I want to talk to those of you who don’t have anyone to love. The reasons are many: you haven’t met “the one” yet, you broke up with someone who could have been “the one,” you divorced “the–used to be–one,” or like myself you’ve lost someone dear to you.
Christmas can be a tough time when you are alone. And don’t get me started on St. Valentine’s Day or as I call it, “Singles Awareness Day.” The holidays often emphasize what we feel we are lacking.
I have the antidote: PASSION.
Yup, passion.
In this modern world, we forget that passion can be focused on something more than one person. Passion also means having a desire, a will, a need to indulge in what pleases us.
Too often, we fall into the trap of allowing others to define what we should want. I tire of people asking if I’m dating. I’ve run out of snappy one-liners (although I’m always looking for new ones) to those who good-naturedly pry into my private life. And I will not stay home waiting for a mate before indulging all the passions in my life.
What makes the romance novel so entertaining is that we write about women who are doing something. They aren’t waiting for their lives to start. Whether set in corporate America or medieval England, books open when the smart heroine realizes that if her life is going to change, she’s going to have to make a plunge. She can plunge into a new job, a wager with her friends, a masked ball, or an elopement–but she must do something and give it everything she has.
That’s true of us in real life. My new passions are Zumba and cooking, along with my long time fascination with horses. I indulge myself with tickets to a local speakers’ forum and revel in new ideas or spend an hour or more listening to the local symphony. I adore my family and my children, but it is these new experiences that adds something extra to my week. I’m living with passion and that excitement rolls over into all of my other activities.
The need to experience passion is also a theme in my writing. HIS CHRISTMAS PLEASURE is the tale of a Spanish nobleman with a big dream and an English heiress who just might make his every wish come true. Life really becomes interesting when we pursue our goals with everything we have.
So what about you? What passions do you have in your life? Are you dabbling in politics? Studying a language? Art? Cooking? Or are you planning a trip that has you so revved up you can’t wait? Is there something you’ve longed to do but have held back?
