Liz Lee's Blog, page 5

A Sneak Peek

Becky's book debuts later this month. Here's a sneak peek!


Friday and feeling fine.Becky Saunders wanted to dance to the music in her mind. Wanted to swirl around the office and sing a song. A song about raucous fun and a weekend spent finding the perfect guy for the perfect fling, making the most amazing cinnamon rolls ever and maybe, just maybe, tackling yet another DIY project.But first, before anything else, she wanted to sing about what was up next. Red Pen Intervention. RPI.Three ladies, a new margarita bar in town and a chance to let their hair down where the students wouldn’t find them. Well, a chance for Becky to let her hair down. Assistant Principal Patty Jackson would play Mom, but she’d laugh and inspire Becky with speeches about going for her dreams no matter what. Guidance counselor Meg Crawley would sip one margarita over an hour or two, and remind her that dreams were all fine and good, but if they weren’t tempered with reality, they could be dangerous. And Becky would listen to them, laugh with them, thank God she found them. Her very best friends in the world. Women who didn’t judge her for loving lipgloss, eating carbs and running as far and as fast from relationships as she possibly could.The clock was winding down and the work was done, done, done. Becky hit the shutdown button on the computer and twirled around in her chair, admiring the pale pink sandals with the perfect bows at the clasps. The shoes made her five foot three frame seem just a tad taller, made her legs look like they went on forever and took a good ten pounds off her profile. No diet could beat a good pair of heels. She opened the Anderson House Chocolatiers box on her desk and bit into the best dark chocolate truffle in the history of the world and sighed, closing her eyes and enjoying every second of sweet goodness. At least she did until the glass door separating the assistant principal’s office from the rest of the high school world opened. Ugh! Parents were the biggest procrastinators ever. The last minute of the last day of the week. Seriously.Becky swallowed the truffle, opened her eyes and forgot to breathe for a moment…oh wow, oh wow, oh wow.Hello, Hollywood. She closed the box of truffles and smiled. Who cared about delays? Hell, who cared about plans period?The dad who stepped into the office was hot, hot, hot with close cropped blond hair that screamed military and the muscles that matched. His tan skin spoke of hours spent outdoors. He must be a new student’s dad because she’d definitely never seen him before. He looked more than a little uncomfortable, which was perfectly normal for people visiting the principal’s office, even the adults. Lucky for her, she wasn’t uncomfortable. Not in the least. It was her job to guide him through the process of signing in to speak to Patty or one of the other assistants. To make him feel welcome. And he was definitely welcome.“How may I help you?” Becky said with her best beauty queen smile.His answer stopped her cold.“My name is Jeremiah Cannon. I'm looking for information on my brother, Nick."Holy crap. Becky slid her hand over the clipboard on her desk and tried to blank her face.Nick. The juvenile delinquent Patty's daughter Cadyn was currently in love with but not allowed to date. The campus bad boy turned quality kid in the past month.Nick had an older brother? How did she not know that? Nick lived with his aunt or at the teen shelter. His family was almost non-existent. The kid had pretty much been on his own during high school."Uhhhh," she said then held up a finger, a finger with a jagged nail she’d just broken on the clipboard, dammit."Wait one minute, please, and I'll get someone to help you."She grabbed the walkie-talkie from the desktop, turned it to Patty’s frequency and pressed the red button three times to signal a nonemergency emergency. The code meant office help needed pronto, but no need for panic or police.If she could just get her pulse to understand the whole no need for panic thing, that would be great.Hoping for calm, cool and professional, she relayed the message and prayed Patty read between the lines. Or on the lines. Or wherever the lines needed to be that resulted in Patty skedaddling back to the office. “Mrs. Jackson, Jeremiah Cannon is here looking for information on his brother, Nick.” Nailed it. Completely non-panicked.The radio squawked, and Patty's voice sounded."Can you repeat, Becky? It sounded like you said someone wanted info on…" "Nick," Becky interrupted and smiled across the office at the gorgeous man taking up a ridiculous amount of space. “Yes. Nick Cannon’s brother. Is here. In the office.”Becky enunciated every word all the while never taking her eyes off the man across from her. His button down Polo looked freshly laundered. His jeans were well-worn but fit like they were custom made. His boots were clean but scuffed like they’d been a few rounds in places other than dance halls and bars. He might not be a cowboy, but Jeremiah Cannon was certainly all Texan. And man, she had a thing for guys like him. Sexy, southern, single. At least she hoped he was single. He wasn’t wearing a ring. But now was not the time or place for those thoughts. No. Now was the time for focus. For professionalism. “Patty, Mrs. Jackson, one of our assistant principals will be with you shortly, Mr. Cannon.”