Romance Novels and the Languages of Love

by Enisa Haines

Romantic love, as often shown in romance novels, is a complex mix of emotions, attitudes and convictions linked with warmth, closeness, attraction and a deep desire for another person. But what makes a person, or a character in a romance novel, feel loved? In The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts Dr Gary Chapman proposes that people feel loved when that love is received in one of five different ways:

Words of affirmation - one partner tells the other they love them or compliments them or encourages them, communication and talking all-important. In Kylie Scott's The Rich Boy, rich boy Beck quotes Jane Austen and makes waitress Alice laugh. How can she resist him?  

Quality time - both partners spend time together with no distractions. In Marilyn Forsyth's The Farmer's Perfect Match, reality show PA Evangeline is determined to help find farmer Adam the ideal partner but close proximity has her falling in love with him.

Acts of Service - one partner does things for the other that they know the other will like, showing that actions speak louder than words. In Kelly Hunter's Maggie's Run, cowboy-next-door Max challenges elusive Maggie to live at her inherited property for three months. She doesn't love the place but can he as farm manager change her mind?

Physical touch - one partner holding the other's hands, or kissing them, feeling connected through touch. In Anna Campbell's Seven Nights in a Rogue's Bed, to save her sister's life, Sidonie submits to a terrible fate, seduction by the notorious, hideously scarred scoundrel Jonas. But, defying all logic, seven sinful nights brings a new, fragile love.

Receiving gifts - one partner gives the other a meaningful, thoughtful gift, showing appreciation. In  Sarah Mayberry's Her Favourite Temptation, sexy musician Will tempts 'always the good sister' Leah with beautiful songs and a seize-the-day attitude. A powerful connection she can't resist.

Whichever of the five love languages resonates with you, there are romance novels aplenty showing how love is expressed.

How do you feel loved? Do you read romance novels expressing love in that language?

Love to love - anything about love

Love to laugh - at YouTube funny videos

Love to learn - everything about the languages of love

May the Fourth Be With You: Powerful Women and the Men Who Love Them.

Sorry. This blog post is not about Star Wars!

image purchased from i-stock 477399888

Did you know that 4 May 1979 was the day Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?

No?

Well, it was. And, love her or loathe her, women like Thatcher are the women I like to write. Strong, complex women – lawyers and doctors and bankers and stockbrokers and entrepreneurs – who are navigating work and life and love in big cities.

So, of course, when I sat down to write this blog, I thought, who better to write about on May the Fourth than four of my favourite fictional women who have the Force (and the men who love them).

Yeah, yeah, sue me. I told you this blog wasn’t about Star Wars! 

Meet Chloe Mills

Chloe Mills is the heroine of Christina Lauren’s first book: Beautiful Bastard.

Chloe has stuck with me a long time… probably since this book started as a fanfic (I still have the original… shhh!). She’s focused on completing an MBA but is also completely consumed by her Bastard - and he's completely consumed by her. She's the one who stands up to him, sticks to her guns and makes him think. She's courageous. And that's kinda hot.

Also, I do love a man who has good taste in lingerie (for his lady, of course!).

Meet Alice Lawrence

Alice Lawrence is my latest favourite heroine, who comes alive in Kylie Scott’s recent release The Rich Boy (hoo boy – have you seen the cover for this one. Hot!)

As Alice is navigating her relationship with the swoon-worthy Beck, she has to deal with a whole host of mess from his VERY WEALTHY family and she does it with style, grace, and wit. There are a couple of scenes where she takes on his Grandmother which are 5-star scenes. Alice is awesome.

Now, if only I could find my very own Beck…

Meet Laurel McBane

Laurel McBane is the baker extraordinaire in Nora Roberts’ Bride Quartet series. Laurel's book is book three in the series.

Now, I partly love Laurel because she bakes… and I love to bake. But she’s also feisty and forges her way through culinary school (with a little assistance from the indomitable Mrs G who's also a fave!) into a successful bakery/events business and a relationship with Delaney Brown - lawyer, brother of one of her BFFs and her long time friend.

Meet Miranda Gray

Last but not least, let's talk Miranda Gray. 

We first meet Miranda when she's been sleeping on a park bench, trying to get a better understanding of what should be included in housing for the homeless, and we pretty quickly learn that Miranda goes ALL IN - whether it's for work or play! 

