Jax and Brenda's Love Story - Love Without End

Do you remember Jasper Jax and Brenda Barrett from General Hospital?  I remember them well and will never forget this couple.  To me the Jax and Brenda love story was one of the very best in all of soap opera history.  The writers of this storyline did an awesome job with the dialogue.  Jax and Brenda expressed their love for one another so profoundly.  Jax and Brenda meant so much to each other every moment of every day.   
 

 Jax and Brenda were expertly played by Vanessa Marcil and German born actor Ingo Rademacher.  Ahem....btw, Ingo is the same height as my favorite British actor.  You already know his name. 

The very handsome Jasper Jax was a corporate raider who moved to Port Charles and tried to steal another woman away from her husband.  Jax met Brenda who became his best friend.  Jax fell in love with Brenda and it turned into a romance that warmed your heart and made your head spin.

Here are some of the dialogue that Jax and Brenda spoke to one another:

 Jax to Brenda:  "When you came to tell me that we were over I said that I was going to prove how smart I was by wishing you well and walking away. Well, I lied, Cause you broke my heart. And that's not an accusation, it's the truth" 

 Jax to Brenda:  "What I am trying to say Brenda, is that every time that I look into your eyes I feel that I am looking into my own soul. Everything about you delights me. Everything seems to be exactly as it should be...the laughter in your eyes, the touch of your lips, the warmth of your skin, the way fit we so perfectly in bed together and being here with you right now feels like every second of my entire life has been leading up to this moment. "

Jax to Brenda:   "I'm no one's consolation prize, I come first, or not at all. The trouble with keeping your eye on the goal is that you sometimes miss what's right in front of you. For instance, you've missed the only man who will ever make you happy."

Brenda to Jax:  "When I married you the first time, it was because I couldn't have you any other way. And I knew even then that you were too important to lose. You told me that I'd learn to love you. And you were right. I do love you. I want to share my life with you. You can trust me,Jax."

Brenda to Jax:  "Every day, every hour of every day you mean more to me." 

Brenda to Jax:  "But, if I loved you then I didn't even know it. And you didn't know it either. And you didn't mind. You were patient with me. You waited for me to come around. And now I guess its my turn, isn't it? Here I am. I know that I am so madly in love with you. So I guess now its my turn. I'll wait for you this time."

Jax to Brenda:  "Nobody leaves. Whatever happens, nobody leaves." 

Videos

This is a video of Jax and Brenda dancing in the rain.  Listen to what Jax says to Brenda though before they dance.   It will ignite a fire in your heart and make you blush..

In this touching video, Jax lovingly tells Brenda that she doesn't have to prove anything to him.

This video takes place earlier in their relationship.   Jax is leaving Port Charles because he cannot be in the same city with the woman he loves who is not returning his feelings.  Jax ends up asking Brenda to marry him and gives her 14 days to decide and give him her answer. 


I miss Jax and Brenda, and as far as I am concerned, no other daytime soap opera has had such a compelling love storyline.  When Vanessa Marcil left General Hospital I continued to watch the show for a little while, but it just was not the same without Brenda.  GH did bring in other love interests for Jax, but I never liked any of them.  I have not watched GH in over ten years.  Vanessa Marcil did return to the show for a very short period of time.  What the show's writers did to the Jax character later on was awful too.

It is nice to take a walk down Jax and Brenda memory lane once in a while.  I hoped that you enjoyed it too.    


A few more Jax and Brenda quotes that you will love:


Brenda: "No one has ever loved me the way he loves me. One time Sonny said to me that we were like drug addicts and that we were just addicted to each other. And I think that he was right. ‘Cause I always thought that that sick feeling inside of me was what love felt like. And Jax is just showing me that that is not true. You know with Jax I don't have to trick him, or beg him, or want to die for him to love me. He just does." 

Brenda: "Its because of the way you look at me. You make me feel like I'm treasured."
Jax: "You are."  

Color Blind and Married 63 Years

Jake and Mary

The stories of these three couples are incredible.  First there is Jake and Mary.  Jake is originally from Trinidad.  Jake met Mary while he was stationed in England as part of the American forces.  Mary's father told her that of she married Jake that she would no longer be a part of the family.  Mary was 19 when Jake asked her to marry him.  Mary accepted Jake's proposal and her father threw her out.  Mary and Jake were married in 1948 and remained happily married for over 60 years.  

 Shafique and Pamela

Shafique is from Bangladesh and Pamela is a Londoner.  Pamela's mother was fine with their union, but her father was against it and refused to show up to witness his daughter marrying Shafique at the register Office in 1965.  Shafique later became the favorite son-in-law after Pamela's father saw how well he took care of his daughter.

 

Jaz and Primrose

Jaz is a Sikh who grew up in Britain.  Primrose is from Zimbabwe.  Jaz had to stand up to his family about his relationship with an African girl.  Zak's parents were lining up prospective brides in India for Zak while he was dating Primrose.  Zak insisted that he wanted to marry Primrose.  Luckily for Zak, when it came right down to it, his parents just wanted him to be happy.  Zak and Primrose were married in 2009.  

To read the full stories of these couples click HERE.  The article is dated October 6, 2011, so Jake and Mary would be married now for 65 years.

 

Solomon's Song of Songs

Solomon's Song of Songs

The Song of Solomon is one of the shortest books of the Old Testament, but it is a very beautiful and sacred text.  It is sometimes called The Song of Songs, or The Canticle of Canticles.