“Thanks,” he said as he nodded and looked around the office as if he were cataloging everything about it. From the pens decorated as daisies to the Anderson House truffles on the desk to the fact that her computer was turned off already. Yeah, this man didn’t miss much.“So Nick is your brother? That’s interesting. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.” The man’s face shuttered.“I’m sure he won’t. That’s one reason I’m here.” Alrighty then. Thankfully, a few seconds later Patty practically ran into the office and skidded to a stop when she saw Mr. Sexy. "Mr. Cannon,” Patty said holding out her hand in welcome while looking at Becky with what the hell?! obviously apparent. Becky shot the same look back because seriously, what the hell?!?Jeremiah Cannon stood, shook her hand and cleared his throat. "Ma'am," he said, and Becky winced. Patty hated it when adults called her ma'am. She said it made her feel old. "Come into my office," Patty said, eyes wide and worried. "Hold my calls, Becky."“Yes, ma’am,” Becky said trying to tease, but the title slipped right by her friend, which meant Patty was totally freaked out. That wasn’t good. Patty didn’t freak out. Not ever. Well, not often. Not unless it had to do with her hunk of a husband and those weeks he spent winning her back. Yeah, then Patty freaked out.But this was work, not matters of the heart. Where work was concerned Patty was a rock.Patty disappeared into the office with Nick Cannon's brother, and the temperature took a ten degree dive when the door closed. Hot. He was so hot.And Dear God in Heaven, Nick Cannon had a brother.A brother who looked like…the stuff fantasies were made of.Becky stared at the closed door then at the clock, visions of RPI fading into the distance. Who was she kidding? RPI was the least of her concerns. She dialed Meg’s extension.Meg answered after two rings. “Give me five more minutes, Becky. I swear I’ll be ready to go…”“SOS in Patty's office, Meg,” Becky interrupted.Somethings were more important than weekend plans. Jeremiah Cannon’s sudden appearance qualified as one of those things."On my way," Meg said without question. SOS was emergencies only, and it always meant drop everything and run. A few seconds later the tall blonde with the girl-next-door looks that made people want to share their secrets stepped into the office looking coolly professional even in her spirit wear. Meg was Becky’s polar opposite. She didn’t believe in big hair or sparkly lipgloss or weekend flings. She’d never been called a bimbo or Barbie or Beauty Queen Babe a day in her life. But that was okay. “SOS?”"Nick Cannon's older brother," Becky whispered, and Meg's perfectly arched eyebrows raised. “Whoa. Wait. Nick has a brother?”“A gorgeous brother. And unless I’m mistaken that’s going to create some serious drama. I think Patty needs reinforcements in there.” Becky nodded toward the door.Meg didn’t wait. Two quick knocks on the door and she disappeared inside leaving Becky alone in the outer office.No telling how long the meeting would last.Becky sighed. This kind of thing was way above her pay grade. Way, way above it. The minutes dragged.She was mid-file on the broken nail when the main office door opened and Becky’s stomach dropped.Cadyn Jackson walked in laughing with her not-boyfriend Nick Cannon. "Hey, Ms. Saunders,” Cadyn said. “Can you tell my mom Nick's giving me a ride home real quick? I need to get my cold-weather gear for the game. Lovin’ those shoes by the way.”Nick used to look guilty when he walked into the office. Now he smiled openly in spite of the suckage of his last two years. Cadyn had been good for him. The kid was a survivor, that was for sure.“I’ve been texting my mom forever, but she’s not answering again,” Cadyn said. “I swear I don’t know why she even bothers with her phone.”Crap, crap, crap. No way did Nick know his brother was here. Not with the whole besotted boyfriend thing he had going on. She’d been right about the drama.Becky looked at Patty’s closed office door then at the two lovebirds. She didn't know whether to push Nick out of the office before an unexpected reunion or come up with a few excuses to keep him and Cadyn there. Only Jeremiah Cannon hadn't said anything about meeting Nick. He said he was looking for information…“Ms. Saunders, are you okay?" Cadyn asked suddenly worried, and Becky made her decision. When in doubt avoid."Yeah," she said. "I just had one of those ADD moments. You two go on, Cadyn. Your mom’s meeting could take awhile. I’ll explain what’s up if she asks.”Right answer. The two looked at each other like they’d been given the best gift ever.When they left, Becky sighed in relief. It might just delay the inevitable, but this was the kind of drama she didn’t want to witness. Plus you just never knew about this kind of thing. What if Jeremiah Cannon was an ass? Gorgeous