What is it About Romance?
“Red is the color of my true love’s hair.”
“I’ll never love blue eyes again.”
“Gonna wash that man right outa my hair.”
“Suzanne takes your hand and she leads you to the river…”
The list of “love” quotes is endless. Face it, as human beings we’re
fascinated with love and sex. From an anthropological standpoint, that’s
probably a good thing. It’s kept our race from dying out.
It’s only been in modern times that marrying for romantic love has
become acceptable. As recently as a hundred years ago, virtually all marriages
were arranged for any number of reasons from property transfers to a family
needing to offload a daughter they couldn’t afford to support. At least in my
imagination, many a family spat occurred around the supper table when Father
told his offspring who and when they’d marry.
Yes, it was Father doing the telling. They definitely ruled the roost.
Mothers sat by quietly wringing their hands. The women’s rights movement is
relatively recent. We didn’t get the vote in this country until 1920. Women in
Liechtenstein (a principality next door to Switzerland) didn’t get the vote
until sometime in the 1960s! And women in many third world countries where they
can’t even go to school would kill for a say in their lives.
Whoops! Sorry about the digression. Except it really isn’t. I see a
strong link between romance and women being independent. It’s empowering to
know we can pick our own partner and that we can marry for love. If things go
well in a relationship, that love blooms and matures and provides the very best
human interaction imaginable. It’s not accidental that married people live
longer. I think it’s because they feel loved and cared for and are able to love
and nurture in return.
A popular subgenre in romance fiction is second time around romance. It
works for the same reason people go to a high school reunion and take up with
an old flame. The chemistry is still there. Of course the problems and issues
are still there as well, but maturity gives us better coping mechanisms and
more of an ability to empathize with our partner’s needs. Three of my novellas,
Destiny’s Shadow, Out of the Shadows (March 4 release
date), and Alpine Attraction (May
release date) feature couples who found one another again. The flame truly does
burn sweeter the second time around.
For those of you in relationships, what are the most important
ingredients you sought in a mate? Why those attributes and not something else?
Sometimes people are shy, so I’ll lead out. I wanted a man who was kind. He had
to be a mountain climber so he’d be supportive of what’s been a lifelong
addiction for me. He had to be honest and honorable—in other words, I needed to
be able to trust him unequivocally. Lastly, he needed to want to be a daddy.
Funny how those things work. Our kids grew up and now we have dogs. The same
principles apply. Kids pretty much run your life!
I’d love to hear what you think. What did you want in a partner? Did it
work out the way you hoped? Come on now, don’t be shy.
'
Destiny’s Shadow
By
Ann Gimpel
Publisher:
Liquid Silver Books
ISBN:
978-1-93176-135-2
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
A ranger for the U.S. Park Service,
strong, competent Moira Shaughnessy is in serious trouble. Fleeing from her
cheating husband, a Native American shaman, she stumbles into the arms of a man
she never thought she’d see again. He hurt her once by choosing his druid
heritage over her. Can she take a chance on him now?
Pursuing very different motives, both men
follow her deep into the backcountry. Moira is caught in the crossfire between
Celtic magic and Native American shamanism. A freak blizzard compounds her
problems, taxing her survival skills to the max. Against the specter of
almost-certain death, the sweetest, purest love she’s ever known rises to the
fore, engulfing her in unbelievable passion.
Excerpt:
Moira Shaughnessy’s booted feet hit the ground in front of
the Family Medicine Clinic. Slamming the door of the dusty white Park Service
pickup, she considered ignoring her boss’s orders, peeling out of the parking
lot, and heading for the Baxter Pass trailhead. She had a crew to oversee,
goddammit. And a work project to complete. But her boss, John, had been
painstakingly clear, both yesterday at Park Headquarters in Three Rivers, and
just ten minutes ago on the sat phone. Granted, he’d been far more pointed on
the phone.
“It’s not a
suggestion, Moira,” he’d growled. “This is a directive—from me. I want to hear
from someone with MD after his name before I authorize you to head up that work
detail. Do not set one foot on that trail before you receive my orders, e-sign
them, and e-mail them back to me.”
“But that’s usually a formality—”
“Not this time. No buts. I made you an appointment
at the clinic in Bishop that clears some of our crews. They’re open until six.
I already lost two rangers this summer in the Pinecrest fire. That was two too
many in my book, so get your butt into that clinic.”
Moira had thought she could avoid dealing with the
whole mess by leaving the office early yesterday and taking one of the northern
passes over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but John had tracked her down.
Phooey. I ran, but guess I couldn’t hide…
It was downright annoying that her boss needed a
doctor to reassure him she wouldn’t collapse or something in the backcountry.
