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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Sniff... it's just something in my eye


Truth- I can’t make it through the first stanza of Miranda Lambert’s The House that Built Me without getting tears in my eyes. I love Miranda’s music to pieces, but I skip over that gorgeous song sometimes because I don’t like being teary. I tend to avoid movies with weepy endings, missing children or domestic violence because they hit me hard. Give me laughter and romance, I’ve always said! There is a quote from Robert Frost that says, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader” so I guess it’s telling that I usually opt to write stories that are more light-hearted than gut wrenching.
Tear in her dark eye
by Milad Gheisari, Flickr CC

But this is less true for me recently. My work with Harlequin Superromance has sent me deep into the emotional terrain of songs like The House that Built Me. My characters grapple with some truly heart-wrenching life experiences and sometimes they make me cry. Interestingly, I’ve chosen to send them back to the proverbial house that built them in order to heal. All the Finley family members have ghosts in the little town of Heartache, TN and they can’t move on without dealing with those issues. (Some of them don’t know it yet, but trust me, it’s so!)

My upcoming NIGHTS UNDER THE TENNESSEE STARS is book #2 in my Heartache series and I really enjoyed getting to know even more about this small town and the people who live there. Erin Finley goes back to Heartache to heal from a broken heart, only to meet a hero far more broken. What I learned as I wrote this couple is that the past doesn’t need to define them. Their story isn’t weepy… it’s touching. Emotional. And might make you teary when you least expect it. But that’s only because these characters are working so hard to overcome where they’ve been. I really wanted them to find a happy ending.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that a few tears are going to be allowed in a Joanne Rock book. I promise there will still be lighthearted moments. Sexy, steal-your-breath scenes. To-die-for heroes. But every now and then the emotions steal up on you and remind you how hard a Happily-Ever-After really is to achieve. It’s a lot of work. The price is sometimes exacted in tears and heartbreak. Yet deep, abiding love is worth every moment. I hope you’ll join me in Harlequin Superromance for a new kind of romantic journey!
***

What song is sure to make you tear up? Chime in and I’ll give one random poster a signed copy of PROMISES UNDER THE PEACH TREE so you can catch up on my Heartache series! 

13 comments:

Laurie G said...

I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston,
What A Wonderful World -Louis Armstrong,
Tears In Heaven- Eric Clapton
Heaven -Meatloaf
One Hand, One Heart- West Side Story

Joanne Rock said...

What a Wonderful World! Such a beautiful song. This is a great list, Laurie.

Joli @ Actin' Up with Books said...

Pretty much any song sung by Eva Cassidy, but Songbird gets me every time.
(not entering the giveaway - because I just bought Promises Under the Peach Tree :-) )

Irma said...

Oh, I just love To make you feel my love by Bob Dylan.

Unknown said...

Somewhere over the rainbow and the theme to Watership Down. Floods of tears everytime. Manda mrsajward@hotmail.com.

dstoutholcomb said...

go rest high on that mountain by vince gill
Denise

Mary Preston said...

I actually find that the beauty & magnificence of some classical music can make me tearful.

Joanne Rock said...

You are my next heroine then, Joli!! Thank you :-). I had to look her up after I saw your note on FB and wow... you did me a huge favor by introducing me to this incredible talent!

Joanne Rock said...

Hi Irma! I haven't heard that one in ages... such a beautiful song. Hope all is well on your side of the world today!

Joanne Rock said...

Hi Manda!! I still remember how scared I was watching Watership Down the first time... Good to hear from you! Hope your writing is going well :-).

Joanne Rock said...

Denise... oh goodness, yes. Don't you wonder sometimes how singers can sing those kinds of lyrics without their voices breaking? So beautiful.

Joanne Rock said...

Hi Mary!! When music is centuries old and we are still listening... that's powerful.

Joanne Rock said...

***Congratulations to Mary Alice Gibbons, for posting on this blog via FB! Mary Alice, I will be contacting you privately, but all you need to do to claim your book is email me at jrock008@gmail.com with a mailing address. Thank you so much to everyone who posted and shared this week! I'm excited to be back in February at my new home on the 27th of each month!