But Miranda's not a push over. And when her Knight (tee hee hee - Lucas Knight, see what I did there) doesn't give her what she needs - she walks away.

Thankfully, Lucas finally gets his head on straight!

Tell me about your favourite female with the Force (whether factual or fictional) in the comments below.

As a final note, did you know that, on receiving a school prize, aged nine, Thatcher said:

I wasn’t lucky. I deserved it. I just love her moxie… and I do deserve the things I work for, darn it!

Kristine Charles writes sexy tales where coffee (and red wine) is abundant, designer shoes and handbags are cheap, chocolate has no calories and men always put the toilet seat down. Find her at www.wordsbykristinecharles.com or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I love to love… my healthy and happy family and friends #stayathome

I love to laugh… at the ridiculous Zoom backgrounds everyone’s finding to make online meetings more entertaining!

I love to learn… online! How many great classes can you find online at the moment – ballet, yoga, dance, cooking… try something new this month!

Love Speaks: Romance Quotes

by Enisa Haines

I'm a romantic at heart so of course I love immersing myself in romance novels. I especially love reading gorgeous romantic lines that tug at my heart and thought I'd share fifteen of my Aussie-author favourites:

"Oh, devil take you, you awful man. Of course I'm in love with you."

"I've never known a place to feel like home - until I came to Red Rock Downs. And the reason it felt like home was because you were there. I could live anywhere and it would feel like home - as long as there was you."

"I love you, Ben. I'd be lying if I didn't tell you there have been days these last three weeks when I didn't want to love you, but the thing is, I have no choice. You're part of my heart."

"I love you. I don't think it's something I can switch off like a tap. It's there and there's nothing, it seems, that I can do about it."

"Please don't leave me alone with memories of how you look because eventually they'd fade and I'll be left with nothing but a soft picture of you and that's not enough. I want you. With me, beside me."

"I thought I had it all. Until you came into my life and brought the sun, the moon...everything that matters."

"I love you, Coop. I love you so much I want to weep and yell it from the rooftops all at once and I want to be with you."

"You amaze me. Inspire me. You make me feel ten feet tall. You're so wise and silly and surprising. I want you by my side when I wake. I need you with me forever."

"Love. You deserve it, Luisa. That's what I want to give you. If you'll let me try."

"I fought it for the longest time. I thought it was your rakish wiles I couldn't resist but it was you. Just you."

"When you come to me, I know everything's going to be all right. Your love pushes me and cushions me and leads me to the light."

"When I look at you I see my forever home. You have shown me what love can be, and what a relationship should be."

"I am drunk on you, entirely addicted to your kiss, your laugh, your voice."

"All I want is you. Everything else will be a bonus."

"Babe. This chance with you...You're it for me. You're my number one and you're staying there."









There you have it. My favourite Australian romance novel love quotes. If you have favourite quotes not listed here, I'd love to know them.

Love to love: the beautiful ways heroes and heroines in romance novels say 'I love you.'

Love to laugh: laughing is good for the soul, after all.

Love to learn: about everything. I admit to being very inquisitive.

World Building: Bringing your Fictional World to Life!

with Enisa Haines

Image courtesy of: www.123rf.com

It's often said that stories are about characters and the conflicts they face. For example: Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy, each immersed in an emotional tug of war between their preconceived ideas of each other and the feelings they struggle against, in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Or Eve and Roarke, both fighting distrust and the emotional chaos attraction brings, in J.D. Robb's In Death series.

Image courtesy of: www.janeausten.co.uk

Why are these characters so fascinating, and unforgettable? It's the world they live in. Who the characters are, what shaped them and what happens to them all depend on their imaginary world. For Mr Darcy and Elizabeth it's the customs, constraints and influences of Regency England. A technology-advanced, gritty New York City in 2058 is the backdrop for Eve and Roarke. Worlds that come alive in the reader's mind, worlds that are credible.

What makes them feel so real that readers are intrigued and willing to suspend disbelief and engage in the stories? World building, a term associated with fantasy, paranormal and dystopian tales and known in other genres as creating a sense of space, is the key.

How do we build a world?