didn’t discount jerk. Shoot, in her experience it made it far more likely.A minute later Patty’s door opened. The frown on Nick’s brother’s face spoke volumes. No way did he need a surprise reunion with his little brother. She didn’t know what he’d been told in the office, but he wasn’t happy. Neither was Patty.And that was okay. She would get all the details in a few minutes over cheesy goodness and lime bliss at Rosa’s Cantina. Maybe.Only the front door opened again, and Nick walked in smiling like the great kid he’d turned into. Becky tried to run interference. She moved as fast as she ever had from behind her desk toward the boy as he spoke. “Ms. Saunders, Cadyn forgot to get the house keys from her mom, can you…"She wasn’t fast enough. Nick’s voice trailed off, and he stood completely still, staring at the man behind Patty. Becky didn’t know Nick all that well, but the boy’s sharp anger was impossible to miss. For a moment no one moved. It was like those seconds right before a car slammed into you. You could see it coming but were powerless to stop the wreck, and everything in you tensed because it was going to hurt like hell. The clock moved forward one more click, the water dispenser in the back of the office glugged, the fax machine kicked in with a buzz. And finally Jeremiah Cannon stepped forward and in a gut-wrenching whisper said, “Nick,” and Becky’s heart plummeted. He didn’t just want information. He wanted a reunion.But to anyone on the outside watching, it was apparent that wasn’t happening. Not now. Not yet.When he’d said his brother wouldn’t be happy to see him, he wasn’t joking.Nick’s expression hardened, but he didn’t say a word. Instead he simply turned and walked out the door letting it close behind him with a soft swish. And with that swish, everyone in the room kicked into action."I'll go," Patty said following Nick. "He'll be okay," Meg said to Jeremiah all calm assurance. Becky felt anything but calm. She felt like she was stuck in the middle of a Lifetime movie, which was usually awesome but right now felt pretty awful. She wanted to intervene, to do something. It was like Patty invaded her brain because Becky never, ever wanted to get involved in family dramas. That was one of the reasons she was perfect for her job as the administrative executive assistant. Before Becky could do anything though, Meg took control and escorted Jeremiah through the conference room to her office. Becky stood alone in the suddenly silent space. It looked so normal. Like every other Friday once the building emptied and they were free to leave.At least it did until the front office door opened again, and a confused looking Cadyn walked in. “Ms. Saunders, have you seen Nick? He was supposed to come get the house keys from Mom since I'm grounded for saying ‘whatever’ too many times. I swear she is touchy these days.”And the hits just keep on coming. “Nick’s in the middle of something right now, Cadyn. It might be a while." "What do you mean something? I swear if my mom…"Becky bit her lip. There were rules. Privacy issues. Cadyn would probably know soon, but Nick had the right to be the one to tell her…or not. "I can't say, Cadyn.”Cadyn sat in the chair Jeremiah Cannon had so recently vacated and pulled her phone from her backpack. "You can tell me," she said, and Becky wished more than anything she could.  Fortunately, Patty trudged into the office, so Becky didn’t have to say anything.  Cadyn stood, but Patty shook her head. Then she pasted on the fake smile she used when she knew the day was gone to hell so they might as well roll with it and hugged Cadyn tight."Nick is going to need some time, sweetie."Cadyn looked from her mother to Becky and back as if the statement were crazy. "It's Friday, Mom. He can't have time. He has to be at the stadium in two hours. He needs to eat and get in game mode."Patty blew out a long breath and nodded."I know, and he might still make it to the game. If he doesn't I'll talk to Coach Williams.""There is no if he doesn't, Mom. You know that. If you’re not dying, you show up on time ready to play. No excuses. Geez.”The door down the hall wooshed open, and they all looked up as Jeremiah Cannon strode back into the office. His presence was electric, even in his obvious grief. Cadyn's mouth fell open and then her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"Jeremiah looked at her with startled confusion. Becky realized Cadyn knew exactly who the man was. Meg walked into the office then, still calm, still professional. She continued as if Cadyn hadn’t spoken. “We will provide services, Mr. Cannon, and we will work to make this transition as easy as possible for you both if Nick chooses to move home.”Jeremiah said "thank you," his voice sad yet resolute, and he tilted his head to her and Patty, sliding a pair of darker than normal aviator sunglasses down over his eyes before walking away without answering Cadyn's question. But Becky saw the answer in his deep brown eyes. He didn't know what he was doing there. One thing was for sure. Jeremiah was definitely NOT the stuff of the fun fling she was looking for.

