Guest Post w/ Scarlett Cole-- heroines & tattoos!

Hey guys! Today we've got Scarlett Cole back with the herd! Yall check it out then hit those comments and leave her some love! ~anna

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As an author who writes about tattoo artists, and has tattoos of her own, I often get asked the question, “What type of tattoo do you think I should get?”


I said in a previous blog post that if you need to ask me then you probably shouldn’t get a tattoo. BUT, I do offer this piece of advice. When deciding what to get, take a look at the tattoos that are most frequently being removed.


According to Inked Mag, some of the most commonly removed tattoos include fairies, butterflies, Chinese characters, stars, dolphins, and names (usually ex- partners). If I had to hazard a guess as to why, they are rarely personal (with the exception of names), and most definitely not unique. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get them, and certainly, if you go to a highly reputable tattoo artist, they’ll create a butterfly that is unique to you. But if you take a walk to the beach, you’ll find lots of women with a butterfly on their shoulder.

Which leads me to placement. According to a blog post by Tataway Laser Removal, two of the most common tattoo removals are from the face and hand. Unfortunately, placement of a tattoo still has the ability to restrict job prospects and comes with a plethora of sweeping stereotypes.

So what makes a tattoo work? Well, let’s take a look at the ladies of the Second Circle Series.

• In THE STRONGEST STEEL, the sword Harper has tattooed on her back honors the slogan that got her through the toughest part of her life… the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire. Trent made it personal for her by including small details like stone choices and Celtic symbols to make it unique to her and deeply personal for the two of them. Covering up her scars lets Harper get her life back.

• Drea (THE FRACTURED HEART) was anti-tattoos because of the memories of her father that she had attached to them, but as an aside in The Purest Hook, we find out that she asked Cujo to tattoo a rose for her in honor of the fractious relationship she had with her deceased mother, Rosa. Being around tattoo artists, watching the impact Harper’s tattoo had on her, and seeing people benefit from the experience of getting ink helped Drea make her peace with her past.

• In THE PUREST HOOK, Pixie has an arm full of the most colorful tropical flowers. It’s one of the first thing Dred notices about her. But as the story unfolds, we find out that every flower represents something she has survived, and every flower has been tattooed by the two men she considers her brothers, Trent and Cujo. So while flowers are not unique to her, the stories behind each of them are.

• And finally in THE DARKEST LINK, there is confident tattoo-artist, Lia, who is pin-up worthy and an expert in the American Traditional style of tattooing. The tattoos are an extension of who she is. For example, a classic Sailor Jerry–style shark representing courage and will decorates her calf to remind her that she is strong enough to stand on her own two feet. So each of her tattoos tell a story, or is a reminder of how she wants to live her life.

The connection between the four heroines’ tattoos is that each is a deeply personal experience, and often as meaningful as the relationships they find themselves in.

So what are your thoughts on tattoos? Do you have them? Do you love them? Do you regret them? I can’t wait to hear what you think.

When her car breaks down off the side of a lonely highway far from her sunny Miami home, tattoo artist Lia never expected her very own white knight to ride up on the back of a barely street-legal motorcycle...and she never expected to fall for her dark savior. After a string of failed relationships and a bruised heart, Lia is not looking for forever, and the hot mechanic, with his sexy scruff and shaggy hair, is simply impossible to resist and the perfect candidate for mind-blowingly-perfect, no-strings-attached one night stand.

Reid left his life in Chicago far behind him and hasn't been back, but he's never been able to escape the guilt he feels about his own painful role in inviting a monster into his baby sister's life. A monster who almost destroyed her. Being with Lia is an unexpected gift, one he doesn't feel he deserves, and their one night together has him wanting more than he should. Especially since she doesn't know the truth about his past. However, when he finds Lia’s bracelet in his bed, he has the perfect excuse to drive down and surprise her at her tattoo studio, Second Circle Tattoos, in Miami. He's in for an even bigger shock - and a fist to the face - when his past and present collide in the humid Miami weather when he runs into the last person he’d ever expect to see in a tattoo studio: Harper, the sister he betrayed, and the last link to his former life.

  

 

*covers link to Amazon

The tattoo across my right hip says it all really. A Life Less Ordinary. Inked by the amazingly talented Luke Wessman at the Wooster Street Social Club (a.k.a. New York Ink). Why is it important? Well, it sums up my view on life. That we should all aspire to live a life that is less boring, less predictable. Be bold, and do something amazing. I’ve made some crazy choices. I’ve been a car maker, a consultant, and even a senior executive at a large retailer running strategy. Born in England, spent time in the U.S. and Japan, before ending up in Canada were I met my own, personal hero – all six and a half feet of him. Both of us are scorpios! Yeah, I know! Should have checked the astrological signs earlier, but somehow it works for us. We have two amazing kids, who I either could never part with or could easily be convinced to sell on e-bay.

I’ve wanted to be a writer for a really long time. Check through my office cupboards or my computer and you’ll find half written stories and character descriptions everywhere. Now I'm getting the chance to follow that dream.

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