Friday, June 20, 2008

the joys of research

Current work: Modern Heat duo book 1
Listening to: Vaughan Williams, Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis
Reading: not – am busy trying to write

I was just debating last night what sort of music my very westernised Sheik would play. In the bath. (Yeah, I know last weekend was the shower. This is my fantasy bath. With uplighters in the floor.) Now, would he play the bit of music I fell in love with earlier this month (i.e. Vaughan Williams), or would he play something from his homeland? Something like the stuff I used to dance to, some years back (Egyptian Dancing classes were way more fun than the gym - DH really loathed the music, but I quite liked it).

For the sake of my readers (and because I am in Lurgy City and needed cheering up), I went to YouTube to look up Arabic love songs. And I think I just found someone who could be the model for my sheikh. Very, very gorgeous male singer. (And with slightly long hair, he is seriously hot. This one particular video – ahhh. I’m going to have to go back and change my sheikh’s clothes.)

DH walked in while I was in mid-research and noted the headphones.

DH: I thought you were working.
Me: I am.
DH: You’re messing about on YouTube. Don’t tell me. Robert Plant, David Coverdale or Paul Rodgers?
Me: None of them. It’s work. Really, work.
DH (looking at screen) : OMG. Arabic music. Oh, no. You’ve signed up to another Egyptian Dancing class, haven’t you? And you’re going to play that awful tape again and drive me insane…
Er, would that be the tape he ‘put in a safe place’? (Along with my fingerless lace mittens from when we first met – they disappeared the week after we bought our first house, and he still claims he knows nothing about it.) Hilarious. I don’t have time to go back to a class (but I will sort my time management out next month, because I want to go back to piano lessons). As for the music – I always did like Robert Plant’s Moroccan phase. And hmm, I could always get an Egyptian dancing DVD…

The joys of research. :o)

4 comments:

Liz Fielding said...

No YouTube link, Kate! How cruel now I'm back on the 'net!

Romance, Rumours and Rogues said...

This is hilarious, Kate!
Your dh sounds delightful :)

Anonymous said...

By a strange twist of serendipity, the party I was at last night had an 'arabian nights' theme - the children's costumes were wonderful.
AND there was a professional belly dancing duo leading the disco.

No. I didn't. :-)

Kate Hardy said...

Liz - yup, am evil :o) Glad you're back online.

Nic - he is. He doesn't bother arguing, just acts. (This is the man who, when we bought our first house and were broke, decided we were going to buy a computer for me "because you're going to be a famous writer one day and you'll need one" - this was when I'd had nothing published. That kind of belief... he's above rubies, he really is.)

Ray-Anne - sounds great fun. And you didn't? Ahhh, you missed out on some fun. I first saw a troupe at my husband's work's "family fun day" (one of the troupe was a secretary at the farm). They asked if anyone wanted to try; DH pinned my arm to the table so I couldn't put my hand up and embarrass him (!) but I talked to the troupe later and they gave me a good teacher's name. Shame she moved away as I really enjoyed the classes.