Oct 19, 2012

Love Is All Around .......

By Helen Lacey

I know, that’s a pretty corny blog title and I think I stole it from a song. But I’ve been having a to-and-fro email conversation with a reader over the past few days and some of the things she’s said has stuck with me. It started out as a lovely fan email and now I feel as though I have connected with a kindred spirit. Because she just loves ‘love’ …. In books, in movies, in songs. When she opens a book it’s what she looks for, even in books that aren’t traditionally romances. And I realized that I’m like that too.

For instance, one of my favourite movies is the classic Terminator. Not because I care for the sci-fi elements, or the gun-toting, muscle bulging Arnie – but because when Kyle Reece says, “I came back through time for you, Sarah,” it just melts my bones. It’s the love story that resonates and I find I look for that in pretty much every movie I watch. Do I care if the Hobbits get to Mount Doom? Not particularly ….. But I do watch the twelve hours of extended version Lord Of The Rings Trilogy to see Aragorn and Arwen locks lips near the very end. Even when I sat through the Bourne Identity for the first time I was cheering for Matt Damon to hurry up and slay the bad guys so he could get the girl.
 

As I’m chatting to this reader back and forth on email and she’s telling me which movies she loves and which books are her favourites, I started thinking about my own favourite books and how I started reading Mills & Boon when I was eleven. It turns out this reader has read and loved many of the same classic M&B romances that I did. Here’s a few of my classic keepers.
 

What amazed me is how suddenly, this person, this stranger who lives on the other side of the world and only happened to connect with me because she liked my latest release, has been reading and loving romances all her life for the same reasons I have. Like the thrill of sharing the journey as two people fall in love - which is often fraught with will-they or won’t-they as they overcome the many hurdles in front of them. Or waiting for the first kiss, and of course, hoping for that magical happily ever after. So, we’re two people with no connection, and are suddenly connected by our mutual love of Harlequin novels and romantic movies.
 
So, corny or not, it seems love certainly is all around.
 
Do you also look for the love-story in the books and movies you read and watch? Even if it's not a traditional romance?

13 comments:

  1. Helen, how great you've found a true kindred spirit. There's almost nothing better than talking with someone who loves the same books you do.
    I'm always looking for the love story in larger stories. And when a movie doesn't quite do it for me and I analyse more, it's often because there's no real romance. When it's fantastic, it's more often than not coz I was committed to the love angle.
    Take Braveheart, for instance. His goal was freedom for Scots. But his greater goal was his love for his wife. IMHO, *that's* what made that film so exceptional.

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  2. Wow, this got me thinking, Helen... and I realised that I DO look for the love story in non-romance films and books... even if it's not a happily ever after. I really enjoyed the romance in The Bourne Identity too! And the chemistry between Vesper and James in Daniel Craig's first 007. And the developing romance between Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter.

    Yup, love is all around! LOL

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  3. Hi Robbie - yes, Braveheart is a great example of it. Now that movie is on my list to watch again :)

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  4. Hi Sharon - I LOVE Harry Potter example - it's so true and their relationship wasn't as obvious as Ron and Hermione (Although I loved that storyline too. And then in the end finding out about Snape and Harry's mother..... sigh.) Great examples, thanks!

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  5. I think romance is the added bonus in every book and movie. Maybe it's just us romance readers that realize there even is one in some of the ones you mentioned and so many more! For books I give Jean Auel's Earth's Children Series and The Mummy for movies for just a couple of examples.

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  6. Helen, absolutely. It's the romance that grounds the story and makes it worth watching, even if it's not front and centre! Fascinating reading what you've written here as I hadn't thought about my movie watching in those terms.

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  7. Hi Catslady - The Mummy is a great example of an action adventure movie seeped in romance. Like Romancing The Stone and of course Indiana Jones (who didn't do a little hurrah when Indy and Marian got to together in the last movie - it would have to be the only valid reason for wathcing the woeful Crystal Skull) Great examples, thanks :)

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  8. Hi Annie - yes, it's great fun looking for the romance in movies that aren't traditionally a romance. Went I went to see the Expendables with hubby, he came out of the cinema saying Stallone could still pull off being an action hero in his 60's ... all I remembered was the sniff of a love story between Jason Statham and Carisma Carpenter. I guess even aweful action films can have redeeming elements :)

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  9. Helen, I definitely look for the love elements in all movies and TV shows - both the romantic love and other forms. With Harry Potter, I was watching for the Ginny / Harry and the Ron / Hermione relationships back before all the books had been released and we weren't sure which way things would end. But I also adored the love between three friends that sustained them through their challenges. To me, that was the heart of the books.

    Another one is Pride and Prejudice (the books and the mini-series, naturally) where I melt when Lizzie and Darcy finally get together, and when Jane and Bingley get their HEA, but I also watch / read it for the beautiful sisterly love between Lizzie and Jane. That makes my soul smile.

    Yep, love is all around!

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  10. Helen, it sounds as if your conversation with your reader has been great fun!

    I think Star Wars is another excellent example of a movie where the romance adds so much. I think saving the world is a most admirable goal (of course) but winning the heart of a love interest makes it personal. Great topic!

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  11. Hi Rachel - yes, anything Austen :)And I love how you mentioned the friendships in HP. One of my favourite movies is Shawshank Rememption - and while there's not a whiff of romance, the relationship between Andy and Red is such a wonderful example of a loving, caring friendship - so in a way, a definate love story :)

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  12. Hi Michelle - I LOVE Star Wars. Han and Leia's romance is one of my favourites :)I love how Quest movies sometimes make the best romances.

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  13. And my previous comment should have said Shawshank Redemption ...... blaming new keyboard for typos. :)

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