It’s the Christmas season. Are you less than deliriously happy?

Elizabeth Camden Uncategorized

Do you ever watch Hallmark Christmas movies where everything is covered in a blanket of winter snow, all the children are happy, the small town radiates with fun and quirky characters, and the attractive, star-crossed couple find love in the end.

My husband loves these movies. He’s the most macho guy I’ve ever met, but he still devours these Hallmark Christmas movies for the pure and unabashed sentimentality they reliably deliver. They simply make him happy.

They have the opposite effect on me.  Comparison-itis? As a woman with no children, those movies always remind me of the void. The lovely couple? They don’t have crows-feet or arthritis like me. I know I’m not the only one who sometimes struggles at Christmas, though people rarely talk about it. The Christmas season makes us harken back to our youth when we remember the undiluted joy of Christmas morning and the delicious anticipation leading up to it. Most of us had no understanding about loneliness, terminal illness, the fear of poverty, or worries about a life not fully lived. As an adult, most of us have had to confront such issues, and that’s why some of us escape into a Hallmark movie.

For me, I’ve always liked a little sorrow in a Christmas story to balance out the unremitting happy images beamed at us from every glowing television set, social media page, or billboard.

Maybe that’s why I love The Gift of the Magi. It’s about normal, loving, and flawed people who love each other despite a life that would never look good on Instagram.  They are wise enough to know their blessings and celebrate what they have….even if a part of them wishes they had a snazzy watch or beauty to make others gape in admiration. They know what’s important….even if they sometimes long for more. And that’s okay!

A Disastrous Thanksgiving

Elizabeth Camden Uncategorized

I will always remember my first Thanksgiving as a married woman.  As a brand new stepmother, I was determined to make the holiday special for the step-kids, which I assumed meant The Turkey Dinner.  Now, I am not much of a cook, and had never done the whole turkey-dinner from scratch thing. I was working full-time and a part-time job, which meant I was less than thrilled to take my single day off work to spend it in the kitchen…..but I was up to the challenge.

Martha Stewart will never need to fear competition from Elizabeth Camden, but I was proud of that meal.  The turkey was fine, I made ALL the associated fixings from scratch, I was thrilled down to my toes at how well the gravy turned out, and the whole apartment smelled amazing.

The reaction of my family?  “We don’t really like turkey.”  It was a battle to get them to turn off the TV off (I ultimately settled for the mute button.)  As proof that men sometimes just don’t get it, my husband was the biggest offender of the group, fixing himself something from the fridge because of his indifference to turkey, then parking it in front of the football game while the rest of us were still eating.

That was seventeen years ago.  It was the first and last turkey dinner I’ve ever made.

The following Thanksgiving, I polled the family for their favorite meal.  BBQ came out on top.  Okay!  This is something I can do!   Aside from the meat, I buy everything else ready-made.  Bush’s Baked Beans, a vat of mashed potatoes from the local deli, frozen garlic bread that heats in the oven, and a couple of Marie Calendar pies.  It is a feast the entire family enjoys, and a tradition Bill and I look forward to every year. The kids are now both grown and live out of state with families of their own, so it’s just me and Bill, but we both love our barbequed-Thanksgiving.

Oh, and I’ve given up battling Thanksgiving Day football.  Sometimes, if you can’t beat ‘em, you’ve got to join them.

 

The 11th Hour of the 11th day of the 11th Month…..

Elizabeth Camden Uncategorized

Sunday will be the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. In commemoration, I am sharing a photograph of my grandfather, who served in the war. In 1917 he was a nineteen-year old clerk in a Milwaukee bank. He and his brother John, both sons of German immigrants, volunteered in hope of getting a more favorable posting rather than waiting for the draft to catch up with them.

My grandfather got the lucky draw: he ended up serving as a typist in a North Carolina army training camp, but John went to France where he was badly gassed and sent back home. John recovered, but was never quite the same either physically or mentally. My grandfather looked after him for the rest of John’s sadly short life, considering it a small price to pay.

My own father was named after John, and I had the great privilege to know my grandfather quite well. He had a mind like a steep trap and shared countless fascinating details about life in the army camp, military politics, and life after the war. I learned so much from his insight into German-American immigrant culture and life in American cities as the industrial revolution got underway. I’ve ultimately funneled a lot of that insight into my novels, and I sometimes wonder what he would think if he knew how big a role he played in shaping my novels.

Some of my fellow authors have also posted stories about their family members who were involved in the war. You can read about them here: http://bethanyfiction.com/2018/11/08/ww1/

 

 

Do You Like Audiobooks?

