Samanthe Beck is back, and she’s quoting one of my most favoritest (that’s for you, Mom. Yep, I was an English teacher!) grand gestures EVER. Read on!
Hello, and huge THANK YOU to Becky for having me back on her blog. As usual, I have nothing helpful to say about quilts, (other than I could easily spend an entire day wrapped in one), so I’m going to stick to books.
I feel like the meet-cute has gotten a lot of attention lately, and I do loves me a good meet-cute, but I’d like to shine the spotlight on the grand gesture…the grovel…the point just before the happy-ever-after, where someone says and/or does just the right thing to win the other person’s heart. When I write, I aim to make the grand gesture the most satisfying moment in the romance. A simple goal, but trust me, it’s not always easy. If you’re familiar with ‘80’s movies, I’ll show you what I mean.
Ever encountered a story where the grand gesture comes from the wrong character? No matter how amazing it is, you can’t get behind it because you’re really thinking, “No fair! Why is she rushing after him, when he’s the one who acted like a jerk and pushed her away? He should be chasing after her!” You’ve seen “Pretty in Pink.” You know what I’m talking about.
Same problem if the gesture just isn’t…grand. They’re together. The right character has made the effort and put herself out there. Sort-of. Sometimes it feels like big issues just poofed away in a magical cloud of I-love-you’s, and you’re like, “Um, did she choose him over her disapproving father, or is he basically the guy she turned to now that dad’s incarcerated? “Say Anything”? Amirite?
But when the author gets everything perfect, that grand gesture will deliver all the feels before it melts your heart into a big puddle of “awwwww.” Go watch “When Harry Met Sally.” Okay, I’ll summarize. He runs into the New Year’s Eve party, kisses her senseless, and tells her he loves her. It might have been too pat. Too easy. Another example of a not grand enough gesture, but she calls him on it, and this is what happens:
***
SALLY: I’m sorry Harry, I know it’s New Year’s Eve, I know you’re feeling lonely, but you just can’t show up here, tell me you love me and expect that to make everything alright. It doesn’t work this way.
HARRY: Well how does it work?
SALLY: I don’t know but not this way.
HARRY: Well how about this way. I love that you get cold when it’s seventy one degrees out, I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich, I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts, I love that after I spend a day with you I can still smell your perfume on my clothes and I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Years Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of the life to start as soon as possible.
***
Daaayum!
In my latest book, Emergency Attraction, my hero and heroine have both made mistakes with each other in the past. My hero, reformed bad-boy Shane, wants a second chance with the girl that got away, but my heroine, Sinclair, is sticking firm to her “Been there, done that, got the scars to prove it” position. She’s not up for risking her heart on him again. Shane’s in win-her-back mode for most of the story, and he’s got his work cut out for him. His grand gesture has to be BIG!
Does he pull it off? You’ll have to be the judge, but all I’m saying is he’s ready to move heaven and earth—or in Sinclair’s case, bricks and boards—to earn her heart, and he makes sure she knows it. And if yours melts into a puddle at that scene, hey, I warned you!
Author Bio:
Wine lover, sleep fanatic, and USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy contemporary romance novels, Samanthe Beck lives in Malibu, California, with her long-suffering but extremely adorable husband and their turbo-son. Throw in a furry ninja named Kitty and Bebe the trash talking Chihuahua and you get the whole, chaotic picture.
When not dreaming up fun, fan-your-cheeks sexy ways to get her characters to happily-ever-after, she searches for the perfect cabernet to pair with Ambien.
Website: www.samanthebeck.com
Twitter: @SamantheBeck1
Facebook: www.facebook/
Instagram: samanthebeck
I reviewed EMERGENCY ATTRACTION here, in case you missed it 🙂
Synopsis:
Ten years ago when Shane Maguire chose the Marines as his escape from some trouble of his own making, he only regretted one thing—leaving Sinclair Smith behind. Despite his best intentions, she ended up as the one that got away. Now he’s back, determined to reclaim everything he gave up, including Sinclair.
Sinclair is immune to Shane’s charms. She’s immune to stolen kisses behind the gym. And she’s definitely immune to that maneuver he did in the back seat of his car… Okay, maybe her hormones are susceptible, but she has absolutely no desire to risk anything on the bad boy who broke all his promises.
When a little emergency lands her at his mercy, he offers her a deal she can’t refuse. And this time, she’ll show Shane what it means to be left wanting…
