Valentine’s Day remains a favorite holiday for me.
In fact, the entire month of February makes me smile. One reason is because it’s
the shortest winter month; another reason is because we are getting more
daylight again. A third reason is that my older son Andrew was born in February
and married in February.
Andrew and his wife Anna were married on Valentine’s
Day. It was a joyful wedding, loving and romantic. No big fancy affair, just
the bride and groom, my husband and myself, the bride’s best friend, and a
judge happy to officiate, followed by a wedding breakfast at a local hotel.
Afterwards the bride and groom had to take a long drive so that my son could
represent in court a couple accused of white collar crime.
Andy and Anna are still happily married and now
have a lovely little daughter to help them celebrate their anniversary. This
love story is one of many worldwide celebrated on the most romantic day of the
year.
Love stories have always been an important part of history
and literature. Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. Cleopatra and Julius Caesar (Cleopatra
did get around). As Shakespeare said, “she was a woman of infinite variety.” Then
there is the story of Napoleon and Josephine, another passionate love affair.
In the Bible, we also find some of the world’s greatest and unforgettable love
stories. What can be more romantic than the story of Ruth or Solomon and the
Queen of Sheba? And there is the story of Esther which is celebrated on Purim.
A lot of the world’s most famous, classical love
stories, of course, did not end happily: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Helen
of Troy and Paris, Lancelot, Arthur and Guinevere (a legendary triangle). These
are tragedies.
Some of the literary characters I consider unforgettable
are those of the Bronte sisters: Healthcliff and Catherine, the tormented
lovers in Emily’s Wuthering Heights Charlotte
Thomas
Hardy wrote a number of tragic love stories. For something lighter, I
prefer Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Darcy are
memorable characters. I’ve read and reread that novel numerous times.
Love quite literally makes the world go round. My favorite Valentine’s Day
gift is a new romance novel. Candy makes me fat. Flowers wilt and die too soon.
But a great romance can be read and reread and enjoyed.
If you’re of a mind to read some romance
to celebrate Valentine’s Day and enjoy romantic short
stories, consider my collection BEYOND THE BO TREE, a book that combines
romance, mystery, fantasy and the paranormal. The first story in the collection
is a free read:
For teenage girls and their mothers to share, THE
DEVIL AND DANNA WEBSTER is a clean read romance available in print and all
e-book formats.
STACY’S SONG,
another YA romance/coming-of-age novel, is also available from Clean Reads
Press on Amazon:
For
readers who enjoy adult romance and paranormal thrillers, check out my novel
DARK MOON RISING available in print and all ebook formats:
Also available through the
publisher Luminosity:
My most
recent published novel is a romantic mystery
THE
INHERITANCE from Intrigue Publishing:
Also available
from:
For a free short
story perfect for Valentine’s Day, check out
“A St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”
originally published in GUMSHOE REVIEW:
Can you think of any romances you would recommend
to fellow readers and writers?
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