• Start with a setting and time period. Visit or research the place if it exists today. If you're writing historical, discover everything you can about location and era. Use your imagination to create a planet/universe/alternate reality if you're writing fantasy/paranormal or dystopian.
• Add the main characters and the surrounding community. Learn how they function, what they value.
• Know past events that influence what happens in the present.
• Add conflict that results in chaos.
• Discover how the environment impacts on the characters and their conflict.

Spend some time on these details, add them together and you'll have a deep and complex world, one that has its own identity, its own unique sounds and smells and sights. You don't have to reveal everything about your world. Your characters and what they are experiencing are what's most important. Keep them in focus and show the details as a backdrop or implied. A backdrop such as the stage where rock star David Ferris performs with his band in Kylie Scott's Lick. Or the Highlands of 18th Century Scotland where former combat nurse Claire Randall is hurled through time into the lead-up to the Jacobite Rebellion in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander.

Image courtesy of: www.kylie-scott.com

Image courtesy of: www.tvguide.com

World building is your guide to your world. It's the essence of your story. It gives it the supporting framework and, most important of all, it make your story real to readers.

Is world building an enjoyable process for you or do you find it a chore?


Love to Love - inspirational quotes. A great boost for my writing muse.

Love to Laugh - sometimes reality is as amazing as imagination.

Image courtesy of: www.plus.google.com/communities/Nature Notebook

Love to Learn - about the fantastic worlds authors imagine. I'm in awe of George R.R.
                                       Martin's Game of Thrones. 

Image courtesy of: denofgeek.com

Favourite Aussie Romances from 2014

Welcome back, everyone! We’re starting the new year with a bang by celebrating some of the wonderful Aussie Romance reads of the last year, and offering a $10 Amazon voucher to one lucky commenter.

Each of us has nominated one (yes, dammit, just one!) fave Aussie Romance read from 2014 to review. Talk about making life difficult for ourselves. We've also invited along a couple of guest bloggers with their top picks.

Breathless in the Bush is an eclectic group so, as you’d expect, we've covered a whole range of sub-genres in our choices. Looking for the next book to add to your TBR pile? You've come to the right place. And with an Amazon voucher up for grabs, don’t forget to leave a comment!


Cassandra's Fave

Lick by Kylie Scott (published by St. Martin’s Griffin) is not in my usual favourite genre but I'm so glad I picked it up. The trope of waking up married in Vegas is well-worn but the author makes 'Lick' feel fresh and bright.

Straight-laced Evelyn Thomas is horrified to wake up seriously hung-over in a hotel room and married to a hunky stranger. She can’t remember a single thing about the night before or her new husband, rock star David Ferris.

I really enjoyed watching Eve and David work through their rocky relationship to find love, courage, and her memory. Thank you, Kylie for a most enjoyable read! I've already purchased the next two books, 'Lead' and 'Play', for my kindle.


Dee's Fave

My favourite romance of 2014 was Anna Campbell’s What a Duke Dares (published by Grand Central, Harper Collins, and Mills & Boon UK).

Ms. Campbell’s third book in the Sons of Sin series harks back to the wistfully poignant early romances that I read as a young woman in the nineteen-eighties! Spectacularly set in three locales, the snow-capped Italian alps, the storm-swept Mediterranean sea, and the almost pastoral beauty of London, Ms. Campbell takes us on a journey into the hearts and souls of Lord Sedgemoor and Miss Penelope Thorne. 'What a Duke Dares' made me believe in romance and ‘happily ever after.’

For an excerpt, visit Anna Campbell’s website at: http://www.annacampbell.info/dukedares.html .


Enisa's Fave

Remember the joyous days of childhood innocence when Grimm's tales swept you into wondrous, magical worlds? Weave in a paranormal atmosphere, twist with a touch of supernatural magic, and you have Nicole Hurley-Moore's 189-page ebook novella Black is the Colour, book one of the medieval fairytale series 'Tales of the Hearthfire'.

In this charming, delightful and sweetly-poignant tale of forbidden love, free-spirited and strong-willed upper-class Ciara loves blacksmith Oran for the kind, humble soul he is and bravely battles dark magic to break the witch's curse placed on him.

I rate 'Black is the Colour' five stars for grabbing at my heartstrings from page 1 and captivating me to the end. I eagerly await books two and three in the series.