I'm addicted to nail polish

Okay, that's a bit of a lie. I'm addicted to ALL makeup. I get birchbox samples, shop at Ulta, buy from Jamberry Nails. I have a Mark Kay lady and I'm an Arbonne preferred customer.
I have a problem. And it's weird because I rarely wear makeup on the weekends. If What Not to Wear followed me around on the weekends, Clinton and Stacey would be so disappointed in my Sat-Sun face when I leave the house.
I don't know why I love makeup so much. Maybe it's that one year my face freaked out and developed this nasty scaly allergic reaction to color and I had to go a whole year without color. Basically I could wear mascara, the end.
Maybe it's that when I was 15 my mom brought a Mary Kay lady over to help me learn how to do my makeup without looking scary.
Maybe it's that makeup is so much fun!
I'm not sure what it is, but I love it.
DH doesn't understand the excitement of that Birchbox delivery every month and how much fun it is to test the eyeliner (which I rarely wear) or the lip stain or the--even better than makeup--cleansing cream and moisturizer they sometimes send. He doesn't understand, but he knows one of the keys to my heart is the Ulta magazine with the coupon or BOGO sale, and anytime we're visiting a mall with a Sephora (aka HEAVEN), he says "I guess you want to go in there, huh?" And then he sits on the bench outside while I shop and shop and shop.
Yeah. I have an addiction.
I kind of like it.
.

The week that was...

We lost our game. Boo. And I watched way too much Netflix. (Have you seen The Paradise?! SOOOOOOO good.)And on Thursday I tried to get a new internet.cable provider, but after two hours attempting to make the change and several problems, I decided to check out the deals Time Warner had going on. This week we're getting way more channels, far faster Internet and only paying a little more. Score!Only with all those channels I have that much more TV addiction to fight. Ugh. I finished It's in His Kiss by Jill Shalvis. (The Lucky Harbor books are AMAZING!)Over all I had a nice week. And a new series is percolating in my brain. I have to decide between it and the next Sharlene Gallagher book for NANO.The next three weeks are crazy busy, and then the holidays hit. Time flies. I better take advantage of it.

Friday Night Lights

Tonight my day job runs into my nights. Actually almost all of my friday nights in the Fall are spent at a stadium watching high school football. Tonight's game is the biggest of the big. Our local stadium will be wall-to-wall people. We'll get there early so we can claim decent seats. The season ticket holders will be out in force. It's Military Appreciation Night. Anyone NOT from our hometown who comes to the game will freak out. It's the cross-town rivalry game. One of the biggest in the nation. And it's always fun.
This year it's earlier than normal. And that's okay.
In the 21 years I've been teaching this game has always been a highlight of the year. Once we won in the last second on a freezing cold night while icy rain fell on the stadium filled with people who didn't leave. That night I wrapped DD in a sleeping bag and sat with my teacher friends and held my breath on that last play that ended in victory. I wrote Texas Gold in the weeks after that game.
I love Friday Night Football.
If you're in Texas, chances are you do, too.
If you happen to be in Wichita Falls tonight, I highly recommend the game. There's nothing like it.
We're not ritzy like the Metroplex, so don't expect state-of-the art seating. But our stadium is solid. And our crowds are loud. Get there early, though, or you won't get a seat. The teams are rated equally this year, so the stadium should be packed. <3


Don't forget to sign up for the Author Liz Lee newsletter. Never spam, just give-aways and news. Click here.Like my Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLizLee

The Binger....

When I find a show I love on Netflix, I don't just watch an episode or two. I invest a LIFETIME into it.  The fact the Gilmore Girls is now on Netflix is bad news for me. I love that show. And even though I've seen every episode multiple times, I know once I start watching, I'll be watching for hours on end. At least until I get through Season 4 and the "That Ship Sailed" discussion with the minister.
When I write, I do the same thing. Stories percolate in my brain until I sit down to start writing and then  my whole life gets wrapped up in the manuscript. I don't eat or sleep right or function really. I just write. And write. And write.
It's not healthy.
I know that.
I know I need to find a way to find balance.
Last year I was better. Last year I walked and set a timer and remembered to sleep.
But then the summer happened and all my old habits came roaring back.
I'm like this in all areas of my life. I binge.
Diet, exercise, TV, reading, writing...it doesn't matter.
I'm going to work on this in October. Writing is great for brain health, but when it comes to body health, writing isn't exactly the best kind of job. I need to find my healthy balance.
Do you have any healthy writing tips? If so, SHARE! Here or on my Facebook Fan Page!
<3

Don't forget to sign up for the Author Liz Lee newsletter. Never spam, just give-aways and news. Click here.
Like my Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLizLee

HEA Forever!

