Come on, admit it. You read the title of this post and immediately thought, “oh, that’s opposites attract.”
Am I right?
Tropes form the backbone of many a romance novel. They form a kind of shorthand as we talk about stories with our friends. Like this…
You to friend: “Hey, I know you love marriage-of-convenience stories. Have you read that one by Valerie Comer, The Cowboy’s Convenient Marriage?”
Or…
Friend A: “I read this great friends-to-more romance the other day.”
Friend B: “Oh, I don’t like those. They’re so unbelievable.”
Friend A: “No, really, I think you’d like this one because…”
But opposites attract? There’s built-in conflict, and that’s fun for everyone! Well, everyone except the couple in question, most likely.
Alex Santoro has appeared in varying roles throughout many novels in my Urban Farm Fresh Romance series. He’s been “the rejected boyfriend.” He’s been “the kid brother.” He’s been “the dependable one.” And, finally, it was time to write his romance.
Now, Alex is the guy you love to hate. He’s a long-term thinker who sets goals, makes plans, and then doggedly pursues them. He scrimped and saved for a down-payment on an older home before he turned twenty-five. Then he rented out the basement suite as well as the two extra bedrooms to help with payments. Oh, and he’s an accountant.
That kind of guy.
Bore. Ing.
I did the only thing I could think of, and that was move a crazy chicken lady artist next door… and watch the sparks fly.
Alex comes from a large, noisy, close-knit Italian family. The little bit of family Marley Montgomery has is totally dysfunctional.
Alex is strong in his faith. Marley thinks God is out to get her.
Alex is gunning for that corner office before he turns thirty. Marley is thrilled to have a part-time job to cover her chicken feed.
Alex’s backyard, with its manicured raised beds, is a pristine testament to his cousin’s urban farming business. Marley’s is a mass of untamed wildflowers and weeds that just might be herbs. She’ll figure it out sometime… maybe… probably.
At one point in the story, Marley begins to wonder…
What would her dream guy be like? Would he be more like her, ragtag with a broken past and no post-secondary education? If she were fantasizing already, she might as well dream bigger. Better. A cute guy with a solid work ethic, a good job, and a close extended family.
A guy like Alex Santoro.
Yeah, no. He was her polar opposite. But might that not be a good thing? Because heaven help the household where there were two adults as flaky as she was.
As always, I’ve tried to make Glimpses of Gossamer accessible to readers new to the Urban Farm Fresh Romance series. Yes, it’s Book 8, but not all the previous characters show up, and any key relationships and backstory are clarified as needed within this story. Having said that, I hope you’ll want to read the previous stories if you haven’t already!
Besides “opposites attract,” what is Glimpses of Gossamer about?
Love… as strong as steel, yet as fragile as gossamer.
Artist Marley Montgomery finally thrives in her inherited rundown cottage with its overgrown yard, but there are rules about how many rescue chickens fit on her urban lot. Too bad the cute but uptight accountant next door is friends with the animal control officer.
Alex Santoro prefers things orderly and by-the-book, but his waif-like new neighbor offers a glimpse into a simpler lifestyle that is surprisingly intriguing. Maybe it’s the whimsical art she creates. Maybe it’s the wild beauty emerging in her unkempt yard. Or maybe Alex is simply falling in love with a pretty girl who’s unlike anyone he’s ever known.
How can Marley trust her secrets and fragile wings to the man who has everything?
Click to pre-order on Amazon today, or stick a reminder on your calendar app to borrow via Kindle Unlimited on February 11! It’s currently $2.99 US, a savings of 25% over the post-release price.
Now it’s your turn. What is the way you and your significant other are most dissimilar (besides gender)? Or, what is the most vivid set of “opposites” you’ve seen in an Inspy Romance novel?
Interested in reading Glimpses of Gossamer? I’m offering one reader a copy (e-book only, worldwide). If you’d like to put your name in the hat, please comment by Friday evening, January 10. Winner will be announced in the Sunday Edition, but the story will not be sent until early February, as it’s currently with my editor.
“Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.”
Valerie Comer is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner who writes where food meets faith and fiction. She injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances. Her life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.
Congrats on your release. Indeed a compelling story.
As for your question, my husband and I are mostly different in our approach to social gatherings-any size really. I love when my noisy family (from either my mo or my dad sides) get together. He thinks it’s too much of an effort to go out with another couple (even work events or church luncheon are too much). After 13 years together I think he’s finally more settled in some situations, but most of the time he’s just quiet and waiting to go home. Thankfully he doesn’t leave me stranded, but we often go home early.
Happy New Year Valerie! Thanks for the additional information on your upcoming release. Amazon send me a notice last night and so I preordered. In your series, I also remember Pansy, the mischievous goat. Will be married 47 years in June, hubby with a science background is very analytical and I am more laid back. We also have different tastes in music, cuisine, but our European background and Weltanschauung (world view) draws us together – love of language and culture, plus our faith. Best wishes.
Good morning and happy New year to everyone! I am totally excited about this latest installment of the series, by far my favorite place to keep visiting!