Karen's Fave

I loved Anna Romer’s second novel, Lyrebird Hill (published by Simon & Schuster), even better than her first. It is a story about romance, forbidden love, endurance, hardship, family secrets, murder and mystery. These themes and more are present as we are taken from present day and back in time to 1898.

The writing tone is beautiful, sweet and seductive. The narrative is multi-faceted with the two parallel stories being expertly told in alternating chapters. The descriptions are lush, with the settings leaping from the pages in three-dimensional glory. You can hear the bush come alive, you can see the vibrant colours of the flora and fauna, you will smell the smoke of the camp fires and you too will wonder if you are catching glimpses of movement, shadows moving in the corner of your mind’s eye…this is mesmerising, evocative reading.

This is a wonderful enchanting and mysterious read that will engage all of your senses and have you totally captivated from beginning to end.


Marilyn's Fave

Barbara Hannay always delights with her wonderfully poignant storytelling and her latest, Moonlight Plains (published by Penguin Australia), continues the tradition. I love, love, love dual timeline novels and this one cleverly interweaves two love stories, set seventy years apart, in and around the beautiful outback Queensland homestead of the title.

One story is that of Kitty Martin, an Aussie girl who falls for Ed Langley, an American airman stationed in Townsville in 1942 (think 1940s movie-star good looks and charm); the second is that of Sally Piper, a young widow who falls in love with Kitty’s grandson, Luke Fairburn. (Who wouldn't? He’s gorgeous!) Throw in hidden letters and family secrets, and it's a book to lose yourself in.

'Moonlight Plains' is uplifting and it tugs at the heartstrings, it’s traumatic and it's bittersweet…it’s romance at its best. But then, isn't that what we've come to expect from Barbara?


Miranda's Fave

Darlings, it was lovely to find Stone Castles (publish by Macmillan) by Trish Morey in my Christmas stocking! Trish writes in her acknowledgements that this is the book of her heart, written after the deaths of her brother and father. How amazing to write this at such a difficult time.

Set in SA, it's also a love affair with the beautiful Yorke Peninsula; I so want to visit now! Even better, it's a second chance romance between Pip Martin, a NY hotshot bank analyst, and Luke Trenorden, the man she walked out on.

Tender, passionate, and honest, it really takes your breath away. Pip has huge flaws; she's been a broken woman. At times you doubt she'll ever find happiness... but Luke is right there, oh my.

Touching and definitely with heart. Thanks, Trish!


Guest Blogger Lynne B's Fave

A Scandalous Wager (published by Escape) by Cassandra Samuels tops the list of my favourite romances for 2014. I loved this book!

When the Black Raven procures the services of the drunken, dishevelled and down-on-his-luck Lord Bellamy, it is purely a business arrangement meant to benefit both parties. Lisbeth needs help to clear her name and prove she did not murder her abusive husband. Lord Bellamy desperately needs money and has undertaken a list of daring wagers.

There are no wimpy, spineless characters in this story. Indeed the gorgeous Oliver meets his match with the feisty and completely lovable Lisbeth.

Witty dialogue, engaging characters and a credible plot transport the reader to another place in time where one is reluctant to leave. Great page turner. Great read!

Guest Blogger Lyn C's Fave

Deadly Obsession (published by Simon & Schuster) is a great read that continues Detective Lexie Rogers’ story.

I love crime fiction (with a bit of romance thrown in, of course!) and what I enjoyed most about this sequel is the way Karen M. Davis brings together the very real personal and professional conflicts that arise when Lexie discovers someone close to her is the main suspect in a chilling murder.

Returning bouts of PTSD and a warning from Brad Sommers, her lover and police partner, that she’s getting in too deep add to the realism of the drama.

This book is a page-turner that will keep you guessing who the killer is right till the end.

Well, we hope our reviews have inspired you to go out and buy one (or maybe two, or three…or ALL) of our favourite Aussie romances of 2014. 

We love hearing from you! Was your favourite author among our selection? Which of our favourites do you nominate? Remember, by leaving a comment you’ll be in the running for a $10 Amazon voucher. We’ll announce the winner on next Monday’s blog (a guest post by Alli Sinclair, author of ‘Luna Tango’). Be sure to check back then when we'll share more of what makes us "Love to love, love to laugh, and love to learn!"