Bethany True

Contemporary

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We've heard it all before: They're irrelevant. They're irresponsible and dangerous in their representation of the ideals for which today's woman should strive. Smart chicks want nothing to do with them.

For a change, I'm not talking romance novels, but beauty pageants, the Miss America Scholarship Pageant in particular. Still, the niche worlds and audiences of the Miss America Organization and romance fiction industry aren't all that different; in both, women are connecting, celebrating and embracing issues and attributes uniquely feminine for entertainment and profit.

Now, I know I'm not alone in believing that women can be terribly hard on one another, and that, in our journey to be taken seriously, we sometimes push our sisters under the bus en route. But few things earn a pretty woman a lung full of exhaust faster than her daring to celebrate the fact that she's more than just an IQ number.

I mean, how dare some misguided woman let down the rest of us surfing that second wave by showing off her talent and toned abs in a quest for scholarship money, international exposure for her talent, or, Goddess forbid -- just because she likes being seen on stage?

Unfortunately, we see this same exclusive reasoning among some readers of romance fiction who, for example, blast readers who don't mind a rich-guy hero who saves the day for the penniless heroine: As if fantasizing about unequal gender power relationships were a threat to our breaking through the glass ceiling.

That's mind-boggling logic coming from within a group living in a shiny glass house.

I guess I've got a pretty unique perspective on these issues, being a romance reader, as well as a Top 10 Miss America contestant who's a summa cum laude grad.

And what's got me thinking about the issues is a terrific debut novel from Bethany True, the funny and very hot little number, "Remember the Alimony."

Former Miss Texas Delaney Daniels is going through a bitter divorce from her billionaire husband, J.D., when she decides for once to do what she wants, rather than what everyone expects from her people-pleasing self.

One too many pink cosmopolitans later, Laney experiences the hottest night of her life, after which she's too mortified even to get the name of the man who made it happen.

But that's OK, because his name is Lucas Church, and not only is he J.D.'s hot-shot attorney, he's the guy who may do two things Laney never thought possible: convince her he sees her as more than just a pretty face and keep the needle from her arm after J.D.'s found dead and Laney's looking like the pretty-in-pink prime suspect.

"Remember the Alimony" is so much fun because it gives us a peek into the world of a gorgeous woman who understands she's smarter than she looks but who's comfortable in her lovely skin and enjoys without apology everything one would think she might: great shoes, terrific sex, and knowing her looks make people do things for her -- like fund her program to raise girls' self-esteem.

That type of respect for character -- as well as engaging storytelling -- is what makes "Remember the Alimony" so entertaining and assures True of a bright future in romantic fiction.

Though she includes humorous pageant maxims in "Remember the Alimony," True doesn't mention anything about creative uses of duct tape by pageant contestants during the swimsuit competition. Still, you're welcome to muse on that while you --

Buy the book.

Next Week's Features and AuthorViews: "Natural Born Charmer" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips and "Doing it Right" by MaryJanice