My Wife

Every once in a while, you hear a man say, "My wife," and it kind of strikes a chord deep inside. There's a possessive quality that makes a woman go Mmm, and maybe even shiver a little. To be so completely needed, wanted, had.  Even the liberated, feminist can't deny that clutch in the belly, that instinct to jump him when he speaks that way... 

I have a story I'll be self-publishing in late 2016 [yes, that far away], and it has a hero/heroine married couple. Probably the reason I couldn't sell it in the last five years. Publishers  think that the majority of readers want twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings... maybe they do. But sometimes you can't change the story to fit the market. Sometimes, yes. But  not this time. :) There are a few tense moments in this book...now I need to go back through and see if I wrote those so strong words. 

"My Wife"

From the Gilmore Girls... 

Richard Gilmore, talking to Lorelai: Of course it sounds insane! It is insane! That is not the point!

Lorelai: Okay, What is the point?

Richard: The point is your mother is upset, and I don't want her to be upset. You may not understand her world. I may not understand her world, but it is her world, and in her world, it is very, very important that she have that first cup of tea. And I don't care about your independence or what you told your mother or anything else you have to say. If MY WIFE wants the first cup of tea, she's going to have the first cup of tea! That's it!

From Jerry Maguire:

Hello...Hello I'm looking for my wife. Tonight, our little project had a very big night. It's all because of you. 

Jim, from Office Space:

“Four years ago I was just a guy who had a crush on a girl who had a boyfriend. And I had to do the hardest thing I ever had to do, which was just to wait. Don’t get me wrong I flirted with her...For a really long time that’s all I had. Little moments with a girl who saw me as a friend. And a lot of people told me I was crazy to wait this long for a date with a girl who I worked with, but I think, even then I knew, I was waiting for my wife.”

Jack Bauer, 24:

"I'm the last thing that you will ever see if anything happens to my wife or daughter."

Dr. Richard Kimble, The Fugitive:

"I didn't kill me wife!"

Happy Easter!

I'm at my new home on the world wide web...and I haven't really announced it to anyone yet. So, if you're reading this, it's because you stuck around and started looking in my windows. I'm ok with that!! :D

Now that it's spring, Easter is here. I love Easter because of my faith, but also because it is a season of hope. May all my friends, family, and followers [FFF] share in a hope as deep as the love God has for us. Love is a great thing, and it's why I write about it. <3

To Rule or not to Rule

I played a game of Life--The Game of Life--with my four year old today. It got me thinking about how kids reach an age when the rules matter. And playing games becomes strategic. But on the flip side of that... I think personality plays a huge role in what a little person carries with them into adulthood.

I loved this version of The Game of Life with my four-year-old because the rules didn't matter. She wanted to be a computer designer, she was a computer designer... we didn't take out loans or worry about money. We didn't even start with money at all. She didn't want to get married, so there was no marriage, but when we hit that point after wedding bells and the square for having a baby came along, she decided to have a baby. She wanted to live in the RV...and no, she did not want to upgrade to the mansion. When she was supposed to spend 65K on some "event"--a vacation, I think--she said, No. She wasn't going to do that.

As I sat there, enjoying this game way more than I ever would have with all the rules, I thought about what it would have been like if my husband had sat down to play with her. They would have had fun, and maybe she would have been given the opportunity to learn something... all I know is, I'm pretty sure there would have been some pressure to play "by the rules." The guiding hand of a loving father to create order.

Maybe we need that balance. I know it keeps a certain couple on our toes in compromise. But it also keeps life interesting and fun. My husband has helped me create order where order is essential--like the checkbook, and I throw in the chaos--or flare, reminding him that the side trips are okay, too. We don't always have to get where we are going in a straight line.

Hope you all are having a great week.
With Love,
Beth

And then March....

March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.

That's the saying anyway, and this year, soooo very true. When my daughter's basketball was over, I made that official [annoying] announcement that all extra-curricular activities were cancelled until further notice. I take that back, it's not cancelling if there's nothing going on, but it was the kabosh on any new starts. It's true, my kids are deprived. They are allowed to do ONE activity a year--one sport, one club. This year my son did soccer in the fall and my daughter did basketball in the winter. And then March came and I was excited because finally, I wasn't going to be a taxi driver anymore. Whooot! For three months this year, the only school activities will be the volunteering that I, or my kids, do. And there's always the social aspect, which I'm not pulling either. Six kids, phew! I don't know how my MIL did it with seven. Sometimes I don't know how I'm doing it with six...or if I'm doing well-enough.

I'm grateful for March this year. It did come in like a lion, and it is leaving like a lamb. There are still things on my plate. But I'm able to focus a bit more on my writing, which is key for this girl's sanity. Not only that, I've been able to pick up some reading as well.

I'm sure April showers will bring a few storms...some thunder and lightning. But I love this life. And I can't wait for what the rest of this season brings...

Make Every Minute Count this year!! #MEMC

With Love,

Beth 

Expectations

When romance mirrors real life, how high are the expectations for the hero? Does the author set the bar too high? Are the men we read too romantic? too loving? too sensitive? Where is the line between real life and a good book, and how blurry can the line be?

This is on my mind...mostly because in RL, something happened to me that made me go, "Ugh! Really?!" And it involved something I wanted to do...something we thought wasn't going to be able to happen, but then the turn of events that would allow it to happen, but apparently what I wanted to do was no longer in the forefront of anyone's mind. [sorry to be so vague, but you get the idea] Let's just say, life has its disappointments.

Sooo, that got me thinking about the books I read and how good the heroes are... but, I have to admit, the mark of a great book--for me--is when the characters reveal some of those real life tendencies. The hero who doesn't ask before planning something. The hero who forgot about the so important event. And yes, those books are out there. I read them in the romance genre. And I always smile when the hero messes up. Because it reminds me that we can love imperfection.

Of course, we have to...if we want to love anyone human, that is. hahaha.

And I think the way we romance the reader--as authors--is by revealing the hero's deep down. Deep down, they want to make the heroine happy [and most good men do in RL, too]. Deep down, that oversight or mistake is as innocent as their personality. Men think differently than women, but they want the same things--love, respect, passion. Authors can bring those feelings to the surface.

Romance the reader with Real Life. Just do it.
With Love,
Beth