Buying Your Way to Love

As I usher in the small signs of Spring here on the East Coast; my calendar says the first day of Spring is March 20th, mother nature said "No its not suckers";  I reminisce on the people in my life and how far we have come in our relationship. 

My relationship with old friends, siblings, my parents, and my great boyfriend. I have no doubt that these relationships affect my life in many different ways. I also realize that no amount of money, fame, or ass kissing could recreate a genuine relationship. I could not replace the relationship I have now with my boyfriend and not because I feel we have a "perfect relationship", because by no means will we ever. We aren't rich but our life is full of wealth. We live in the USA, we have access to fresh water and food, access to information, we have cell phones to stay in touch with the whole day, and we have a comfy bed to keep each other warm at night. 

No amount of money could replace what we have developed. It's only through our growing LOVE for each other that we have created what we have going on. 

Music for Life and Love

Music in my life is a fantastic addition like dairy-free whip cream on my hot chocolate. With music you can place your mind in a different state; happy, excited, frisky, energized, whatever floats your boat. The lyrics in the songs often transport me to a world with less seriousness and responsibilities, a serious free zone. This same affect is present when I associate certain songs with my wonderful boyfriend. Listening to the beat of the music brings back memories of times spent together alone.

Whenever I feel overwhelmed and don't have anyone to speak to at that moment I pull out my play-list on my iPhone; portable and cheap therapy. Listening to my favorite songs will never solve my dilemmas but neither will someone else, I just think it's great that I have music that goes with my every day life and love.

Spring is Here

For those of us living on the East Coast this week brings signs of Spring with it. The sight of snow melting and the sun shining is a great thing.

It's time to also make changes not only to your home but yourself. Maybe you have been considering losing weight or gaining muscles, and even updating your wardrobe to reflect a more sophisticated, neater you. Of course these are all things I am considering for myself and sharing with you my reader.

Either way this new season is a great reason to make changes.

Action equals Satisfaction

When I am alone random questions and thoughts pop up in my head. I often wonder into la la land with "What Ifs". The great thing about imagining is that it does not hurt you, you picture what you want and when you are done you continue with your day.

But what happens when you want what you imagine more than just in your imagination. I have had the pleasure of imagining / visualizing some wonderful places and events in my life and I have also have the pleasure of seeing those images come to life. I share this with my readers to say this I have learned that with the help of my imagination and action I have been successful in many areas of my life. One in particular is my love life. Before I met my boyfriend I was single for a few years and not into the dating life. I knew that in the big city I live in and adore their were; and still are, around ten single women for every one single man. So I used what I had, my imagination and actions to attract a great man into my life. Action was the turning point to my key. When I added actions to attracting a great man I got what I wanted.

I won't say that I got the perfect person on the first try, but that's why the princess in the fairytale kissed so many frogs she was looking for her Prince Charming.

Everyday Romance​​​ By Vanessa Peters

Today I  have the wonderful opportunity to share my blog with a guest blogger. Enjoy this great piece about Romance by my great friend Vanessa Peters.


Everyday Romance​​​

By Vanessa Peters
 

As a writer and reader of romance it is easy to get caught up in the web of happily ever after found in the stories we love.  The bated breath and nervous butterflies of the first kiss never will get old and we will fawn over those pages again and again.  These stories can sometimes cloud our perceptions and make it difficult to catch the subtle beauty of romance we maybe experiencing every day in our own lives.  

Romance does not…almost never…comes in the form of a hero riding in on horseback to sweep you off your feet.  Sometimes it is the partner that takes care of the little things for you day after day so that you can work towards fulfilling your dreams.  

Sometimes…almost always…it is the quiet romance that fills in the corners of your day.  

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”   -Lao Tzu

For me my quiet romance, so very often fills in at the end of the day.  It finds me on nights when my day has been nothing less than hellish and I crawl into bed exhausted and overwhelmed.  My love will find me in the dark and pull me close.  I can ease into his side without either of us having to say a word.  His arms are enough to tell me he supports me and everything will be okay.  In his unassuming embrace, I know I can recharge for the day to come.  His love helps me keep going when the ins and outs of life becomes too much.  His support on my journey as a writer means more than any heart shaped box of chocolates ever will.  This quiet romance is what my stories are made of.


 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  

Born and bred in Brooklyn, I am a freelance artist and writer. 

I am looking to create stories of love and romance that reflect the people and the world around me. I am currently working on my first romance set in the Tri-state area.

Website/Blog   www.vanessa-peters.com

Twitter/ Instagram @VPetersBKNY

WRITING LATINO ROMANCE By Maria C. Ferrer

This guest blogger shares her view of what it means to write Latino Romance. I am glad to have the opportunity to share my blog with her today.

WRITING LATINO ROMANCE

By Maria C. Ferrer

When I started writing romance I admit that my characters were primarily white.  Latinos were the BFFs, but never the villains in my books.  White heroes and heroines were the industry norm and I was writing to the trends back then.  

            For the past five years, my lead protagonists have all been Latinos, and I've done that purposely.  Even before the “We Need Diverse Books” campaign, I wanted to see Latinos like me in stories, and since I couldn't find them, I’m writing them.

            I find inspiration everywhere.  Sometimes it’s an article in the paper, other times a setting, a name, or a wedding!

            For example, for my secret baby book, DADDY FOUND, I was inspired by my cousin’s wedding.  It was a great party.  Lots of hot single guys to dance with, luckily not all of them related to me.  And I thought… kissing cousins.  

What if cousins of cousins meet at a wedding, have a wild three-day weekend resulting in a baby?  What if when she goes to tell him she finds him getting married to someone else? And what if the reason he married the other woman was false?

            So I had the plot, now I had to come up with characters.

