We all love a laid-back, feel-good romance where the hero is as perfect as he looks and the leading lady is equally heroic after she overcomes whatever made-up character flaw created an obstacle to their true love story, right? I mean, it is nice to escape for a while, isn’t it? While this can provide good entertainment and a sense of escapism, I prefer to reflect on what I think true love really is.
I’m convinced that a stable, long-term relationship involves two people analyzing each other's baggage and deciding whether or not they are willing and able to help them carry it. Every adoring look, every sweet kiss, every “I love you” only carries the weight it deserves when it comes from someone who has seen you at your worst. To me, this is real-life romance. So what does that mean for my books?
It means I write about the overlooked, neurotic middle child who not only lost her mother at a young age, but later her husband also and now struggles with perfectionism and anxiety. I hope her hero can bring her some peace and a reason to step out in faith. It means I write about her tenacious baby sister who was coddled and spoiled and who needs someone to take her down a peg while encouraging her to truly shine. It means I write about a disgruntled model fleeing her former life while trying to recover from an eating disorder. Oh, and let’s not forget about the men. Some of them are spiraling into drug use with unresolved trauma or never learned to cope with familial rejection.
What do all of these people need? Someone willing to coax them out of the chokehold they’re in and show them the love they’ve been missing. Yes, these characters have to be strong, but they’re not perfect. They rely on a God who is bigger than all of those things, and sometimes they learn a lot about themselves along the way. They let His miraculous love shine through them and into those around them who are willing to see it. This doesn’t mean that love is easy, and I hope my books never make it seem so. But it is worth it. It may take sacrifice, but love changes lives, sometimes eternally.
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