Tag Archives: Relationships

The Magical Balm of Friendship #RachelleAyala @mimisgang1 #mgtab

Posted on by — Leave a reply
Photo by Matheus Ferrero: https://www.pexels.com/photo/four-men-sitting-on-ground-1974927/

Why do we like friendship fiction so much?

Think about it. What would your favorite story be like if the hero or heroine had no friends? Think about Frodo without Samwise Gamgee, or Harry without Ron and Hermione. I’m betting your favorite romances have at least one friend character, either the hero’s or the heroine’s or one of each. I like to write romances with a friendship group, such as the Bumblebees in my Bad Boys for Hire series or the Girl Crew in my Not Mine romantic comedy series.

Having friends is one of the most basic joys of being human. A friend is someone who wants to be with you because he likes you and enjoys spending time with you. It’s a voluntary association and it makes you feel special and recognized. Friends help you celebrate the good times in your life as well as support you through the bad times. They provide you with social cues and help you understand yourself, and of course, they give you a chance to care about them too. They also reveal things about your personality, either directly through feedback and counsel or indirectly as a foil or contrast or comparison of how they would have handled a situation.

Having a group of friends provides even more feedback. The love and caring as well as fun times and sometimes, friction, bring out the best in group dynamics. That’s why books and TV shows about friendship groups are so popular. We enjoy the drama, the loving, the hijinks, and even the support during sad times. When we read about friends and relationships, we learn how to relate to other people and we can vicariously feel the love and emotion, as well as taste the strife that sometimes breaks up a friendship. Of course, we root for the characters, individually and as a group, and when they are back in harmony and celebrating, we get to go along and party with them too.

These are some of the reasons I enjoy friendship fiction. It invites me into the group as a participating member and also allows me to hone my friendship skills by experiencing the drama and angst the characters go through. Do you enjoy friendship fiction? If so, please check out my Bad Boys for Hire series, where my group of Bumblebees met in preschool dance class. They’re all grown up now and still dancing together, and as each one of them finds their bad boy, the others are there to support them and celebrate and give advice. The boys become friends too, but only after meeting the girls. Check out all seven Bad Boys for Hire.

Bad Boys for Hire: Complete Collection

Visiting An Old Friend by @PatriceWilton

Posted on by — 3 Comments ↓

I have moved around a lot in my life which makes it difficult to have an old friend. Started off in Vancouver, Canada, which I loved very much and always will. I was a flight attendant in my twenties and my favorite route was Vancouver to Hawaii and back. That became my second home.

Old Friend

I married later in life, at the age of thirty and my husband’s job took us to Toronto, Melbourne Australia then Sydney. Our final stop was England, where we spent three years before coming back to the United States.

We never had a chance to put down roots or develop longtime friendships. It was difficult for the children, but I adapted well, and enjoyed the new places, the people I met and the adventures I had.

Forever Friends

I have come to realize that the friends I made on this journey would always stay with me, but the communication would stop.

The real, true friends that you’ll never forget are the ones you meet as a child, and the tender years of growing up. I envy those who have had the chance to stay in one place and develop a long-time, forever friendship that will stand the test of time.

Yes, I do have a few, less than a handful of people from my past—the kind you don’t see in twenty years, but can start back where you left off.

Patrice and Friends

Over the years I have developed thousands of friendships, nearly all that I’ve never met. They are very special to me, a bond that will never break. Those amazing, wonderful people who read books, and those who write them.

Paradise Cove

Revisiting Paradise Cove

I am now revisiting a family, an old friend, that I quit on years ago, but returned to in the last few months. My Paradise Cove friends, the family I created in the first of six books. It is wonderful to be back with my old friends, who are still as engaging and adventurous as they were eight years ago. The new book will be a novella, but it will have the same characters and mishaps as the previous stories with a new cast of characters as well.

Hooked On You

Come back to PARADISE COVE and see for yourself how amazing and welcoming the Florida Keys can be!

