What is romance? I could ask that question of a hundred people and get a hundred different answers. As a romance writer, my goal is to learn what makes the reader feel that ahh moment. You know that feeling that THIS is special. 

Romance, for me, can be summed up as that feeling of being cherished. It doesn’t have to be a big gesture like a diamond ring or a new car. It can be as simple as choosing to spend time with each other. In books or movies it is often a grand gesture: giving up something for the other person or doing something for the greater good inspired by that person. The last book I read “She’s Far From Hollywood”, the debut novel of Jo McNally showed this in several ways. I won’t give away the ending but as the characters grow and change you see them doing things for each other to show how much they care, despite themselves. 

In real life, it is the simple things that make my heart beat faster: when my husband comes up behind me when I’m washing dishes and starts whisper-singing against my hair and dances me around the kitchen, or when he brings me something he’s found because it made him think of me.

In writing my own stories I search for new and different ways to show romance. Sometimes it’s in the characters themselves, we’re all quite different and what we consider romantic is unique to our personalities and our circumstances. When I think of romantic moments in movies a couple that come to mind are “A Knight’s Tale” when Heath Ledger’s character loses the jousting matches to prove his love, and in “Ever After” when Drew Barimore’s Cinderella carries the prince away from the gypsies. 

Happy Valentine’s and I hope you all have your ahh moments today and every day.