Is Happily Ever After Over Rated?
Don't shoot the messenger...
One of the defining characteristics of the romance genre is its mandatory happily ever after, or at the very least, a happy for now.
When I first heard this term, happy for now, it irritated me to no end.
I mean, if all you’re getting for your trouble is a happy for now, a momentary reprieve, why bother? Relationships are hard. I want a guarantee of forever, one that lasts fifty years or more, marked by laughter, adventure, and copious amounts of sex.
That’s the job of the epilogue! Drive the point home!
Wrap that baby up with a big ol’ shiny bow and offer it up on a silver platter.
Because I want the fairy tale.
In books and in life, I want the fairy tale.
But lately, that term has been hitting different. Because anything more than a happy for now is frankly unattainable.
Happily ever after infers smooth sailing from here on in. As if finding each other was the pinnacle of difficulty, and now that you have, you’ve conquered the greatest obstacle to your happily ever after.
Congratulations. You’re in the clear.
But that’s not real.
Obstacles rise at every turn in the road. Some of them we hurdle together, others we go alone.
At other times, the path squeezes so tight you’re not sure you’ll find your next breath.
But if you make it through, if you’re still holding onto each other at the other side, you find your way to the next rest stop.
A happy for now, if you will.
There’s something beautiful and real and raw about a happy for now.
There’s a weight to it.
New love is this sweet, shiny thing. A floating ten-carat heart on a delicate gold chain.
It’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen or felt, a phenomenon the world has never witnessed.
You wear it proudly, touch it throughout the day to make sure it’s still there, set it on the bathroom counter in a little dish when you shower just in case the force of the water washes it down the drain.
It’s almost impossible to imagine that chain becoming strained or snapping. To imagine that floating heart swept up by a stiff breeze.
And then it is.
If you make it through the storm together, you set about making the necessary repairs. You examine the weakness in your chain.
Go through this process often enough, and you end up with a solid 24 carat gold heart plated in platinum on a chain forged in fire that death itself can’t break.
In real life, there is no happily ever after.
But if you’re fortunate, if by some magical combination of dumb luck and hang the fuck on you manage to weather the storms together, you can have a series of happy for nows until your time on this earth is up.
That’s worth having.
That’s real. And it’s messy. But then, that’s love.
Help yourself to this small town, second chance, single dad romance featuring characters over 40. Stock up on tissues before you start, and keep the faith! I’ll deliver that HEA!
This download does not require you to sign up for anything. Makes it so easy to share with your romance-loving friends!
Have you read the Sage Ridge series yet? I just released the fifth and final book. I am so very proud of this book! When I started, I had no idea I would be as pleased as I am. I don’t know, there’s just something about friends-to-lovers, emotional vulnerability, second chances, and hope.
It’s a beautiful story.
The whole series is beautiful.
And it’s available to read on Kindle KU for a very limited time. Click below so you don’t miss it!
As for me, I’m already onto my next project.
There are characters that hang around in the periphery sometimes, just waiting for their turn. This book gives Baxter his turn.
Any diehard fans know who Baxter is? This is a tough one!
Author Highlight: My dear friend, Sionna Trenz!
Stargazer Island’s ghosts are getting in on the magic and mayhem.
Sam LaSalle has seen some things. But he always figured he’d be a minor player in the magic game, a sidekick at best. And that was okay with him, because it gave him a chance to run one stubborn female to ground. With all the magic on Stargazer, Meredith Jones decided to study up on her own bloodlines. At least it’d keep her too busy to deal with the escalating attraction between Sam and herself. Of course, the best laid plans run amok on Stargazer Island.
Because when it comes to the laws of love and magic, all actions have consequences.
Before I let you go, I’d appreciate it if you took a moment to answer the poll below. I’ve been considering this for a while, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to forge ahead!
As always,
Live Messy, Love Madly!
Devin xo