I read a lot of romance novels – you might call it market research, but really, it boils down to the fact that I’m a sucker for a happy ending. While there are plenty of other genres from mystery to non-fiction in my reading list for any given month, nothing beats a good romance novel for tugging the heart strings as the characters journey toward their happily ever after.
Books earn a place on my keeper shelf (or virtual keeper shelf) when authors dig deep into the emotional motivation for their female heroines. It’s wonderful when those emotions unlock something inside me, some sorrow or joy that needs an outlet in a few moments of tears or laughter spilled safely for a fictional character.
What matters to each heroine and how the author makes her memorable usually comes down to something in the backstory that has a lingering effect on how a female heroine perceives herself as worthy or deserving of romance and love.
Isn’t that always the way – even in our real lives?
The romance and ramp up of falling in love is a delicious sensation, a delightful time in a relationship. Yet it’s as much our insecurities as the things we’re confident about in those early days that gives us those happy flutters. There’s an eagerness in new love that celebrates everything from a silly look to the simple joy of holding hands.
And when we find our personal hero and create our own happy ever after, that eagerness eventually settles into something deeper and more lasting. Those butterflies smooth out as time and experience builds trust. Devotion and commitment combine with the hard work every relationship requires, until something miraculous and beautiful happens…
You circle back to that sweet rush of falling in love with each other all over again.
Only this time (and every time after) it’s better because the trust is there. It’s sweeter for the strength only dedication between two real-life, happy-ever-after people can provide.
As an Army wife, the days that part me from my husband challenge and change us both. We grow as indivuals as we cope with obstacles and celebrate milestones, but with the benefit of a solid touchstone of love that distance cannot diminish. When we see each other again, we share where we’ve been and what we’ve seen with the confidence of knowing we’ll be going forward together.
Starting with that giddy rush and sweet romantic joy amid all the other emotions of being reunited.
The rich variety of emotions are what keep me engaged with a romance novel and those emotions are what I try to infuse in the romance novels I write as well.
Live the adventure!
