Have you ever thought about what constitutes ‘true’ romance? Is it:
a. Passion
b. Fidelity/loyalty
c. Same sense of humor
d. Common interests
e. Physical appearance
It should be some of all of the above. Too much of any one thing is going to throw the whole thing off balance. When I write, of course the focus of the story is the romance. Any other subplots are secondary. In sitting back and analyzing my characters, I think each one of them have those five things in common – passion, fidelity, humor, common interests, and mutual attraction. Those things, to me, are key. It’s the perfect cocktail for the perfect romance.
I get my inspiration for my characters and their relationships from a lot of different sources – people around me, my own marriage, and my parents’ marriage. They just celebrated 50 years together yesterday. I would like to think that all of my character romances last at least that long, if not longer. When I write, it’s for longevity. My romances aren’t meant to spark like a wildfire and die quickly; they’re meant to burn hot and deep and steady, and last for eternity.
Guess that’s where the phrase ‘burnin’ love’ comes from….. 😉 Burnin’ deep.
