Sandra here to talk to you about the older heroine. Grab a
cup of coffee or hot chocolate and let’s curl up in front of the fire and talk
about romance. Oh and if you happen to be in Hawaii, then let’s go sit out on
the deck and listen to the waves roll in.
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| Bigstock photo |
But let me start you out with the opening scene from my coming
release.
“HELP!
GRAMMY, HELP!”
Brian Roberts jerked upright. His surfboard rocked precariously as
he twisted to spot the source of the child’s cries.
“Grammy!”
Water splashed toward the shoreline. Brian stretched his back and
put his hand to his forehead to shade his eyes from the glare of the water.
“Help!”
A small child’s hand stretched upward out of the swell. Looked to
be a boy about eight or nine. Brian bent forward and paddled hard. His board
cut through the water.
“I’m coming. Don’t panic.” A woman shouted from behind him. The
swell lifted her board into his line of vision.
“Over here, Grammy.”
Brian waved and shouted. “I’ll get him.”
He nosed his board beside the boy, grabbing for his flailing arms.
A surprisingly strong hand grasped his. Brian yanked the young body onto his
board.
“Thanks, mister.” He quickly slipped one leg over and straddled
the board. Sitting upright he leaned against Brian’s chest and took deep
breaths.
Water splashed from behind. The woman’s board slid next to them.
She looked familiar. “Lost your board, did you?” she teased, pointing her
finger at the boy. Her brown eyes sparkled with humor.
“I almost caught the wave, Grammy.”
Grammy? Are you kidding me?
This was the same woman he’d watched surf these past two days, and she
definitely did not fit into his mental image of grammy. But now that she was close, he could see fine lines around
her brown eyes and a crease in her tanned cheek when she smiled.
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| surfing in Maui (Bigstock photo) |
Most of you that know me, know that hubby and I travel a lot
and we often park ourselves in 55 plus RV resorts. This means residents are 55
years old or more. Now you young
folks will not relate, but us older women certainly know that even after
retirement, the romance does not disappear. In fact, often it increases and
improves because hey—you might be retired now and you might be more rested and
have more time.
Anybody here relate to that?
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| Who is thinking up a story right now? chuckle |
These retirement communities have so many fun activities
that the residents socialize. Continually. Many of the residents could be
widows, widowers or just finally finished working and ready to have some fun.
What is more fun than romance?
We have many friends who met in their Golden years and are
enjoying their “happy ever after”.
Being a romance writer, one of my favorite things to do is ask the
people I encounter how they met their spouse. You would be amazed at all the
different answers.
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| Friends enjoying Hawaii with us last month. |
Also in these RV parks, I sell books at the craft fairs. And
when I tell the prospective buyers that I write “clean and wholesome” romance,
they go on and on about how they love reading romance novels.
So I know two things. Older women enjoy romance in their
golden years just as much as they did in their youth. And they buy romance
novels.
So why not have an older heroine? Many best selling authors
have older heroines and many of these older characters are engaged in romantic
ventures. Our own Seeker, Julie
Lessman, included the matriarch’s romance in each one of the Boston Series. Marcy finally got to tell her own story
of how she met her hero, Patrick. In
each book of the series we saw their ongoing romance.
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| Daughter of Boston Series |
Debbie Macomber also includes older heroines in her series.
Sometimes they are already together as was Marcy and Patrick. But often they
are involved in their own developing love story.
There is another reason I like writing the older
heroine. As much as I hate to
admit this, I am way into my senior years and it is much easier to relate to
the emotions and thoughts of a fifty or late forty year old woman than a twenty
year old. Okay, you can stop laughing.
But I like writing the older heroine. If you liked the scene
above, you will enjoy how this older heroine finds romance in Hawaii in my December release of Love's Healing. She meets her hero while surfing.
I just returned from a trip to Hawaii and trust me, there
are men and women of all ages out in the surf. I also know from experience that
men and women in their golden years are very active and enjoy dancing, shows,
sports, and all the same activities they did in their youth.
So tell me, do you like reading about an older heroine? Does
an older aged heroine disinterest you? Please share in the comments today and
your name will be put in my beach bag for a drawing of a copy of Love’s Healing
when it is released December 8th.
