So, over the past week or so, I've read several Linda Howard books.  In a previous post I made fun of the repetitious formulas but for the most part, I was entertained and I'll explain why:
I read, Son of the Morning, Death Angel, Open Season, Kill and Tell, and All the Queen's Men.
The thing I enjoyed most was the fact that they all featured intelligent women on the run.  In most of them, something traumatic happened to the female lead and she had to depend on herself to stay alive.
Son of the Morning was the best example of this.  The main character witnessed her husband and brother's murder and she was framed for it.  So, she took off on foot with only her laptop and papers and got as far away from there as she could.  She was determined to find out why they were killed and sought revenge.
Being on the run wasn't pretty.  She was filthy and hungry, mistaken for a bag lady more than once, got a job washing dishes in shady restaurants, rented a room from a former hooker, etc.  It seemed more real to me....I mean not that I've ever been on the run from the law and psychopathic murderers but I can imagine!
I've often wondered what it would be like to just pick up and run away, start a new life and reinvent yourself.  I'd hate to do it all the while worrying about being killed but still...a girl can fantasize!
Anywho...as much bitching as I do about fluff fiction, I can find a lot of things to enjoy about it.