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Pat Ballard

Pat Ballard

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Pat Ballard is the Queen of Rubenesque Romances and author of 10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Size You Are).

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

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<p>Emerging from the long shadow cast by his formidable father, Harold Godwineson showed himself to be a worthy successor to the Earldom of Wessex. In the following twelve years, he became the King's most trusted advisor, practically taking the reins of government into his own hands. And on Edward the Confessor's death, Harold Godwineson mounted the throne—the first king of England not of royal blood. Yet Harold was only a man, and his rise in fortune was not blameless. Like any person aspiring to power, he made choices he wasn't particularly proud of. Unfortunately, those closest to him sometimes paid the price of his fame.<br /><br />This is a story of Godwine's family as told from the viewpoint of Harold and his younger brothers. Queen Editha, known for her Vita Ædwardi Regis, originally commissioned a work to memorialize the deeds of her family, but after the Conquest historians tell us she abandoned this project and concentrated on her husband, the less dangerous subject. In THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY, I am telling the story as it might have survived had she collected and passed on the memoirs of her tragic brothers.<br /><br />This book is part two of The Last Great Saxon Earls series. Book one, GODWINE KINGMAKER, depicted the rise and fall of the first Earl of Wessex who came to power under Canute and rose to preeminence at the beginning of Edward the Confessor's reign. Unfortunately, Godwine's misguided efforts to champion his eldest son Swegn recoiled on the whole family, contributing to their outlawry and Queen Editha's disgrace. Their exile only lasted one year and they returned victorious to London, though it was obvious that Harold's career was just beginning as his father's journey was coming to an end.<br /><br />Harold's siblings were all overshadowed by their famous brother; in their memoirs we see remarks tinged sometimes with admiration, sometimes with skepticism, and in Tostig's case, with jealousy. We see a Harold who is ambitious, self-assured, sometimes egocentric, imperfect, yet heroic. His own story is all about Harold, but his brothers see things a little differently. Throughout, their observations are purely subjective, and witnessing events through their eyes gives us an insider’s perspective.<br /><br />Harold was his mother's favorite, confident enough to rise above petty sibling rivalry but Tostig, next in line, was not so lucky. Harold would have been surprised by Tostig's vindictiveness, if he had ever given his brother a second thought. And that was the problem. Tostig's love/hate relationship with Harold would eventually destroy everything they worked for, leaving the country open to foreign conquest. This subplot comes to a crisis in book three of the series, FATAL RIVALRY.</p>

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<p align="right"> <em><font size="2" color="#111111" face="Verdana">Pat Ballard, the self-described “Queen of Rubenesque Romance,” herein tackles an entrenched stereotype of conventional romantic fiction — the perpetually skinny heroine — and successfully turns it on its bony derriere. </font></em> </p> <p align="right"><em><font size="2" color="#111111" face="Verdana">This collection of ten short stories feature women who are just that: all woman. There’s not one ultra-slim fashion model in the bunch. Their curves are all there and they make no apology for them, whether these ladies work their own cattle ranch, run an antique store or work as an executive secretary in the big city. What this means is that the vast majority of romance aficionados can relate very well to these shapely women who dare to wear larger dress sizes. Better yet, the handsome heroes depicted all appreciate curvaceous heroines, too. </font></em> </p> <p align="right"><em><font size="2" face="Verdana">In fact, some of these short stories could be more appropriately labeled “coming-to-terms” tales since they feature a young woman’s search for self-esteem that isn’t skin deep. In “Freedom” Molly’s boyfriend Mike is shocked when he discovers she comes from a family of large-sized women, because Molly has been starving herself for years in order to remain thin. When Mike issues an ultimatum that after they marry Molly had better not gain any weight, she realizes that he only loves her for her outward appearance and not because of who she is. Armed with this knowledge, she dumps him and eventually finds peace within herself and with her size.</font></em></p> <p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><em>Ballard doesn’t pull punches. She shows her heroines exhibiting ample will and tenacity to tell off those who would shame them into becoming something they aren’t just to blend in with society's narrow-minded notions of beauty. There’s no guilt in being a big, beautiful heroine in <strong>Dangerous Curves Ahead</strong>, and that is itself a formula for a classic happy ending</em>.</font></p><p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana">— <strong> C.APPEL </strong> •<strong>  FEARLESS BOOKS</strong><br />8-10/04 </font> </p>