Elizabeth Camden Uncategorized

For those of you who love audiobooks, I am happy to announce that some of my older books are coming out in audio. First up is The Lady of Bolton Hill, which is available from Amazon, Audible, or iTunes. Its about two people who fell in love in adolescence, but never forgot one another. Now Daniel has become a mighty robber baron, but has lost his soul. Will Clara be able to help him find it again?

For those of you who fell in love with Bane in Against the Tide, you’ll definitely want to check out The Lady of Bolton Hill, as it features Bane as a young man. I got so many requests for Bane’s story my publisher finally gave me permission to go ahead and write his sequel in Against the Tide, but for those of you who’d like to read or listen to his backstory, check out The Lady of Bolton Hill!

5 Areas Where Romance Novels Mislead

Elizabeth Camden Ramblings about Romance

Romance novels are often blamed by outsiders for any number of silly objections, primarily by setting girls up for unrealistic expectations.  Now, I could go on for ages about people’s ability to separate fantasy from reality, and the value of quality escapist fiction…. but let’s set that aside for the day and talk about a few areas where romance novels really do mislead a bit:

Compressed Timeframe.  Boy meets girl, conflict happens, gets resolved, and then, boom!  They live happily ever after, even if they’ve only known each other a few weeks.  From a writer’s perspective, this happens because if we stretch the romance out to cover the span of a couple of years (a respectable amount of time to date to be certain the couple is in love, not merely infatuation.).  Well, this makes for a dull novel.  A handful of novels that go for an epic scope (Gone with the Wind) will have the time to let a relationship play out over a few years, however, most genre writers only get about 300 pages to make our case.  That is the length the public wants to buy, and the page count most writers are given to work with.  So the time frame will be short folks… don’t try this is real life.

Opposites Attract. This is a convention writers often fall back on because you have got to have conflict sparking in your book.  There are lots of other ways to have conflict, but opposite personalities is a stand-by that never gets old.  Something to keep in mind: That reckless bad boy who charmed the prim & proper heroine won’t be so charming after they’re married when she is home with the babies while he carouses with the guys and fritters his money on hot cars….. just sayin…

Oh, that healin’ heroine!  We love wounded heroes in Romance-landia.  I love to see a hero who has been scorched by experience and expose him to the cool, healing spirit of the heroine and he is magically transformed. If a guy is snarling, wounded, and bitter, the odds are he needs therapy, not little Miss Sunshine.

Damsels in Distress.  I’m also not a big fan of damsels in distress.  They are usually in distress because of a string of bad life decisions, and falling into the arms of a good man may solve the immediate problems, but give it a few years.   If these women took the easy road out of their troubles, odds are they aren’t good long-term bets. Men want a partner, not an obligation.

By the way….Ariel and Eric from the Little Mermaid are pretty much guilty of all of the above!

 

What’s So Wonderful about ‘It’s a Wonderful Life?’

Elizabeth Camden Musings on Life

Every year Hollywood releases a slew of Christmas-themed movies, most of which barely make a ripple in our collective memory.  It’s a Wonderful Life is different. This 1946 movie is a perennial favorite even though it is darker, heavier, and more profound than we typically associate with fluffy Christmas movies.  After all, this is a story about a middle-aged man who believes his dreams have passed him by.  He fails to attain his grand childhood aspirations, he endures a business failure, scandal, and contemplates suicide.  Why does such a heavy theme resonate with us, especially at Christmas?

Christmas is a time when we are supposed to be riotously happy.  The media blasts us with images of happy families, glittering lights, lavish gifts, and the implication that the rest of the world is living in a warmly-lit, Norman Rockwell-like world.  Then comes the New Year’s holiday which prompts us to take stock of our lives and examine our accomplishments.  Is it any wonder that many of us fall a little short of this idealized world?

I think this is why Jimmy Stewart’s portrayal of George Bailey has made such a lasting impression.  He is an ordinary man who nurtured such huge dreams and worked hard to make them happen.  As he moves into middle age, he is forced to conclude most of his grand hopes will never come to pass. I think this message resonates with a lot of us.

The magic of It’s a Wonderful Life is that is celebrates the extraordinary beauty and dignity of an everyday, commonplace life.  George Bailey proves to us that our lives need not be lived on an epic scale or with material wealth to have profound value.  George Bailey is the salt of the earth and his tireless devotion to his family and community, even in the face of his own thwarted ambitions, deserve to be memorialized.

