HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
I hope your day is filled with love, happiness, roses, and chocolate!
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I grew up in a small town, and I fell in love with a small-town boy in high school. While that didn't turn out to be the happily-ever-after I'd hoped for back then, I still believed in small town romance, and I've always loved reading and writing about them too.
My village (yes, it's officially a village) boasts of one stoplight, the post office, an IGA/gas station, a funeral home, a furniture store, a bar, a bakery, a couple of antique/craft shops, three churches, and nearly 700 people. Three years ago, we got a Dollar General store and man, do we feel uptown now.
There is a small village government that runs the town--some say they do a good job, others say not so much. Just on the outskirts, rests the cemetery and its inhabitants, generations of villagers who lived in this small town all of their lives. Next to it is the town park, complete with baseball diamond, a pond, and a picnic shelter. When I was a teenager, the annual Windmill festival was held there. When I was a little younger, the carnival would come to town every year and we basically had a street fair for a week. The road was shut down between the stoplight and the post office.
Now, small town life is not always hunky-dory, just like living anywhere else. However, just as we expect our romance novels to have a happily-ever-after ending, I think we sort of also expect our small town settings in a romance novel to darned near picture-perfect. Maybe. I think that's what I've done with my Harbor Falls Romance series. While the characters do have their own issues to solve or deal with, the town has remained that happy, constant, character for them all to fall back on.
Oh, and remember that small town guy I fell in love with in high school? Well, circumstances happened with him, too. We reconnected, and he is truly my happily-ever-after, after all. Bonus: He still kisses just like he did in high school. :) (no pillow-kissing now!)
My village (yes, it's officially a village) boasts of one stoplight, the post office, an IGA/gas station, a funeral home, a furniture store, a bar, a bakery, a couple of antique/craft shops, three churches, and nearly 700 people. Three years ago, we got a Dollar General store and man, do we feel uptown now.
In junior high, my girlfriends and I would flirt with the carnival guys--you know, the young men who ran the Tilt-a-Whirl or the Ferris wheel. They were rough-and-tumble, usually greasy, sultry, and Alpha bad boy...and my twelve-year-old heart would pitter-patter when they winked. We would all giggle and secretly claim one for our very own, and then make-out with our pillows at night.
Sigh. Life was easy then.
Sigh. Life was easy then.
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| My small-town guy and me, 1973 |
I left my small town at eighteen when I went to college. It never occurred to me when I left that I wouldn't return to live there again for 42 years. But that is what happened. Circumstances brought me back three years ago--and right now, I'm very happy to live here again.
Oh, and remember that small town guy I fell in love with in high school? Well, circumstances happened with him, too. We reconnected, and he is truly my happily-ever-after, after all. Bonus: He still kisses just like he did in high school. :) (no pillow-kissing now!)
***
If you are looking for a small town romance series, you can get the entire Harbor Falls series in one box set right now--for the month of February--only 99 cents. I know. That's insane, right?
Click to choose your ebook retailer!
The COMPLETE 15-BOOK HARBOR FALLS ROMANCE SERIES (Boxed Set). Over 1400 pages of sexy, small town romance fans and reviewers call "emotional and heartwarming."
Nestled in the rolling hills of the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains sits the small town of Harbor Falls--a town that boasts of a booming tourist industry laced with southern charm and grace, topped off with a host of quirky characters and one very busy chef and B&B owner by the name of Suzie Hart.
You'll meet Suzie in the first book of the series, All of My Heart. All Suzie wants is to run Sweet Hart Inn, write her cookbooks, and cook. After all, food is definitely her love language. What happens is an unexpected happily-ever-after for her, a television cooking show that puts her in the national spotlight, and a few happenstance matchmaking gigs that seals the deal on her local matchmaking celebrity.
Can this accidental matchmaker "perfectly match" the miss-matched couples of Harbor Falls?
***
Maddie James writes to silence the people in her head--if only they all wouldn't talk at once! Learn more about her books at www.maddiejames.org.
I love this post. Of course, I still live in the cornfields where I grew up, loosely encircled by small towns just like the one you describe. Although time has definitely shown up the warts of living here, there's still a lot of happy to be found. Sounds like you found yours, too. And now I'm going to order that set!
ReplyDeleteI should add here that when I went to order it, Amazon informed me I already have it. There really is such a thing as having too many books on a Kindle...
DeleteLOL Thanks, Liz! I'm happy that Amazon does that. I've also tried to buy again at times. My Kindle is very crowded and I need to read more! I'll also ad that I'm right on the edge of this little village. Last year, a corn field was my front yard, and a soybean field my back yard. I do have a neighbor on either side but I love seeing the sunrise over the field in the morning. :)
DeleteCity girl born and raised here! But your hometown sounds idyllic!
ReplyDeleteBonnie, in between my small town experiences, I lived in cities too! They also have their appeal. :)
DeleteI love small towns! Mine is small, as well. Or was. A lot of people have moved out to where I am, so I'm gonna have to move! But it's not so bad. We've met a lot of great people!
ReplyDeleteTotally understand, Kara! I'm sort of a loner so I don't mind being rather isolated. Heck, even when I lived in suburbia, I kept to myself. But unless the corn and soy fields suddenly become subdivisions (highly unlikely) I doubt I'll have new neighbors anytime soon!
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Awwww..... Such a great post. And just reinforces how life truly is cyclical.
ReplyDeleteWhat a happy ending! Loved this post and a true Valentine story.
ReplyDelete