Romance for the ages…

Good Thursday morning… Romance, some believe in it, some don’t. It’s up to you. As a writer of romance, I believe in the possibility of romance for everyone. You just have to seek it out. Romance can be found in the simplest of gestures.

For some, romance is candles, wine, dancing … you know, the stuff you see when you look up romance, But to me, it’s in the slight touch of ones hand. It’s the look across the table that says I love you unconditionally. Sometimes romance can be found in a mere word, not just the three words in I love you.

When writing romance, authors have to spread romance through normal channels. In a historical romance, it could be the knight saving the damsel in distress. In a paranormal romance, it could be a ghost finding his or her lost love in the afterlife. In a contemporary romance, it could be as simple as buying a set of books for your love. It’s the simple things in life that bring the best romance. And to me, that’s the true romance, when it’s on a whim, not set up like a movie set.

Romance in it’s truest form can be intoxicating and passionate. Some never seek romance, they only seek love. How is that different? To this romance author, it’s worlds apart. You can love someone without romance. Love comes in many forms. You can love your partner and want to be there for every moment, but there may be no romance there. But when you combine love and romance, the possibilities are endless.

Yes, I’m what some call a true romantic. I strive to add romance in my marriage by the simplest things. Every night I make my hubby a sandwich for him to take to work the next day, and sometimes I add heart on the bag just to remind him of the romance we share. Sometimes we share just the touch of our fingertips as we pass in the hallway and just that mere wisp of a touch brings a warm fuzzy romantic feeling. You may think that’s all sappy, but to us, it’s the small things.

Tomorrow my hubby and I will celebrate 27 years of wedded bliss. I can tell you this, the romance hasn’t died and if I have anything to do with it, the romance never will.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Why is romance such a big draw?

Have you ever wondered why the biggest genre being sold in books is romance? It’s a huge market in any way. People are constantly looking for romance. In most cases people leave no stone unturned.

This is my thoughts on this phenomena. I think that everyone wants some kind of romance in their lives. It could be in their marriage, in their relationship with someone or just simply in their lives. Maybe it’s the fact that a good romance novel can take you to another place and let you live through the characters for a little time.

Sometimes people just need to read about it. It makes them feel better about things in their lives. Maybe it’s just the feeling of getting lost in someone else’s life. Do you need to get lost for just a little while? It’s a safe way to go to another world, to leave your own troubles for just a moment.

I know personally that I love to get lost in a good book. Especially if the book has a sweet romance or the promise of romance in it. It draws me in and makes me smile. I catch myself sometimes looking forward to picking the book back up to get to the next part. Have you ever been so into a book and just had to read through the night because you were so drawn in? Yep, I recognize that look, you have. What’s worse is when it’s a week night and you’ve got to get up early the next day, but you can’t help yourself 🙂

So pick up a romance today. Even men can get into a good romance novel. Men write great romance too.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You….

Romance…

Romance is so elusive and sometimes hard to find unless you’re reading it in a novel. That’s the comment I hear so often. I don’t believe this state of mind that many people have. Romance can be found, lost, and revived. Still a skeptic?

Romance has been around since the first day of creation. Some people search for it as they would gold in the hills. Sometimes you have it and just don’t see it at all. It’s that simple touch from your lover that sends tiny tendrils of goosebumps up your spine. It’s that simple look of pleasure that you share across the table.

Have you ever wondered where romance hides? Everyone has a moment when you think romance has gone away. Maybe it’s when finances are bad, tragedy looms, or when a marriage fails. Romance is still there, we just as humans put it behind our heart and refuse at times to pull it out again.

As a romance writer I try to bring romance into everyone’s heart. It’s one of the biggest sellers today, romance. Everyone wants it, but what lengths will they go to? Some will spend a fortune buying gifts to show romance, but true romance can’t be bought. It’s a part of you. A kiss is free, a look is free and a touch is free. Give it a try. You might enjoy finding a little romance.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you!