It’s a Wonderful Life is a soaring hymn to Christian values of honor, community, and compassion.  I love that it celebrates the quiet dignity of a good man, stressing that each life has value.  In a world that often overlooks such people, it elevates the life of a hardworking man into one of shining heroism.

Merry Christmas, everyone!  Like George Bailey….. I am grateful for my house with the sometimes leaky roof.  I am grateful for the twelve-year old car that gets me to work every morning.  I’m grateful to wake up each day with a sound mind and two eyes that can see the glory of God’s world.  It truly is a wonderful life.

 

The Secret of a Successful Marriage

Elizabeth Camden Musings on Life, My Novels

FTM quote

Do you agree with the quote above?

While it may not be the most romantic of sentiments, I think most happily married people will affirm it. As people go through life their needs deepen and change. A good marriage requires the strength and flexibility to adapt to these changes… and to keep falling in love anew as life unfolds over the years.

Romance novels typically celebrate the triumph of early-stage, idealistic love, but in From this Moment I wanted to try something a little different. I wanted to explore the qualities of an enduring relationship, with all the exuberant hope and heart-rending choices that sometimes come into play. Is the joyous infatuation of first love enough to sustain a lifelong commitment?

From this Moment features two distinct love stories: Romulus White is a charming womanizer who is secretly terrified of marriage, and for good reason. Then there is Evelyn and Clyde, whose early courtship was shown in the free novella Summer of Dreams. The main novel picks up ten years later with these three lifelong friends at a turning point in their lives. Clyde and Evelyn’s marriage is unravelling, and Romulus is about to meet his match in Stella West.

The two romances couldn’t be more different. While Evelyn and Clyde got married very young on an impulsive rush of infatuation, Romulus believes such feelings are dangerous, and avoids any woman who might rock his carefully won equilibrium. He and Stella ignite in a combustible mix of shared intellect, high-flying flirtation, and overwhelming attraction….precisely the sort of dazzling chemistry that terrifies Romulus. Meanwhile, Evelyn and Clyde are confronted with changes neither saw heading their way. It will either draw them closer together, or split them apart for good.

I loved the chance to explore the meaning of love, marriage, and enduring friendship in this novel. Sometimes we have to fight hard to keep falling in love with our spouse, and sometimes it seems to come effortlessly. I hope you will see plenty of both in From this Moment.

This Lady Sure Gets Around!

Elizabeth Camden The Book World

This Lady Gets Around

The perils of using stock photographs for a book cover! My publisher almost always hires a model, rents costumes, and pays for a photo-shoot, but on Against the Tide they used stock photos. It costs a fortune to buy the exclusive rights to a stock photo image, so this is why you occasionally see the same model showing up in numerous pages. I expect I’ll see more of this lady over time, as there really is something oddly mysterious about her.  Should you ever spot her anywhere else, please beam me an image!

Ironically, it is my favorite cover of all my novels.

Cover Reveal!

Elizabeth Camden My Novels

FromThisMoment_mck.inddI’m warming up for another novel to hit the shelves in June. Here’s the cover, which I think really captures Stella’s dynamic personality. And here’s the blurb:

Romulus White has tried for years to hire illustrator Stella West for his renowned scientific magazine. She is the missing piece he needs to propel his magazine to the forefront of the industry.

But Stella abruptly quit the art world and moved to Boston with a single purpose: to solve the mysterious death of her beloved sister. Romulus, a man with connections to high society and every important power circle in the city, could be her most valuable ally.

Sparks fly the instant Stella and Romulus join forces, and Romulus soon realizes the strong-willed and charismatic Stella could disrupt his hard-won independence. Can they continue to help each other when their efforts draw the wrong kind of attention from the powers-that-be and put all they’ve worked for at risk?

Until the Dawn is Here!

Elizabeth Camden My Novels

until-the-dawnUntil the Dawn is now available at all your favorite online or brick & mortar stores. I’m one of those writers who can’t judge their own work, so I never know how people will respond until the reviews come in.

I’m thrilled to see Until the Dawn collecting great reviews from all the major magazines, including the highest possible rating and a Top Pick designation from Romantic Times. They described it as ‘a timeless tale of a wounded hero and a sweet, wholesome heroine. With its setting and vibrant characters, the story evokes shades of both Jane Eyre and Beauty & the Beast.”

This was the first review I read, and what a relief! Jane Eyre was always a favorite of mine, and who doesn’t love a beauty & the beast story? This book means a lot to me, as I worked hard to follow the journey of a terribly wounded man out of darkness and into a world of radiant faith. I hope you enjoy it as much as I loved writing it!