You know, I think what was most validating was that, at least for me, her beauty came from strength. She looks STRONG and HEALTHY, like an Earth Mother Goddess who could kick some serious ass if she felt like it–but probably wouldn’t feel like it because she’d have no need to prove anything.

Women just get better looking with time, I think. I feel that way more and more as I age. And Diane Keaton is exhibit one.

sometimes I get the sense the author has no idea how old they are

The youngish hero/heroine I’m working on right now (she’s 27; he’s 32), I’m having a lot of trouble with and you know what my biggest issue is? I wasn’t listening to the pop music they would have been listening to when they were in high school, so I can’t get my claws into their culture and their lingo. I don’t know what their points of pop culture reference are and, IMO, that shapes age.

Hear, hear! I wish ingenues were a little less dominant in the genre–and I think that’s changing as the genre expands. Though sometimes I think there’s a strange trade-off: 18-year-old ingenues for 30-year-old virgin widows (historical) or socially stunted ‘smart girls’ (contemporary) who’ve never had a relationship. There still aren’t a lot of heroines over 40 (though many heroes strike me as about 100 years old in their outlook) or women who’ve *lived*.

The point of my post was that I don’t think the path to greater variety is to *write* older characters and *say* they’re 20. That’s what drives me crazy. It’s fine by me if characters are older, but sometimes I get the sense the author has no idea how old they are.