My thoughts on Love and Romance and a blog hop!

Love and Romance.

Writing lots of romance has caused me to spend a lot of time thinking about love and romance. What it means to each of my characters. How it changes from book to book, and all the different reactions that can be had?

So it’s brought me to this point. I want to talk to you about what I feel love and romance is. What it means to me. I know it means something different to everyone. Some see love and romance as romantic dinners, gifts, sex. And yeah, they can be the icing on the cake.

But for me, love and romance is something a little different. It’s the acceptance by my partner of who I am. That he loves me, still wants to hold me even after I’ve ranted and raved about something pointless, for an hour.

Love and romance for me is knowing that he sees me as his equal in everything. That in everything he does, chooses, decides, that my feelings and personality are taken into consideration.

The knowing that he would rather hurt, than for something to hurt me. The knowing that if he could take my burdens in life and carry them himself that he would.

It’s the little things. He listens to the music that I like, even if sometimes it includes a sappy Taylor Swift song on repeat. He listens to me. Through the wacky, and the weird, to the down right bonkers ideas and schemes, he listens… And more importantly he hears me…

When I’m feeling insecure, unattractive, or stupid, he doesn’t dismiss my thoughts. He doesn’t tell me I’m being silly, or over the top. He shows me all the ways he loves me, shows me that I’m not stupid or any other negative I can think to throw at myself in that moment. He lets me see how special I am through his eyes.

For me love and romance is the moment he takes my hand. The moment his fingers close around mine and his eyes can’t seem to leave my face. It’s that split second before his lips meet mine, when his breath tickles across my cheeks and my eyes drift closed.

It’s when I wake up in the morning and he smiles at me, looks at me like I’m the most beautiful creature he has ever seen.

All these things spell love and romance for me and they tell me something very important too… They tell me I’m so lucky to have found a man that can give me all of these things and so much more. He is everything I ever wanted, and everything I never knew I wanted until I met him.

I think Sam from Sacrifice said it best with, “There is no life without love. No life without her.” And to that I say, “There is no life without love. No life without him.”

To the man of my dreams, thank you for being real.

So to help spread the love, I’m giving away two signed copies of my newest book Sacrifice. To enter, all you need to do is comment with an answer to my question and your email so I can contact you if you win. And it's international!

What does love and romance mean to you?

To whet your appetite, here is the blurb and cover for Sacrifice.

************ 99c for a limited time only! **************

"The moment Sam looked at me, I knew he saw me. The real me, not the one I pretended to be. He saw beyond my pretense to the girl beneath. The girl who cried herself to sleep at night. The girl who pushed people away, when all she really wanted was for someone to look her in the eye and tell her everything would be alright. That life wasn't always pain. That living wasn't always this difficult. That the ones you loved didn't always leave you behind. In that moment, Sam saw me, and I saw him. And I knew without a doubt that I would love him and he would betray me."

Natasha Masterton, a young college student on the verge of graduation, has the world at her feet. But all is not at it seems. Her mother is dead and she hasn't seen her father in over three years. The only dealing she has with him is when he deposits her allowance into a bank account every month. Her father's lack of interest has hardened Natasha to the rest of the world, leaving her cold and more than a little broken.

When Sam Harker crashes into Natasha's life, asking questions about her father and dragging up the past, Natasha's interest in piqued. The more time she spends with him, the more she falls for his easy charm and quick smile.

But Sam has secrets of his own - secrets that threaten their blossoming relationship. And when the real reason for Natasha's fathers disinterest becomes apparent, a sacrifice must be made. 

Love, honor and duty collide... risking more than just a broken heart. Sometimes love is worth the ultimate price.

Recommended for 17+ due to mature themes and scenes of an adult nature.

Amazon

When the hop ends I will randomly pick two winners from the commenters here. Not only that, but as this is the insatiable reads hop, you have the chance to win other fabulous prizes, by following the link to the other blogs participating.

For the blog hop the first place grand prize is a Kindle Fire. And second place is a $50 gift card! So get entering!

The blog hop is now closed and the winners have been chosen. Thanks to everyone who took part!

For my own giveaway of two signed paperbacks, the winners are: Cassandra dixiedukegurl2 AT yahoo DOT com

And: Cara Lumanesce lumanesce AT gmail DOT com

Congratulations! The emails have been sent.

Sign Up for the Hot Summer Romance Giveaway Hop - Sponsored by the Insatiable Reads Tour - July 18-21.

