Monday, April 30, 2007

I LOVE SWEET ROMANCE!

Sunday afternoon I enjoyed lying in my chaise lounge for hours reading a sweet romance book. There was a stiff breeze stirring the leaves around, and I watched a variety of birds nibble at the birdfeeder. The humidity was less than 35% and for Atlanta, that is spectacular with the temperature of about 76 degrees. An awful lot was on my heart, so being able to totally abandon myself selfishly to reading a good book, and mindless wandering of the mind, I discovered, is good for the soul and for healing the body.
I wondered as I return back to my sweet romance book, whatever happened to the popularity of that genre of writing?
Well, I’m here to tell you that it is alive and well on planet earth. Despite the racy novels of sex, language and violence that cover the shelves at the bookstores, women especially enjoy a good read of sweet, old fashioned romance, where sex is insinuated but not spelled out graphically, be it modern day, or transported back in time to another era. Like my novel, for instance. It’s sweet, and romantic without gratuitive sex. I leave that for the imagination. Which brings me back to the book that I am reading, At Odds With Love, by Betty Neels. A divine love story of a damsel in distress. The pure warmth of the crackling fire, scones and hot tea, place me slap in the middle of the England, and I feel that I’ve come home. The author uses description in such a way that every page is vivid and leaps off the page. This book was written in 1993 and it’s a simple little Harlequin paperback, probably out of print. All I can say is, that is delightful, heart-warming, and don’t we all sometimes just want to read a good sweet romance, much like the Hallmark movies? Well, I do, and my writing buddy, Kelly, said that I must read some of Betty Neel’s books, because I write much like her, she loaned one to me. I’m not even finished with it and I’m singing her praises!
The Mayo Clinic said that one of the top ten ways to reduce stress, is reading a good book, or a good movie which will redirect our thoughts from unproductive worry. Now who can argue with that? If you’d like to learn more about Betty Neels and her 130 popular books visit this website,
http://www.mykeep.com/authors/neelsb.html.

4 comments:

Kristy Dykes said...

Just hopped over to Amazon and read an excerpt from one of Betty Neels' books. Yes, it was good! Glad you posted about her. I like her style. Very warm and inviting.

Maggie Brendan said...

Kristy,
It's so strange that I didn't remember Betty Neals but I'm sure that years ago I must have read some of her books.
Thanks for stopping by, friend!

Miralee Ferrell said...

Hey there, you left a very sweet comment about my book cover a month or so ago on my blog, so I wanted to drop by and visit with you, too. I enjoyed this write up about the sweet romance book...you need to blog more often, I enjoyed what you've written! Miralee

Maggie Brendan said...

Miralee, Nice of you to stop by. I keep planning on leaving time to blog after work, but haven't stayed committed to it. Seems like there always something that need to be done after work. But I have so many asking me to blog more that'll I'll have to make a greater effort. Thanks for you kind words!