The Secret Shame of a Romance Writer

Love is in the air… again. For the Mackade blog hop, she has asked us to elaborate on our most embarrassing Valentine’s moments.

I’ve written a few blog posts about Saint Valentine, and the history of St. Valentine’s Day. When you read them, you’ll notice that I’m not a fan of the day. When I wrote those, I think I was trying to remain fairly neutral, but the reality is I’m not into Valentine’s Day, at all. I’ve never sent a card, and I’ve never received one. Oh, the shame!

As I write, I’m listening to a love song playlist to get me into the mood for writing this article. It’s got all the love hits by Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Savage Garden, and Elvis… no Adele, though.

I suppose this is my most embarrassing Valentine’s secret: I’m supposed to be a romance writer, but I’m just not into grand gestures of love, and I can’t stand the pressure to do such things. I find that social media posts and commercialisation, only heap shame and pressure on those who don’t take part. To me, it’s superficial and detracts from what the day is supposed to celebrate.

Please do not judge my romance writing based on my preference for avoiding public declarations, rose petals, and sickly sweet cards with cute love hearts and animals on them.

Forgive me for not getting all gooey-eyed about such things, but—gentle reminder, trying not to be patronising and probably failing—love isn’t about one day of grand gestures that you can show off to your social media connections. Just my opinion, but love is about those everyday things that often go unnoticed. It’s about those moments when you remember why you’re together. It’s about when you recognise that one person (and for some more than one) is there for you (even when times are hard) and they don’t need an overpriced card or box of chocolates to know you appreciate them, you simply have to do the same for them—day in, and day out.

I’m going to stop lecturing now, but that’s the love I like to write about. To me, there’s nothing more romantic than writing about people who suddenly realise there’s a person (or people) who offers them something no one else can, there’s a person (or people) who gets them like no one else, and they know that person (or people) will be there for them—no matter what happens in life.

Photo by alleksana

Hold those you love dear close to you every day. There’s no need to wait until 14th February to show them how much you love and appreciate them. Cook them a meal after a long day at work, rub their feet, fold the laundry, and always ask how their day has been and be the ear they need to vent to when it’s been a tough one.  

Do you have an embarrassing Valentine’s secret to share? Do you think I’m a St. Val’s grump? If so, leave a comment and check out the other posts on the blog hop.

3 thoughts on “The Secret Shame of a Romance Writer

  1. Absolutely well said, and I agree 100%.
    I dislike everything that’s st valentine.
    I can safely say it was an odd week and MacKade blog 🤣🤣🤣

  2. What we write and how we live are 2 different things. I doubt Stephen King is much like any of his characters.
    Tweeted.

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