 | 21 Oct 08 |
Sometimes, I think I write romance because that’s what I love to read. Sometimes, I think I write romance because I’m in love with love and this is my way of falling into it over and over and over again. Sometimes, I don’t even think about why I write romance, the way I don’t think about breathing. Because I just do.
And then something happens to make me remember why. This past weekend, I went to a wedding. A wonderful place to renew one’s firm belief in Happily Ever Afters, right? The perfect setting to clasp your hands, blink your tears, and say “Ahhhh. This makes me feel so good.” The ideal atmosphere to soak up the hope for the future and the joy of lifelong commitment.
And while all of that was palpable in the air in a small north Florida town where my whole family and a few hundred others gathered to celebrate the marriage of Captain Anthony Roffino and Miss Hannah Tedder, it was not the “I do” or the first dance or the best man’s toast that made me remember why I write romance.
It was another moment I experienced that day.
Like most people, I usually turn to the back of the church when “that” music starts. After all, this is the bride’s magical day, her moment of true glory, the walk in white, the float down the aisle on Daddy’s arm, the glorious Cinderella moment that little girls fantasize about and big girls remember fondly. But this time, since it was my dear, darling, sweet, gorgeous nephew getting married and I was on the “groom’s” side, I turned the other way, and I watched Anthony instead.
While the rest of the church let out a collective sigh as the doors opened for the bride, Anthony did just the opposite. His chest, broad from Army Ranger training and decorated with an array of medals, including the Bronze Star he earned in Iraq last year, literally puffed as he sucked in a breath. His eyes glistened with joy, his smile was tentative at first, as though he couldn’t quite believe what he saw, then blinding as the truth hit him. I watched him mouth “Oh my God” to himself and saw him clench his hands as though the thrill that shot through him couldn’t quite be contained.
That look, that moment, that path that took him across the world and through the dangerous streets of Baghdad where he fought for fifteen months in the infantry, all the time dreaming of the day he would be home — whole and healthy — to marry Hannah – that is why I write romance.
And as some icing on the wedding cake, it was a military wedding, so Anthony’s groomsmen, an array of the most breathtaking heroes you’d ever want to write about, formed the canopy of swords as the bride and groom exited the church, each man more scorchingly handsome than the next.
They would be another reason I write romance.
That night, we danced and toasted and feted the young couple for many hours under the stars. We clinked for kisses and captured them on camera, we laughed with our loved ones and teased the teenagers into slow dancing to a few Sinatra tunes. We waved hundreds of sparklers to send the newlyweds through a tunnel of light and off to their honeymoon, and then we sipped cabernet into the late hours, marveling that the little boy who once freaked out his mother when she found him in the yard swinging a dead rat by the tail and singing “Born In the USA!” had made it through war and to his own HEA. One young man at the wedding, a heartbreaker named Captain Clay Chase, told us that he and Anthony had spent many, many nights in a tent in Baghdad, planning and praying for this wedding to really take place. I’m certain there were nights when neither one of them was entirely sure it would.
So when the evening finally ended and I closed my eyes to go to sleep, the only thing I could see was the look on Anthony’s face when he realized his dreams had come true. That time-standing-still moment when a hero is hit not by a bullet, but by the power of love, awash with the realization that no matter what battles he has to fight in life, he will not face them alone.
That is the reason I write, and read, romance.
How about you?
© 2008 – 2009 Roxanne St. Claire. All rights reserved.
Roxanne St. Claire is a bestselling, RITA-Award winning author of twenty-four novels of romance and suspense. For the past several years, she's been writing a popular romantic suspense series called “The Bullet Catchers” for Pocket Star Books, featuring a cadre of bodyguards and security professionals. In 2010, she's launching a new series, "The Guardian Angelinos" focusing on an extended family of renegade crime fighters and investigators based in Boston. The first book in that series, EDGE OF SIGHT, will be released from Grand Central Publishing in November, 2010, with two more scheduled in 2011. In addition to the RITA, her books have won the National Reader’s Choice Award, the Daphne Du Maurier Award, the Maggie Award, the Booksellers Best, the Book Buyers Best, The HOLT Medallion, multiple Awards of Excellence, and Borders “Top Pick” for Romance in 2007.
