The other day I was thinking that I seldom come across an on line romances with a set of less than physical perfect protagonists. I know that we are not dealing with real life, so of course the ladies in centre stage tends to be of dream like beauty, but then again it would be nice with a bit of diversity.
Thinking back over some of the stories that I’ve read over time, I can think of a few with a protagonist with a handicap. Among these is “At First Sight” by Colleen that sports a beautiful blond blind writer, “Emotional Paralysis” by Larisa with a blond woman bound to a wheelchair after a car accident, and “Snap Shots” by MJ also sporting a blind woman this one with an interest in horses.
In my archives I also have an old uber tale from way back that fit right in with the diversity theme, its “True Colours” by Karen A. Surtees and PruferBlue. If you haven’t read it yet you have something to look forward to if you like an emotional romance.
“True Colours” and the sequel “Many Roads to Travel” is the story of the raven haired Taylor Jade Meridian (TJ) a powerful CEO of a major corporation, who returns to the small town of Meridianville, Texas to rebuild herself and the Meridian ranch where she grew up.
Going back to Texas is not really TJ’s idea at all but more of a last resort for her friends Erin and Paula to try and drag TJ out of her depression. A depression coursed by the death of her younger brother in a mobbing which has landed TJ with a spinal core injury and a life as a paraplegic.
Getting the ranch back in working order puts TJ in touch with the town vet the lonely hearted feisty blond Mary Theresa Gillespie (Mare) who more than anything proves to be the medicine that TJ needs to pull her out of her depression.
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“True Colours” is a great love story with a lot of emotional ups and downs for the ladies involved as they struggle with their own insecurities and the obstacles caused by TJ’s physical disability. The storyline is solid and spreads over a number of different themes that gives the relationship between TJ and Mare room to mature over time and through their shared experiences.
“True Colours” and the sequel “Many Roads to Travel” are favourites of mine, and I have had a great time revisiting TJ and Mare and their ever faithful friends Erin and Paula.
There are some broken links in the story, you can find the correct parts by changed the part number in the url.
If you can think of other stories that would fit the diversity theme you could leave a link in the comment box – maybe we can put together a list.
yeah, finding stories with less than physically perfect characters can be difficult… although there is one fandom where that is prevalent – Birds of Prey, both TV version and comic book version, features Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl, who is now paralyzed from the waist down and reliant on a wheelchair. There are quite a few good stories in this fandom. 🙂
It is true that there are hardly any stories out there where one of the protagonists is handicapped. One of my all time favourite stories however has a deaf woman as one of the main characters: "All in the Family" by Sarkel. Sadly, it's no longer online since the author had it removed due to a pending publication. However, I couldn't find a published version anywhere since I don't know the author's real name and I guess she changed the title as well.
Hi,
I looked for "All in the Family" on the wayback machine – you could try this link – it seems that the story is still available:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050212224454/http://www.academyofbards.org/authors/sarkel.html
UK
I vaguely remember a fanfic story too; something about a wealthy business woman who gets into a car accident w/ a night jogger. It caused her to be wheelchair bound, though I can't remember if it's permanent.. The CEO (I'm guessing that's what she was) did not admit to causing the accident though, especially since the jogger could not remember what happened that night. The jogger later found out it was her though, I think she found an old receipt of the auto repair in her office.. and of course they broke up after that, then got back together.. Does this sound familiar to anyone?? I'm hoping someone can remember the Title/Author..
Jen, I think you're referring to Accidental Love by BL Miller. I heard she took her online versions down but it is available in a published version.
The woman hit wasn't a jogger but was running away from potential attackers.
If you want to look for an onlie version of "Accidental Love" you might try this ling http://web.archive.org/web/20040212231153/http://www.blmiller.net/accidental/al1.html 😉
Thanks Rev! I recognized the title & author immediately. Wow, I had read alot of BL Miller's stuff almost a decade ago.. Thanks also Anonymous, for the link! Definetly a great re-read for me ^-^ I read True Colours & Many Roads and thoroughly enjoyed the stories. Thanks again!