Belonging is a recurring theme in my 35+ stories. I could point to one after the other and explain to you why the hero or heroine feels like an outsider in their own life. In some cases, that theme is fairly hidden. In others, it’s super obvious. Take Kenna Johnson in Lavished with Lavender, which […]
Interview with Chef Tony Santoro… and #giveaway
Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome Tony Santoro to Inspy Romance! I’ve known Tony for a long time, since about 2011 in Real World Time™, which is about twelve years ago in Story World Time ™. He was a gangly, mouthy teenager back then, but he’s turned into a fine man. Valerie: Hi, Tony. […]
The Heart of Community
Ask my readers what makes my novels special, and many of them will say, “community.” The term comes up in reviews often enough that I’ve added it to my tagline: Engaging characters. Strong communities. Deep faith. Sweet romance. I’m currently writing within my fifth and sixth series, and I can definitely see the underpinnings of […]
Artist, Meet Accountant! and #giveaway
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 […]
Shades of Grace
When I was a child growing up in a staunch Mennonite home, life was quite clear. There were wrongs — we called them ‘sins’ — and there were rights. The goal was to avoid the sins and do the right thing. Black versus white. I attended a Christian high school (boarding school) with very conservative […]
Cover, Cover, on the Book… and #giveaway
Cover, cover, on the book — which cover is the fairest look? Choosing a cover for a new story is always entertaining. I’m working with a pro photo manipulator for my cowboy romance covers, and with an illustrator (my daughter, Hanna Sandvig) for the Urban Farm Fresh Romance covers. These two approaches require very different […]
Confused Yet? …plus #Giveaway
Confused yet? Because, if not, I can remedy the situation! Once upon a time, I wrote a series I called the Farm Fresh Romance series. It contains six novels, all set on one farm in northern Idaho. There were a couple of sets of siblings in the mix, but the focus was on friendships on […]
How Do You Respond to Adversity?… plus #giveaway
Ever have a day (week? month? year?) when Murphy’s law kicks in? Everything that could possibly go wrong… just did. Sure, there might’ve been a pleasant moment or two in there as well, but it seems those were only in there to get your hopes up so they could be crushed again! As much as […]
How Fat is Too Fat?
Women come in all shapes and sizes, right? Right. And women say they prefer to read about real women, not heroines who are movie-star glamorous with slender (but perfect) curves, and long, shapely legs the hero can’t keep his eyes off of. Those legs were a recurring theme in a romance I read recently! Women […]
Hello — My name is Kassidy #giveaway
Hi, everyone! I’m Kassidy North, and I’m blogging here today for my author, Valerie Comer. She figures I owe her the favor because she’s been working on my happily-ever-after for over four years. I didn’t know I needed one. A happily-ever-after, I mean. Also, she says she’s too busy to blog. Like I have all […]