What does a cold soda have to do with romance? Well, you might be surprised. Guest author Shirley Gould is chatting with us today, talking about the romantic moments that all added up to a romantic marriage. See what you think.

Marrying a hopeless romantic led to amazing moments occurring when I least expected them. He sent me flowers so many times while we were dating, the florist made one of the deliveries herself so she could meet me, the object of his affection.
While living in Kenya, East Africa as missionaries, J.R. had to get really creative. During a rainy season that merged with El Nino, we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Nairobi, and I’d forgotten my umbrella. After paying our bill, he slipped out the door. When I stepped out of the restaurant, he had pulled our Land Cruiser onto the sidewalk so I could get in without getting wet. He was my hero.

To say author Betty Woods celebrated her anniversary with a bit of a bang is an understatement. The good news is, even when a party feels more like a rom-com, it can still be sweet and romantic. See what you think.

​   We celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary this spring. Probably not the way someone would write it in a romance novel, unless it’s a romantic comedy. Our official date is March 23. The kids originally envisioned renting a nice room, simple but elegant decorations and tables with white cloths until they found out how much all that would cost. Plan B our large backyard. But since we wanted an outdoor celebration, we waited until early April in hopes of better weather. It’s an understatement to say Texas weather is unpredictable. The high was in the eighties that afternoon. As you can see in the cake picture, Craig is wearing shorts. 

When you think of romance, normally you think of it ending in marriage. But that's not always the case. Sometimes, it can end as something just as sweet, though. Guest author, Mary Pat Johns is here to tell the story of her mom and her mom's Special Friend. See if you think this is as romantic as I do. ;)

​Mom was nineteen-years-old when she married Dad. He was the older man at twenty-three. They were married for over sixty years when Daddy passed. A year or so later, Mom packed the belongings she wanted to keep, had an estate sale for the rest, and moved into a retirement village.
As her only daughter, I had her all to myself for five years. I loved it, but it wasn’t enough for her, especially since I still worked. She had no desire to get married again but missed the daily companionship.  

How far would you go to impress your future father-in-law? That's right, I said FUTURE. Well, guest author Meghann Whistler is here today to talk about her real-life romance when she did just that. Read on.

​I met my husband on a blind date in Boston in September 2003, during my last semester of grad school.
 
I’d been single for about a year and half before I met him, and I’d been on my fair share of bad blind dates during that time, so I didn’t have high hopes.
 
That all changed, however, when I met him. Paul was tall and handsome, and he was Canadian, like me! He was also kind and polite, and after dinner, we stayed out talking until two o’clock in the morning.
 
It wasn’t long before we fell in love. 💕

In our relationship, my husband and I get along fairly well, but that doesn't mean we aren't complete opposites in the way we do certain things. For instance, I love being around people. He does not. I love watching old musicals. He tolerates them. I love being outside. He can handle it a little while, but don't ask him to camp. And it's okay. Because we balance each other out.
But we're different in other ways too. Like, I am a planner and he is not. I love to know weeks in advance what we're doing when, how much things cost, when they open, what might be on the way from here to there that we could add to our trip, etc. He is more of a wing-it man.
I said, "Do you want to take a trip, just the two of us, for our anniversary?"
He replied, "Sure."
"Where would you like to go?"
​And he shrugged.

I had the radio on in the car the other day. Not always a safe choice, but the station I was tuned to is fairly clean. The kids and I were headed to school and a popular song came on.
I quickly turned it off.
"Why did you do that, Mommy?"
"Because that song makes me mad."
Of course, then I had to go into a whole discussion about what part of the song made me mad (they're used to us muting or turning off songs with bad language, but they could tell this was different).

It's been a crazy few weeks around here. Between my husband having surgery right before Spring Break, my tax-job schedule being quite a few more hours than normal, extra events at school, and several other things, I've been running a bit crazy. So, when I jokingly told my son to go get me a chocolate milkshake, I didn't really expect anything to happen. For one, because he's seven, and for two, because I was joking--mostly.
So, when my husband jumped up and put his shoes on, I was a bit floored. Pleased, but surprised. He was going to do it?

If someone says, "Whatever you want, dear," does it frustrate you or make you happy. In the case of fellow author, Christina Sinisi, you might be surprised! Read on about her latest anniversary trip.

​My husband and I have been together for more than 40 years. We met in college—both representing our schools as honors students. I was a sophomore, and he was a senior. His older, wiser self might have been the reason he went back to barracks (he attended Virginia Military Institute) and told his roommate he’d met the woman he was going to marry. His roommate said the same. My husband was right (he often is, but ssh), his roommate wasn’t.
Flash forward to this past year. For some context—my husband grew up in New Orleans up to age 12 and then moved to a Connecticut suburb. He’s a city boy by training. On the other hand, I grew up in the mountains of Virginia and wandered the woods. Whenever my family traveled, we avoided cities and searched out wilderness.

Can a pet spell romance? Maybe not for everyone, but if you're an animal-lover, it just might. Guest author Kara Leigh Miller is chatting today about how it turned into a real-life romance story for her. More than once. ;)

The year was 2007. My husband and I had just moved into a new home less than six months prior, and it was the dead of winter in Central New York. For those who don’t know, this region of NY gets lake effect snow, and getting a foot or more in just a couple of hours isn’t uncommon. One night, we were huddled inside watching some nature program about snow leopards, and I LOVE cats of any kind. So there I am, oohing and aahing about the cute fluffy kitties on the TV. 

Our daughter was barely 3 years old, and she was still learning proper enunciation. Fluffy was fuffy and I jokingly said to my husband, “We need to get a white cat to name Snowball so our daughter can call it, “fuffy noball.” She couldn’t quite pronounce her S’s. My husband laughed and said no. Absolutely no cats. 

How well does your significant other know you? Well enough to plan a surprise party? Or well enough to NOT plan a surprise party?
Guest author, Regina Rudd Merrick is chatting with us about what her husband did for her last birthday. I think a lot of us resonate with this.

​When you write romance, you try your best to think of the MOST ROMANTIC situations your characters can be in.
Here’s the problem, though—most of the interactions between people who love one another are the little, day-to-day things and the occasional spark of inspiration that make up a life.
 I will fully admit that my husband is the romantic in my marriage, but when your love language is acts of service as mine is, no amount of hugging, gifts, or words of affirmation are going to do it for you regularly.
That’s why last year, for my birthday, my husband chose the best birthday present I could have ever imagined.
A weekend out of town.