R.W. Richard's Blog, page 12
January 19, 2020
Thesis 1
Thesis 1 (of 98).
Doctor Martin Luther King: “I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.”
Mission accomplished, but these days, not without much pain and suffering.
For many romance writers it goes: black men and women hold hands with white men and women. Yes, they do more than hold hands. I have an interracial marriage and can attest to that. There’s never a moment I don’t appreciate the diversity, her looks, her culture, the joy she brings me.
On to writing. Holding hands shows mutual support. It implies offering safety, to the point of saving each other’s lives. You hold hands, cross the street and you watch the cars and trucks coming for two, right? That is, I’ll protect you and you’ll protect me. Many cute meets go this far.
ANY WELL WRITTEN ROMANCE brings together two people who both have something to offer the other whether interracial or not. Two people join body, mind, and spirit for mutual benefit. I believe a well-written romance should maintain a balance of give and take, of offerings from both. This should be shown in the story. They should more or less equally have something to give that elevates both from their lesser selves. The lesser selves of the lonely or those without the special love offered by a person who might offer a hand.
So on the eve of Martin’s holiday may I suggest that you throw away any preconceptions or possibly prejudices that an interracial romance is different from any other, no matter how the cute meet takes place. To do otherwise makes you part of the problem rather than the solution.
In my novel, tentatively named Cinnamon & Sugar, they both save each other on multiple occasions. This balance gives the story charm and meaning. With two strong points of view, I bring to life the dream Martin spoke of.
Thesis 2 (of 98)
If you hear from a critic that it has been done before, the answer is simple. Everything has been done before. We enjoyed Romeo and Juliet, but haven’t we also enjoyed West Side Story? And why is that? The characters are compelling. We identify and empathize with them, our hearts go out to them for their struggle. Not because Tony and Marie are interracial, but because the author brought us to a better place. The author held our hands and took us to the promise land.
Doctor Martin Luther King: “I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.”
Mission accomplished, but these days, not without much pain and suffering.
For many romance writers it goes: black men and women hold hands with white men and women. Yes, they do more than hold hands. I have an interracial marriage and can attest to that. There’s never a moment I don’t appreciate the diversity, her looks, her culture, the joy she brings me.
On to writing. Holding hands shows mutual support. It implies offering safety, to the point of saving each other’s lives. You hold hands, cross the street and you watch the cars and trucks coming for two, right? That is, I’ll protect you and you’ll protect me. Many cute meets go this far.
ANY WELL WRITTEN ROMANCE brings together two people who both have something to offer the other whether interracial or not. Two people join body, mind, and spirit for mutual benefit. I believe a well-written romance should maintain a balance of give and take, of offerings from both. This should be shown in the story. They should more or less equally have something to give that elevates both from their lesser selves. The lesser selves of the lonely or those without the special love offered by a person who might offer a hand.
So on the eve of Martin’s holiday may I suggest that you throw away any preconceptions or possibly prejudices that an interracial romance is different from any other, no matter how the cute meet takes place. To do otherwise makes you part of the problem rather than the solution.
In my novel, tentatively named Cinnamon & Sugar, they both save each other on multiple occasions. This balance gives the story charm and meaning. With two strong points of view, I bring to life the dream Martin spoke of.
Thesis 2 (of 98)
If you hear from a critic that it has been done before, the answer is simple. Everything has been done before. We enjoyed Romeo and Juliet, but haven’t we also enjoyed West Side Story? And why is that? The characters are compelling. We identify and empathize with them, our hearts go out to them for their struggle. Not because Tony and Marie are interracial, but because the author brought us to a better place. The author held our hands and took us to the promise land.
November 24, 2019
A white hot burn
A white hot burn
Yesterday, at the RWASD’s annual literary event our speaker was Sherrilyn Kenyon, a #1 New York Times Bestselling author many times over.
She told us of struggle, homelessness, deep family problems both as a child growing up and married. She never said it, but it was obvious to me that she needed to show that she was good for something. In so doing, she validated a purpose both for her and others. I surmise that that “I’ll show them” attitude can propel writers to do their best. Sherrilyn also had an abiding and unrelenting love for writing which manifested itself in entering contests and submitting as a child, becoming the editor of her school(s) papers, expanding into multiple art forms within writing such as manga. She did describe a loving relationship she had with her brother who has since died. (You might call this the “Save the Cat” influence.)