Subscribe to Posts 
Hey, y’all. First comment here. Great blogsite!
Hi Rocki. Thanks for sharing ‘the moment’. Blessings on the newlyweds, and on all the groom’s brave compatriots in all branches of the service.
There is it, right there. That’s the depth of feeling Rocki brings to her work. Breathtaking action? Sure. Searing sensuality? Natch. A life-or-death race to find the bad guy(s)? Well, of course! And all written dizzyingly well, too.
But it’s this…this (dare I say it?)heart…that sets Rocki’s novels apart for me, and puts her work head and shoulders above many, many (did I mention “many”?) novels on the shelves.
And that’s why I read her!
Rock on, Rocki.
by Liz in IN October 21st, 2008 at 3:46 amOh, my gosh, Rocki! You brought me to tears. How beautiful the wedding sounds and the story, a true, true romance.
by Debra Webb October 21st, 2008 at 5:11 amI got teary-eyed just reading this, Rocki!
by Margaret A. Golla October 21st, 2008 at 5:34 amI love weddings, and I’m so glad that they finally have their HEA!
Rocki, I remember when you posted your requests for thoughts and prayers when your nephew left for Iraq. This is truly a wonderfully tearful HEA.
by Terry Odell October 21st, 2008 at 5:52 amSo happy to share the glorious day with all of you! Hope I didn’t wreck any mascara, Deb. (Wait, we don’t wear that when we work, do we?) I’m glad you enjoyed the story, Margaret, and thank you, Terry, and so, so many others who prayed for Anthony when he went on his tour of duty. He is quite certain that’s what got him home in one piece.
by Roxanne St. Claire October 21st, 2008 at 6:27 amOhhmygosh! I’m all teary-eyed like the others. This takes me back to the day three years ago when I was the groom’s mother and I watched my son stand in a tuxedo and marry his beloved. They married in a restored 1920′s art deco movie theater and the ceremony was on the stage, complete with the mighty Wurlitzer organ that rose from the deep on one corner of the stage. I still have one son left to get married, and I’m hoping I live long enough to see my granddaughter make that walk down the aisle.
I know exactly what you mean about it being the reason you read and write romance. Thanks for sharing your nephew’s wedding with us. I LOVE the photos!
by Marilyn October 21st, 2008 at 6:54 amI wish this young couple all the best.
I want to also thank your nephew for serving. I
My husband is in the Army Reserves. He served 9 months in Tikrit, Iraq and was due to leave this month for Afghanistan, but was injured and required surgery. He is recovering at home and may indeed serve if he is 100% by the end of January.
My your nephew stay safe wherever he serves his country!
by HollyD October 21st, 2008 at 6:57 amMarilyn, I remember so well when your son got married in the art deco theater! Another wonderful memory.
HollyD, God bless you and your husband. I hope he is healing fast, and knows how much we appreciate what he — and you — have sacrificed!
by Roxanne St. Claire October 21st, 2008 at 7:03 amRocki, you have captured the essence of the Magical Moment with your descriptions of the wedding! You made me feel like I was there with you, watching the lovelight gleam in Anthony’s eyes. Terrific writing, and excellent memory-weaving!
by Priscilla Horn October 21st, 2008 at 7:42 amThank you.
What a beautiful post!
