Love Has No Age Limits

Politicians, riches, and fame may come and go, but love—sustained by commitment, dedication, and, yes, work—lasts forever.

If you've ever sat vigil while someone is dying, you know intimately that at the end, love is the only thing on your mind.

That need for connection, for love, is what fuels the growing readership of romance novels. Either consciously or unconsciously, readers identify with that truth.

Gift of Indie Self-Publishing

The focus for traditional publishing of romance was a love story with a heroine in her twenties and a hero who was a few years older.

Writers who wanted to write about more mature lovers were hamstrung by editors who told them readers didn't want to imagine "old" people (meaning middle-aged people) in love and having sex.

I'm pleased to say that one of the benefits of self-publishing ebooks is that an author has the ability to write any kind of heroine and hero she wants. Is it any wonder so many authors have embraced indie self-publishing?

Forever Young

People age, but real love doesn't. It's forever young just as a person's mental image is locked at a certain age. You may look in the mirror and see wrinkles and gray hair, but the image of you inside your brain is a younger you, and that will always be true.

Ever walk down the street and catch your reflection in a store window? Did it startle you? Did you have the thought, “My God, I look just like my mother!” What you see in that reflection doesn't match the self-image embedded in your brain.

Shaking It Up

I like to write all types of characters. 

In many of my books, like The Trouble with Love, I have 3 love stories going on with 3 different generations.

I always write about two people who find each other in life. 

Regardless of their age, there will be romance, passion, and sex.

In the end, there will be love and commitment.

Grandparent Lovers?

Yes, in Still The One, the main love story was Burke and Ally. 

The secondary love story is between Burke’s grandfather and Ally’s grandmother.

They're the scheming matchmakers determined to get Burke and Ally back together. 

Guess what these seventy-something lovers have a sex life! Oh, horrors. What’s the world coming to?

There's no age limits on falling in love. Nor is there a consequence of age difference. In today's world, no one bats an eye at an older woman-younger man relationship. Older men and younger women were always accepted, and it's about time the reverse is true too.

In Old Enough to Know Better, Stormy is an older woman, and her soul mate just happens to be a younger man, Sean Butler. 

Sean has all he can do to woo Stormy who obstinately refuses to become involved with him—even though she’s half in love with him anyway.

So if you’re older than 30—or 40, 50, 60, or beyond—don’t despair.

The road of life is long and offers love and romance—and, yes, sex too—every step of the way.

Love is amazing, intense, breathtaking, and wonderful. That's true when you're young, and also true when you're old. 

Sometimes, when you’re older, those feelings are magnified. Mary Roberts Rinehart wrote in The Man in Lower Ten: “Love is like the measles. The older you get, the worse the attack.”

Takeaway Truth

No matter your age, I wish you the kind of love I write about: deep, passionate, committed love. The  Forever kind.

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Saturday Share Recipe: Chapati

Do you like flatbread? My family does. I make chapati fresh and serve it hot and delicious. 

Chapati is an unleavened flatbread that originated in the Indian subcontinent, and it's a great accompaniment to many different flavor profiles, not just Indian food.

Today, I'm using it for tacos rather than flour tortillas.

Yesterday, Darling Hubby made a pot of chili. He threw in a little of this, a little of that, some red wine that was left in a bottle we hadn't finished.

He put in everything that goes in chili: peppers, tomato sauce, ground beef, onions, and the wine. In case you're wondering, no beans.

Real chili doesn't have beans. If you like beans, go ahead and add them, but call it chili stew, not chili.

Of course, there's a lot of the thick kicked-up chili left so I'm using it for tacos for lunch.

Chapati Recipe

This recipe makes 10 chapati.

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup hot water or as much as is needed

If you don't have any whole wheat flour, use 2 cups of AP flour. I use organic unbleached white baking flour. It comes in a 10 pound size. You can find it at Amazon, Whole Foods, and Costco. You can use another brand like King Arthur's which is at most Walmarts, Krogers, etc. 

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flours and the salt.

2. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the olive oil and enough water to make a soft dough that is elastic but not sticky.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and "satiny" looking in appearance.

4. Divide the dough into 10 equal parts, or fewer than 10 if you want bigger chapati.

5. Roll each piece into a ball and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.
6. Heat an iron skillet over medium heat until hot. Grease very lightly.

7. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the balls of dough until very thin like a tortilla.

8. When the pan starts smoking, put a chapati on it.

9. Cook until the underside has brown spots which takes about 30 seconds. Flip over and cook the other side.

10. Stack the cooked chipati on an oven-proof plate and keep in the oven on low, about 200 degrees F. to keep them warm.

11. Follow the same procedure until all the dough balls have been flattened and baked on the hot skillet.

Serve hot.

Takeaway Truth

You'll be surprised how delicious these are and how easy they are to make.

Add Authenticity to Your Writing

Why are beginning writers told to write what they know?

Because it gives authenticity to your words. Yes, even to writing fiction.

If a writer wrote only what he/she knew, there would be no genius serial killer books written, no trips to another galaxy, no vampires, and Regency novels would be confined to those books written in the nineteenth century.

What gives authenticity besides personal experience? Knowledge and Emotional Truth.

How do you gain knowledge if you don't have a degree in criminology or history or whatever is the background of your book?

Research

A good writer does research. Look it up online in more than one reference book. Read well-written nonfiction and fiction books about the subject matter. Absorb the information so you can write about it and have it be realistic and authentic to the reader.

Emotional Truth

This is something we all have inside us. It's what an author mines in order to make the characters "real" to the reader.

Believable fiction comes from getting the facts right and from finding the underlying universal truth—the emotional truth—that makes the books as real to a reader in France as it does to a reader in America. 

