You know what’s a tricky trope to write? Marriage of convenience in a contemporary setting! I mean, what makes two otherwise rational and engaging characters decide to get married in this day and age without love? Historical settings are rife with good reasons to do this. Women needed protection back then, whether from rogue men […]
Female Friendships and Romance Novel Expectations
One of the most common complaints about contemporary romance I see in various reader-based groups is some variation of “they give people unrealistic expectations for romance.” I guess I kind of get it. Real life romance doesn’t always look like what we see in the pages of a novel. (Although, I would also say there […]
Character Interview: The Grooms
Hello! We have a special Inspy Romance post today! The upcoming The Second Yes Crossroads Collection is all about wedding bells — and wedding dresses! First they said yes to their guys, but now it’s time for the second yes–the dress! Five of today’s Best-selling Christian Authors weave five unique, connected stories where wedding dresses […]
Is a Wedding the End of the Romance? (+ a Giveaway)
In a romance novel, you can always count on a Happily Ever After (HEA) ending. It’s one of the things I love most about the genre. No matter how much difficulty and heartache a couple goes through, they always end up with either a reconciliation, an engagement or a wedding. That’s what constitutes a HEA, […]
Sharing A Book
A few months ago, I mentioned that Love Inspired is repackaging one of my backlist titles into a two in one. To begin with, I’m thankful to have a backlist. I got my box of books last week and it just never gets old. Sweetheart Reunion releases in June. It includes my title, Reuniting with […]
A Maple Way of Life + Giveaway
One of my favorite things to do when writing is creating fictional towns. Making up a town allows me a lot of creative freedom. Not only do I get to name the town, streets, etc, but I get to pick how it looks as well. When it came to creating my fictional town of Maple […]
Sunday Edition
Happy Mother’s Day! Whether you’re a mom, a foster mom, a grandma, an aunt, a daughter, a niece, a best friend, a mentor, or whichever, let’s celebrate the women in our lives who are right there when we need them. Mother’s Day can be a sad time, too, remembering those who’ve gone on before. How […]
Reflections of an Empty-Nesting Christian Mother (Happy Mother’s Day!)
Happy Mother’s Day to InspyRomance mothers — both authors and readers! While we’re not all mothers, we all do have mothers — some of whom have gone on ahead of us, and some of whom are still here with us. To tell you the truth, when I thought about what topic to write for my […]
Three Brothers and a Giveaway by Merrillee Whren
Sometimes stories are inspired by real life, but not exactly. My latest series features three brothers, and I have three brothers. Here I am many, many years ago at Christmas with my three brothers. We didn’t live on a farm, but we lived in South Dakota when this picture was taken. My grandparents lived on […]
Terms of Endearment or Irritation?
Lindi here! We’re talking terms of endearment today. Or should I call them terms of irritation? I’ll tell you what I’m talking about. Way back in the day, in one of my first critique groups, one of the gals hated it when I used the word baby in dialogue. As in, “I’m here for you, […]