Starbound Lovers

It's on everyone's mind, on their tongues, on their TV's.  The Olympics.

I have to admit there are a few of the games that get my heart pumping.  The swimming and of course, the gymnastics.  I remember being in the 8th grade and doing the floor exercise.  I was not prepared for it nor adept at it.  I felt like the elephant in the pink tutu in Fantasia.  I was dressed for the part but that was all.

That;s why I love watching the girls gymnastics competition.  Those young women make it look so very easy but I know first hand it's not easy.  Not to look graceful and athletic at the same time.  They've put in long hours of practice.  Worked endless hours honing their craft.

We as writers also spend long hours working on our craft.  We make it look easy.  It's not.   Creating our worlds takes time and effort.  Perhaps we don't put in the physical effort that the gymnasts do, but the mental effort is the same and just as important.

We make it look easy.  So much so that I hear all the time, "Oh, anybody can write a book."  Or perhaps, "I'm taking next weekend off to write my book, that should be enough time."  Well guess what.  They can't.  Not everyone can write a book, just as not everyone can be a gymnast.  It doesn't take long to decide if you are a writer or not.  There are many who believe that no matter what they do and how they write, that they are a writer.

Maybe I'm one of those.  My goal is not to write the next great american novel, but to entertain my audience.  For a few short hours my books take you away from your "normal" life.  Away to the old west or to another planet.  Away from your worries, your job, your housework.  They are only entertainment.

So when I see someone who calls my books trash because they are romances, I know they've never read a romance and they've never had romance in their life.  Maybe they've never been truly in love.  Willing to stand by your mate through thick and thin.  Will to sacrifice all for that person even to the detriment of yourself.  They've never known a love so great as that.  They've not gotten their happily ever after and belittle those who have and like to read about them.

I've got my happily ever after to my own romantic hero.  A hero who brings me flowers when I'm having a down day.  Who holds me and lets me cry for no apparent reason.  Who loves me above all else.  Who can sit with me and watch me holler at the screen during the Olympics when my countries athletes are on the screen.

 My own romance hero.  Do you have yours?

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