave me comfort like nothing else, lol.

What also helps is the pitchee. In my case, Executive Editor Angela James was so lovely and put me at ease immediately. According to Rae of eHarlequin, they hold pitches for various lines every few months, so if you’ve never thought of it, I can attest that it’s a great way to get your work in front of an editor. So go for it! And if you have awesome cheerleaders on your side or an Unstoppable Force aka a pom pom waving sister high on sisterly love like Jodie’s sister Nini, do bring her along!

Romy's addendum:

What our Modest Minx Maya has neglected to mention above is that she got a FULL REQUEST from Angela James in that pitch. Way to go, Maya!

In other news, Lorraine Minx brought to our attention that Mills&Boon recently ran a survey among readers looking for the celebrity who makes the best Ultimate Romantic Hero.
The winner was an interesting choice: Simon Cowell.

However, we Minxes know who we'd prefer. (Hint: here he is!).

We're pretty sure all our blog readers have an opinion on their Ultimate Romantic Hero, so check back here next Friday for the Minxy version of this poll.