I take from this that we need a fire in our bellies. It can be set by negative influences and/or a firm belief in ourselves and some sort of human love and support. Sherrilyn said of writing, that if you have a beginning, middle, and end, start writing! All the better if the subject of your story also burns white hot. For instance, if there is something that bothers you in the world, write it. Don’t be a afraid to express yourself, just make it smart and subtle. It is fiction after all. Show, don’t tell.
My father had always denigrated me saying I would amount to nothing, but my mom was my saving influence. I did amount to something!
Yet, it was not until my dying daughter whom I was a caregiver for and to whom I read my latest story. She made me promise to, “get a traditional publisher this time, dad,” because she loved the story.
Did you ever feel that if left to your own devices, nothing much would get done or that the project didn’t have that umph necessary? I have. Well, with Lani as my angel, I do not work alone. I achieved her goal for me (and fulfilled a dream of my own). I will have it published in 2020 with a respected publisher known for the genre in which I write…
Tell me what aggravates you and let’s see if there’s a story there.
Regarding my story, what aggravated me was and is white supremacists who demonstrated their idiocy in Charlottesville and elsewhere. By the time they demonstrated outside the White House (maybe fourteen to forty of them, they were met by four thousand counter-demonstrators (a true story.) This failure gave me hope and a story idea that burned my soul white hot until I with the help of Lani completed it.
Yesterday, at the RWASD’s annual literary event our speaker was Sherrilyn Kenyon, a #1 New York Times Bestselling author many times over.
She told us of struggle, homelessness, deep family problems both as a child growing up and married. She never said it, but it was obvious to me that she needed to show that she was good for something. In so doing, she validated a purpose both for her and others. I surmise that that “I’ll show them” attitude can propel writers to do their best. Sherrilyn also had an abiding and unrelenting love for writing which manifested itself in entering contests and submitting as a child, becoming the editor of her school(s) papers, expanding into multiple art forms within writing such as manga. She did describe a loving relationship she had with her brother who has since died. (You might call this the “Save the Cat” influence.)
I take from this that we need a fire in our bellies. It can be set by negative influences and/or a firm belief in ourselves and some sort of human love and support. Sherrilyn said of writing, that if you have a beginning, middle, and end, start writing! All the better if the subject of your story also burns white hot. For instance, if there is something that bothers you in the world, write it. Don’t be a afraid to express yourself, just make it smart and subtle. It is fiction after all. Show, don’t tell.
My father had always denigrated me saying I would amount to nothing, but my mom was my saving influence. I did amount to something!
Yet, it was not until my dying daughter whom I was a caregiver for and to whom I read my latest story. She made me promise to, “get a traditional publisher this time, dad,” because she loved the story.
Did you ever feel that if left to your own devices, nothing much would get done or that the project didn’t have that umph necessary? I have. Well, with Lani as my angel, I do not work alone. I achieved her goal for me (and fulfilled a dream of my own). I will have it published in 2020 with a respected publisher known for the genre in which I write…
Tell me what aggravates you and let’s see if there’s a story there.
Regarding my story, what aggravated me was and is white supremacists who demonstrated their idiocy in Charlottesville and elsewhere. By the time they demonstrated outside the White House (maybe fourteen to forty of them, they were met by four thousand counter-demonstrators (a true story.) This failure gave me hope and a story idea that burned my soul white hot until I with the help of Lani completed it.
November 4, 2019
Damon Suede revisited
Follow up on Damon Suede (from previous post).
His book is called Verbalize.
Damon strongly suggests setting scenes with action both interior and exterior. About half way through the book two sentences captured the essence of the book and could be used as a pitch or logline. He writes, “All too easily a character can simply start to yearn or gossip or interfere without an object, leaving them marooned inside their own head and heart. Result: passive beat, dead scene, inert character, boring book.”
What? “Object” above means something the audience (readers) can see. Set the scene with action. For instance, Humphrey spied a notice on the student board. It read, if there is no god, how can all men be created equal? Join us tonight at the student center for a discussion. He crumbled the notice. Not knowing why.
The paper is the object and Humphrey’s act, one of a conflicted young man was to push the doubts away by becoming upset with others. Luckily, Alicia, his guardian angel eventually led him out of the quagmire of amoral thought.
Damon Suede’s book is unusual is style, which this reader enjoyed. If you get it, strap yourself in for a wild ride through the mind of a genius.