I cry at every wedding I go to. The look on the groom’s face when the bride first appears always makes the tears flow. My hubby laughs, then I remind him about his face on our wedding day and sometimes that’s what I focus on when he’s driving me crazy!
by Annie Oortman October 21st, 2008 at 7:44 amAwesome post, Rocki! You really did the day justice.
by Kristen October 21st, 2008 at 7:53 amGreat job of capturing the magic of the moment, Little Sister! I, too, spoke with Capt Chase, who related to me that, one night when he and Anthony spoke of the wedding in Baghdad, while under fire no less, he had wondered if it would happen, adding that he was “really glad [we] had all had “made it.” He was not talking about airline reservations, either. Made this old patriot tear up.
by Gregg MacGregor October 21st, 2008 at 8:02 amWonderful post. I remember when your nephew left for Iraq, all your concerns and fears for him. How terrific is see him whole and healthy and happy.
Why am I’m thinking some of these “scorchingly handsome” men are soon to be “Bulletcatchers”?
and Clay Chase..what a great name for a hero.
by ArkansasCyndi October 21st, 2008 at 8:17 amOh, Cyndi, don’t get me started on Clay Chase. He was GORGEOUS. And he had his eye on my equally gorgeous 19 year old niece, which was too much fun to watch. I already had one hero named Clay and another named Chase, darn it. But the inspiration was flowing faster than the champagne that night – those guys were awesome! I was surrounded by real life Bullet Catchers!
by Roxanne St. Claire October 21st, 2008 at 8:23 amSniff. Sniff.
by Lara Santiago October 21st, 2008 at 8:27 amThat was lovely. Thank you so much for sharing, Rocki.
You’re absolutely right. An HEA like that is the best reason to write romance.
I for one am grateful for your nephew, his service and especially his safe return home.
Hugs,
Lara
Rocki, I’m with everyone else who has commented, what you wrote brought tears to my eyes. I was able to visualize exactly how your proud nephew must have looked when he first saw his bride walking towards him. What a proud and beautiful moment for your family.
I also want to thank your nephew and his fellow soldiers for their service. Being an Army (nurse) veteran myself and the mother of an Army Spec. Ops veteran, I know first hand the sacrifices they have made for us all. I bet you did get some fantastic ideas for future Bullet Catcher’s at the wedding
. I can’t wait to see them come to life in your books.
by Kathy October 21st, 2008 at 9:01 amYour post brought tears to my eyes! I read romance to get that feeling. I can’t write it though, not without someone winding up dead LOL.
by wendy roberts October 21st, 2008 at 9:25 amChecking in again to find new posts – thank you all for the comments. I love to make people cry, cruel girl that I am.
Liz in IN – how sweet of you to say my writing has *heart* – I can’t imagine a higher compliment! xoxo
Annie O – so right about remembering that day during those stressful married moments. (Not that I’ve had ANY of them. No, never. My husband is purrrrrfect.)
by Roxanne St. Claire October 21st, 2008 at 9:28 amAwesome post, Rocki!!
by S.J. Day October 21st, 2008 at 10:43 am*sniff*
Tears here, too. What a great post!
by Elisabeth Naughton October 21st, 2008 at 11:10 amRocki, great post! I love the pics and the story of your nephew’s hard earned happy ending.
by Jen Apodaca October 21st, 2008 at 11:20 amRocki, that is THE best blog I have ever, ever read. I read every word and I never read every word.
Amazing pictures and heart. I know more and more why you are an amazing author.
I am basking in the romance of your hero nephew and heroine bride. I pray a long happy life and marriage for them.
Rachel
by Rachel Hauck October 21st, 2008 at 11:26 amOne more comment, there’s this great verse in Proverbs about “three things too wonderful for me, four which I cannot understand.”
The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea. . .
. . . and the way of a man with a maid.
The last line reminds me of your nephew and WHY so many of us are inexplicably, at times, drawn to romance.
by Rachel Hauck October 21st, 2008 at 11:32 amOMG, I sitting here in tears right now unable to read the comments. Rocki, this is what you bring to your stories. How many people look at the groom at that moment? That unexpected twist as you shared that young man realizing he was getting the girl. Sometimes as females we forget what the male gets at that moment. Thank you.
by Amanda October 21st, 2008 at 11:50 amMy next blog post: why we *cry* when we’re happy. A round of Kleenex for my friends (even my own brother admitted tearing up in his comment!). And thank you, Rachel and Amanda, for your compliments. Coming from all these astounding writers, I’m honored!