It’s Monday and I turn 44 today!

Yeah I know, most women don’t reveal their age, but I’m just happy to have another birthday every year. It’s crazy that I’m over 40. Me! I don’t feel 44. Most people say I don’t act 44 either. Well, last week while I had sickness, I felt over 40, but now after all the antibiotics and steroids I’m back to feeling young again.

Age to me is a frame of mind. If you constantly act your age, you will end up feeling your age. I try to enjoy every aspect of life. I try not to let everything get to me. My friends are constantly saying how do you stay so calm all the time. Well, letting things drag me down and keep me in depression doesn’t accomplish anything but developing an ulcer. Don’t get me wrong, I have regrets in my life. I have those moments of what if… I put a lot of those what if’s in my writing and go on with my life.

So, if you are in the dumps because you’re over 40, well get up off the ground you have threw yourself on and dust yourself off. Start living life to the fullest. You’re not promised tomorrow and the Good Lord gave you this time to live as He would have you live. Enjoy your family, play with your kids, decorate a tree, hug a friend, kiss your lover, tell someone you love them and live, by goodness live. Start today, right now. It will change your life.

That’s why I finally decided to publish my books and continue writing. It gives me immense pleasure. I get to live the life of my characters and enjoy what they enjoy. If only for a moment.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You!

Week of Thanks…

It’s Thanksgiving week if you haven’t looked at your calendar. This year has flown by. I was sitting in Church yesterday which is an oddity for me because normally I’m downstairs with the children. It was a special Thanksgiving service, so I brought the older children upstairs for the sermon.

The band started singing a song called “Thank You”. It really hit me that as a whole we are not thankful enough for what we have. I was humbled at the thought. So many of us, me included, are so busy that we don’t take time to be thankful for what we take for granted. Here is my list of things I’m thankful for.

1: First and foremost I’m thankful for a forgiving Savior, because I need forgiveness.

2: My wonderful family. I am biased, but I have the most special family. I have a great husband who supports me in all I do and a wonderful son who helps me with anything I need and he’s a great kid.

3: My business. I own a accounting business and it is right beside my house. How many can just walk out the door and be at work in 30 seconds.

4: My writing. I am thankful for the fact that I can publish my writing and people will buy it. It has been a wild ride.

5: Definitely my friends. I have some great friends and that includes my blog friends, my twitter friends and as I call them my cyber friends. I treasure the conversations we have.

Take some time this week to be thankful for what you have. As always, good writing and May God bless you.

First romance, what happened?

Do you remember your first romance? Not the one you had in grammar school with the boy that sat beside you in homeroom. I’m talking about that first time your toes curled and your whole body tingled when they walked into the room. The one where the looks you gave one another could start a fire. Yeah, that one. You remember. Are you smiling or shedding a tear?

Let me tell you about a first romance story. It’s up to you whether you think it’s a true story or just a tale of two lovers… You be the judge.

As she stood watching him do what he did best, work in the stables. He looked up from under his Stetson and gave her a wink. She felt her heartbeat quicken. She began to hear a buzzing in her ears. What was happening? Why did just a look from him give her such a start? He was an old friend. That was it, or was it?

Something had changed since they’d become closer. She couldn’t put a name to it yet, but she new it was starting to take over her mind and heart. He seemed to notice something different. It was the way he looked at her. The deepness of his voice as he spoke to her.

With the love songs playing on the radio she smiled. That was it, the songs inspired love. Then as he walked toward her, she knew it wasn’t just the songs. He pulled her to him. They had never kissed, but that was about to change in an explosive way. He lowered his lips to hers and she was lost in the sensations that swirled around in her heart.

Her toes started to curl and she found it hard to breath. He pulled back and said, “I’ve wanted to do that all night.” He turned and went into a stall to finish putting out hay. She stood there in a daze, wondering if she was in a dream. Would she wake up soon and be sorry it was a dream?

