Real Romance

I've been thinking about romance a lot lately (and not just because I had edits due yesterday on my March 08 HAR!) My husband and I celebrated our wedding annniversary this week--we took the kids out to dinner with us. Very romantic *g* We've been married nine years but together as a couple for several years beyond that. And this weekend, my step-brother and his very lovely fiancee will be getting married. They have a cute "meet" story worthy of any romance novel.

I realize I'm probably preaching to the choir here since I suspect most of you "get" the uplifting value of a good love story, but it always shocks me when people say they don't read romance because the books are unrealistic and don't paint the world the way it is. Let's pretend for a sec that I actually agreed with that (I don't)--what would be wrong about painting the world as it should be? People overcoming their differences to find trust, respect and compromise.

Romance novels are not about "too-perfect" people. My HAR Trouble in Tennessee featured a heroine who was, um, how shall I put this tactfully, a smart aleck with occasional self-sabotaging tendencies. Jennifer Crusie's contemporary novel Bet Me featured Min, a plump heroine who wasn't comfortable with her own body image. I just finished a historical romance this weekend by Elizabeth Hoyt (The Raven Prince) where the hero was considered "ugly" because his face was scarred from childhood small pox.

My retired aunt and uncle have been married since before I was born and they still flirt and steal away for romantic weekends--happy ever afters aren't just for fairy tales. Nor are happy endings reserved for romantic love. (One of my favorite five minutes of any movie is the opening sequence of Love, Actually where Hugh Grant does the voice over about standing in an airport watching old friends, reunited siblings, parents with their children, etc, and realizing love really IS all around us.) A friend of mine loves writing, but it can be hard to follow your dreams when publishing is a difficult and capricious business, full of bumps in the road. I'm proud to say that my friend persisted, as any worthy and determined heroine would, and today her wonderful novel, Garden Spells, is making its hardcover debut and will be excerpted in Readers' Digest in early September. I say, the world needs books that encourage love and following your dreams.

Viva la romance! Today, indulge your passion for something, whether it's finding time to dabble with those paints you put up in those closet, surprising your sweetie with a warmer than usual welcome home kiss at the end of the day, or making time to read a good book.