Happy Manic Monday, coffee’s fresh in the virtual pot. I’ve got ice packs and a bottle of Tylenol for those of you who need it. After three days of fall gardening, I sure do. Joann, maybe you can send one those Arche Angels my way, I think there’s an angel of full body massages right?
While elbow deep in muck and worms, happily splitting my Hostas, my mind wandered to my husband and our being married for fourteen years. It occurred to me then that I’d never read a romance book written about or for us, the long lasting couple who endures conflicts and triumphs to still find each other in the end. In all my occupation this weekend, I still found myself drawn into a flash fiction on the Liquid Silver blog and wrote mine with this in mind.
Really. Most books I can think of start with the first meeting, the getting to know one another, and the sexual tension. A new relationship can be exciting and draw more readers. Or can it? What about the other side of being a couple? There has to be books about the divorcing couples who find their way back to one another. How about a story of the seven year itch where temptation only leads to marital conviction?
I can think of a few stories. The one that is foremost isn’t romance but a space opera. CJ Cherryh’s Chanur’s Venture where the captain takes her longtime husband aboard the ship against all cultural beliefs because she believes in him and wants to keep him safe. This is a sub-plot in the next two books and very touching. Another one that comes to mind is Sandra Sookoo’s The Haunting of Amelia Pritchart which deals with a struggling married couple with divorce on the table.
This blog is devoted to the long term relationship stories and books. I’d love hear of more to add to my TBR pile. Please tell me more, give me hope.
11 comments:
Hey, thanks for the shout out, Annie! :-)
You kind of cracked me up this morning with the "only being married 14 years". LOL My hubby and I will celebrate 7 years in December. :-) I have thought about writing books with existing relationships, but have never gotten around to it. :-)
So much to write. So little time...
My favorite series is J.D. Robbs In Death series. Eve and Rourke are two of my all time favorite characters I've ever read. After twenty some odd books, I never tire of their on going relationship. Plus the futuristic cop theme keeps the story line fresh. It's amazing what might pop up fifty or sixty years from now.
Great post.
Liena~
Annie, Ramiel is yours for the day...but I need him back Friday! LOL He's got to visit lots of other ladies. *grins*
I can think of a few from Feehan's stories who show up over and over and they're still always so in love. Another that comes to mind (and must count) is Anton Cheval and Keisha from Kate Douglas' Wolf Tales. I'm reading VII now and WHEW...they're still hot for each other (no matter the, umm, others).
I agree about Eve and Rourke..they're my favorites! Also in the Nora Roberts Quinn series you get to read about the first set of Quinn's in the second novel, and so on and so forth until it gets to the fourth in the series a few years later, and they're all still married and having a lovely life. I really love that series.
carrie
Annie,
My husband and I have been married 31 years and working on 32. It's been difficult at times, but we've always made it. We don't believe in giving up, which so many do these days.
Yes, I like J.D. Robb's futuristic couple, too. Plus J.D. or Nora is a great example of a stay together couple, too.
I have to say in this case I'm drawn to Howl For Me, coming soon from Cobblestone Press.
Ever been in a long term relationship and wondered if you were in love? Belladonna Bordeaux takes that on in this story.
Another would be Mr. and Mrs. Foster available through Whiskey Creek Press Torrid where Angela Guillame brings a married couple back together after separation.
If you are looking for the classics, ditch J.D. Robb for Judith McNaught. Her story Paradise is one for all the hearts.
It's great to hear about these books. I'll be adding them to my long TBR list. I think more stories like these should come out. The trials and tribulations of staying together. It's not just cheating or lying that causes conflicts but umpteen years of squeezing the toothpaste the wrong way or sticking your 100% wool sweater in the dryer (twice) that adds spice to a married couples life. LOL
Okay, so I've only been married five years. Six on our next anniversary and we now have three children. Will I still be thinking of it as 'only' in nine??? I hope so. I can't think of any pre-existing relationship books except for the ones where they have broken up and gotten back together. Oh, and Christine Feehan's Drake Sister series has some where the couple know each other. On a totally separate note, if you haven't read S.M Stirling's The Change series, those were tailor made for you. Best, Rebecca
Hi Annie,
I know that there are many more, but the one's that come immediately to mind are Linda Howard's sensuous After the Night about a Louisiana heir to the town mixing it up with the daughter of the town slut. Studly personified meets slut body and missionary spirit. They've known each other since childhood until he tossed her out of her house as a teenager and she returns to show him up. Against the Rules deals with heiress to ranch and sensuous ranchhand; she leaves town after he done her wrong to return when Daddy dies...and things heat up. :O Then there is All that glitters and Independent Wife/Woman where both involve prior relations gone bad and renewed. I may be mistaken by one of the last two. It's been a few years since I read them and the mind fails. LOL Lyn
Hey Annie
Hubby and I are going onto 8 years now and waiting to see if (thank goodness if it doesn't come, lol) that 8-year itch everyone talks about will hit us or not. Makes me wonder if it's just a relationship going stale, or something really physiological about it. My point being, you work at a relationship, and marriage is no different. Every day is a little labour of love you have to do/put up with, and days become weeks that become years.
I have to say I too am hard-pressed to find good stories about a couple battling day-to-day-life. I've heard that Sleeping with Ward Cleaver by Jenny Gardiner is about a couple's mid-marriage/mid-life crisis, and I have that one up on the to-be-bought list.
Hugs
Z(Aasiyah/Nolwynn)
Annie, I hope you have time to add Intimate Strangers to your TBR pile and to your list of books about married couples.
Exploring the relationship from both the perspective of Lucy Quince and her husband, Ambrose,as they weather disaster, work to develop a stronger relationship, and learn to depend on each other, was an unexpected journey.
When I started this book,I did not anticipate the time I would have to spend, analyzing the dynamics of both husband and wife, but it became project that gave me unexpected insights into my own marriage.
gem
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