            Yessenia.  I love my heroine’s name.  It says, sexy and Latina in a big way.  And I love this actual spelling.  Yessie I knew right away.  She was the jet setter of the family.  Had a great job with the airlines, traveled a lot.  The love them and leave them type, but in a good way.  And she loved visiting her cousins in Connecticut, where the wedding took place.

            Rafael.  Another name I love.  If I could I would name all my heroes Rafael.  (Never Rafa.  Yuk.)  Rafael is a strong name.  I imagine angelic features with a strong character and a winning smile.  Rafael is the best man at the wedding.  A straight arrow.  The oldest of the cousins on his side, always setting a good example.  But being good was chaffing a bit.  He wants more than the childhood sweetheart, more than a job in the family firm.  The wedding is his last hurrah before going off to a new job and a new life in Virginia.

            These two meet and sparks fly.  He’s tall, dark and dangerous.  She’s fascinating, alluring and curved in all the right places.  

A wild weekend.

A secret baby.

A separation.

A reunion six years later.

Now, if you didn't know, secret babies are super popular among romance readers.  We love them.  So, I added some love and sabor to an old theme, and made it all mine.

My characters too will struggle to do what is best for their child; and will fight the attraction between them because they want to fall in love and not just in lust.  And, they’ll do it all surrounded by a big, fat, Puerto Rican family.

And that is how I write Latino romances – with love, sabor, and great characters that readers will be able to identify with and cheer for.♥

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Maria C. Ferrer writes contemporary romances under her real name, and erotica under the name of Del Carmen.  She has been published by Cleis Press and Ravenous Romance, as well as in magazines including Star, Cosmopolitan for Latinas and Penthouse. 

Visit her at www.marializaferrer.blogspot.com and www.mydelcarmen.com.

            

Valentine Day Everyday

Its Valentines Day here in the USA. Its both a beautiful day and a very confusing one for many people; especially young people. For many women it defines their love from their partner, depending on if they receive a gift, what kind of gift, what was said, not said.

For me personally its a great day to celebrate my love for all of the great people and things in my life. An excuse to celebrate a union of love between two people. The fact that I am alive and in good health is a reason to celebrate and the bonus is being able to share this life with another person who wants to be with me around me and share experiences with me. I in turn can only expect that my partner feels the same about me. No amount of fancy chocolates, roses, jewelry or fancy dinner date will ever replace the feeling being happy in your relationship. Knowing that the person you share the most time with has your back, is reliable, dependable and above all loves you, even at your ugliest moment. That is Valentine Day everyday or almost.

Happy Valentine's Day
Mercedes E. Cruz

 

Check Out these wonderful authors and how they celebrate Valentines Day.

 

Vanessa Peters

Maria Ferrer

My Writing Desk

My writing desk is a space in my tiny apartment that I share with my boyfriend. I cherish my writing desk, sometimes it’s the breakfast table, sometimes it’s the dinner table. Its purpose depends on the time of day but mostly it’s my writing desk. The place I seek to improve my writing skills, to complete my novel, post weekly on my blog, enter writing contest and submit short stories. My writing desk is not fancy, it’s probably made of plywood. Sometimes it’s not sturdy if I lean on it, deep in thought as I often do. I know that sometime in the future my writing desk give up on me, one leg at a time. But for now my writing desk is here with me day and night and in-between.

Pssst… Sometimes I do my writing on my coach, but don’t you dare tell my writing desk.

Mercedes Cruz

PS check out these other great Latina writers as they talk about their writing desk. 

Maria Ferrer


Vanessa Peters

Love Me Harder

Everyday in my relationship with my wonderful boyfriend is something different. Sometimes we have great days and sometimes we have shitty days. My boyfriend is usually the one apologizing at the end of the day, even though we were both at fault.

Everyday is a new day to do something different or try again. I try to remember this every night before I go to bed and when I wake in the morning. I realize that those days that challenge our relationship is great opportunity to love each other harder.

Any Given Sunday

This Sunday evening as my wonderful boyfriend and I sit on the coach watching the football game. We discuss the teams playing, he tells me the "Playoffs" stats on the teams. What teams he's rooting for. I was never a football fan until I met my boyfriend, and he introduced me to the game. Sunday is always game day so he does no activity that takes him away from our big screen TV to watch Sunday football.

What have I learned about football ? That everyone has a chance to reach their goal, sometimes yearly, monthly or weekly.  My goal with my boyfriend is to strengthen our communication skills, and to always help each other reach our personal goals. We have the opportunity to work on these goals when we are together any given Sunday.

Letting Go

In recent years as I become older and wiser, I have come to appreciate the moments, things and people that are no longer in my life. I can recall countless times when I was in a relationship ;both romantic and friendship, and things got sour and no matter what the other person and/or I did it felt like something negative always came up.

Looking back on those situations when I held on to a person , place or thing, only to leave it behind later, either on my own or by design, I wish that what ever led to my separation would have happened sooner. I realize now that whatever I have in my life today tomorrow and for the long term, if it's meant for me to have, I should not have to feel stress or anxiety when I think about it.

When a person, situation or material thing makes you feel better if you leave it behind, then it's time to let go. By letting go you give the right person, situation or material room to move into your life.

Bearing it All

On this first day of the year, I am taking time to count my blessings. To acknowledge the great people in my life and the abundance in my life.

As I enter this new year with my partner I reflect on how far our relationship has gone and how far we want it to go. We have had many ups and downs. But in order to have an honest relationship with another person I most first be honest with myself. Acknowledging my flaws and assets, realizing where I am weak and where I am strong. Knowing what I want out of the relationship and knowing what my partner wants. Compromising but never giving up on myself and my dreams.

You could say that relationships are about being venerable, bearing it all. Trusting someone else and trusting yourself.


Happy and Prosperous New Year !!!