Well, I wasn't just going to take Damon's word for it, so I reread Blake Snyder's Save The Cat! Strikes back. I needed a different perspective and one even more visual since Cat is on screenwriting. (actually the principles of screen writing can well serve the novelist.) On page 79 the author writes about theme and issues five points. The third is "What's on your mind? What statement, issue, or ax to grind finds voice in your characters?"
Compare, contrast, and get back to me. (Hint, the statement, issue, or ax is the object, IMO.)
His book is called Verbalize.
Damon strongly suggests setting scenes with action both interior and exterior. About half way through the book two sentences captured the essence of the book and could be used as a pitch or logline. He writes, “All too easily a character can simply start to yearn or gossip or interfere without an object, leaving them marooned inside their own head and heart. Result: passive beat, dead scene, inert character, boring book.”
What? “Object” above means something the audience (readers) can see. Set the scene with action. For instance, Humphrey spied a notice on the student board. It read, if there is no god, how can all men be created equal? Join us tonight at the student center for a discussion. He crumbled the notice. Not knowing why.
The paper is the object and Humphrey’s act, one of a conflicted young man was to push the doubts away by becoming upset with others. Luckily, Alicia, his guardian angel eventually led him out of the quagmire of amoral thought.
Damon Suede’s book is unusual is style, which this reader enjoyed. If you get it, strap yourself in for a wild ride through the mind of a genius.
Well, I wasn't just going to take Damon's word for it, so I reread Blake Snyder's Save The Cat! Strikes back. I needed a different perspective and one even more visual since Cat is on screenwriting. (actually the principles of screen writing can well serve the novelist.) On page 79 the author writes about theme and issues five points. The third is "What's on your mind? What statement, issue, or ax to grind finds voice in your characters?"
Compare, contrast, and get back to me. (Hint, the statement, issue, or ax is the object, IMO.)
October 20, 2019
Recent Revelations
Recent revelations:
On Saturday, Oct 19, 2019 I attended my RWASD meeting in which HelenKay Dimon was the speaker.
She’s such a gifted best selling author and brought much food for thought to her lecture on beginnings, which she stressed applies to the whole story. I’ll share a little:
1. Ground your story with setting, place, and tone, with tone being the most important. A story can start without the other two. The tone is the author’s voice. What are you trying to accomplish in the story. A consistent tone should carry through all the character changes to the very end. Your theme should be felt ideally, subconsciously by the reader.
2. What’s your book about? Knowing this guides your decisions about what kind of descriptions and dialogue fit.
3. A hero or heroine should be compelling not necessarily likeable (especially in the beginning).
HelenKay Dimon is the outgoing President of RWA, a lawyer, and prolific novelist. Go to https://helenkaydimon.com for more.
Damon Suede is the president elect for RWA and he tells a similar story in his lectures and books but with his own personal twists. First off, my publisher recommends Verbalize by Damon. But if you prefer first to watch a 45 minute intro of his book and the man go to Damon Suede Creative Pen and click on video. His pops up first.
The video is a wild ride through the artist’s mind, a genius, if you ask me. He’s gifted, loquacious and thought provoking. Get to know this talent. He wants you to use better and transitive verbs as if you were adding spice to a recipe among other points. Take the reader on a consistent journey of unified tone, voice, and theme.
He’s a firm believer in the value of listening to your story via audio aids as a way of validating its strength for the reader and making improvements based on what you hear. This means, he said she said may not be best. This, to me, is radical but I can certainly find ways to diminish the amount of he/she saids. I have ordered the book and will let you know if I got anything worng and what else I learned. Start with the video.
His next book, Activate is a well crafted thesaurus of transitive verbs useful to any author who likes to spice his or her stories. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/194...
On Saturday, Oct 19, 2019 I attended my RWASD meeting in which HelenKay Dimon was the speaker.
She’s such a gifted best selling author and brought much food for thought to her lecture on beginnings, which she stressed applies to the whole story. I’ll share a little:
1. Ground your story with setting, place, and tone, with tone being the most important. A story can start without the other two. The tone is the author’s voice. What are you trying to accomplish in the story. A consistent tone should carry through all the character changes to the very end. Your theme should be felt ideally, subconsciously by the reader.
2. What’s your book about? Knowing this guides your decisions about what kind of descriptions and dialogue fit.
3. A hero or heroine should be compelling not necessarily likeable (especially in the beginning).
HelenKay Dimon is the outgoing President of RWA, a lawyer, and prolific novelist. Go to https://helenkaydimon.com for more.