My sister reports that the honeymooners are in Mexico at a resort…somehow I’m not expecting them to comment here today. Can’t imagine why.
by Roxanne St. Claire October 21st, 2008 at 12:13 pmRocki…
Hannah’s dad here……THanks for the post….Thanks to all who joined in the celebration! It was truly one for the ages…..I’m so proud to have Anthony as a son-in-law….God bless….
by Jim Tedder October 21st, 2008 at 12:28 pmRocki, that’s so beautiful!! Yes, you’ve made me teary eyed. And you made me remember my own wedding, which was a military wedding too.
Yes, this is exactly why I write romance, why I love to read it, why I love YOUR stories, and why I can’t imagine doing anything else.
I’m so happy for your nephew and his bride!
by Lynn Raye Harris October 21st, 2008 at 1:19 pmDamn, Rocki, I’m sitting here, yet another one with tears in my eyes. This is just so beautifully, perfectly said. Thank you for writing this today–I really needed to read this.
by toni mcgee causey October 21st, 2008 at 2:19 pmHannah’s dad! I think my sister has sent the blog post worldwide.
Thank you, Jim, for giving Hannah to our family. We love her! (And what a party it was!!)
Toni, happy to provide what you needed, and Lynn, lucky you for having a military wedding. I admit I’d never seen one before. Before it started, my son (15) wanted to know if anything would explode or guns would be fired. Men. They’re all the same.
by Roxanne St. Claire October 21st, 2008 at 2:33 pm…WOW.
I came across this blog by scanning another Author’s (Judith McNaught’s) BB, & I’m glad I did. I now have a new author on my must read list. Rocki, if you can bring this much emotion, love, tear-inspiring romance to a blog post, I can’t WAIT to see what you do with a novel. Thank you for a phenomenal read.
PS: My mom actually looked at the groom too my sister stepped through the doors—I think she might be the only mother in history to watch the groom when her daughter is the bride. She said it made her day—for the very same reason. The sheer love, emotion, and joy in his face (& the faint shine of tears in his eyes) reassured her on every level that he would love her daughter & cherish her every day of their lives. As an added bonus–she captured ‘the look’ forever on film.
by eryn lockhart October 21st, 2008 at 2:42 pmdabbing eyes. I too was at a wedding this weekend, and in between my smiles and tears I watched my youngest daughter marry a wonderful man. He was grinning so wide when proud papa walked her down the aisle I thought his face would split in half. It was a most cherished moment to see the love shine from every part of him for my daughter. It’s why I write romance too, Rocki.
by Karin Tabke October 21st, 2008 at 3:19 pmKarin! Congrats to YOU! We want pictures of the bride — and the MOB (you look too young to be an MOB!)
by Roxanne St. Claire October 21st, 2008 at 3:26 pmI was at a wedding too, and I cried (I know, hard to believe) twice. Once was during the vows, which were simple and very Catholic, and once was during the father-daughter dance. Weddings remind me that marriage is for BETTER or WORSE, and reminds me of why I fell in love with my husband in the first place.
I think I have to have romance in my books because of exactly what you so eloquently said, Rocki–that life is better when you’re not alone, that having someone to share the good and bad times makes all the difference in the world.
Karin was GORGEOUS, Gary was classy, and the bride and groom were in love.
by Allison Brennan October 21st, 2008 at 6:19 pmthat is nice photos, love it that is so romantic, love stories of true love
by kh October 21st, 2008 at 9:45 pmWonderful blog, Rocki. Brought tears to my eyes. And gave me a little faith back….
by Natalie October 22nd, 2008 at 8:15 pm