Everything I Learned About Romance I Learned From Hallmark Movies

I don’t know whether I’m proud or embarrassed to tell you that I am completely caught up on Hallmark Movies this year. And…I even have a T-shirt labeled “This is my Hallmark Christmas Movie Watching Shirt.” (I got it from my sis-in-law, so I’m not totally to blame.)

I can’t believe what an amazing empire Hallmark has created with its movie division—every holiday now has its own slate of original movie premiers. But there is none bigger than the Christmas dynasty. According to the Hallmark Movie App there were 21 movies scheduled on “Countdown to Christmas,” the Hallmark Channel and 17 movies scheduled on “Miracle of Christmas,” the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel. (In this house we even go to Lifetime and Ion channels to find holiday flicks—but we won’t really go there right now. It’s an addiction.)  That makes 38 new Christmas movies. Fairly unbelievable.

But what does this say about us—those who love these formulaic stories? Keep in mind that every single one of the stories is about finding the meaning and magic of Christmas through love. In other words, these are romances pure and simple. To me that means that we need romance more than ever in our lives, and those of us who read and write romance have chosen an important avocation and vocation!

Don’t get me wrong – I know these stories are pure cliché. All you have to do is Google-search “Hallmark Christmas movie drinking game,” and you’ll get a list of the clichés you’ll find in every movie: 

TAKE A DRINK WHEN…

·         A character’s name is related to Christmas (Holly, Nick…)

·         There’s mistletoe

·         A newcomer takes part in a town/family tradition

·         There’s reference to a dead relative

·         A big city person is transplanted to a small town

·         You hear “Jingle Bells”

·         Someone drinks hot cider, chocolate or eggnog

·         A magical deal is made with Santa or an angel

·         The Christmas cynic is filled with the holiday spirit

·         There’s magically snow on Christmas day

And we’ve added our own drinkable moments to the list:

·         There’s ice skating

·         A kiss is interrupted

·         An overheard phone call is misinterpreted

·         Someone has a deadline on Christmas Eve

My husband loves these shows and will watch them all on his own without me. But he’s now so schooled in the art of the romance/Christmas trope that he can predict every step of every movie right along with me. My family has decided that he and my brother (also a Hallmark addict) must write a Hallmark-like story for us to read aloud next Christmas.

So why do writers love Hallmark movies despite their inevitable “sameness” one to the other? Because we LEARN from them how to write a basic romance story. Every element is right there to study:  beginning, middle, conflict, black moment, happily-ever-after. They are master classes in building the skeleton of a romance book!

Why do non-writers love these movies so much that Hallmark knows it can sustain 38 movies a year? Because these are simple, pure, often silly stories that require no emotion other than happiness. We live in a world that’s so filled with aggravation, confrontation, even downright hate, that these Christmas movies give us feel-good hope. And I, for one, hope that Hallmark continues to find and grow their audience.

I have a few favorite movies from this year, and many from past years as well. From this year, “Once Upon a Christmas Miracle” was all about a woman who needed a partial live liver transplant and fell in love with her donor—it could have been really stupid, but it was sweet. “Christmas Everlasting” was about a woman who returns home after her sister dies only to learn that the sister gave a baby up for adoption years ago. The whole movie is very tender!

From previous seasons I love “A Very Merry Mix-up” where a woman traveling to meet her future in-laws winds up at the wrong house and falls in love with the wrong family. Everything about it is just too adorable.  And I adore all the royalty movies:  “A Princess for Christmas” is awesome, starring Jamie Fraser himself, Sam Heughan, along with a fairly decrepit Roger Moore—but he’s wonderful anyhow.

The list goes on! I’m just plain a goof for Hallmark Christmas.  So---do you watch Christmas movies? Do you have a favorite? A favorite star? Please let me know what you love or hate about the whole Christmas movie genre. And whatever your feelings are—I wish you the very happiest of holidays!

Writing at Christmastime

What a difference a year makes!
Last year I was an author in crisis--on a huge deadline right at Christmas (book due December 26th) with no time to sit back and enjoy my favorite time of year.

I've always loved decorating my house. The holidays are a totally fun excuse for pulling out all my kitschy Santa, ornament, and ribbon stuff and blinging out the house in red and green. It's also, for hubby, a reason to make every room smell like cinnamon with a spicy red candle!

But last year I had no time for blinging out anything except the end of my book, and believe me that didn't feel much like bling. It was more like the
seventh circle of heck--it was a torture making me act a whole lot more like Ebenezer Scrooge than the forgiving Bob Cratchit. I wrote every free minute, I shopped the week before Christmas and bit my nails hoping things would arrive on time. I tossed up a few decorations that week, too, so it would look a tiny bit festive when my family arrived on Christmas morning. I gave myself Christmas Day off but then went back to work the next morning and was actually a day late turning in my manuscript.