Emotional truth is the recognition of the emotions at work in the characters. It's recognized on a subconscious level, but it's that which makes fiction come to life. When done well, it's what makes a reader say your book "spoke" to her. It's what makes books popular.

Writing what you know—the emotions you feel when hurt, scared, lonely, angry, lustful, or happy—is even more important in fiction because without that truth, your fiction will never succeed. You can never fake emotional truth and get away with it.

Takeaway Truth

Mining your emotional truth is painful, but necessary.

Quotation Post #1

Gosh, I'm in deadline hell, but I don't want to not blog every day.

Yep, I'm resorting to short, succinct posts.

Today's is from the remarkable writing teacher, Jack Bickham.

I have several of his books on novel writing, and I was fortunate enough to meet him many years ago.

Mr. Bickham said, "The writing of fiction is deceptive. It looks easy until you try it!"

Takeaway Truth

Truer words were never spoken. If you don't believe me, try writing a book.

On deadline.

Review: Spycraft, a Netflix Original

Do you think there are national security secrets so protected that no one can penetrate the wall of secrecy?

Watch Spycraft, the new documentary series from Netflix, and you'll come to the same conclusion I did.

If another country wants to know our secrets, they'll find a way.

How to Describe Spycraft

Spycraft is, well, let me just list a bunch of adjectives to describe this documentary series: captivating, compelling, eye-opening, frightening, depressing, and downright scary.

Captivating and Compelling because you simply can't look away. You watch with amazement at the things that have gone on in, especially in the last 50 years.

There are tools of the spy trade that you need to know about especially if you're thinking about writing spy thrillers. The things under development are mind-boggling.

It's eye-opening because you may not have any idea that all this stuff is happening behind the scenes. Sure we've heard about spies in the FBI and CIA.

But when you get the details of what they did and how many people were tortured and killed as a result of treason by those trusted agents, it's not just frightening, it's horrifying. 

Our citizens who risked their lives and were sold out for the contemporary equivalent of 30 pieces of silver makes you wonder when treason becames a crime with a prison sentence and the possibility of parole instead of punishable by death.

Depressing and Scary

To find so many people who are happy to sell out for money in positions of trust in the organizations that are supposed to protect our country and its citizens is simply depressing. Doesn't anyone have a moral compass in today's world?

It's scary because if they're the foxes guarding the hen house, then our country has bigger problems than we think.

Authors' Credentials 

Spycraft is based on the 2009 book written by Robert Wallace, H. Keith Melton, and Henry R. Schlesinger with the Foreword written by George J. Tenet.

Audio Cover

Wallace is the former director of the CIA's Office of Technical Service and is a recipient of the CIA's Intelligence Medal of Merit. 

He founded the Artemus Consulting Group in 2004, providing management and intelligence counsel to corporate and government clients. 

He's also a contributor to the oral history program of CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence.

Melton is an internationally recognized author, historian, and expert on clandestine devices and technology.

He's the technical tradecraft historian at the Interagency Training Center in Washington, D.C. As such, he's assembled the world's largest collection of espionage devices. He frequently lectures in the U.S. and abroad.

Schlesinger is an author and journalist who has covered intelligence technologies, counterterrorism, and law enforcement with his work appearing in scientific and tech periodicals including Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Technology Review, and Smithsonian magazine.

The content of Spycraft is the real deal with interviews from scientists, shrinks, retired CIA officers, and other experts. Mixed with archival footage, it's amazing.

If you don't have Netflix, take their free trial or find a friend who has it so you can watch it. Read the book which is available in Kindle, paperback, hardback, and audio. 

Takeaway Truth

To describe this series in one word: brilliant. Watch it. Read or listen to the book.

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Short and Sweet: February Quote by Katherine Paterson

Short and Sweet post today because I'm on deadline.

This quotation is perfect for the February much of the country is having.

"I used to try to decide which was the worst month of the year. In the winter I would choose February. The reason God made February short a few days was because he knew that by the time people came to the end of it they would die if they had to stand one more blasted day." ―Katherine Paterson

About Katherine Paterson

Katherine Womeldorf Paterson is a Chinese-born American writer who has more than 30 books to her credit with 16 of them written for children.

Her book The Great Gilly Hopkins was one of my daughter's favorites. The movie of the same name, with the screenplay written by her son Steven Paterson, was truly delightful.

You may remember Ms. Paterson as the author of Bridge to Terabithia. From 1975 to 1980, she won 2 Newberry Medals and 2 National Book Awards for 4 different books.

Takeaway Truth

As I look out on this gray February day, I think Katherine Paterson was spot on with her description of this short month that already seems longer than one with 31 days.

SIGN UP FOR JOAN'S FREE NEWSLETTER Subscribers are the first to know about New Books and Giveaways. When you confirm your subscription, you'll receive a link to a free romance ebook. FOLLOW JOAN ONLINE SlingWords Blog  |  Website  Amazon  |  BookBub  |  Facebook  |  Twitter

Time, the Precious Commodity

Too often, I find myself saying, "When I find the time, I'll do____________"

I hate saying that because I realize no one finds time. You make the time. 

When I start saying "When I find the time," what I'm really saying is "I've over-committed and don't have the time to do it all."

Solution

Starting today, I'm forced to prioritize. This year, writing new books is my number 1 priority. Writing. Writing. Writing.

So I'm going to start each day with that instead of fitting it in after I've finished all of the other stuff that are responsibilities small and large. If I don't get to the other stuff, then that means it's not nearly as important as my writing.

I say this because I have forgotten how to say no to others, and I must relearn that skill if I'm to achieve my most important goal this year.

Takeaway Truth

Everyone is allotted the same number of hours in a day. Those who achieve their stated important goals do so by using their time working toward their goals.