For the briefest of moments, she felt like pounding her fist into the nearest
tree—then she pulled herself together. Nothing was wrong with her, except her
slimy, cheating husband. Sure, she’d lost a few pounds since she’d moved out,
but she hadn’t been all that hungry.
Problem was John remembered similar struggles from
years ago when she’d first started working as a park ranger. She hadn’t eaten
enough then, either, and had gotten far too thin. Just her luck, he’d been
overseeing a backcountry work detail when she’d gotten woozy and fallen off one
of the mules.
Understanding surfaced. Her boss cared about her.
That wasn’t a bad thing. The anger bled out of her with a whoosh.
“May as well get this over with,” she muttered.
Moira walked briskly to the clinic, pushed the door open, and went to the
counter.
“Yes?” A young woman with dyed red hair looked up
from her computer screen with eyes so green she had to be wearing colored
contact lenses.
“Moira Shaughnessy. I think you’re expecting me. My
boss called from Kings Canyon-Sequoia Park Headquarters.”
The receptionist clicked a few keys. “Your
insurance card, please.”
Moira blew out an impatient breath. She dug through
her fanny pack for her wallet, extracted the plasticized Blue Cross card, and
handed it over. “I’m really in a bit of a hurry—”
“Here’s your card back.” The clerk gestured at the
nearly full waiting room. “The doctor will be with you as soon as he can. He
had a full schedule before he agreed to work you in.”
“Is it okay if I go outside for a few minutes? I
need to lock my truck. I, uh, didn’t think I’d be in here for very long.”
“Sure. So long as we know where to find you.” The
phone trilled. The woman picked it up, Moira obviously forgotten. “Family
Medicine, how may I help you?”
Moira paced up and down the parking lot. Fall had
turned the aspen trees lining Bishop’s streets to shades of red and gold that
were really quite striking, but all she could think about were the minutes
ticking by. It was twelve miles from the trailhead to the top of the pass, and
a couple more to where her trail crew was. Leaving today would be foolhardy at
this point. She’d never even make the pass before night fell.
“Damn it!” She glanced at her watch. How long was
this going to take anyway?
“Ms. Shaughnessy?” A man’s voice sounded from
behind her.
She spun, surprised out of her funk. And stopped
dead. “Tim?” Moira stared at the tall, rangy man with long, white-blond hair
and ice-blue eyes. He was dressed in teal scrubs and sandals with a stethoscope
draped around his neck. A broad grin split the clean planes of his face. She’d
forgotten how heartbreakingly beautiful he was.
“I saw the name and hoped it was you.” He held out
a hand, but she felt frozen in place. “After all, how many Moira Shaughnessys
could there be?”
She just stood there, flabbergasted. What were the
odds? She hadn’t seen Tim O’Malley since they’d both graduated from U.C. Davis.
When she realized her mouth was hanging open, she shut it with a snap.
“Is that any way to greet an old friend?” One
corner of his mouth turned down in an expression she remembered all too well.
“It’s just … I mean I never expected…” She felt
warmth rise from the open neck of her buff-colored uniform shirt. Heat suffused
her face until she was certain every freckle was outlined in bright, living
color.
“Hey, mo ghrá. I know we didn’t split up under the
best of circumstances…”
“No shit. And you can skip the beloved part.” A familiar anger stirred, but she batted it aside.
“Moira, I’m sorry. I was sorry then, and I still
am.” He sounded so sincere, it tugged at her heartstrings. Part of her wanted
to believe him, and part of her was afraid to.
About the Author
Ann Gimpel is a clinical psychologist, with a Jungian bent. Avocations include mountaineering, skiing, wilderness photography and, of course, writing. A lifelong aficionado of the unusual, she began writing speculative fiction a few years ago. Since then her short fiction has appeared in a number of webzines and anthologies. Three novels, Psyche’s Prophecy, Psyche’s Search, and Psyche's Promise are small press publications available in e-format and paperback. A husband, grown children, grandchildren and three wolf hybrids round out her family.
www.anngimpel.com
http://anngimpel.blogspot.com
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@AnnGimpel (for Twitter)
Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. One of the best things about blog tours is I discover so many really neat blogs to explore. Looks like I'll find some great additions for my TBR shelf here.
ReplyDeleteFor me, Ann, I never expected to fall in love, get married, or have kids. Life has a way of sneaking up on you. So I had no true "ideal" to search for. But what I found was a man who was funny, sweet, and loved my slightly larger than average bottom. Oh, and he lets me think I'm the "boss" which is all I need! LOL!
ReplyDeleteHi Christy,
DeleteFunny, sweet, and accepts you how you are is a dynamite combination! It's good he's secure enough in himself to be willing to share power in the marriage. That's important, too.
Anytime, Ann.
ReplyDeleteI love blog tours myself, so many places I'd never stumble on otherwise.