Can I just say--Christmas was no fun last year.

So what did I do about it? I planned slightly better and gave myself all of this December off! I am so excited to find the fun in Christmas again. My house is decorated, my shopping is not done but is certainly well underway compared to last year. I've actually watched the Hallmark movie as they've come out. I've smiled and literally voiced the phrase "God bless us every one." (Okay, that's Tiny Tim Cratchit not Bob, but you get the idea.)

A writer's life is not always glamor and worldbuilding. The job of writing is like every job in the world--sometimes it's wonderful; sometimes you want to tell your boss (even if it's you) to shove it. I'm hoping that you will take a lesson from me and, whatever you have going on in your life, take time to enjoy the holidays. Whether you celebrate big or small, are by yourself or have a huge family, don't let outside pressures rob you of time to pull out your kitsch and thank the Lord for this time of year. Whatever holiday you celebrate--celebrate with joy!

And read a wonderful book! Your favorite authors have worked hard to bring it to you. But not at Christmas!! Here are some of the holiday decorations I got up this year. Remember as you view them--it's been two years (more in some cases) since they saw the light!

Happy Holidays, GLIAS friends. Tell me all about your favorite, relaxing holiday traditions.

On the Writer's Road - We are all Heroes

Hi GLIAS friends, it's Lizbeth again--coming to you from the writer's road, and I have a question. Is meeting your favorite author something that’s on your bucket list?

My super hero: Kristan Higgins

I have a second (even more fun) question. Have you ever actually met your favorite author?

It might surprise readers to know that authors also have favorite authors, and we have fangirl dreams of meeting the people whose books we love to read.

No maybe this is my super hero: Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Have you ever wondered why authors, who are people we rarely see except as slightly unrealistic photos on the backs of their books, are elevated to the status of celebrity in some cases? So what if they pick up a pen or sit at a keyboard and type words. They aren’t movie stars or sports figures, right?

With my true tribe: hubby in the back, sis-in-law on the right and absolute super readers turned good friends Shari & Jon Bartholomew

Another thing that might surprise you, is that not only do authors want to meet other authors—we also want to meet readers. In fact, we’re almost as excited to meet them as we would be to meet, say, Nora Roberts.

Why is meeting Nora Roberts such a thrill? Why does a reader feel such satisfaction when an author recognizes her and knows her (or his) name? Why do authors like me absolutely love spending time with readers? Three words:

Networking. Support. Empowerment.

GLIAS' own Angi Morgan (first a fellow writer and now a serious BFF),  me, and the amazing Sharon Sala.

In this time of “me too,” and heightened awareness of women and women’s rights, we need more than ever the amazing circle made up of authors and readers—especially in the romance genre.

Networking is maybe most important to authors. All fellow authors understand each other, and we’ve all got experiences to share, writing processes to compare, and encouragement to give. Those of us in the middle of the pack look to the “A-listers” (think Kristan Higgans, Nora, Barbara Samuel…) for hope and inspiration.

Love this lady:  Barbara O'Neal (aka Barbara Samuel)

 Brand new authors look to people like me for the same. Without writer heroes (for me, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Eloisa James) we can’t survive thosethe times we want to quit (and they happen) and we can’t see the top of the mountain we want to climb.

Readers need to meet other readers to hear about new books and new authors. They need to compare stories and critiques and analyze good books and not-so-good books.

 

Smart, witty, fabulous writer Grace Burrowes

Authors and readers also need to network with each other. Readers need to know what their favorite authors’ lives are like and that they're are no different than non-writers. And authors truly hope to find readers who become friends and who’ll support not only their books but also the ups and downs of life.

Support goes hand in hand with networking. Once you’ve found your author/reader “tribe” you know you have people who’ll always need you and be there for you. For friendship, of course, but also for beta reading, for spreading the word about books, for connecting with book clubs and online groups of people who like the same thing you do. Mostly, though, we find other women (and sometimes men) who know that reading romance isn’t something to hide. That through the years, romance readers are happier, healthier, and have better self-esteem than almost any other readers. And when we forget this—we remind each other. 

My Minnesota Tribe--Fab authors Ellen Lindseth, Kathryn Kohorst and Nan Dixon. The perfect picture of support!

Finally, meeting your favorite author and readers IS empowerment. Romance has come a very very long way since the days of true bodice rippers and Fabio. Today’s heroines are strong, resourceful, bright women who overcome every kind of obstacle and bad situation. They give us the hope that any situation can be better if we work to make it so. And that true love is not just a pipe dream. Even back in the days of Fabio, romance stories were written to defy the “rules” that women were supposed to live by. They were naughty, they were scandalous. They were wonderful.

