Are Romance Writers Kindred Spirits?

Are Romance Writers kindred spirits?  Yes, I think so.  Each of us in our own way strives to tell a story so compelling that it will live in the minds and hearts of our readers forever.  It doesn’t matter if we fling our characters back two thousand years, or hurl them forward two thousand. What matters is that we transport the reader to a world where love, romance and happily ever-after isn’t just a possibility, but a guaranteed thing. 

Having said that, I think romance writers are really Soul connectors—like the group of psychics portrayed in my novel, The Kindred. Oh, sure, we can toss our characters into life and death situations, and then ask them to tap in to the hero lurking within them to win the day, but ultimately that’s on the printed page. What we are really doing with our stories, I think, is asking our readers to connect with their own hero inside, so that when a horrendous day comes, like the recent tragedies sweeping our country, we have the courage to shore up that heroism and act, no matter the danger to ourselves. 

People helping people. Strangers helping strangers. That’s the true definition of a soul connection.  And, when you get right down to it, isn’t that what romance novels should be about? People connecting with each other under the most extraordinary circumstances and winning the day?  Yes, I think so, absolutely, positively, no doubt about it.  Leaving the soapbox now.

 

Proof of Heaven

I have just finished reading Dr. Eben Alexander's book entitled "Proof of Heaven".  This book is mesmerizing--a can't-put-it-down book.  It tells the incredible story of Dr. Alexander's brush with a Near Death Experience (NDE), or the "afterlife", if you want to be more politically correct.  Dr. Alexander is a brain surgeon, a man of science, who had little belief in the "afterlife" or anything spiritual.  And then the unthinkable happened.  He came down with E.Coli Bacterial Meningitis (out of nowhere) and fell into a coma which lasted seven days. As he explains, this disease is fatal, one that you don't bounce back from. Yet, he did.

His book takes the reader through two journeys: one spiritual, one human.  From the moment he entered the coma, he crossed the barrier of the human world into the astral world, and what he found there is spell-binding.  (No, I won't say more.  You need to read his account for yourself).  The reader also travels a second journey--the human one, where the doctors are struggling to combat the infection and save his life.  All the while, his family is dealing with a "no hope" scenario and praying for a miracle. (Their faith in miracles is a testament to the human soul's capacity to love on a grand scale).

Dr. Alexander's journey to the "Other Side" is awe-inspiring, especially if you doubt the existence of the astral world.  His book proves that Spirit (the God-force) does indeed send us down strange paths, some of them totally mind-blowing.  What happened to Dr. Alexander while in heaven?  Read the book and judge for yourself.  What happened to him when he sat up after seven days and greeted his family?  You will cry at the beauty of it all. 

A final note: this story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to.  That it happened to a a man of science, makes it revolutionary and thought-provoking.  I think reading it will change your life. Visit Dr. Alexanders website at: www.lifebeyonddeath.net.

A Capitol 4th Romance

While watching the Capitol 4th Celebration on PBS last week, I had an epiphany about why I write romance novels.  Watching Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond perform some of the most romantic pieces of music from the 70's, I remembered what it was like to be young and in love.  The best part, though, was watchng the camera cut away to the crowd.  Sometimes the camera would catch a young, hip, sexy couple kissing  and I thought: Ah, young love! I remember you!

But my favorite cut-aways were to the Senior couples. Now, mind you, I have no aversion to young couples kissing unabashedly (except of course when it's on Big Brother).  It's wonderful to see love and romance in its early stages--when love is new and everything feels so right (stars in your eyes, I think they call it).

However, watching the Senior couples holding hands quietly and enjoying the music (and each other) in ways the young couple has yet to experience, made me realize how important romance novels are in the writing world.  Senior romance (I'm not going to call it old love), is quiet with lots of unspoken, interwoven threads between the partners. A look that conveys "I love you deeply, though I don't always say it aloud".  It takes a long time of being together to create those kinds of threads.  And it's those "threads" that galvanize readers into reading a romance book they can't put down.

Is Senior love better than Young love?  Not at all. They're different, that's all.  What makes the difference?  Time.  You learn so much about love and romance the longer you stay alive on this earth. When you're young, everything is fresh and new and exciting (as it should be).  But by the time you reach your senior years, you've come to fully understand the true meaning of unconditional love in all its forms--love of country, love of family, love of your fellowman.  No wonder so many seniors in their 90's are ready to leave this world behind and move on to the astral world.  After all, they're taking all the love they've experienced with them when they go.  And if that isn't the most romantic thing about love, I don't know what is.