Do You Believe?

Reading fiction requires us to suspend belief in some matter, regardless of the genre or sub-genre we enjoy. What surprised me recently was discovering that accepting werewolves and vampires is easier for some than accepting the possibility of Happily Ever After.

I’m talking long-term relationship, till death do us part. The foundation romance novels of all sorts are built on. When I read a blog by a somewhat prominent reviewer who felt that serial monogamy and revolving doors are the new normal, I was shocked! What world does she live in?

She held the jaded view that men will always leave women for younger and prettier, and this reality drives us all to read romantic fiction. Wow, I don’t want to live in her world!

My first thought was, has she heard the term “cougar”? I thought older woman younger man was the new norm. Well, okay, one of many norms. In her world, women are waiting until their thirties to marry, putting business first, and basically aging themselves out of the market. In my world, enough young people are getting married to have their elders shaking their heads that they might be too young to understand the commitment.

Sound familiar? It’s an age-old saying when two people marry: It’ll never last. This is what the blogger is saying, too. There is no hope for eternal love.

Yet I have many friends celebrating 40th, 50th anniversaries and beyond.

One line shows up repeatedly in my books, paranormal or not, “Things exist whether we believe in them or not.” Just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it’s not out there. Think air. On a good day, you can’t see the air, but you can feel a breeze when it touches you. Love is like air; it’s always there, but only sometimes do we notice it.

Not believing in love will not make it go away. It’s always out there, waiting for you to breathe deeply and allow it to penetrate your being. Seep into your blood. Stir your brain cells.

I’m single at an advanced age but I still believe in love. I believe my daughters and their husbands will achieve their happily ever after. I believe monogamy will continue to flourish. And I believe we’ll continue to read romances because they enrich the love in or lives, not replace it.

Do you believe?

In Kyle’s Redemption, Lily confronts two aspects of herself where she lost her confidence. She has to believe she is a capable artist in spite of past events, and that she’s worth loving. Kyle must believe himself capable of putting others’ goals first, not the goal he sees for them. He has to believe he can offer Lily the love she deserves. Without believing in themselves, there’s no hope for a relationship.

Blurb:

Six years ago, Lily Astor looked forward to establishing herself in the Los Angeles art world. In one painfully public moment, those dreams were shattered. Now she has the chance to try again, but the invitation to exhibit comes from a gallery owned by Kyle Ventura. The man who should have cleared her name.

After a night of eyebrow-singeing sex, Kyle realizes who Lily is and his role in her downfall. Now, as his heart falls deeper for Lily, he needs to make amends. But Lily doesn’t want his help, just his body.

For the first time in his life, sex isn’t enough for Kyle. He wants to show Lily he’s not the man he was six years ago. But first, he has to prove it to himself.

Kyle’s Redemption is available now at Ellora’s Cave.

**Exciting news flash! Death by Sex is now available as an audio book! Check it out!**