Do men choose differently than women?

The obvious answer is of course, yes. Men have different triggers that spark their interest. So I thought it would be fun to hand EVERLASTING ENCHANTMENT over to a young man and have him choose random sentences from each chapter that sparked his interest. These are definitely not sentences I would have chosen, so I found them fascinating...and am sharing them with you here today:

Quotes from EVERLASTING ENCHANTMENT

Ch. 1 Page 13: Surely her companion knew that baronets had the strength to rip them to shreds?

Ch. 2, Page 33: She studied him for a long moment, those golden eyes disconcerting in their intensity. "Your sadness is a weight I can almost feel. Perhaps that's what makes you so irresistible to women."

Ch. 3 Page 54: She glanced over at the were-vampire bat, who had returned to the wine cabinet and refreshed her glass.

Ch. 4 Page 79: He realized some of his opponents were nothing more than illusion, unable to hurt him as the greater power of Merlin's curse protected him, but since he could not tell what he faced, he must waste his strength on them.

Ch. 5 Page 89: Millicent didn't answer his question. She couldn't. No one had ever done anything like this for her before. It felt like a home. Could he even guess that she'd never had one?

Ch. 6 Page 111: He made no decisions. He followed the pattern Merlin had laid out for him. Why had it not bothered him until now?

Ch. 7 Page 121: Millicent twitched her whiskers in a grim smile and entered the tunnel, her sight quickly adjusting to the darkness.

Ch. 8 Page 144: "The duke treats his prisoners quite well."

Ch. 9 Page 160: He seemed to take for granted that he could outwit the spies, who were certainly a fearsome group of predators.

Ch. 10 Page 175: Iridescent wings twitched. "I never swoon madam. Lose my equilibrium perhaps. But never swoon."

Ch. 11 Page 207: "I would not call them warriors, Sir Knight. A motley horde perhaps, but not warriors."

Ch. 12 Page 218: "Ogres or no, we ain't goin' back," snapped Nell, yanking her skirt out of Millicent's teeth.

Ch. 13 Page 240: The door suddenly swung open and a liveried footman bowed to them, showing no surprise at welcoming a panther, sprite, and a sword-wielding knight.

Ch. 14 Page 261: Millicent shifted back to human with blood still smeared around her mouth.

Ch. 15 Page 276: She drew up the sleeve of her gown, the moonstone twinkling in the light of the wild magic dancing on the ceiling.

Ch. 16 Page 290: "Master -- it's not wise to leave behind loose magic."

Ch. 17 Page 305: Jackals, hyenas, and wolverines slinked into the light. Millicent had never felt so grateful to see her fellow creatures from the Underground.

Ch. 18 Page 315: And Gareth suddenly realized his pain wasn't all mental, that most of the blood covering his tunic might be his own.

Ch. 19 Page 336: In his time he would have composed poems about her.

Ch. 20 Page 348: The world spun. Millicent took a step, and fortunately managed to maneuver a chair beneath her when her legs collapsed.

Ch. 21 Page 358: Gareth blinked. The creature had a tail. A furry tail, with a ball of scraggly fur at the end. It stuck out of the back of his trousers through a narrow slit and waved jauntily at him.

Ch. 22 Page 366: If necessary, she would spend her entire life composing ballads to him, if it made up for the pain she had caused.


Did you note anything in common? That the male reader has focused on the action and adventure in the novel, a good deal of characterization...and just a touch of romance (which is fifty percent of the book). Fortunately, there was enough adventure to hold his interest. The parts he chose as the romance element were actually the deeper ones, the ones that delved into the souls of the characters. Neat stuff here to contemplate.:}