What Touches My Heart by Delsora Lowe

February is the month of Valentine’s Day. Throughout my life I have vacillated between loving the idea of the day and wanting to shove my head under a pillow. After all, love isn’t something you can conjure up with a finger-snap. Oh…unless you write romance.

This month’s theme is “what touches my heart.” I do love writing romance, but what touches my heart in a very special way are my three grandsons. So what better way to honor my loves then to combine the two.

Grandson's New Puppy, Hugging and Napping

Huh? My grandsons are 9, 10, and 12, so they aren’t hero material…yet. Now this is a personal opinion, but I am sure anyone who meets my grandsons will agree that they are handsome, of superior intelligence, and above average athletic ability, not to mention sweet and thoughtful and never naughty. Yes, there goes my vivid imagination again. But really, they are wonderful young men. So that leads me to how I combine a love of grandsons with my love of writing romance? 

Brothers Skiing on Beautiful Colorado Day

I have a penchant for writing second chance romances. And many times, either the hero or heroine has a child that factors into how that romance plays out. My grandsons are inspiration for those characters.

Hockey - a Favorite of all 3 Grandson's, Skating - a Favorite of My Character, Bunnie

In my Valentine-themed book Moonlighting, the hero’s daughter, Bunnie, plays a starring role. A precocious ten-year old, she knows the moment she spots the heroine, that Mary Beth is THE ONE for her dad. Just like my grandsons, Bunnie is innocent, but wise-beyond her years. Building her character included adding in pieces of experiences with my grandsons—the way they see the world and go about exploring with exuberance and eyes open to new adventures.

         

Moonlighting - Happy Valentine's Day

Although my grandsons are not yet teens, I swear they know a lot more than I did when I was a teen. They know a lot more than I do now! Maybe it has to do with technology and a greater access to the world. Or maybe it is only because I think they are much smarter than I am, even at my advanced, ahem, I mean mature age.

My book Come Dance With Me, doesn’t have young children, but does center around a group of teens who have formed an after-school jazz group—the setting for the meeting between my outgoing jazz pianist and the buttoned up, efficient English teacher assigned to proctor the group. Helping the group of teens throws the hero and heroine together. But it is through the eyes of and activities with the teens that the two find true love. As I watch my grandsons grow, I can see the passion they have for exploring and learning and beginning to understand what touches their own hearts—all traits I tried to show through the teens in the story.
My new release in April 2019, The Prince’s Son, features a sweet boy who has lost his mother. In the heroine, a cowgirl, teacher, and his temporary nanny, he finds a woman he can love as a mother. Jaime’s wide-eyed wonder at the world, along with his fears, mimic traits I see in my grandsons.

The Prince's Son

Currently I am editing a book with a young boy, and writing another book with a child. Both are younger than my grandsons, but the mannerisms of my dear grandsons always seem to find a way into my young characters.

Even the photo I use on my website represents my grandsons. What you don’t know is that the scenic ocean and lighthouse scene is a cropped photo. What doesn’t show is the bottom half, with a big slate-gray rock upon which are perched three boys, back-to, but looking over their shoulders with huge grins at the camera. The cousins enjoying vacation together on the rocky coast of Maine. When I look at that photo, even in its cropped state, my heart sings.

Maine Lighthouse

I realize as I write scenes with children in them, that I do channel my grandsons—their physical expressions and movements, as well as their sense of exploration, wonder, and everyday adventure in their play and school work.

So, to say my grandsons touch my heart, is indeed an understatement. They are a part of me in every way. Whether consciously or unconsciously, they are in my thoughts and drive the actions I take to be a better person, and behind my actions to treat this earth, my friends, and perfect strangers with respect and love, so the three boys will have a legacy they can be proud of.

My grandsons ARE my heart.

What touches YOUR heart?

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine ~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Lowe’s family visits to Colorado are the inspiration for an upcoming contemporary western series, Cowboys of Mineral Springs, to be released in 2019 and 2020. And her daughter’s wedding and her son’s home, both on the coast of Maine, provided plentiful ideas for the Starlight Grille series (released in 2017 and 2018).

Author FB Page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthorAuthor Website: www.delsoralowe.comAmazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2nRx1Bs
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