How much did I love this movie?!? Thank you, Netlfix! Because of you, I've seen so many awesome indie films. Silver Linings Playbook was probably one of my favorites. It started when the main character got to the end of A Farewell to Arms and threw the book out the window. AMEN! Life is too short to read books that end in ...and she died. OR ...and she got on a bus and rode away. OR ...and she threw herself under a bus.
Yeah, I HATE those endings. I love HEA.
And Silver Linings Playbook was the BEST KIND OF ENDING.
I did log on wikipedia to check out the synopsis, though. I didn't trust the movie. It's an indie, and indie movies are often so open ended. I had to know if A Farewell to Arms was foreshadowing.
I might have liked it better if I hadn't known the ending. I don't know. But I sure did love that movie.
I cheated on the last Harry Potter, too. Opened the book and read the end before I even started page one. I know that ruined the book, but after Dumbledore, I couldn't. I just couldn't read if one of the three died.
I didn't always read the endings first or check out wikipedia. But then that best selling romance author KILLED OFF ONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS at the end of the book.
No, just no.
The only time that's ever worked that I can think of is Luanne Rice's Cloud Nine and that's because you know from the very beginning she's going to die.
I don't know about y'all, but I want an HEA in the books I read. I will always deliver an HEA in the books I write.
If you love HEAs, check out Silver Linings Playbook. It's The Best Ever.<3

Like out my Facebook Fan Page:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLizLee
Don't forget to sign up for the Author Liz Lee newsletter. Never spam, just give-aways and news. Click here.

Poker and Writing

You know the "Big Fish Story?"
It has nothing on the "Bad Beat Story."
Okay, so maybe people exaggerate big fish more than they do bad beats.
If you play poker, you know when I mean when I say there's nothing like the camaraderie of a room full of people who know your ace high flush just got beat by a straight flush OR you hit 4 of a kind 30 minutes before the bonus started.
I love poker. I love sharing those bad beat stories. I love meeting new people at the table and hearing about their lives and loves and loves lost.
I especially love when DH and I are at a table playing with a couple that's been making Vegas trips for years and years and they love playing together, too, especially now that they're retired.
Sometimes I sit at the table and wonder about the stories. The last time we were in Vegas we played off the Strip and most of the people sitting at the tables were retirees and regulars. One lady looked about 80. She was decked out in glitzy baubles, and she knew ever dealer, waiter, player. She was a cranky old lady, with white hair teased out in one of those hairdos older women go get done once or twice a week. Her red lipstick bled a little on the lines around her mouth that spoke of years of smoking before I ever heard her craggly smoker's voice. She might have been grumpy, but the employees and regulars loved her. She didn't share much, but I imagined her story. What brought her to Vegas. What made her stay. Why that casino. Why the glitz. I filled in the blanks while she built her chip stack.
DH doesn't do that. When he's at the table, he's an aggressor. He bets and bets and bets some more. I watch. I can spend hours playing on the same money because of that. That won't ever make me rich, but it sure is fun. <3

Don't forget to sign up for the Author Liz Lee newsletter. Never spam, just give-aways and news. Click here.