Paradise Cove 6-Book Bundle

 

The Secret To Happier, Stronger Relationships by Taylor Lee

Posted on by — Leave a reply

I’m personally and professionally a relationship freak. Personally, I’m lucky to have a lot of relationships, most of which are incredibly satisfying and bring me joy. Professionally, I’m a romance writer which means that my “work life” revolves around writing about relationships. In all my books, the relationship challenges between my heroine and hero are an important part of the story. Some books feature the guy as the troublemaker and the woman tends to be the problem solver. In other stories, the woman comes close to being a pain in the ass, while the guy is the peacemaker. Or, more often, they mix it up. Given that I’m a stickler for Happily Ever After endings, my books always end with peace, at least for the moment, between my main characters.

Relationships

In addition to analyzing and creating fictional relationships, I also like to study them. I came across some interesting research that identified the factors that mark a successful relationship. The most intriguing element of the research, which was done at the University of Georgia and published in the journal Personal Relationships concluded that two words were the determinants of happy successful relationships.

What are the two magic words that make couples happy with their relationships?

Drum roll, please.  The two words are: Thank You.

The University of Georgia research confirms that individuals who take the time to say thank you to their partners, their lovers, their family members, and friends tend to have the happiest, most fulfilling relationships.

Given that, I want to say thank you to all of you, my readers, my newsletter followers, my treasured team, and my fellow Authors’ Billboard authors, who make my life so fulfilling.  Thank you, guys.  I appreciate the heck out of you!

Taylor

And a tangible confirmation of my appreciation, check out:

 

Betrayed

 

BETRAYED – Book 3: The Criminal Affairs Collection

By Taylor Lee

FREE! FREE! FREE TODAY July 26

BETRAYED: Book 3 in USA Today best-selling author Taylor Lee’s Sizzling Hot Detective Series, The Criminal Affairs Collection.

A rising-star political hotshot wants Viviana’s expertise and to bask in her media aura. And not incidentally, he wants her!

Viviana is hard enough to control. Now Jax has to fend off an interloper who is almost as sexy and arrogant as he is. And that’s saying something.

In the ultimate betrayal, Viviana is forced to acknowledge that her infamous go-it-alone MO has not served her well. In fact, she almost loses everything important to her, including the man she loves above all else.

Finally, Viviana has spent her life denying her ugly past. But her nightmares have caught up with her. Disregarding her fierce refusal, sexy police chief Jax insists that together they will find and punish the evil men who abused her.

 

And while you are at it, check out this terrific box set from me and my Authors’ Billboard hotshots:

Brazen Protectors

Brazen Protectors – (Protect and Desire Book 4) – is just 99 cents!

Engaging tales of heroes and heroines taking command in unlikely situations, these champions just as provocative as they are brave.

My book in the set is:

Line of Fire

Line of Fire: Passion Meets Politics

Facing political opponents is a piece of cake for Gia. Facing her insecurities about her superstar lover is another matter.

Gia’s unconquerable political skills make winning the election a sure thing. If only she was as confident of her ability to capture and keep her inimitable lover. The arrival of one of his former paramours doesn’t help. Particularly, when the sexy blonde agent isn’t above sowing seeds of doubt in the insecure Gia—just for the heck of it.

Corrupt doesn’t begin to describe Gia’s political opponents. Try hooking up with international terrorists. Oh yes, and silencing a pregnant mistress when necessary. They might have been able to get away with it, if not for Logan and his super- secret agent team.

Unfortunately, the villains conclude if they can’t take Gia down at the polls they’ll have to take her down… permanently.

Grab Line of Fire today. Discover how challenging elections can be when sex and violence are in the mix.

 

Fifty Ways to Love your Lover (and Friends)

Posted on by — Leave a reply
Photo by Katerina Holmes from Pexels

It’s Valentine’s Day, and all through the land, flowers are given and brunch is being cooked. But did you know that love can be shown every day and in little or large ways? The key is surprise and changing things up. Neuroscience has shown that humans get habituated fairly easily to both good and bad stimuli. For example, the first time you tasted a particular dish or dessert, you had a memorable moment of thinking it was the best ever. The next time you went back to that restaurant or cooked the dish or picked up the dessert, you wonder, did it change? Or it wasn’t the way I remembered. It’s the same with rewards and gifts, as well as things people do for you. Your first kiss? The first time a guy gave you a trinket? Going on a first date? Your first [fill in the blank]?

So, let’s change things up a bit this Valentine’s Day. We’ve come off a hard year of social isolation and the inevitable loneliness. If you have someone with you, count yourself lucky, but you don’t have to have a special someone to love someone else. Just send out some love and that itself is a sweet reward.

