Guest of Honor – Ruthie Knox

Welcome back guest RUTHIE KNOX with her fantastic new novella/eBook, HOW TO MISBEHAVE … I know it’s fantastic because I read it. It was fast, fun and a really heartwarming couple who were pretty sexy and hot at the same time. I really loved them! Read on, as Ruthie tells you more about her view on happy endings!

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Thanks for having me back to visit, Plotmonkeys!

The first time I was here, nearly a year ago, I talked about epilogues. Namely, my distaste for them. I felt as though epilogues were often used to put a great big bow around the happily ever after, and I said that as someone who lives in the happily ever after – as a married woman with a son, in other words – I crave more realism in these peeks at the hero and heroine down the road.

“The happy ending is, for me, one moment,” I wrote. “It’s a respite. After a few hundred pages of conflict and strife, the hero and heroine deserve a few minutes to breathe and rest easy in the comfortable space they’ve made through their mutual disclosures, their lifting of burdens, and their hot smexin’. But nobody gets to live in the happy-ever-after moment forever. Not even romance novel characters. Being in love is hard work.”

After my visit here, I kept thinking about the whole question of epilogues, and eventually I began to change my mind. Sort of. I can see why readers often crave them, and I’ve even come to believe that some books need them – particularly stories that take place over a short span of time. I’ve actually written two epilogues now (not too goopy, I hope), and I’m open to the possibility of writing more.

But I remain fascinated with this idea of the ending of a story as a respite rather than an open door into the hero and heroine’s golden and glorious future.

My latest release, How To Misbehave, is a 100-page story that takes place over just a few days, and so – probably inevitably – it ends with a “happy for now” moment instead of a “happy ever after.” Thus far, readers have seemed satisfied with the way the story ends. But I’m not.

I want to keep going – to delve into the story of what happens to this couple, Amber and Tony, after they find intimacy, trust, and happiness together. Because I know they will get more than they have bargained for. They will get love and companionship, yes, and these are no small thing – but they will also get marriage, spiritual growth, family trauma, stress, financial difficulty, and pain. They will find out what it’s like to have three children and a business that you must put before your own needs, how those things can consume you, and how you have to fight to keep your marriage alive and at the core of what you value, or you’ll lose it.

I so want to write about those struggles, too. Because to my mind, that is romance. I would even argue that it is the same kind of romance as the romance that brings the couple together in the first place.

In the happy-ever-after, there is happiness, yes. But there is conflict and tension, hot sex and fail-sex, good communication and poor communication. And while I don’t like to imagine my characters backsliding after their story ends – unlearning the lessons the book has gone to such pains to teach them – life carries with it so many new lessons to be learned. I can’t help but want to write about those, too.

What do you guys think? Are you ever curious about what happens to a favorite couple post–happy-ever-after, or do you want to imagine them apart from all the ordinary struggles of life? Feel free to disagree with me! I’m interested in how you feel about what you read, what you want, what you hate. Knock yourselves out. ☺

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HOW TO MISBEHAVE

What woman can resist a hot man in a hard hat? Beloved author Ruthie Knox kicks off her new Camelot series with this deliciously sexy original novella, in which a good girl learns how to misbehave . . . with all her heart.



As program director for the Camelot Community Center, Amber Clark knows how to keep her cool. That is, until a sudden tornado warning forces her to take shelter in a darkened basement with a hunk of man whose sex appeal green lights her every fantasy. With a voice that would melt chocolate, he asks her if she is okay. Now she’s hot all over and wondering: How does a girl make a move?

Building contractor Tony Mazzara was just looking to escape nature’s fury. Instead, he finds himself all tangled up with lovely Amber. Sweet and sexy, she’s ready to unleash her wild side. Their mutual desire reaches a fever pitch and creates a storm of its own—unexpected, powerful, and unforgettable. But is it bigger than Tony can handle? Can he let go of painful memories and let the force of this remarkable woman show him a future he never dreamed existed?

Read More About How To Misbehave – including BUY LINKS at all major retailers!

Ruthie is generously giving away 3 eCopies of HOW TO MISBEHAVE to one lucky commenter below! Check back Sunday for winners.