A Month of Happily Ever After

July 12, 2024 by in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as , , with 2 and 2
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Writing a romance is all about the happy ever after. As a reader, I love the “ah” at the end when the two characters are finally together. Where they learned something new about themselves, opened their heart, and found the one that completes them.

That said, a happily ever after at the end of our novels doesn’t necessarily mean the hero and heroine get married at the end of the book. They could be newly engaged. The couple could decide they are now in a committed relationship. Or they could say I love you for the first time. There are so many options, that it really is the character journey that determines what fits best for our endings.

Personally this past month has been filled with happily ever afters. One fiction, one real life.

The Fiction Happily Every After

The first one was my debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, released in early June. Luke and Olivia’s story is not so much a will they/won’t they (although they didn’t know they would, we did). But the how were they going to figure it out and end up together. 

I won’t give away what happens to them at the end, but it’s been so well received and I have found it so much fun to talk with readers about the characters and the town of Washton, like they were real people. Having these discussions has made me feel the happily ever after my characters feel, and that has been so motivating for me as a writer.

Here are several review statements. Also last month I shared information about the launch activities and launch party held in my honor.

The Real Happily Every After

The second example and the real life one, is that my middle son found his happily ever after and married his sweetheart the last weekend of June. A beautiful ceremony, beautiful couple, and a wonderful day filled with love, laughter, family, and friends. With lots of planning before hand, everything came together perfectly.

And I now have a daughter in the family. It’s been so fun to have a front row seat watching them grow and bond as a couple and plan their future life together.

The Magic of Cinderella

As a little girl the story of Cinderella was my favorite. She has a fairy Godmother, she finds her prince (or the prince finds her), and they all live happily ever after. I now know that life is not as simple as that and that those endings are a moment in time where the couple is happy together. But they are still my favorite stories to read.

A story has to end somewhere, why not have it end happy. We all want that hope, love, and joyful feeling when we realize we are in a committed relationship and someone loves us just as much as we love them. 

There’s something about escaping in a story where the ending is just that. And that is what I love to read and love to write.

Here’s to many more stories of happily ever afters in our lives. Both fiction and real life.

Author Bio
Author Bio
Passionate about all types of stories—whether they are from songs, theatre, movies, or novels—Denise M. Colby loves history and constantly finds herself contemplating how it was to live in the 1800’s. Combining her love of learning about history, and reading, Denise writes Historical Romance Sweetened with Faith, Hope, & Love. Her first novel, When Plans Go Awry, is the first novel in her Best-laid Plans series. A mother to three boys and soon to be daughter-in-love, Denise loves to read, watch movies with her family, sing 80’s and musical songs, tap dance, and spend date nights with her husband at Disneyland. Sign up for her newsletter or follow Denise on her social media. Newsletter: https://denisemcolby.com/sign-up-for-my-newsletter/ Website: www.denisemcolby.com Blog: www.denisemcolby.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/denisemcolbywrites/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denisem.colby/
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Passionate about all types of stories—whether they are from songs, theatre, movies, or novels—Denise M. Colby loves history and constantly finds herself contemplating how it was to live in the 1800’s. Combining her love of learning about history, and reading, Denise writes Historical Romance Sweetened with Faith, Hope, & Love. Her first novel, When Plans Go Awry, is the first novel in her Best-laid Plans series. A mother to three boys and soon to be daughter-in-love, Denise loves to read, watch movies with her family, sing 80’s and musical songs, tap dance, and spend date nights with her husband at Disneyland. Sign up for her newsletter or follow Denise on her social media. Newsletter: https://denisemcolby.com/sign-up-for-my-newsletter/ Website: www.denisemcolby.com Blog: www.denisemcolby.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/denisemcolbywrites/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denisem.colby/
  • Veronica Jorge says:

    Beautiful post, Denise!

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