Friday, November 5, 2010

The L-Word

Love...it's a four letter word, all right.  Okay.  Wait.  That smacked of bitterness, didn't it?  LOL  Let's start over again, shall we?  Ahem....

If you've been lurking in the dark, shadowy corners of my blog for more than oh about a minute, you know that I'm not a huge fan of romance.  Now, don't get me wrong.  Everything I write has some romantic angle in it.  Everything I read has a love story hidden somewhere in the depths of its pages.  But, for me, romance has to be a side dish, not the main entree, to catch and keep my attention.  Sorry, but if there's not a serial killer on the loose, a grief-stricken family, or a dead/dying girl trying to cope with the hand that's been dealt to her, well, then I don't care about the romance if it's just for the sake of romance.  You know?   

Anywho, I do have a point to all this rambling....Really, I do.  Last night, a friend of mine was telling me about this great book she'd just read and asked if I'd heard of it.  Long story short, the book she was going on and on about was, indeed, a book I had read as well.  I didn't care all that much for it...mostly because it was an adult contemporary romance with little storyline outside the love part.  Not to be a book snob, but like I said before, I need more than just that to be satisfied...even if it is just a comedic side plot.  Hello, Janet Evanovich (just one example of many).  When I told my friend this, she immediately came back with, "But, everything you write has love in it."  Which of course, stopped me and then I was on a mission to go back through all my manuscripts to see what she was talking about.

Of course, she was right...and wrong at the same time.  Yes, all my novels have a side plot in which the MC finds love.  Love is an integral part of life, but the main storyline in every one of my stories, also have to do with love...but not necessarily the romantic kind.

Which brings me (took me awhile to get here, huh? forgive me for being so long-winded) to this week's Friday Five and the ensuing CONTEST!!!

Five Kinds of Love

Romantic Love: Hearts aflutter, knees weak, butterflies taking flight in your stomach.  The kind that you hope, beg, and pray will happen at least once in your life.  To find your soulmate...your one true love.  Jeesh! Sappy much, Karla?  I guess that's why it's the first thing you think of when you hear the words love story, huh?

Familial Love:  Mothers and daughters...Fathers and sons...brothers and sisters.  The ties that bind a family together, through thick and thin....happiness and loss...health and despair.  You can't choose your family, but you can choose how you treat them.  Whether you get along or not, your family will always be there for you, because they love you, and that, my friends, is a powerful thing.

The Love of Friends:  The bonds of families are forged by blood, but friends are the family of your heart.  These are the people you've chosen to have with you through all of life's ups and downs.  Mere acquaintances will come and go, flitting through your life as they make their own journey.  True friends will change the course of their lives to coincide with yours, and you will do the same for them.

The Love for Community:  We've all heard the phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child."  And that is very, very, very true.  If it weren't for the kindness and generosity of spirit that many people show to complete strangers, there'd be no hope in the world.  What is that if not love?

The Love for Oneself:  I am a true believer that in order to love anyone or anything, you must first love yourself.  Because, really, how can anyone love you, if you don't?  Right?

Now, that I've bored you all to tears with this rambling monologue about love and its many forms, I'm going to get to my point....

The Contest!!!!

As many of you know by now, I am a member of the super awesome Twitter/Blogging Book Club, BOOK HUNGRY.  Each month, one of us chooses a novel for the group to read and review on our own blogs on the third Thursday of each month.  December just happens to be my month, and of course, I chose a book that happens to be one of my top five (didn't you know I have a top five list for EVERYTHING?) favorite books of all time.  So, it seems only fair that I should extend the chance to win a copy of said book to all of my lovelies.  Are you ready for it?  Here it is!!!

THE HOST by Stephenie Meyers was one of those books that I picked up as soon as it came out because I had read the TWILIGHT books (really that was the only reason).  It just didn't look all that intriguing.  But as soon as I picked it up, I could not put it down.  It had everything in it, people, and I mean everything.  You see that list I just rambled on and on and on about????  THE HOST contains every single one of those examples of love.  I'm telling you true.

So, in order to enter for your chance to win THE HOST, just comment below with your favorite example of love, which you prefer to take center stage in your reading materials and your writing.  (I promise...no math...no jumping through flaming hoops...well, unless you really want to).  This contest is open internationally, but in the spirit of fairness, my fellow Book Hungry Club Members cannot win (sorry, girls).  The deadline to enter is next Thursday, November 11, 2010, and the winner will be announced on the next Friday Five.

PS...Look for additional chances to win on my next Teaser Tuesday post ;)  Good luck everyone!

5 comments:

  1. Interesting. Thanks for the contest! I really enjoyed this post, and you mentioned a lot of good points. Love the list!

    cc932005 at hotmail dot com

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  2. Gosh, tough choice! All your categories of love are things I like reading/writing about. If I HAD to choose, I suppose I'd go for the romance, because it's so much fun. ;)

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  3. I'm in Book Hungry and am exempt, but wanted to play anyway. My favorite examples of love are mother/child loves. I love stories where the love is real, not twisted into abuse and other dark themes.

    I especially love the ones where there is no limit to what the mother will do for her child.

    Gah... those get me every time.

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  4. ooo, i love your descriptions of the types of love. well done!

    which type do i like to write about? probably all of the above with a huge helping of friendly love and a side dish of the romantical love.

    and yes, i feel i should point out that i'm exempt not only because i'm BOOK HUNGRY but also because i already have a copy of the book. i'm excited to re-read it for december! (provided i can pry it out of my little sister's hands. familial love, what?)

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  5. I'd have to go for romantic love of the forbidden kind. And I'm not talking of the paranormal kinda forbidden love. My favourite book on this topic is Tabitha Suzuma's FORBIDDEN, which explores the incestual relationship between a brother and a sister.

    Where familial love is concerned, sibling love is my favourite, although, I have to admit, that stems from personal experience.

    Interesting post, btw.
    XD

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