Romancing Cupid by Jan Scarbrough

Cupid, ancient Roman god of love in all its varieties, the counterpart of the Greek god Eros and the equivalent of Amor in Latin poetry. According to myth, Cupid was the son of Mercury, the winged messenger of the gods, and Venus, the goddess of love. He often appeared as a winged infant carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows whose wounds inspired love or passion in his every victim. He was sometimes portrayed wearing armor like that of Mars, the god of war, perhaps to suggest ironic parallels between warfare and romance or to symbolize the invincibility of love.   

“Cupid”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Feb. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cupid.

 

Wow! I love the idea of the invincibility of love. As psychic medium Blair Robertson says, love never dies.

 

Romance novels (and Hallmark Channel movies) are about the conflicts leading up to true love. We love reading about whatever keeps the hero and heroine apart, but we always know they will end up happily-ever-after (HEA). Let’s face it, life is not always HEA. Because of that, we often need to escape into the world of books.

 

In my book Liz: The Dawsons of Montana, the hero Chaz thinks: Novels gave the reader the opportunity to experience the possibility of other choices without making those choices. In a book, the reader lived a life outside his normal existence, helping him learn about himself—or herself, as the case might be.

 

I often let my characters say the truths that I’ve learned from a few years of living. Here are a few quotes from different books:

 

The big world beyond was scary.

 

“C’mon, Mel. Make an old man’s dream come true.”

“That’s just it, dreams don’t come true.” She sounded as if she had voiced an inner conviction.

“Sure, they do, Mel. If you make them come true.”

 

Stef had also said it was dumb to love a man who didn’t love you back. 

 

“I guess a person can love more than once.”

“Yes, your dad and I are proof of that.” Liz gave a small laugh, her gaze faraway as if she envisioned someone standing across the floor. “And when that happens, you’re blessed.”

 

Have you learned anything about yourself from reading a romance novel?

 

Do you believe that love never dies?