Best of the Archives: Ways To Show Love

Sandra here with last year's Christmas post. I added another way to show love that I used in Love's Dream Song.  . There is a large pot of Chocolate Velvet coffee,  so help yourself. I was at Teavana yesterday so have a lovely selection of teas and also some hot chocolate.

Sandra at the Glendale Glitters book event

We are baking pies for Christmas so I made some extras to share this morning. I have apple, pumpkin, and pecan. I don’t know about you, but my favorite time to eat pie is with my morning coffee. Yum.

Is everyone ready for Christmas? Do you have finished all of your shopping, wrapping, baking, etc.? Have you written and mailed your Christmas cards? Have you attended all the fun Christmas parties?  I’ll keep this short in case you have more to do. smile

I love, love, love Christmas.  The above activities are part of what I love, but I also love celebrating birthdays. Any excuse to party. Right? But the real reason I love Christmas is, I love celebrating the birth of our Lord. What a miracle of love.

Since we are celebrating His birth and since He is LOVE, let’s talk about ways we can show love in our stories. Remember we want to “show not tell.”

Writing romance involves the hero and heroine falling in love. We want to SHOW how they fall in love.  And we can also show the depth of our characters by how they love not only each other, but how they show love toward their friends, family and even strangers.

So lets talk about some of the ways to show love.

Trust.  One way to show love is to trust, even when circumstances appear to be opposite of what they are.

In LOVE'S DREAM SONG,  Jess loves Debra, but there is evidence she is involved in a drug ring on his land. Can he still love her by trusting his instincts and her?

1.     Sacrifice.  We are all familiar with the story of the Gift of the Magi. The characters showed their love by sacrificing what they loved most so they could give the one they loved what that person loved most. 

In the PRICE OF VICTORY, Debra’s goal is to become a pro bicycle racer. The team she wants to join does not allow members to date. The manager wants them focused on winning races. Sterling loves Debra, but he is willing to sacrifice the relationship so that Debra can achieve her dream of becoming a pro bicycle racer. He steps away in spite of the fact that he loves her and wants to be with her. He is showing his love for her.

2.     Facing Fear.

Rett nearly drowned as a child and is fearful of water. But he joins his father on a riverboat cruise in CURRENT OF LOVE. He realizes he needs to spend time with his father and in spite of his fear of being on the water, he agrees to go on the cruise.

3.    Changing Belief system.  

In LOVE’S PROMISES, Monica is fighting for her right to build her house at Lake Tahoe. She falls in love with the man who controls whether she can build or not.  Greg, the Tahoe Regional Planner, cannot change his beliefs about his job, but Monica can change hers once she understands why he is so determined to decline her permit to build. Once she realizes how much she loves Greg, she does revise her plans.

4.     Open up and/or expose your inner secrets to the one you love.

In LOVE’S MIRACLES, both the hero and heroine have secrets they believe are serious enough to prevent them from pursuing a relationship. When they finally share their secrets, they show their true love for each other.

5.     Doing something you have decided not to ever do again.

In LOVE’S REFUGE, Skye has secluded herself on a remote island refuge out in Puget Sound. She doesn’t want to ever live a city again.  But she falls in love with Danny who lives in Seattle and works with youth in helping them avoid gangs. Skye wants to show Danny and she travels to Seattle in spite of extreme discomfort in doing so.

These are major demonstrations of love. But there are many subtle ways besides these to show love also.

1.     Traditional things like sending flowers, cards.

2.     My brother shows his love by washing my car when I come to visit.

3.     My girlfriend lowers her air conditioning when I come to visit.  A true act of love because she’s always cold.

4.     My husband picks Hallmark movies to watch when he knows I’m tired and need a break. He watches them with me. And enjoys them. smile

My godson showing me some Christmas love-smile

Can you think of some ways you have used to show love in your stories?  


Don't forget to put our Christmas anthologies on your list.

A HEART FULL OF CHRISTMAS  or  HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

Last year's ebooks are still available also. HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS CONTEMPORARY or HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS HISTORICAL.

Christmas is only a few days away. Let’s show our love to all.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Have a wonderful and blessed holiday.

PS  Speaking of friends I had a special treat last weekend. While in Glendale for the Glendale Glitters, I was honored to have lunch with Seeker friend Marianne Barkman and her delightful mother. They are from Canada and are wintering here in sunny Arizona.

I LOVE meeting Seeker friends.

Sandra Leesmith writes sweet romances to warm the heart. Sandra loves to play pickleball, hike, read, bicycle and write. She is based in Arizona, but she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motorhome and enjoy the outdoors. You can find Sandra's books here on Amazon. Three of Sandra's most popular books are also audio books at Audible. You can read more of Sandra's posts here.