Damon Suede is the president elect for RWA and he tells a similar story in his lectures and books but with his own personal twists. First off, my publisher recommends Verbalize by Damon. But if you prefer first to watch a 45 minute intro of his book and the man go to Damon Suede Creative Pen and click on video. His pops up first.
The video is a wild ride through the artist’s mind, a genius, if you ask me. He’s gifted, loquacious and thought provoking. Get to know this talent. He wants you to use better and transitive verbs as if you were adding spice to a recipe among other points. Take the reader on a consistent journey of unified tone, voice, and theme.
He’s a firm believer in the value of listening to your story via audio aids as a way of validating its strength for the reader and making improvements based on what you hear. This means, he said she said may not be best. This, to me, is radical but I can certainly find ways to diminish the amount of he/she saids. I have ordered the book and will let you know if I got anything worng and what else I learned. Start with the video.
His next book, Activate is a well crafted thesaurus of transitive verbs useful to any author who likes to spice his or her stories. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/194...
October 5, 2019
Highlights of the free ebook, Show, Don't Tell by Sandra Gerth
Highlights of Show, Don’t Tell by Sandra Gerth, a free ebook that has won awards.
Red flags for telling:
1. Conclusions
2. Abstract language
3. Summaries
4. Backstory (there’s right place for this in the novel, generally later and spread in small pieces)
5. Adverbs
6. Adjectives
7. Linking verbs (i.e was/were/is/are/felt/appeared/seemed/looked etc.)
8. Emotion words (angry/surprised/amazement/confusion etc.)
9. Filters (saw/smelled/heard/felt/watched/noticed/realized/wondered/knew etc)
To turn telling into showing:
1. Use the five senses
2. Use strong dynamic verbs
3. Use concrete nouns
4. Break activities into smaller parts
5. Use figurative language
6. Write in real time
7. Use dialogue
8. Use internal monologue
9. Focus on actions and reactions
Avoid: Redundancies. Telling Backstory (use iceberg theory). Flashbacks/Prologues/character descriptions/feelings (don’t describe your characters all at once)—Reveal the character of a character.
Danger areas are large blocks of description. Make them dynamic. Describe only what your POV character would notice given his/her background, personality, and situation.
Avoid clichés. Naming emotions instead of describing.
ABC Always be clear.
Eight ways to reveal emotion without telling:
1. Physical responses
2. Body language
3. Facial expressions
4. Dialogue
5. Internal monologue
6. Setting descriptions
7. The five senses in moments of heightened emotion
8. Figurative language. BE UNIQUE and AVOID AMBIGUITY
Telling in dialogue.
Avoid:
1. “As you know” dialogue
2. Creative dialogue tags
3. Adverbs in dialogue tags
4. Reported dialogue
Don’t overshow either on a macro or micro level.
Sometimes use telling for unimportant details, transitions, repeated info, repeated events, pacing, context, suspense, first drafts.
Red flags for telling:
1. Conclusions
2. Abstract language
3. Summaries
4. Backstory (there’s right place for this in the novel, generally later and spread in small pieces)
5. Adverbs
6. Adjectives
7. Linking verbs (i.e was/were/is/are/felt/appeared/seemed/looked etc.)
8. Emotion words (angry/surprised/amazement/confusion etc.)
9. Filters (saw/smelled/heard/felt/watched/noticed/realized/wondered/knew etc)
To turn telling into showing:
1. Use the five senses
2. Use strong dynamic verbs
3. Use concrete nouns
4. Break activities into smaller parts
5. Use figurative language
6. Write in real time
7. Use dialogue
8. Use internal monologue
9. Focus on actions and reactions
Avoid: Redundancies. Telling Backstory (use iceberg theory). Flashbacks/Prologues/character descriptions/feelings (don’t describe your characters all at once)—Reveal the character of a character.
Danger areas are large blocks of description. Make them dynamic. Describe only what your POV character would notice given his/her background, personality, and situation.
Avoid clichés. Naming emotions instead of describing.
ABC Always be clear.
Eight ways to reveal emotion without telling:
1. Physical responses
2. Body language
3. Facial expressions
4. Dialogue
5. Internal monologue
6. Setting descriptions
7. The five senses in moments of heightened emotion
8. Figurative language. BE UNIQUE and AVOID AMBIGUITY
Telling in dialogue.
Avoid:
1. “As you know” dialogue
2. Creative dialogue tags
3. Adverbs in dialogue tags
4. Reported dialogue
Don’t overshow either on a macro or micro level.
