The (Christmas) Romantic in All of Us

In December, I went on a romance reading binge – some 15 novels and novellas about romance during the Christmas season. A friend on Facebook asked, “Why?” I started with two reasons:

First, I had somehow ended up with a lot of these books on Kindle. Some were inexpensive, some were free, some looked interesting. But I had a pile of Christmas romance stories, and I decided I could do something with them.

Second, the stories were research. I’m reaching the end of my final draft of Novel #5, and it includes a bit of romance. I particularly wanted to understand how romance novels describe women’s reactions and responses. The stories on my Kindle provided a lot of research material.

While it wasn’t a point of my reading, something else happened along the way. I learned some things, about romance stories and myself. 

Romance stories tend to fall into categories. In my blog posts, I sorted them by the various categories I found: wishes and hopes, coming home (and its closely associated category of a prodigal returning home), disappointment (in love or career), regional stories that lean heavily on a particular location, food (whole novels built around food), second chances, and ghosts (at least at Christmas time). My experience with romance stories at other times suggests it’s not just a Christmas thing, except for the ghosts.

How romance stories treat Christmas, and religion in general, depends largely upon whether they are “Christian” or “secular” fiction. In the stories I’ve read, very few Christian writers go heavy on the faith angles, instead allowing the subject to play out naturally in the story. Interestingly enough, secular writers have more trouble with stories based at Christmas; they have to focus more on the season’s feelings or family gatherings, or old traditions. If a church is involved, it’s usually the Christmas program. Or they skip church entirely and focus on community celebrations or decorating contests.

What romance stories seem to share in common is how much smells, tastes, and lips are involved in women’s reactions and responses. Some writers apply these to men’s responses as well, but it seems rather forced. Touch is also important, and fingers touching a hand on an arm inevitably sends electric-like shocks up the recipient’s arm.

Romance stories are not pretentious. They don’t try to be anything except what they are – stories. They’re not claiming to be great literature with profound themes. They are simply telling a story. Like any other kind of story, you can learn things about yourself and others from a romance. But no one, including the author, expects a romance story to be nominated for a great literary prize.

Romances also invariably have happy endings. We want the characters to overcome problems, disabilities, history, disappointment, rejection, or whatever. We want to see love triumph. We want to see the good guys win. 

Of all the Christmas romances I read in the last month, two really stood out, both by Christian authors. Both stories delivered more than expected. One was Not Until Christmas Morning by Valerie Bodden, and the other was One Christmas Eve by Robin Patchen. Both involve strong male characters wounded or broken in some way, women struggling to make a way for themselves, and (interestingly enough) wayward teens. To be fair to all the other stories I read, both of these stories connected strongly to the novel I’m working on, which involved a father’s relationship with his son. 

All of these stories reminded me of something else. All of us have a bit of romance in us, even the most hardnosed, clueless, and pigheaded of us men. I believe it’s hardwired into us. But that’s another (romance) story.

Top photograph by Heather Mount via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Christmas, Romance, and Second Chances

One of the most common themes in romance novels is second chances – a hero or heroine having the opportunity to rekindle an old romance, rediscover an old love, find forgiveness, or having the opportunity to start a relationship over again. Setting the story during the Christmas season heightens both the conflict and its resolution. Christmas isn’t supposed to be about old hurts, anguish, and emotional pain. But in these stories of second chances, the resolution seems all the sweeter.

Of course, the Christmas story itself is a story about second chances. The law didn’t work as intended in terms of reconciling man to God. Something else had to happen; the story of God becoming man to reconcile humanity to himself is perhaps the archetypocal story of second chances.

One Christmas Eve by Robin Patchen

One Christmas Eve by Robin Patchen is a novella in which three of the main characters all find second chances. And it happens in less than a day.

Blake Carmichael is a film star, familiar from numerous popular action movies. He’s also a recovering drug addict, the drug in this case being cocaine. What pulled him out of addiction was a mentor, a fellow movie star, and becoming a Christian. He’s been drug-free for two years, and he’s moved from Hollywood to New Hampshire to be near his teenaged son, Eli.

Blake’s ex-wife and Eli’s mother has remarried, and Eli is staying with his dad during her honeymoon. Eli is hostile towards Blake; he’s heard the stories from his mother about drugs and extra-marital affairs and generally bad behavior by his father, most of which are believable but untrue. 

Blake waits until he believes Eli is asleep and goes to his room to pray for him. What he finds is pillows under the covers; Eli is gone. Blake desperately beings calling people and learns that Eli may be with his girlfriend Kelsey. Blake gets hold of Kelsey’s aunt, Tallie, and the two begin a late-night journey to Boston, where the two teens have likely gone for a concert. Tallie is in her early 30s, and she is certainly aware of the actor Blake Carmichael from church.

Will Blake and Eli be able to reconcile and communicate? Will Tallie be able to overcome the stories she’s heard about Blake? And will Eli forgive his father learn that his father truly loves him?

One Christmas Eve is a short, compelling story about three people giving themselves and each other second chances.

Savanna’s Gift by Camille Eide

Savanna Holt is driving her goddaughter to a mountain resort in Oregon, bringing the girl to her paternal grandparents while her mother cares for her dying father. The resort brings back memories; this is where she met the handsome ski instructor ski instructor Luke Nelson while she did summer work during college.

Luke had proposed and Savanna had accepted, until she returned to nursing school in the East and began to have second thoughts. She was career-minded, determined to escape the family life she had been brought up in. She had begun to consider Luke as having no more ambitions than to be a ski instructor. She had mailed the ring back with a written apology.

Except Luke is now the manager of the resort. And Savanna’s visit, meant to be an overnight stay only, becomes extended when a snowstorm blocks the only road out. And as Savanna soon learns, Luke is still angry over her rejection. For her part, Savanna knows she made a terrible mistake, but will Luke ever forgive her?

Savanna’s Gift by Camille Eide tells the story of Savanna, Luke, and a second chance.

Photograph by Nick Fewings via Unsplash. Used with permission.