Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all. For the occasion I wrote a guest post for my friend and fellow Nano-ite, Rebekah Loper. Here’s an excerpt:
I don’t write romance novels. But the stories I write usually contain plenty of romance. My writing feels empty and lifeless without that romantic element. I find that, as both a writer and a reader, and for that matter, as a member of the viewing audience, it’s usually not the MacGuffin driving the plot that I’m invested in, or the hero’s destination, but it’s the relationships between the characters; whether it’s the beauty of a deep friendship that tests the bonds of brotherhood and loyalty, a la Sam and Frodo, or the tension between sworn enemies like Batman and the Joker, or romantic tension that blossoms into full-fledged love between two characters who obviously belong together, I can never seem to get enough.
I guess you could say that I was a born ‘shipper. ‘Shipper, in case you don’t know, is short for “relationshipper,” someone who roots for certain characters in a story to get together and stay together. The first couple I remember ‘shipping with a passion was Han and Leia… or maybe it was Superman and Lois Lane.
You can read the rest at Rebekah’s blog. And if you haven’t read Restless Spirits yet, you can also enter to win a free Kindle copy. Go! Read! Enter! Yay!