Soundsike a fun story. The cover is really cute.
Ah, yes, family get-togethers! That’s a whole ‘nother topic LOL. Naturally my hubby and I each do better with our own families, even after 39.5 years! But we’re both still ready to go home early. We’re both such introverts.
Thank you for the pre-order! And I need to bring Pansy back for an encore at some point in the series, I think!
Thank you! I’ve still got four stories to write set in Bridgeview. I’d better get cracking!
Thank you! I love working with my illustrator daughter on the covers for this series. She’s started on the next one already. Yay!
Have pre-ordered this one and looking forward to it!
Thank you! I hope it lives up to your hopes. :)
My wife and I have often marveled at the way God took two strong-willed people, aimed them at each other and pulled the trigger, LOL! I am the romantic one, she is task oriented and focused. She tends to put a mask on in social situations. I tend to connect more deeply and be empathic. I ask God to act then wait. She asks for guidance then gets a move on! We have a true story where we were sitting together on a sofa at her mom’s house of a Sunday afternoon. She was the one yelling at the hockey game on TV while I was crocheting a winter coat for her. Such a hoot. We have been together over 30 years now, have many things in common as well and are each other’s best friend. God was a pretty good shot, I’d say. :):):)
Congrats on the new release. Sounds like a great read.
Love that first sentence, Lincoln! Ain’t that the truth?!?!? God’s a great shot… and He has a sense of humor, besides.
I have been known to yell at more hockey games than my husband, for sure. It’s the only sport I watch, and that’s rarely, but I AM Canadian, after all, so a bit of hockey runs in my blood.
My husband is a ‘talk to anyone, doesn’t know a stranger’. I’m quiet, take a while to talk to anyone, rather stay home and read. But we’ve been together for 39 years do I guess we work. I love your series, can’t wait to read this one!
I’ll talk to anyone, too… but I’d rather be home reading. Playing extrovert is hard work. :D
I hope you enjoy Glimpses of Gossamer!
Congratulations!! This sounds good!! I haven’t YET read any of the books, though there’s at least one in my TBR stack!
Ooh Valerie, I was so excited when I got the notification that I could pre-order the book! Did it straight away! It sounds like another Urban Farm Fresh winner. Talking about opposites attract, God is so good at bringing the right opposites together, isn’t He?! Most good marriages I observe have a fundamental difference in personality which makes them a good balanced match.
This book sounds very interesting – would love to read it. Thank you for the opportunity to win it!
I can’t wait to read it. I love your stories.
God bless,
Kim
One of the more unusual areas my husband and I differ is gift-giving. I always want practical things that I want but don’t need, like a new oven mitt because mine is all grimy. He always goes more for the fun, completely impractical gifts. He has bought me salt and pepper grinders for the table and an electric pencil sharpener for my desk, so he’s catching on! Can’t wait to read this one!
Congrats! Happy New Year! I can’t wait to read this book. I’m also very interested in Artist meets Accountant. I’m an accountant so I always like to see how they are appear in books.
I loved the Farm Fresh and Urban Fresh series. I have read all of them so far. It was fun seeing the recipes in the beginning books. My husband and I are a great team. One’s strengths cover the other’s weaknesses. Serving God together has led us on great adventures… over three continents, with five kids, in three languages. We are from a tiny town in the Appalachians and are currently living in a 7th floor apartment in a large heavily-populated Asian city… with tomato plants growing in the living room
Oooh, well, time to get started! :D
Yay, thank you! And yes. Sometime I should write two characters who are the same Myers Brigg type – I bet that would stem a ton of conflict, too! But a totally different kind. Hmm…
Thanks, Debra! :D
Thanks so much, Kim!!!
Oh, I totally GET THAT! My hubby loves to give things, but our house is small and I am not fond of dusting. It has been a process to figure out what kinds of things are good gifts for me. I’ll admit it… I’m hard to buy for.
Eek, I hope Alex meets your expectations!
Thank you so much! The recipes were fun to add into the Farm Fresh books. Sometimes I’m sorry I stopped doing that. But you and your hubby are the true heroes here. Praying God’s blessing on your ministry right now.
Yes, especially if both are of the type xxxJ. Those who bring order to the chaos of the world. The real conflict arises when their two definitions of order are different. Like my wife and I LOL.
Hey watch who you’re calling opinionated, Lincoln! Signed, ISTJ married to ISTP
Kidding. But still, everyone should do it my way. ;)
Actually, I haven’t thought about opposites attract ;) I’ve read Accountant and thought…It’s about me 😊
How we are different?! I’m the Fire in the family and my hubby is the water-always calm….how in the world can he do it??????
Like I wrote for a character who was accused of being a “bull in a china shop”: The world would be a better place if people would stop building china shops where I need to go.”
My husband is very passionate/fiery I would say. I have a big heart, but am more of a thinker, not one to jump at the first idea that comes along!
Love it! I hope Alex meets your expectations in an accountant!
That’s a great contrast, Patty, and I can see how it works out for both of you!
Great line LOL!