Why do we write what we write?

A few nights ago, as part of my Orson Welles binge, my husband and I watched his version of Jane Eyre. He went into it rolling his eyes at why anyone would find Rochester attractive; I went into trying to explain why Jane would be attracted to someone like him. By the time the movie was over, our positions were reversed: he was so impressed with Welles' performance that he could sympathize with both of them for the first time; I was so horrified by some of the highlighted dialogue that when Jane left Thornfield I couldn't get the door closed fast enough. 

Rochester just might be the prototype for the manipulative alpha-male many modern readers groan about in romance novels.

I had another disturbing thought as I watched Welles (who was magnificent in the role) teasing, belittling and wooing Joan Fontaine's Jane Eyre: he's a lot like a character I had originally written as the romantic lead in The Family You Choose. I shuddered a little bit before I reminded myself that at this point he is most definitely not, but still.

On that note... Loren Kleinman was kind enough to host me on her blog today to talk about some less disturbing influences. I promise- no more alpha males :-)

"Don't look sad yet, Jane; I haven't asked you to compromise your principles for our love yet"

Student debt grows

The high cost of college is the elephant in the room for my main character.  Her resolution comes after a lot of heartache, but it's a fairy tale compared to what real-life students and graduates go through.  Here's the latest about how much student debt is going up.

Not surprisingly, they note here that students in the Northeast were among those with the greatest debt- but so were students in the Midwest.  Students in the West and South have the lowest.

The implied advice hasn't changed: go to a less expensive state school.  However, those aren't the bargains they used to be as higher education has been cut almost across the board in all states.

The article notes that private student loans account for a fifth of student debt.  Consider my heart chilled.

There are things that can be done to prevent high debt: attend a state school, do some of your work at a less expensive community college, work over the summer (if you can find a job while unemployment is high).  But frankly, all of them seem like bandaids when state support is being reduced.

The best answer I've heard so far: invest in higher education institutions to lower the cost of attending college in the first place.