Here are fifty ways to show someone you love them.

  1. Say, “I love you.”
  2. Give a hug.
  3. Tuck a note saying “I love you,” in an unexpected place.
  4. Talk to him, and make sure you do a lot of listening. Paying attention is love.
  5. Respect his opinion, especially if it differs from yours.
  6. Go on a walk and don’t talk, just be together.
  7. Play a game: Checkers, backgammon, gin rummy, etc. where it’s the two of you only.
  8. Play with your pet together. Appreciate your pet and let them run back and forth between you.
  9. Cook together, or watch him cook or have him watch you. It feels more like love and less like a service when you’re interacting.
  10. Do an activity together you’ve been putting off.
  11. Trade backrubs and footrubs.
  12. Ask for his opinion on what you should wear before going out. Shows you value his observations.
  13. Form a book club of two. Agree to read the same book and discuss after finishing.
  14. Ask him if there’s something he wants you to do but hasn’t asked.
  15. Play a harmless prank on him. Good for laughs and retaliation.
  16. Take something off his “honey-do” list. Either do it yourself or hire someone.
  17. Show appreciation and tell him so.
  18. Surprise him with a gag gift–not socks or ties, but something funny.
  19. Find something he’s better at than others and tell him so.
  20. Declare a work-free day. No chores. No fixing things. No mowing grass.
  21. Join him on an activity he goes alone.
  22. Let him talk about his childhood without interjecting your own.
  23. Suggest he splurge on something you know he’s been secretly wanting.
  24. Play music together and do funny dances. Let him play his selection.
  25. Mix shampoos and conditioners together and come up with love potion names and blurbs for them.
  26. Exercise together or sit by and watch him exercise or vice versa.
  27. Invite his family to your celebration so no one will feel left out.
  28. Find a good trait about his mother and tell him how you appreciate her.
  29. Let him do things his way. If he ties the socks together instead of folding one into the other, let it be that way.
  30. Surprise him with his favorite dish or dessert.
  31. Let him sleep in or make sure you do not disturb him when he’s napping.
  32. Give him a stuffed animal to sit on his pillow. [Hey, it’s over 30 tips and I’m digging deep here].
  33. Collect a photo montage of his best moments and make a poster.
  34. Read him a passage from your favorite romance novel [I have over sixty, hint, hint]
  35. Ask him to make a muscle and admire how big it is.
  36. Give him a pedicure so his lethal toenails won’t snag you in bed.
  37. Shoot hoops with him.
  38. Stay up late and tell ghost stories, then go exploring in a dark barn.
  39. Go birdwatching and look for lucky birds–they all are. Hummingbirds, crows, bluejays, cardinals, and sparrows.
  40. Write him a love letter and tell specifically what you love about him.
  41. Go shopping with him for a his/her set of something. Be creative.
  42. Have a private karaoke night and sing love songs together.
  43. Cheerfully help him witht he yard work. Rake leaves while he mows.
  44. Hold hands while out for a walk in the park.
  45. Find strange places to take selfies together. Caption them.
  46. Play remember when. Write down separately and compare notes. You might be surprised when he doesn’t remember things the same way as you.
  47. Play spin the bottle. Hide in the closet for your kiss.
  48. Have a pillow fight.
  49. Take a drive out in the countryside with no where in mind. Top down if you have a convertible.
  50. Finally! Let him surprise you with an outing [no help from you or looking up directions].

I hope you found some ideas for a smashing Valentine’s Day. Please check out my three Valentine’s romances. If you listen to audiobooks, go to https://smarturl.it/ContactRachelle and request a free promocode [specify US or UK] for Valentine Hound Dog (sweet), Valentine Wedding Hound (sweet), or Going Hearts Over Heels [steamy]. – while promocodes last.

request from https://smarturl.it/ContactRachelle

And, another Valentine’s gift for you [Free ebook on Amazon, Feb 14-15], Going Hearts Over Heels. Ginger is a fast talking New Yorker who wants to try life in the country—along with hot country boys. Marsh yearns for the excitement of the big city and a certain redhead who has his imagination sparked. Ginger and Marsh decide to trade places over Valentine’s Day, except neither one expected their hearts to get in the way of their heels.

Going Hearts Over Heels (click to go to Amazon)