Happy Birthdays & Rakes
First off, Happy Birthday to Danielle, blogger extraordinaire and fun friend! May this be the best birthday ever for you!
So when Danielle asked if I could blog for her, I said absolutely. Her birthday reminded me of an incident in my upcoming historical romance HOW TO RAVISH A RAKE. Will Darcett, known as the devil for his rakish ways, has to remind his family that he had a birthday the previous week. His relatives feel awful for forgetting him – temporarily. His eldest sister actually blames their lapse of memory on Will, because he’s spent very little time at the fictitious Ashdown House, the family pile in Richmond, England. Will is extremely independent and dislikes his family’s interference.
Birthday also remind me of the effects of birth order, something I researched while writing the book. Will is the youngest of five in his family. He’s so much younger that they all tended to ignore him, so he engaged in naughty behavior in order to get attention. So let’s take a look at what effect birth order has on personality.
First born children tend to be reliable, conscientious, structured, cautious, controlling, and high achievers. If you’re a firstborn, you’re likely a leader and diligent. As a kid you probably won over adults. You may also be something of a perfectionist, because you focused on pleasing your parents. I’m a first born, and most of the traits listed here apply to me. The only notable exception is that I’m the exact opposite of highly structured.
Middle children differ depending on sex. For example, a family with a first born male has a second child, a girl. If another girl is born, the first girl will likely exhibit many of the same characteristics of a first born child. In general, however, middle children are neither the oldest nor the youngest. Middle kids tend to focus on impressing their peers, since the parents have a tendency to focus on the firstborn or baby.
Lastborn children are described as fun-loving, uncomplicated, manipulative, outgoing, attention-seeking, and self-centered. In HOW TO RAVISH A RAKE, we learn that Will sought attention as a child by running away. As an adult, however, he traveled extensively with little concern about lodging or funds. When he returns to England, he soon discovers his life will not be so uncomplicated.
Only children like Amy Hardwick always have their parents’ undivided attention. On the other side of the coin, however, only children have an accentuated sense of their parents’ expectations. This latter worries Amy a great deal, since after several unsuccessful seasons, she is concerned that her parents may worry about her future if she doesn’t marry. She’s so concerned that she seriously considers marrying a man she doesn’t love.
So what is your birth order? Do you identify with the descriptions above? Why or why not? Leave a comment for a chance to win one copy of HOW TO RAVISH A RAKE plus Romance Trading Cards. US & Canada only
Bio: Vicky Dreiling’s debut HOW TO MARRY A DUKE made the American Library Association Booklist Top 10 Romance for 2011 and is also nominated for Romantic Times Best First Historical Romance. She loves hearing from readers and can be reached at the following places:
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April 1, 2012
SCANDALOUS DESIRES . . .
Amy Hardwick has one last Season to shake off her wallflower image and make a love match. If she can’t, she’ll set aside her dreams of romance and return home to a suitor who can provide security—if little else. What she doesn’t count on is the inappropriate—and irresistible—attention lavished on her in a darkened library by rake extraordinaire Will “The Devil” Darcett . . .DEVILISH DELIGHT
When Will is caught in a tryst with the ton’s shyest miss, he knows he must offer for her hand. Yet Amy is not the shrinking violet she seems to be. Passion lies beneath her prim exterior and Will is eager to release it. But winning Amy isn’t simply a matter of seduction; first, Will must convince her that he’s mended his wicked ways . . . Thank you so Vicky!!!! And I loved Will!!! Can I have him for my Bithday please?!?!
so looking forward to reading this book
ReplyDeletemaria
chilosa_2004 at yahoo dot com
Thanks, Maria.
DeleteDanielle,
ReplyDeleteYou can have Will for your birthday, but Amy probably wants him back. FYI: I just returned from lunch with my friends Sophie Jordan and Kerrelyn Sparks, so I have some additional swag for the winner. ;-)
Hope your birthday is fabulous. Thanks for inviting me to blog.
First off, Happy Birthday Danielle!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Vicky! I've always found research on effects of birth order to be very interesting. I am the first born child and I agree that the descriptions above are fairly accurate because most of the traits listed seem to apply and describe myself. However, one thing that's different and I'll have to disagree with is that, as the oldest child, I wasn't really the one who won over most adults as a kid because that was more of the case for the baby (my youngest sister) of the family.
Looking forward to this book. I also really like the cover, loving the colour combination!
chibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com
I'm a first born, and definately fits into the description . I'm both outgoing and a take charge person.
DeleteI'm looking forward to reading Will and Amy's story.
trackfan(at)aol(dot)com
Lucinda, I'm an extrovert,too. The birth order thing is fascinating to me. Gulp - I used to boss my younger brother around LOL.
DeleteWinnie,
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying about the baby - makes sense to me. About the cover, I gasped the first time I saw it because it was so fantastic. So many people have given it a thumbs up. I'm very fortunate that my publisher does such a great job.
First born children tend to be
ReplyDeleteReliable: In the important things...just don't expect the laundry done until one of us is in desperate need of socks.
Conscientious: Yeah, goes hand in hand with my overactive conscience. I feel badly if I'm not giving my best to each project (again, excludes laundry).
Structured: I have a love of structure...I'm just too scatter brained to implement it outside of select areas of my life.
Cautious: Very.
Controlling: "I'm not bossy...I just know what you should be doing." I think they might have met me before saying this...oops--Oh, and my kindergarten teacher called it "confidence" ;)
High Achiever: Yeah...this with cautious makes it more of a wannabe since most of my 'risks' are learning how to cook than following paths towards dream jobs or dreams in general. (I'm working on it :P)
Leader--like I said...I know what you should be doing ;) But I also know what I can do to help and what I need to do to help you too.