Sometimes use telling for unimportant details, transitions, repeated info, repeated events, pacing, context, suspense, first drafts.
September 29, 2019
How men think
I had to stop right there. I read an article that said that most men’s thoughts are driven by what they see. True, men are visual. False, men don’t have abiding agendas and/or worries that influence and predominate their thoughts. Human beings work, have family, friends, interests. To not do these things is self-destructive.
I must admit that the sight of a lovely woman might make a man pack away his preoccupations for a moment. But after he gets over how pretty that stranger is, he’s back to solving his “real” problems, especially if he’s married. If he’s a bachelor then we need add one more item to his agenda, a mate. Still balancing all his concerns means he’ll ask that woman out on a date at some mutually good time for both. Unlike what happens on ABC’s Bachelor franchise where finding a mate consumes every waking moment. Those who go on the show make a conscious decision to shelve their normal lives for a couple months in an effort to accelerate their search for a partner.
Off point, but interesting and heart-warming: Cudos to ABC through Bachelor in Paradise in which the first lesbian couple in the history of the show became engaged.
I must admit that the sight of a lovely woman might make a man pack away his preoccupations for a moment. But after he gets over how pretty that stranger is, he’s back to solving his “real” problems, especially if he’s married. If he’s a bachelor then we need add one more item to his agenda, a mate. Still balancing all his concerns means he’ll ask that woman out on a date at some mutually good time for both. Unlike what happens on ABC’s Bachelor franchise where finding a mate consumes every waking moment. Those who go on the show make a conscious decision to shelve their normal lives for a couple months in an effort to accelerate their search for a partner.
Off point, but interesting and heart-warming: Cudos to ABC through Bachelor in Paradise in which the first lesbian couple in the history of the show became engaged.
September 15, 2019
Research for your novel
Following the rule regarding research that you only present the tip of the iceberg in your story, you should still feel comfortable and fully grasp the research subject. A romance story is about your characters but their environment plays a role. So your hero is sitting on an iceberg and you need to know how long he can survive before help arrives (a female helicopter pilot, perhaps will come to the rescue).
There are many research techniques you can avail yourself of.
1. Contact specialists.
2. Go to the library and don’t forget the help desk.
3. Attend classes.
4. Use the internet carefully. There is much b.s. on it these days.
5. Check out the library of Congress and the Smithsonian.
6. Check out groups or societies. For instance, your character has cancer. A group dedicated to that type of cancer would be useful to contact.
7. Go to shows or symposiums.
8. Check in with other authors who have similar struggles.
9. Review the artwork and poetry of the time and place you are writing about.
10. Use the Jeopardy! technique as created by James Holzhauer, a huge winner on the show. He studied children’s books on subjects he felt were too difficult to wade through otherwise. He said to the Washington Post, “They are chock full of infographics, pictures and all kinds of stuff to keep the reader engaged… I couldn’t make it through a chapter of an actual Dickens novel without falling asleep.”
There’s a hidden point to 10. Try to not write so densely with all that research you have gathered will allow your reader to fall asleep. Hey, not that Dickens is dense. James wanted to learn in the quickest way. He didn’t want to struggle. Your reader should not struggle to figure out what is going on. Hint: try to construct a sentence with one subject, predicate, and object as often as you can. If you must do otherwise, make doubly sure the sentence is 100% clear. Drop all double (or more) meanings in the words you use or modify the word to clarify it.
September 8, 2019
The World of Forms
The World of Forms
A short history: Athens Greece 2400 years ago. The philosopher Socrates taught Plato, Plato taught Aristotle. Their impact on the way men think has a predominance in western thought.
One of Plato’s theories that is more controversial says that the senses are illusions and the world of ideas is real. After we die, we wholly become part of the world of ideas, or forms as he called it, and will experience everlasting joy.
Let’s apply this to romance in two ways. Love as an idea has to be at the top of the list of forms because it is perfect, indivisible and the reason for living. Your senses make you aware of a possible mate but the idea of love and the world of your heart are intangible. Senses are fleeting and so is our attractiveness over time. So choosing a partner should take into consideration more than physical beauty. The second application is in writing romance or for that matter any fiction. Your idea becomes a form and that is eternal. So keep contributing to the richness to be found after death!
For romance writers, focusing on love in a story is critical. Focusing on eternal love is a secret of a great philosopher named Plato.
Elizabeth Browning wrote, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways….” Count indeed. Make sure your romance is not shallow. Embrace the world of forms.
