The Best Thing about Winter...Reading!

So I have to admit, this year, I'm so not into winter – at all. It has never been my favorite time of year. I don’t ski, I don’t ice skate, I don’t sled, and I shovel only out of necessity.


Quite soon after New Year's rolls by, I'm ready for spring, for tulips and daffodils and the smell of the Earth renewing itself, but usually I can grin and bear it until April like most good New Englanders.

Unfortunately, this winter has been rife with peril for me. I’m struggling with all of my New Year’s resolutions – most are blown, but I refuse to give up completely yet. I’m stubborn that way. There is a lot going on in my personal and professional life – some good, some not so good, but all stressful.

My usual contented ritual of hibernation has turned into a bad case of the winter blahs. And it’s only the middle of February. Yuck! What to do between now and late March? How do I make sure I don’t lose my marbles while I wait for 60 degree or better weather?

Read, read and then read some more.

This winter I have gone back to basics – to Harlequin romances like the ones I first read as a teenager. Some shrug their shoulders at romance novels, even more shrug at the thought of Harlequin romances. Quick reads with funny titles and clinched covers are outdated and not worth the time, right?

WRONG.

Can you read them quickly – yes, do they have goofy titles and covers – usually, but they are pure, escapist fun meant to entertain. There is something intrinsically comforting about knowing exactly what you are getting once you start reading. It does not matter I know how the story will end – I can simply enjoy the ride.

Men watch sports for the same reasons. It’s a game, with set rules, two opponents, and though there are twists and turns along the way, one team will win and one team will lose. With romance novels, its boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy loses girl, and then boy and girl triumph over adversity and live happily ever after. It’s controlled escapism in a chaotic world. How can that be a bad thing?

So off I go, curled up under a blanket with a cup of hot tea by my side, ready to go headlong into another romance novel. Happy reading! See you in the springtime.

Celebrate Valentine's Week!

The big Kahuna of romance holidays is just around the corner...February 14, Valentine's Day. Although I have some nightmarish flashbacks from working in a flower shop on this consumer-driven holiday (think rose thorn injuries!), the concept is very sweet. Celebrating love is what romance writers do every time we create a new story. Valentine's Day also holds a special place in my heart since my husband and I started our courtship on this day in 1987, when I left a hand-made Valentine pinned to his dorm room door. I told my friends I was going to "rock his world" and needless to say, I have been rocking it ever since. To commemorate this holiday, The Quirky Ladies would like to recommend the author/book we consider to be the epitome of romance. Enjoy this wonderful holiday with chocolate, (thornless) roses, and of course...a romantic book!


The Quirky Ladies Valentine's Specials...

Nina- Simply Love by Mary Balogh...Balogh is the master of deeply romantic love stories, and this book about two damaged souls finding love is extraordinary.

Dalton-Virgins by Caryl Rivers (This the book I read that made me fall in love with backstory!) Also, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, and The Admirals's Bride and Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann. After the Night and Kill and Tell by Linda Howard. Oh, and about 500 others sitting on my keeper shelf, but I'll let someone else talk now...

Vicki- Paradise by Judith McNaught, an old time, sentimental favorite. And Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, which is a more complex, multi-layered romance story.  I also adored LaVyrle Spencer's Morning Glory and November of the Heart, both of these romances were so poignant they made me laugh and cry.  Suzanne Brockmann's Out of Control with Wildcard Karmody, who finally finds the love of his life while fleeing for his life in the jungles of Indonesia  is also a fun ride filled with romance and adventure.  

Michelle - The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop. Yes, the entire three books. Although it's housed in the fantasy, not romance section, I'm amazed time and time again by these three books and Bishop's ability to weave a believable sense of dark, sensual destiny bringing the hero and heroine together. Daemon, the hero, is born knowing he is meant to be Witch's lover. And by the end of their journey on twisted paths to reach one another I sure believe it.

Kate - Saving Grace by Julie Garwood. To be honest, I'm chosing this for purely sentimental reasons (although it is a great romance regardless). I'd given up on reading romance in college because the women in the books I had been reading just didn't speak to me. Then I was given this book by my roommate and it changed everything. Johanna is strong, smart and sassy and the story is fast, fun, touching and hot. Perfect.

Tara - Bittersweet by LaVyrle Spencer. It was one of my first "big" romance reads after graduating from shorter Harlequin Romances (think white covers with a couple encircling each other in a circle, no less). The hero and heroine, Eric and Maggie, were in their mid-to-late 30s (imagine that!) and were so well written they seemed like real people. They had a an epic love story. They loved each other as teenagers, lost each other, gone through other marriages, and then suddenly found each other again. They had a torrid affair, their families were aghast and I was in love with them and their story. After reading Bittersweet, I continued reading bigger and more sweeping romances. In fact, I now write single title contempories myself and thank Ms. Spencer for inspiring me.