Famous Wilsons

Last year I conducted a Naughty Pride and Prejudice book tour at Marvin Wilson's Old Silly Free Spirit Blog. I'm re-posting it here for those who are not aware of our connection...

Marwin agreed to host my Naughty Pride and Prejudice book tour Bargain With the Devil only because we have the same surname and we share the same birthday.

True? Just kidding!

I’m sure my occasional impertinent comments on his blog make a good impression on him. At least that’s my wishful thinking. After stringing him along for a ride, I needed to think of a good topic to write about, so as not to bore his free spirited readers to tears. Otherwise he won’t allow me back here in future.

First thing that came to my mind was some of the famous Wilsons, besides old silly and myself. Most people will ponder about the history of their family at one time or another. Wilson was my late BF’s surname. That was the reason I chose it as my pen name. I am originally from Hong Kong. We once had a governor from Scotland, Sir David Wilson, born on 14 February. How romantic - to be born on Valentine’s Day? Maybe not?

Then there is Harriette Wilson (photo from wikipedia.com), a famous British Regency courtesan, whose sexual romantic conquests included the Prince of Wales, the Lord Chancellor and four future Prime Ministers. When she retired and decided to write a memoir, she demanded 200 pounds from her former lovers to edit out names. But the Duke of Wellington refused to pay up. “Publish and be damned,” he replied. And she did precisely that, making her famous for “kissing and telling”. She did have a defying character trait.

As for myself, I’m not a defiant soul, at least not on the surface. I studied in a Buddhist all girls primary school. I still remember the teachers going through our lunch to make sure we didn’t bring any meat into the school yard. And I resented having to kneel in front of the Buddha and praying at the temple every week. We had to recite the Buddhist learning in Sanskrit, which we didn’t understand a word of. There was a line which sounded like “touch me, bad boy” in my language and we all chanted it, “touch me, bad boy,” softly behind the back of the Buddhist nuns.

I’m sure if the nuns knew that I write steamy novels now, they would shake their heads and declare me a hopeless case. But they shouldn’t despair of my lost soul. Buddhism influences my writing a lot. For example, when I was writing the conclusion of my first paranormal romance In Quest of Theta Magic, I was unwilling to have the hero killing off the villain. After all, forgiveness is an important teaching of Buddhism. In the end, I have the villain killed off by cross fire. Sorry, redeeming him just didn’t make a great ending!

And in my latest novel, Bargain with the Devil, a spicy retelling of Pride and Prejudice, although Miss Bingley consulted a witch and bargained her soul in order to harm the main heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, I was unwilling to write her off with a horrible death.

After much deliberation, I finally settled on a funny ending for Caroline Bingley that resonated the line she said in Pride and Prejudice: “An accomplished lady must possess a certain something in her air.” Many readers had a good laugh about it.

So Marvin, I hope you approve of my forgiving soul.