Guest blogger: Jennie Shaw

Hello Elisa Lorello Blog Followers!

My name is Jennie Shaw and this is my very first guest blog post! Wohoo!

Since I’m a total stranger, I guess it makes sense to tell you a little bit about myself. Well, first off, I live in New Brunswick, Canada and yes, I really do say “eh?” often. I spend my days writing women’s fiction, compulsively painting my nails, and wishing for winter to be over (which doesn’t seem to be anytime soon, boo).

As I’m a writer of women’s fiction, Elisa and I connected through Twitter during a #ChickLitChat (Thursday nights at 8pm EST, you should totally join us). After discovering we have similar senses of humour, I read her debut novel Faking It. And then Ordinary World. And just yesterday, I finished Adulation. Suffice it to say, I love Elisa’s writing, so when she suggested we do a guest post swap, I was all over it (moderately intimidated, but all over it nonetheless).

The topic for our swap is one that’s near and dear to my heart: Literary Crushes. I know, right? BEST GUEST POST TOPIC EVER! Back in the day, I had a series called Monday’s Literary Hotties but it’s been a very long time since I’ve delved into the swoon-i-ness so I’m super psyched about it. Mostly because I’ll be discussing one of my favourites: the incredibly charming and super-hot Gilbert Blythe from the Anne of Green Gables series.

Now, there may be some of you who are all: “Err, who the heck is that and what the hoo-ha is Anne of Green Gables?” so if you’re one of those people, stop what you’re doing right now, get on Amazon or run to your nearest library and start reading. Seriously. I can wait.

*files nails*

*bakes cookies*

*plays Just Dance 4*

Okay, so now that you’ve finished, we can get started...

Isn’t Gilbert the best male character of all time?

Hint: The answer is YES.

But just in case you haven’t read the series (yet), I’ll break down the reasons for my bordering-on-obsessed-longing crush on Gilbert Blythe.

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Mmmmmmmm…..this is a still from the Anne of Green Gables movie and I applaud the casting department as he’s pretty much exactly how I pictured him.

(source: http://sjaejones.com/blog/2010/literary-crushes-part-ii/)

One of the reasons I have such a mad crush on Gil (I can call him Gil because we’re old friends) is because of the amazing way he treats his love interest, Anne Shirley. As you’ve all read the books *stares* you know that Anne is a perfect mix of confidence, insecurity, strength, and vulnerability, who Gil, to reference Bridget Jones’ Diary, “likes very much as she is.” And you’ve got to love a guy who doesn’t want to change a complicated woman.

*swoons*

In the beginning of Gil’s courtship, Anne isn’t super into him (yeah, I don’t get it either) but he’s super persistent and conducts his pursuit with such innocence that it only makes Gil hotter (if that’s even possible). Plus, he rescues Anne—legit rescues her—when her boat sinks in the lake! And he’s selfless, putting Anne’s needs ahead of his own when they’re adults. He’s also a bit of a jackass, and I like my men with a certain degree of jackass-i-ness. Not too much, mind you, but enough to whip out a cocky half-smile now and again. And boy, can Gil do a cocky half-smile (oh em gee, Ilovehimsomuch).

Did I mention that he also grows up to be a doctor? A DOCTOR! Come on people, what more could you possibly want in a literary crush? The only way he’d be sweeter is if he were made of honey. Or covered in honey. Which I would probably lick off…okay, this post is getting out of hand so before I overstep any boundaries, I’m just going to stop. Ha! Besides, I think that I’ve made my point, right?

So how about you? What are some of your literary crushes?

And thanks so much to Elisa for doing a guest post swap with me; it was a lot of fun! If you’d like to read more from me, or read about Elisa’s Literary Crush, you can find my blog at: http://wellshutthefrontdoor.blogspot.ca.