Karen Foley
Lynn Raye Harris
Ellen Hartman
Diana Holquist
Samantha Hunter
Shirley Jump
Dee Tenorio
Jeannie Watt
Welcome Guest Blogger, Leanne Banks!
Thanks so much for letting me come and play. I’m a regular at Babes in Bookland but it’s fun to jump the fence sometimes.
I just finished being mother of the bride and matron of honor for my daughter’s wedding on Saturday. What an experience. Talk about INTENSE! I did, however, do my duty and at the reception, I not only gave a toast that brought tears to the eyes of the bride and groom, I also joined a huge group of women who circled the groom singing Respect by Aretha Franklin, danced to Brick House with the bride and the mother of the groom, and danced to We Are Family with my sisters and mother.
You may think since I’m a romance author that I would have been starry-eyed once my daughter told me she was going to get marred at the age of 22. Not so. My practical protectiveness kicked in and I told her that her brain wasn’t even fully formed yet. She should wait. At least 2009. 09 is so fine, I said. 08 is great she retorted Smartypants!
The guy she married is so sweet. My daughter is a magical person, not because of me, mind you. I’m not really sure how it happened, but she just is. She has drawn guys since she was in elementary school. When she hit her teens, I told her to remember that counting rhyme we’ve all learned but I modified the end with a question. “My mother told me to pick the very best one and… are you it?”
Needless to say, several were not it. But Kevin, he was it. He put her first and adored her and she adored him and challenged him. They were friends long before they got involved romantically. He asked my husband and me for permission to marry Alisa and I told him how respectful he was and that he was a great guy and that… I would kick his as* down the street like a can if he hurt her. He had the perfect answer. “My mother would do that first.”
So romance in books is one thing. Working it out in real life is another. How do you handle your children’s or siblings’ or friends romantic lives when you’re called to give advice or guidance? Are you romantic or practical?
Oh, and dang it, I was supposed to plug my upcoming Silhouette Desire, Billionaire’s Wedding Bargain. It will hit the stands the first week of August and I would love it if you would buy it so you could help pay for my daughter’s wedding.:) Seriously, I enjoyed this book, loved the hero and shero. She wasn’t reed-thin. Since I’m eating leftover wedding cake, I especially appreciate that! The hero is charming and even cats like him. :)
Please come see me in San Francisco at the literacy signing on Wednesday at 5:30pm, and at the workshop I’m holding with Rhonda Pollero at 4:30pm on Thursday, “Got Problems? We’ve Got Solutions”. We’ll be holding drawings for Scandalicious t-shirts and other giveaways. For the RWA literacy signing, the first 10 people who come up to me and say Billionaire’s Marriage Bargain get a free Scandalicious t-shirt.
One more thing. Do I really have to join MySpace? LOUD GROAN!
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Welcome Leanne!
Great to have you here, and FWIW, no, you don't have to be on MySpace or Facebook or any of the rest of it. :) I don't go near them.
I find giving advice to anyone on romance almost never works, so I try not to do it -- mostly they don't want to hear what you have to say if it's opposite of what they want (especially if what they want is the wrong thing), so you just have to let them make their own mistakes or successes, I think.
Congrats on the wedding, have fun at nationals!
Sam
Sam, you're so right!
Sam, you're so right! People don't usually want to hear what you REALLY think. They've already made up their mind! My mom said the say thing to me.:) -- Leanne
Practical
Practical, practical, practical, LOL. I, too, married at 22 (barely 22) and after 15 years of marriage I don't really have much romance left in me. Sounds weird for an aspiring romance writer, but it's true. That's why I think it's so important that books show the heroes and heroines working things out together, their jobs meshing, a real respect for each other, give and take on both sides, etc, because that's what makes a marriage work.
JMHO. Your daughter's husband sounds like a real keeper - best of luck and good wishes to them both!