When she left the barn, he followed her out and over the window of her car he kissed her again. This time the kiss lasted a long while until he finally pulled her around the door of the car, never losing contact with her lips. They kissed for twenty minutes without ceasing. They caressed each other and held on as thought it would be the last kiss. Neither realizing it would be. It would have to last forever. He held her to him for a long while, then he said the most devastating thing. “I’m moving away in a week. I’ve enjoyed our time together and I’ll never forget it. It will keep me warm at night.”

She just stood there speechless. What was happening? Please let her wake up now from this dream that started out with so much promise and turned out to be a nightmare.

She was brave and told him goodbye. Would it be forever? How would she move on after those passionate kisses and embraces?

She did move on, but it was hard. She married a great man and pushed those memories to the back. But guess what, with that first romance, memories come back at the mere thought. When she sees him now she smiles, he smiles, it’s there in both their memories. She sees it in his eyes. He remembers that night, that kiss, that moment when time stopped. She hides the tears and goes on with life. One day…

Well, maybe it’s about me, maybe a friend or maybe a tale spun in my mind. I’ll never tell. Romance can inspire so much in us. Let it happen, even if it is not forever, the memories will be, if it was real romance.

The Petals of a Rose.

Have you ever looked at a rose? I mean really looked at it. A rose has always been a symbol of romance. I was pondering why and here is my take on it.

A rose is beautiful in any color or type. The smell is usually sweet and enduring. The petals each hold onto the other as romance should hold you together. As each petal gets to the center it grows closer and tighter. Just as romance. The closer you get to your lover, the tighter you get, the closer in tune with each other you are.

As with a rose, sometimes the edges get frazzled as does any romance, but the other petals endure. The petals are soft and velvety just as true romance feels. You get all soft inside and your mind turns to velvet. Roses do have thorns that prick you, but romance can also have thorns. Just when you think you are past romance, it comes up and pricks you, making you stand up and take notice. We all need that prick from time to time. No matter how well your relationship is, that prick is needed to remind you of the days of velvet romance.

Just with reading or writing romance you get the warm, velvety feeling inside. It inspires you and makes you want to have that in your own life.

So go out and look at a rose differently. Why do you think the old saying goes “Stop and smell the roses”? It just makes you feel better. Put a little romance in your life every day, not just on special occasions.

As always good writing and romance. May God bless you!

Levels of Love…

As I write this I ponder the different levels of love I’ve had in my 43 years of life. I am by no means an expert. This is just my outtake on the subject, so take it as you may.

Here goes:

Baby Love: I feel like as a baby you feel love, not positive because I do not remember being a baby, but I do remember how my son was as a baby. He would brighten up when I would walk in the room, so I feel like he was feeling love for me. So…

Child’s love: As a child you have such a reserve for real love. You have not been challenged by the things of the real world so you can be open to love with your whole heart. Children love unconditionally, well most of the time.

First crush love: You know the love I am talking about. Usually you experience it in your early teens or earlier for some. It is that feeling when you look across the aisle in class and lock eyes with a cute boy. You instantly think you are in love and you will just die if he looks back. Yeah, you remember that don’t you. Ok, you can quit laughing now.

Idol love: Well as a teenager usually you develop huge love issues for movie stars, musicians or even someone older in your life. It is the kind of thing that causes you to post pictures all over your walls and spend your whole allowance on anything with their picture on it. Yeah, been there done that…

First young love: Well this is the one that usually hurts and makes you think you will never love again. You are usually dating by the time this one hits and you think that nobody else can ever take their place. Well, you have not quite got to the real love stage, so you soon learn there is more out there. (Was engaged for 4 years to my first young love. Boy am I glad that went away.)

