From the heart - Monday Fortune Cookie 5/19/12

GREAT THOUGHTS COME FROM THE HEART

SNARKY RESPONSE: Then again, it could just be heartburn.

Great thoughts come from the heart.

As a romance writer, I'm partial to this fortune. Afterall, my tagline is: Fantasy With A Kiss Of Romance. I love stories that involve romance. Always have. Always will.

In Collector's Item, KT's heart tells her that her aunt is in trouble and despite her father's doubts, she insists on finding out. Her heart tells her that something's not right, and she puts everything on the line, including her own safety for that feeling. For her, it's about family. That's the heart of her story.

Peyton Aller's heart tells him that his best friend's death cannot go unavenged, and he puts aside his own career to do so. He goes undercover to track down the responsible party even when the authorities have set the case aside as unsolved. For him, it's about friendship. That's the heart of his story.

What happens when their stories cross becomes the heart of Collector's Item's story.

My hope is that you'll enjoy reading Collector's Item as much as I enjoyed writing it for you. Exploring KT and Peyton's world led me down a lot of interesting paths. Writing romance always offers me lots of new ways to imagine life and love. That's the heart of my story.

MONDAY FORTUNE COOKIE 7/16/12

"All matters of the heart can be resolved with wine and candlelight."

SNARKY RESPONSE: Unless we're talking heart surgery. In which case, wine and candlelight are NOT helpful at all. Oh, and if the matter involves a betrayal of one kind or another, a considerable amount of groveling will be required.

"All matters of the heart can be resolved with wine and candlelight."

As a romance writer, this fortune was very apropos of my genre. This mindset, and setting, works perfectly in the development of a romantic entanglement. Yes, the setting is a bit clichéd, but no matter how clichéd it appears, it is effective. What heart doesn't go pitter pat at the sight of a candlelit table set for two? (Okay, I admit that there are occasions where that pitter-patter is a full-on arrhythmia of phobic anxiety, but that's another story!).

Consider the way candlelight draws you in, creating an intimacy no electric light can completely duplicate. Perhaps it harkens to the earliest days and the security and magic of the fire. And because candlelight works best in a darkened room, yet more is added to the intimacy factor. The darkness unconsciously encloses the two at table in a spatial cocoon. Flickering candlelight softens the edges, disguises minor imperfections, and encourages quiet in voice and demeanor. Within that magical circle of light, guarded from the darkness beyond, the two hearts can focus, one to the other. And where there is a connection there is hope.

Do you feel "all matters" can be resolved in this manner or do you feel that it's another fallacy the Fortune Cookie Seer is circulating as truth?