A Dream Husband
Jamieson Villeneuve
February 05, 2008
My first romance novel, Valentine, has been published. The publication of Valentine by Cobblestone Press is actually very special for me. It is the realization of a dream that I´ve carried inside me for years now: to be a romance author.
I´m a long time lover of romance novels. I love them, can´t get enough of them. They express the passion that a lot of us have inside ourselves; they have great plots, suspense, secrets, betrayal and, almost always, a happy ending. What could be a better reading experience than that?
For a long time, I didn´t think I could write romance. I tried but the words fell flat on the page. I hadn´t experienced love, real love; so how could I write a romance novel? If I had no romance in my life on which to draw upon, how could I write a novel with any shred of romance in it?
That all changed when I met my husband. He showed me that love is real, that it exists outside of novels and books. Three years on and we´re still as much in love as when we first met but more so I think.
I wrote Valentine for me, but it is his book. I dedicated it to him. He was the one that showed me that love was possible, that love was real. My words are the most valuable thing I have to give and he was more excited than I was when Valentine was contracted for publication.
Not everyone is thrilled however. I´ve been promoting the heck out of Valentine and I keep getting the same reaction: Romance? Gross! How can you write that? They get this funny look in their eyes as if they aren´t quite sure how to respond.
After a little while I realized that I was making people uncomfortable. At fist, I was a little baffled by this. I mean, Romance has existed as a genre for a long time, right? Look at D. H. Lawrence and Lady Chatterley´s Lover. Romance has been a passion for people for decades.
My husband, however, provided me with an insight into others that I was lacking: "Just because they make icky faces when you mention you write erotica doesn´t mean they won´t read it." He said. "You´re forcing them to confront their own desires and this always makes people uncomfortable."
I can see the sense in that. It is their decision whether or not they want to read Valentine and I hope they do. It´s about passion, about right and wrong and about discovering the passion that lies within you.
For now, I know that my husband loved it and that´s enough for me. He´s my toughest critic. And in the end, I am doing what I love: I´m writing and living my dream at the same time. I can´t ask for more than that.
And so I have given him my words and now I give them to you. I hope that you all enjoy Valentine and that the love it grew out of shines through as you read each word.
I´m a long time lover of romance novels. I love them, can´t get enough of them. They express the passion that a lot of us have inside ourselves; they have great plots, suspense, secrets, betrayal and, almost always, a happy ending. What could be a better reading experience than that?
For a long time, I didn´t think I could write romance. I tried but the words fell flat on the page. I hadn´t experienced love, real love; so how could I write a romance novel? If I had no romance in my life on which to draw upon, how could I write a novel with any shred of romance in it?
That all changed when I met my husband. He showed me that love is real, that it exists outside of novels and books. Three years on and we´re still as much in love as when we first met but more so I think.
I wrote Valentine for me, but it is his book. I dedicated it to him. He was the one that showed me that love was possible, that love was real. My words are the most valuable thing I have to give and he was more excited than I was when Valentine was contracted for publication.
Not everyone is thrilled however. I´ve been promoting the heck out of Valentine and I keep getting the same reaction: Romance? Gross! How can you write that? They get this funny look in their eyes as if they aren´t quite sure how to respond.
After a little while I realized that I was making people uncomfortable. At fist, I was a little baffled by this. I mean, Romance has existed as a genre for a long time, right? Look at D. H. Lawrence and Lady Chatterley´s Lover. Romance has been a passion for people for decades.
My husband, however, provided me with an insight into others that I was lacking: "Just because they make icky faces when you mention you write erotica doesn´t mean they won´t read it." He said. "You´re forcing them to confront their own desires and this always makes people uncomfortable."
I can see the sense in that. It is their decision whether or not they want to read Valentine and I hope they do. It´s about passion, about right and wrong and about discovering the passion that lies within you.
For now, I know that my husband loved it and that´s enough for me. He´s my toughest critic. And in the end, I am doing what I love: I´m writing and living my dream at the same time. I can´t ask for more than that.
And so I have given him my words and now I give them to you. I hope that you all enjoy Valentine and that the love it grew out of shines through as you read each word.
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