Diligent: Let's just ignore the laundry and I should be good again.
I believe they said that I had an "old soul" when I hung out with the adults.
Perfectionism depends upon the project. I was that kid who rebelled a little so if I couldn't do it perfectly, it wasn't going to be done. (This led to many an incomplete worksheets in jr. high being NOT handed in...again, oops)
Overall--I got a double whammy of first born and only child (7yrs between myself and my next sibling).
Can't wait for Ravish to release!!!!
Oh, I suppose an email is important. ktlee11.07@live dot com
DeleteKatie, that made me smile!
DeleteI am first born followed by a brother then sister they are 9 & 10 years younger than I. I am that first born as you described but I procrastinat a lot. I took care of the younger and practically raised them. I did a good job. Looking forward to this book. Can't wait .
ReplyDeleteRhonda, I'm a major procrastinator, and then I practically kill myself to finish a project!
DeleteGreat blog! Can't wait for this next book to release! As for birth order...I'm first born and very much a perfectionist. It is almost too much because it gets in the way of actually finishing tasks. For me being oldest was worse because my mom is one of six girls in a latin family were men are traditionally seen as more important. So she raised me to be ultra-independent and to never rely on a man. Luckily I met a man who doesn't seem to mind my controlling/OCD ways and I also have no problems depending on him.
ReplyDeleteTriMomF,
DeleteFirstborns always make those deadlines, but it sure kills me when I find mistakes. I made sure both my son and daughter were independent, too.
I have an older sister and younger brother. I was very shy and quiet, a book worm, Still am.. I was sick a lot as a child so spent a lot of time by myself. My 7yh grade teacher said I was the "epitome of Southern Girl Hood", what ever that meant. lol I don't stand up for myself very often, just go with the flow and not arguing. That's how I survived almost 23 yrs of marriage without ulcers. lol My Mom taught us to be independent and not ask for help unless it was a dire emergency. I tried not to ask my husband for help or gifts because of this and I am still that way. I will do without before asking for help. I am retired now and have been reading for over 60 yrs and reading even more now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the opportunity to enter Vicky's giveaway. I already have on my wish list, with 2 others, which is getting longer every day. lol
misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
Miss Kallie2000,
DeleteI say you've earned the right to ask for help and gifts. I bet you could recommend many, many great books. Cheers!
I am the middle child of our family and I have an older sister by 9 years. We share the same characteristic's as far as being bad girls, but that was when we were younger. Now that were older, she is 56 and I am 47 we look back and cannot believe some of the things we did. We are more laid back and enjoy our books, so that is the extent of being bad, through our characters lol.
ReplyDeletepperez32@austin.rr.com
Patricia,
ReplyDeleteI doubt you were really bad. But it's fun to read about bad boys. The fictional kind are fun LOL!
That is what I enjoy the most reading about them. Those kind of boys can't talk and you don't have to cook and clean for them. Lol
DeleteHi Vicky darling I am the youngest in my family but I could not describe myself according to the character that you have describe, as a matter of fact I tries my best to become perfectionist so as not to repeat the mistakes my elders siblings did. It makes me want to be in control of everything though I know sometimes there are many things that will happen that we couldn't prevent from happening. Cheers Aretha zhen, arethazhen@rocketmail.com
ReplyDeleteYou are you because of many things - birth order is only one factor.
DeleteYeah - first-born here. And all of the above. Some would even say anal retentive about many things. It drives me nuts to be married to such an unorganized man. ARGH! And I have six kids so it will be very interesting to see what holds true for them. The middle have all of their "own" personality traits and quirks. The oldest is polar opposite of me. So far, I don't see him falling into the "first-born" category so well. But he is his father's son: completely out of the box! The youngest, well, yeah. He's a cutie and he knows it. And he works it. Little turkey. Thanks so much for the giveaway and the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteKendra @ Reader's Edyn
kendraedens@gmail.com
Hi Kendra! I love that your youngest knows he's a cutie and works it. Sounds like he's a born charmer!
DeleteI am the middle child of 3 (older sister/younger brother) and I guess it does apply somewhat to us. More so when we were growing up than after we were grown.
ReplyDeleteBtw, you have some great friends! I am a fan of all of your books, lol.
Happy Birthday Danielle! Hope you had a great day!
June
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
Thanks, June for your kind words about my books. And yes, I have some wonderful friends. It's good to get out & talk to people who understand what it's like to spend your days with imaginary people LOL.
DeleteI am a middle born. I have one older sister and one younger brother. There is a pretty big span in our ages so our personalities don't completely match the "standard". AND, when we were kids, my sister convinced me I was adopted and therefore "different" from the rest of the family. I am the actress of the family and the caregiver. And, I am my younger brothers' biggest champion. I just love the covers of your books and the descriptions are wonderful. I love wallflower stories. Thanks for the giveaway! jepebATverizonDOTnet
ReplyDeleteJen,
ReplyDeleteHow funny that your sister convinced you that you were adopted. Thanks for stopping by.
Have a wonderful birthday week Vicky! I'm the baby of the family and have an older sister. I have a small but loving close-knit family.
ReplyDeleteCambonified{at}yahoo{dot}com
My birth order is a bit different since I am a twin. I was the first born. I do think the birth order does influence your character building.
ReplyDeleteYour book sounds really good and I have added it to my TBR list.
JWIsley@aol.com
I'm first born, and I agree with most of the traits listed. But I don't think I'm diligent. I am however a perfectionist or maybe more like do it right the first time and do it well, no half trying.
ReplyDeleteMy sister is last born, she is all of what you listed. Plus she is the favorite and also she got away with stuff that I didn't. She still is "all about me" and I'm important listen to me. But I still love her. haha
luvfuzzzeeefaces at yahoo dot com