Romance

Recently a friend asked me, ‘exactly what is it you are writing?’ I said it was about loss and love. Rolling her eyes, she said ‘oh, romance then.’

Asking her if that was a bad thing she thought love was a bit done and couldn’t I come up with something more exciting. We laughed and I said but I love romance. It is exciting and sad and miserable and thrilling and wonderful.

It got me thinking anyway. Romance comes in all guises. The landscape can arouse the senses and pull at the spirit. A painting or photograph can equally evoke some emotional response. That’s when it struck me that romance is so much more than the word. It’s the very heart of emotion. The conjuring of chemistry between two people. Sometimes love is one sided, unrequited and devastating. There are so many aspects to that one word, I realised how easy it is to loose sight of the essence of what romance is about. The very deep seated nature of being a human being. The yearning to be loved and to love.

My hero Edward, has lost out on love. His life has been built around his work and solitude. When his lost love turns up unexpectedly, Edward’s world is thrown into chaos and he wonders if can risk his heart a second time. Edward is a humble but successful man. The world he inhabits is far removed from loving relationships. It is how he has kept himself safe. Not willing to put himself out there and shatter his heart.

To me that is exciting, how will Edward deal with what is before him? Will he open his inner most self to discover what was lost an age ago? It also agonising, and fraught with trouble.

There are many books around about romance. Equally there are many thrillers and other such genres. After a life time of working in a field which needed patience and understanding and humility, I escape to writing happy endings because in reality happiness is often hard fought for and even then not always found.

So yes, I said to my friend, I write romance and make no apologies for it. For where would the world be without love and a little romance?

She responded by asking if she could read it because it did sound just a little bit intriguing.

Thanks for taking the time to drop by.

Stay safe.

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