I told my daughter that I
I told my daughter that I may write romance novels, but I also know that the real work begins after those fateful words "And they lived happily ever after". I do think she's got a good guy and that thrills me. Thanks! Best, Leanne
Hi Leanne, Your new
Hi Leanne,
Your new son-in-law sounds like a keeper and your daughter sounds like a spunky woman! My daughter is 23 and in single mode right now. She's loving it and I think she needs this time to complete herself before moving into a relationship. Smart women know what they need. Your daughter knew she needed Kevin.
My daughter is coming to Nationals with me, so we'll stop by and say hello, either at the class or at the signing. See you then,
Jeannie
Jeannie, you're coming to
Jeannie, you're coming to SF? YAY! Please do stop by and see me! And bring your daughter too. I actually took my daughter to a couple of conferences too! It's FUN! Enjoy. Best, Leanne
Congratulations!
Wow, Leanne! What an exciting weekend for your family! Your son-in-law sounds like a treasure, and how terrific for you and your husband that your daughter knows her own mind :) And as much as I love reading fictional romance, I really love reading about real-life ones! Enjoy the wedding cake! :)
Thanks Fedora! Since
Thanks Fedora! Since conference is next week, I may have to cut down on the cake a little.:)
Leanne, Leanne, Leanne!
I'm so excited you're here today! I wish I was making it to SF! This can't be the daughter you brought to Nationals in NYC, can it? If so, wow. She must have been a beautiful bride!
If it's any consolation, I got married when I was 18. I'm 31 now and he's still the most wonderful man in the world to me. We've had our struggles and our rough spots because, well, that's just life, but through all of it, we've had each other and our kids and I've never regretted a moment I've spent loving him.
I wish your daughter the same kind of happily ever after.
PS---SOOOOOO getting BMB!
Dee! You're not coming to
Dee! You're not coming to SF? Say it ain't so! I'm so bummed! But yes, this is the same daughter I brought to NYC and she was sooo beautiful. Thanks for sharing YOUR love story and I'll pass along your wishes for her happily ever after. xo, Leanne
I never give advice where
I never give advice where romance is concerned. I figured it out on my own, and my friends and family have done just fine, too.
Good for you Estella! What
Good for you Estella! What do you do when someone ASKS you for advice? Best, Leanne
Hi Leanne!
Thanks so much for visiting with us today! I love your books and can't wait to read your new one! I'm close to your daughter's age - one of my boss's daughters just got married on Sunday - she's 24. Haha, I have to admit I get this slightly "eek" feeling when I find out my friends are getting married/having kids. :P
But how exciting - congratulations to all of you!
As for myspace... no! Don't cave! Don't do it! Haha. [I just don't like myspace. I think I associate too strongly with all the internet predators/pedophiles and all those problems.] Sadly, I am part of social networking sites that are addicting and time sucks like facebook - and signed up for twitter today after I saw the report on ABC world news today. I have the idealistic hope that customer reps will solve my consumer woes.
Enjoy your singlehood. I
Enjoy your singlehood. I have a friend who married fairly young and just hated giving up her "space". So enjoy your space and thanks for loving my books AND for the advice regarding myspace. Don't cave. Don't cave. Don't cave.:) THANKS! Best, Leanne
My daughter is getting
My daughter is getting married this saturday (yikes). He too asked for her hand in marriage (not that I think we had a real option of saying no lol). She is 24 and my difficult child. He is the negotiator and keeps things calm lol. I was only 18 and he was 20 and although I'm still married 39 years later, we were both too young.
Oh catslady, I'm saying a
Oh catslady, I'm saying a prayer for you. It all turned into a blur for me. Funny, though, people asked me if I would really miss the wedding stuff! Bwahhh! I was done on Friday. The wedding was on Saturday. But she looked so happy. They got a bunch of premarital counseling, and they're both solid, so I'm hoping for good things for them. Good luck sweetie and try to be nice to yourself! xo, Leanne