There's a Reason I Love Story

My Grandpa used to tell us this story called The Big Fat Man. In the story the big fat man goes around eating everything including the kids. We'd beg to be the kid the big fat man was going to eat, and sure enough, every time, Grandpa would say "gobble, gobble, gobble, down the hatch she went."
Some of my earliest memories center on that story and fun and spending time with Grandpa and Grandma.
Grandma always had books. I remember spending time with Treasure Island and Little House on the Prairie, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and then when I was older, Steinbeck and Grapes of Wrath.
Summers with Grandma and Grandpa were the best.
Story played a huge role in that awesomeness. When we sat at the table to eat breakfast of eggs and bacon and homemade biscuits and honey butter Grandpa would tell stories about being a young man in Oklahoma. Lunches were spent hearing more stories. Dinner even more.
When I was older, those stories were shared while gathered around the table playing Skip-Bo. There Grandma and Grandpa would talk about the world they'd grown up in and how things had changed. Grandma remembered living in a tent city during the Great Depression. An uncle from Lawton would drive over with a sack of peas to last a month. Grandpa remembered a different life in Shawnee. Both loved telling their story, a story of love...almost a fairy tale.
How when Grandma was young the OKC paper did a story about a young minister with new babies and a toddler, whose wife had died. She cut out the story and prayed for the man.
How four years later she was singing in a trio at a old time revival and the minister saw her and just knew she was the one.
How he sent a letter to the lady she was staying with saying don't tell her but...
How the lady decided the answer was to simply give her the note and say, "Read this."
How that was it. How everything changed for my grandma, who graduated early at the top of her class and could have gone to college but instead became a small town minister's wife. How she wouldn't change anything except the early years of their marriage when Grandpa's mother lived with them to help take care of the boys and she bent to her will and disciplined the children more than she ever would have on her own.
Story...sometimes silly like The Big Fat Man, sometimes serious life the stories of the Depression and raising children, sometimes heart warming romance. But always there. Always.
I'm thankful for that time. I'm thankful for them. I'm thankful for story. <3

Don't forget to sign up for the Author Liz Lee newsletter. Never spam, just give-aways and news. Click here.

What a Week!

Book birthday weeks are always fun. This week was no exception. On top of The Real Deal's birthday the new TV season started. YAY! I knew I would watch Survivor and Nashville. I thought I would watch Grey's eventually. I had no idea I'd watch Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder. I'm going to have to break this TV addiction or I won't get anything done. <3
I just wanted to get on here and remind readers that book birthday week ends today. That means it's the last week of .99 for each of the It Started in Texas kindle books. I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you'll leave reviews over on Amazon and Goodreads.
A new book in the series debuts next month. It's out with beta readers right now. If you're interested in joining my beta reader team, fill out the application here.
Have a great and wonderful weekend! I know I will.
As always, Happy Reading!
Next week it's back to the daily grind and stories about life and love. <3

--Liz

What I'm reading: Alison Kent's The Sweetness of Honey (love, love, love!!!)
What I'm Listening to: Jill Shalvis's It's in His Kiss. (Shalvis is my new favorite!)

Forever: The keys to Happily Ever After

My new book, The Real Deal, is a reunited lovers story.
I LOVE it. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you know that because I wrote about loving it there. AND here when I was writing it. AND on my Facebook Fan Page. And in the note to readers at the back of the book.
I LOVE the Sam and Patty story. I love them as characters.
I love that they're older and that they called it quits and got back together.
I love that forever was the real deal for them in the end.
I hope I didn't need to say spoiler alert there. I solemnly swear ALL my books will end in happily ever after. Always. I'm fine reading happily right now, but my favorite stories end in HEA and the ones I write do, too.
But those stories are fiction, make believe, fairy tales.
Forever in real life isn't easy.
My grandma always said commitment was key.
I think it's that and making sure you have happily married friends to help you. And understanding the realities of marriage and how there are all these different types of love and how they're all important in the marriage relationship.
I think those truths are seen in The Real Deal. I think that's one of the reasons I love Sam and Patty's story so much.

The keys to a satisfying HEA (in my opinion):
1. Make it something they have to FIGHT for. Even though I know the story is going to end with an HEA, I need to think they might not get together.
2. Include an all hope is lost scene near the end. In my romance writer group we were taught this is called the Black Moment. When I told DH, he laughed and laughed. Ever since any time we reach that part in a movie, DH comments on it.
3. Make the conflict real and not just something the characters could talk about and get over.
4. Remember, this is a fantasy. Okay, some people are all "give me reality." NO. Do Not Give Me Reality. I want the Avery jumping up and stopping the Kepner wedding, the on-call room hookups, the icicle falling off the roof into the side intro that leads to steamy tension (See my Greys Anatomy infatuation post yesterday!). I don't read romance for reality.
5. Include fun. Dates that aren't about sex, makeup mishaps, worst days ever...whatever. Don't forget fun.
6. No Perfection. Okay, the hero should be hunky and heroic, but please don't make the characters perfect.
7. STEAM. I'm a fan of hot books, but I want attraction in books, not just sex.
8. A strong female character
9. A conflict I can relate to in some way. (Rachel Gibson and Jill Shalvis are rock stars at this! Okay, they're masers at ALL of this.)
10. A kiss that counts.
BONUS: A wedding that makes me say AHHHHHH! I love this.
<3

Don't forget to subscribe to my author newsletter! Click Here!