The Sum of His Parts

​I think the husbands and significant others of romance writers are a sterling breed. If they're anything like my husband, they have to be tolerant of all the man candy pictures we save -- purely for research and inspiration. It takes a secure man to watch us fall in love over and over again with our creations without showing a hint of jealousy. He has to be cool and unfazed by the fact that we're visualizing and writing love scenes he'll have no part in.

There's something special about a guy who can carry on with what he's doing, without raising an eyebrow, when the wife yells down to him, "Is there a hyphen in hard-on?" He knows she's about to describe some other guy's equipment, at least to some extent, and it has nothing to do with his. Talk about a strange world.

None of my heroes have ever resembled my husband, and yet, there's a little of him woven into each and every one of them. He may not be sporting those biceps or abs. He's got years on these characters, but if I was going to be completely honest here, the fantasies I've created would have been flat and lifeless without the inspiration of the man in my life. I fashioned the image, the qualities and emotions I've found with him have given them depth.  





*originally posted 2/21/2013

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