1.	Gemma Juliana	40.	Amanda Young	79.	Cassandra Carr	118.	Justus Roux
2.	Susan Arden	41.	Close Encounters with the Night Kind	80.	Mary Eason	119.	Deanna's Tidbits
3.	Malia Mallory	42.	Lucy Felthouse	81.	Ramblings From A Chaotic Mind	120.	Cassandra Dean (INT)
4.	Emme Rollins	43.	Leontii Holender	82.	Sydney Jane Baily: Spark: A Writer's Site	121.	J.L. Hammer
5.	PJ Adams	44.	Kimber Vale	83.	Eromantica by Seven McBay	122.	Jennifer Simpkins
6.	Lily Harlem	45.	Rosanna Leo	84.	I Love Lady Porn	123.	Jacqueline's Reads (INT)
7.	M.G. Morgan	46.	Starla Kaye	85.	Lynda Bailey	124.	Amanda J. Greene (INT)
8.	Tabi Wollstonecraft	47.	Tricia Schneider	86.	Cocktails and Books	125.	Stormie Kent
9.	Michelle Fox	48.	Jennah Scott	87.	Jane Wakely	126.	Carrie Lane's Cat Haus (Int)
10.	Clara Bayard	49.	Lisa Bilbrey	88.	Share My Destiny (INT)	127.	Shelley & Courtney @ MustReadBooksOrDie
11.	Krista Lakes	50.	Amber Skyze	89.	Allyson Lindt	128.	Normandie Alleman
12.	Melanie Marchande	51.	Brandi Salazar (INT)	90.	Reading Reality	129.	Romantic Reading Escapes
13.	Siren Allen	52.	Xakara	91.	Stacey @ Sassy Book Lovers	130.	Lacey Silks
14.	Juliette Springs	53.	Louisa Bacio	92.	Wicked Wolves & Dreaming Dragons	131.	M. B. Feeney
15.	Morticia Knight	54.	Eliza Gayle	93.	I Smell Sheep (US)	132.	Victoria Blisse
16.	Suzanne Rock	55.	Rhonda L. Print	94.	Bex 'n' Books (INT)	133.	Susan Frances
17.	Adriana Kraft	56.	Tory Richards	95.	Lynn Cahoon	134.	Ellery Rhodes
18.	Tonya's Tales	57.	Farrah @ Imagine a World	96.	Vanessa Kelly/VK Sykes	135.	TD Hassett
19.	Tara Lain erotic romance	58.	Rachel Hargrave	97.	Adria @ Adria's Romance Reviews	136.	Molly Church
20.	Smoldering Heat	59.	Em Epe	98.	CJ Black	137.	Laura Breck
21.	A.R. Von	60.	Faye Hunter	99.	I am Indeed	138.	Read Between The Lines
22.	Tattooed Book Review	61.	Sharon Cummin	100.	Mythical Books (INT)	139.	KJ Montgomery
23.	Sarah Grimm	62.	Nora Flite	101.	Annabeth Albert	140.	Readers Confession
24.	Margaret Taylor	63.	Lila Lacroix	102.	Cerys du Lys	141.	Book Recommendations
25.	Celia Kyle	64.	Harper Bliss	103.	Read Your Writes Book Reviews	142.	LENA HART
26.	Margay Leah Justice	65.	Ann Gimpel	104.	Dalia Daudelin	143.	S.D. Bancroft
27.	Katya Armock: erotic paranormal	66.	Lesa Fuchs-Carter	105.	My Devastating Reads	144.	Daizie Draper
28.	Lacey Wolfe	67.	Eireann Shells	106.	J.R. Pearse Nelson	145.	Lissa Matthews
29.	Jessica E. Subject	68.	Rose Anderson	107.	MamaJo	146.	Rhonda Laurel
30.	Kitt Crescendo	69.	J.D. Faver	108.	Deena Ward	147.	Love Saves the World (INT)
31.	Gale Stanley	70.	Brynna Curry	109.	Holly Hood	148.	Jay @ Vailia's Page Turner
32.	Sheri Fredricks	71.	Jane Leopold Quinn	110.	Booked & Loaded	149.	Lisa Chalmers
33.	Kristabel Reed	72.	Anna Daye	111.	Aubrey Rose Writes	150.	Danita Minnis
34.	Ella Jade	73.	Star @ Illustrious Illusions	112.	Literal Hotties Naughty Book Reviews	151.	Helena Newbury
35.	Night Owl Reviews	74.	Kelly Gendron	113.	Sheri Savill	152.	Serenity Jones
36.	Jennifer Garcia	75.	Christine Murphy-Author of Sphinx Resurrected	114.	Suzanna Medeiros	153.	Under the Covers Book Blog
37.	Yvonne Nicolas	76.	DC Juris	115.	Bookswagger	154.	Alexandra Messina
38.	Naomi Bellina, Adventurous Erotic Romance (INT)	77.	Nitzan @ Drugs Called Books	116.	Book Liaison
39.	Shelley Munro	78.	Cassy Campbell	117.	Sotia Lazu

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