First real love: This is the love that comes and your heart just is taken away. It no longer belongs to you. Sadly, sometimes this is the love that we mistake for some other feeling and we don’t act on it as our heart tells us to. This is usually the love that if you don’t keep, you end up keeping it with you forever in your dreams. If you don’t realize it is real and you let it go, you spend a lot of time later in life thinking about that lost love.

LOVE: Sometimes when we think we feel love we do things that are not in character for us. We may even marry someone thinking that it is love only to find out after the stars are out of our eyes that we were wrong. That is really sad, but it happens everyday. The divorce rate is prime example. A scary percentage of people are in marriages that started with misguided love.

Obsessive love: This is the sick kind of love where one person thinks that they can’t live without the other person who 9 out of ten times does not return their love. (I had a stalker that did that to me. I went out with him one time and Bam! he thought he was madly in love with me. He served 18 months for stalking me. I was only 17 and it was a scary time.)

Forever Love: This is the love we are strive for. It is the kind that when the person walks in the room, you almost swoon from the heart palpitations. Hopefully you all have felt this kind of love. Maybe it is with the person you are married to, hopefully. It is the kind of love that stops everything around you. When you lock eyes you know and it scares you sometimes the depths it can go. Now that is great love.

As I said before, this is just my take. There are so many more levels of love. It is endless. Hope you have Forever Love. It is always a great thing to have. Hopefully it is with your spouse or spouse to be, if you gave up on Forever Love and went in another direction, well try not to dwell on it too much, because it will drive you insane. Just my opinion.

As always, great writing and May God Bless!

Crazy things that happen to Accountants!

Well Paula Acton one of my wonderful blog friends suggested it would be funny to list the top 10 funniest deduction requests. So I decided to tell some of the funny things that have happened over the years.

1: I had a lady put down as a dependent a child named “Fluffy Ball” complete with a birthdate but no Social. I just sat and looked at her like “Are you kidding me?”

2: I had a woman ask me if they could claim her husband’s mistress as a dependent. (He was sitting beside her at the time)

3: I have had so many marriage proposals I have quit counting. (Usually these come after I get them a huge refund or straighten out their messes) I always laugh and tell them to get a grip!

4: I had a guy that handed me his list of deductions for his Lawn Care business. It included his ski boat, new pistol and his new hunting rifle. I politely handed it back to him and told him to start over…

5: I had one guy ask me to move into his office because the phone calls and visits were not helping. He had a mess!

6: I am listed in several of my clients wills as the person to find out where everything is.

7: I had one wife that did not like me because her husband kept telling me he loved me. He got nice returns every year and he didn’t realize I was just doing my job.

8: I have one client that calls me his second wife and she agrees with him. I asked him one day if I was on the insurance policy and he just laughed and winked. (Yikes)

9: One client got angry when he owed tax and stormed out of the office. He returned ten minutes later when his wife brought him back to apologize and pay me a big tip for being an idiot. (Her words not mine, but I was thinking it!)

10: I had a lady ask if I could tell from the tax papers if her husband was having an affair. (No!)

11: For some reason most of my clients think I have a degree in Psychology. I did take it in college, but not my major or minor. They will call and want to get advice. I guess I am just too easy to talk to.

12: The best one was when this lady called and asked if I would handle their tax return. I said no problem, we still had a couple of weeks left in the season. When she arrived she asked me to hold the door for her. I was curious so I held the door as she proceeded to bring in ten large plastic bins full of paperwork. I turned to my assistant and smiled. I charge by the hour to separate tax paperwork over the normal stuff. She then proceeded to tell me they had not filed in 8 years. I had to sit down. The bins had everything from birth certificates, prom pictures and bullets!!!

So how many of you are rushing out now to get that Accounting degree. It is totally hilarious how crazy these people can be. I love it. The marriage proposals bother my husband as some of these men are wealthy, handsome men. I just smile and tell him it keeps him on his toes.

Now you know why I have to lose myself in writing. I have to get it off my brain. Some of it can cause nightmares!!!

SO as always, good writing and God Bless!