- The quality that gives pleasure to the mind or senses and is associated with such properties as harmony of form or color, excellence of artistry, truthfulness, and originality.
- One that is beautiful, especially a beautiful woman.
- A quality or feature that is most effective, gratifying, or telling.
As the saying goes, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".
Beauty on the outside doesn't mean or guarantee a beautiful person or thing on the inside.
Beauty fades; personality or elements may not retain outward appearance, but inner beauty can remain. This includes people, places, things.
What's more important? Outward beauty or beauty inside? I'd choose inner beauty.
In romance books, covers portray pleasing, sexy images of heroines/women. But do books always describe characters as beautiful?
In "Gone to the Dogs", Katie talks about needing to lose weight; those extra pounds that always creep up when you're not looking. Mike's attracted to her; he likes her looks and spunky attitude. Would he call her beautiful? Maybe. Would others agree? Maybe not.
I didn't "write" Katie to be a beauty queen. I wanted her to be attractive, normal, and a tad low on self-esteem. Aren't we all like that? Can't we relate to Katie as if she were a friend, someone just like us?
In "Anything You Can Do" (ebook and coming in print this month!), Allison sparks Jeff's interest. Again, he's attracted to her good looks, but her challenge keeps him intrigued. Is she beautiful? Maybe to him, but not as a beauty queen. Again, I didn't "write" Allison to be anything but "the girl next door". An average, hard-working woman who entices and interests Jeff without being a size two model or celebrity. (Cover is for new print version)
When you read, do you envision the heroine as a beautiful woman? Does a Hollywood image of what beauty looks like plant itself in your head?
Sex appeal comes in many features; eyes, lips, smile, etc. But overall beauty does not necessarily need be the image portrayed in a romance book. The more appealing, day-to-day heroine, attractive but flawed like the rest of us, captures our attention.
Beauty is skin-deep...it's what's inside our heroines that keeps a romance book desirable and read.
Can you describe beauty? As a reader, do you want beautiful heroines? As a writer, are your heroines beautiful?
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