A Writer of Romance

Oh, how I love being a romance writer. It gives me all kinds of licenses to do and ask. What? Yup. Little ole me gets a thrill out of asking people how they knew the person they married was THE one.

I've gotten all kinds of answers and each charms me anew ever time I think of them. Oh, and I'm not exactly backward at asking anyone. Why not?

One husband assured me that he and his wife have never fought. I gave him a look. Then I asked him if he was sure his wife would have the same opinion. Weeks later, I ran into him again. He'd asked his wife and been reassured. The best part? He bothered to ask. How did he know his wife would be the one? He heard her laugh at a party and knew he could listen to that the rest of his life. They've been married over thirty five years. I haven't had the chance to ask her yet....

Then there was the woman who was blown away because of what he did when they went shoe shopping. Her man bent down and felt around on her feet and shoes and made sure they fit well. He cared enough about her to do so. The first man who ever cared about her physical comfort. They were married a few months later.

One man said he could see her soul when he looked in her eyes--and it was beautiful. They have been married over forty years. They bounced into each other at the end of a grocery aisle.

My great Uncle Jim told me that love was when he came back from a fifty mile trip with a wagon to get supplies and mail and his wife was there with a lantern to greet him when he arrived and helped unhitch the horses from the wagon. Contrary to western movies, a wagon seat will paralyze a normal person after a two day ride.

I was impressed with my husband because he could leap flat-footed over an electric fence. But more than that, he actually listened to me when I spoke. We have little in common, and don't really like the same music, movies, or activities. But, he listens to me. I listen to him. We also flirt like demons. We met by mail as adults.

Love, romance, attraction, all of it can't really be nailed down as it is different, yet oddly similar for all of us. It is the same for the Romance genre. The stories contain many similar features, but each story rolls out in its very unique voice.

So please, as you write romance, remember to enjoy it, play with it, and be struck with awe that it happens at all. It is a very human thing we do.