I’m part of Lynn Rush’s fantastic What’s Love Got to do With It blog hop. We have a great group of authors posting about love. And even better is the chance to win a $250 e-gift card from Amazon or Barnes and Noble! Think of how many books that would buy! Click on the blog badge or go to http://lynnrush.com/LOVE/ for all of the info and links to all of the participating blogs to see what they have to say about love.
I admit that Valentine’s Day is one of my least favorite holidays, so I thought I’d write about anti-romance. Sometimes love isn’t beautiful. Sometimes it’s messy and ugly and tragic. Personally those are the kinds of love stories I like to read. I’m not sure what that says about me. I’m not a big fan of insta-love and happily ever after where things work out perfectly and the heroine and hero ride off blissfully into the sunset. What happens the next day and the day after that? Love isn’t all hearts and flowers, despite what the greeting card and floral industries would have us believe. Love is actually hard work, and I think that sometimes the smallest unsuspecting gestures are the ones that mean the most.
My characters probably suffer for my views on love. Sadly they don’t have many opportunities for romance or even happiness. Kind of hard to do that when the author has them running for their lives. Feelings get put on the back burner. But even so, there is kindness and the slow building of trust. Lust is easy, but building a real relationship doesn’t happen all at once, especially for people who have been hurt before.
I don’t know if love conquers all, but there’s always hope. Love gives us something to live for, whether it’s romantic love, love of friends, a parent’s love for a child, or even the love of an ideal. Even in the darkest of times, these are the things that keep us moving forward.
So I guess in one sense I am a romantic because I believe in these possibilities. Love can bring pain and suffering, but it also provides joy and beauty. That’s what keeps us coming back for more.
Can you lie next to her
And give her your heart, your heart
As well as your body
And can you lie next to her
And confess your love, your love
As well as your folly
And can you kneel before the king
And say I’m clean, I’m clean
But tell me now, where was my fault
In loving you with my whole heart
Oh, tell me now, where was my fault
In loving you with my whole heart
“White Blank Page,” Mumford and Sons
Cindy Young-Turner 