And meeting our favorite writers lets us meet strong women who write about strong women in person. That's why it doesn't matter that authors aren't sports stars or actors. They are role models and meeting role models is definitely empowering.

The point of all this is that the road to being a writer isn’t really that glamorous—just as the world of every reader is sometimes mundane, even difficult. We need each other. So—if you’re shy about meeting or writing to an author—don’t be. She’ll love hearing from you. If you’re an extrovert, please know how much you’re appreciated. If you’re a writer who doesn’t want to promote or “bother” people (ahem—of course I’m not talking about myself)—stop it. The readers want to hear from you, too.

Revel in your heroes because you’re someone’s hero, too. And we’re in a very cool tribe. We love romance!!

A true writer hero and mentor and a Minnesota "sister"- Eloisa James.

I'd love you to tell me who your favorite author is and if you've ever met her (or him)? If so, was it awesome? I'll tell you what--it always has been for me! 

See you on the road!

Somewhere on the Writer's Road

Today I’m excited to add a personal feature to my posts here on GLIAS, one I hope to post in a regular rotation with my usual author interviews. I’ve been lucky enough, and still am lucky enough, to spend a lot of time on the road in fun places (and somber places, too) where I've learned and experienced so many things that add to my writing and my books. Naturally, sometimes my adventures distract me from my writing and I use that excuse a lot when I've procrastinated and am butting up against a deadline, but in the end, every experience helps answer the question readers ask me more often than any other:  where do the ideas for my stories come from?

People also want to know exactly what it’s like to BE an author. Even though I’m not sure they truly want the answer to that question because it scares even authors, I’d love to share some insights

now and then that might bring us as writers together with you our readers together over more than just books. Of course, we like bonding over the books—no, we LOVE bonding over the books—but even more than that we love getting to know readers better and sharing our writing lives with you.

One thing is all the rage for getting authors and readers together lately. Book signing events are being planned and held all across the country in hotels, festivals and book stores so regularly, you can  find one almost any time of year. These get togethers can be simple, hours-long signings, they can be several days long and include reader activities, and they can be expensive, elaborate parties where readers get to share lunch and goodies with a specific author.

I've recently taken part in several of these author/reader events. There’s a fun one every June in Deadwood, SD called Wild Deadwood Reads. There’s a regional one that just had its debut in Minnesota at the Mall of America. My most recent event was in Madison, WI called Mayhem in the Midwest. At each of these I’ve had the chance to meet readers—if even for a short time—and since I’m a total extrovert who gets jazzed up talking to people, I love it.

What readers may not know is just what goes into getting ready for an event that looks fairly simple and straightforward from the outside. I won’t even talk much about the actual organizers’ jobs—booking venues, arranging tables and seating charts, making a budget, sometimes choosing a charity to give proceeds to, not to mention herding the squirrels that writers turn into when allowed to congregate!They all deserve medals!

For an author, the weeks before an event are spent gathering book inventories, putting out pre-order forms, posting on reader groups, promoting, deciding on swag, making or ordering that swag, and designing a table arrangement that will attract new readers. For those of us (ahem) who aren’t the best at getting things done ahead of time—this presents a challenge and requires the equivalent of a business degree and part time job hours.

True confession:  more times than once I’ve had bookmarks delivered TO the hotel. This last time, I learned how quickly a 6-foot banner could be ordered and delivered to a hotel, and how much extra it costs to ship it rush (answers: in four days and $8.99).

It’s always hard to tell if going through the contortions of booking tables, reserving hotel rooms, paying for hotel rooms, and setting up hours ahead of the event has a good return on investment. What I do  know, is that it’s always fun for me, and I hope every time I participate that I’ll find a new reader or meet someone who’s read my books and is looking to meet me. Those moments make everything I do as an author totally worth hassles and deadline angst!

I’d like to know whether you’ve ever attended an author signing event and if so, did you enjoy it? Did you go to meet a certain author or did you go just to browse for potential new books? If you’ve never been, do they sound fun to you? How far would you travel to see a favorite author?

All of us here at GLIAS have been at book signings, and some of us have met our fave GLIAS readers while doing so. This is one of the things that’s now part and parcel of being a writer and I’d love to take you all along to my next event. Hope you’ll look one up and consider coming to say hi in person!

Check out my latest two books--the ones I'm touting at my author-reader events!

"Betting On Paradise"--Book #4 in my Seven Brides for Seven Cowboys series.  And "Missing By a Heartbeat"--my addition to the Chandler County series!

See you on the road soon!!