I must run now. I have guests from the Philippines to love.
September 1, 2019
Competitive Man
The competitive man
I’ve been writing about the male POV since 2011. In my Kindle book, 101 Tips, Primarily on Writing Male Characters, I had to use the word ‘primarily’ because I hadn’t collected enough ‘onlys.’ Often a male POV idea can be described as simply human. It’s a matter of degree how much a woman acts like a man and visa versa. Regarding competition, both men and women are competitive. Sometimes in different ways.
Competitiveness in men can be both good and bad. When young men challenge each other to street racing and one drives off a cliff that’s taking it too far. Guys are also more likely to fist fight…
Good can be extracted from a man often in the form of a woman being present. She inspires a man to do better. I’ll offer two recent examples, which came as a surprise to me. I’m in Zumba, and in walks my Bar teacher on a 15 minute break. I danced better without consciously trying. My daughter died of cancer, but before she did, she inspired me to write a better novel and insisted that I try harder to get it published. So I did and yes it will be published.
It is so true that many put their own needs last or accept a certain comfortable way of doing things, instead of struggling to get the best out of themselves. There’s the 80/20 rules. Most of us will complete 80% of the work necessary to ‘finish’ the job. The remaining 20% necessary for greatness is just too much work. Hence, we have the Taylor Swifts of the world. Those whose inner strength, borne of genius, to be sure, press with great energy to use the talents that God gave them to the maximum. It is human nature to take the path of least resistance. What will you say of your life if you cannot reach even one of your goals? No problem. If you analyze and understand your talents and do the best you can with them, you have accomplished the Creator’s goal set for you.
A man dates and marries a woman and wants to make her happy by doing more for her, to work hard at love, to make her feel loved, even adored in a secular way. Some men never leave the honeymoon stage. If they can’t please her, treasure her every day, they’d be disappointed in themselves. Love is the point of life. So make it.
A man left to his own devices may drift. Humans are social creatures, so, at the least, reach out to the community. (Okay, it’s Sunday. It’s preaching I know. Not all men are like this, i.e., striving for excellence in a relationship. This is for the dreamers out there who write books of love. Who deliver inspiration for those who enjoy and sometimes need it.)
August 18, 2019
The Needy or Clingy Type
The needy or clingy type.
Have you ever seen the guy or gal who clung to their partner? I have, but in this one unique case, two directions. First, being needy or clingy is considered a personality defect, but what if both are doing it to each other?
This is a true story, reported without embellishment.
August 15th, Thursday is a Catholic Holy day of obligation. Wife and I went to an evening Mass. In walks a young couple, hand in hand. They take a pew in the sparsely populated church four ahead of us.
She rested her arm on the bench rise behind him and finger combed has locks in one small section near his opposite ear. Oh that’s nice.
He then gave her a kiss on her cheek. Sweet.
She went up to do a reading. Came back and he put his arm around her waist. Next, she put her arm over his shoulder while standing. These guys must be a new couple. But they weren’t. I spotted the rings. They’re married. What retreat did they go to? And where can Del and I sign up? Arte they married to each other. Let’s secretly meet at the church.
Next reading was his. When he returned, she rested her head on his shoulder (and this happened quite a few times). My God, they must be totally in love. Paul Anka’s hit of bygone years played in my mind. Put Your Head on My Shoulder, 1959. The link to the song: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=paul+anka+put+your+head+on+my+shoulder&docid=607995728363585974&mid=F42B7149B7BDEA7FA3D5F42B7149B7BDEA7FA3D5&view=detail&FORM=VRAASM
Then, they took turns kissing each other on the cheek (this happened maybe twenty times a piece). I looked around and people were smiling. Get a sacristy, I wanted to shout out.
During the rest of the Mass, they alternated among hand holding and arm caresses, knowing looks, cheek kisses, leaning into each other, and the put your head on my shoulder. At any moment,
I half expected them to disappear from sight and imagined groans coming from the pew. I would not chastise myself—being a romance writer—for not paying much attention to the Mass. I couldn’t tell you anything about the sermon, except for the pastor’s joke at the end requiring that we all go home after Mass and have a feast, since this was a feast day.
Perhaps the couple were newlyweds, but I have seen them around for at least a year. Never in a position to observe.
They walked out hand-in-hand and starry eyed. I worried that they might trip, they had already fallen. They were neither creepy, clingy, nor needy. Just lovey. And we all could use a dose of it.