Many traditional Christians believe that The Song of Solomon is about Christ's love for his church, but to me that is a cop out.  No matter what translation you read it in, to me, it is clearly the colloquy of a woman of dark skin and a man who are very much in love, attracted to one another and about to be married.  

 Chapter 1.

Oh, give me the kisses of your mouth,
For your sweet loving is better than wine,

Your juices are fragrant,
Your essence pours out like oil,
This is why all the young women want you.

Take me with you, let us run together!

The King has brought me to his chambers.
Let us delight and rejoice in your love,
Enjoying each caress more than wine,
They are right to love you so.

I am dark and beautiful, Oh Daughters of Jerusalem
Dark as the tents of Kedar, lavish as Solomon's tapestries,
Do not see me only as dark,
for the sun has stared at me,
My brothers quarreled with me,
They made me guard the vineyards.
I have not guarded my own.

Tell me my only love,
Where do you pasture your sheep,
Where do you rest them in the heat of noon?
Why should I wander among the flocks of your companions? Loveliest of women,
If you wander,
Follow in the tracks of the sheep,
Graze your goats in the shadow of the shepherd¹s tents,

I see you, my love, as a mare,
Among Pharoah's chariots.

Your cheeks as beautiful as jewels
Your throat encircled with beads
I will make you golden earrings studded with silver.

When the King lay down beside me,
My perfume gave forth its sweetness,
All night my beloved sleeps between my breasts,
A cluster of myrrh,
A spray of henna blossoms,
from the vineyards of Ein Gedi. How beautiful you are my friend,
Your eyes are doves.

And how beautiful you are, my beloved,
and how gentle,
Wherever we lie, our bed is green,
Our roofbeams are cedar, our rafters, fir.



Chapter 2.

I am the rose of Sharon
A lily of the valleys. Like a lily among the thorns,
So is my beloved among the young women.

And my beloved among the young men is
Like an apple tree among the trees of the wood.
In that shade I delight to sit
Tasting his sweet fruit.

He brought me to the tavern,
And his banner over me is Love.

Cover me with blossoms,
Refresh me with apples
For I am in the fever of Love.

His left hand beneath my head,
His right arm embracing me,

Daughters of Jerusalem, swear to me
By the gazelles, by the deer in the field,
that you will not awaken Love until it is ripe.

The voice of my beloved: Here it comes!
Leaping over the mountains, skipping across the hills

My love is like a gazelle, a wild stag
He stands there on the other side of our wall, gazing
Through the windows, peering through the lattice

My beloved calls to me: Arise my friend, oh beautiful one,
Go to yourself...

For now the winter is past,
The rains are over and gone,
Blossoms appear in the fields,
The time for singing has come.
The sound of the turtledove
Echoes throughout the land.

The fig tree is ripening
Its new green fruit,
And the budded vines give of their fragrance,
Arise my friend, oh beautiful one,
Go to yourself...

My dove in the clefts of the rocks
Hidden by the cliff
Let me see who you are,
Let me hear your voice,
Your sweet voice,
Your radiant face.

Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that raid our vineyard
Just when the vines are in bloom. My beloved is mine and I am his.
He pastures among the lilies.
Before the day blows on,
And the shadows flee,
Turn away, my love,
And be like a gazelle, a wild stag
On the jagged mountains.

Chapter 3.
In my bed all night I long
For the one that my soul loves,
I seek him but do not find him.
I rise and roam the city,
Through the streets and through the squares
I search for the one that my soul loves
I seek him everywhere but do not find him.

Then the watchmen who circle the city find me.
"Have you seen him? Have you seen the beloved of my soul?"

Scarcely had they passed when I found my soul's beloved,
I held him, I would not let him go
Until I brought him to my mother's house
Into the place where I had been conceived.

Daughters of Jerusalem, swear to me
By the gazelles, by the deer in the field,
that you will not awaken love until it is ripe.

Who is that rising from the wilderness,
Like a pillar of smoke,
Fragrant with myrrh and frankincense
From the powders of the merchant? Here is Solomon's bed,
Surrounded by sixty warriors,
The heroes of Israel,
Each of them skilled in battle,
Each with a sword on his thigh
Against the terror of night.

King Solomon built a pavilion
From the cedars of Lebanon,
He made its columns of silver,
Its cushions of gold,
Its couches of purple linen,
And the daughters of Jerusalem
inlaid it with love.

Oh daughters of Zion,
Come out and gaze upon King Solomon
with the crown his mother gave him
on his wedding day,
the day of his heart's rejoicing.

Chapter 4.

How beautiful you are, my friend,
How beautiful!
Your eyes are doves behind the thicket of your hair,

Your hair
Like a flock of goats
Trailing down Mount Gilead.

Your teeth like a flock of ewes
That come up white from washing,
All of them alike, all shining and present.

Your lips like a scarlet ribbon
And your voice so sweet.

The curve of your cheek
like a pomegranate
hidden behind the thicket of your hair,

Your neck is a tower of David
Built to perfection,
A thousand shields hang upon it,
All the armor of heroes.

Your breasts are two fawns, Twins of a gazelle,
Pasturing among the lilies.

Before the day blows on
And the shadows flee,
I will go myself to the mountain of Myrrh,
To the hill of frankincense.

You are all-beautiful, my friend,
There is no blemish in you.

Oh come with me my bride,
Come down from Lebanon
Down from the peaks of Amana
Down from Senir and Hermon,
From the mountains of the leopards,
The lion's den.

You have ravished my heart,
my sister, my bride,
You have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes,
With one bead of your necklace.

How sweet is your loving,
My sister, my bride,
How much better than wine!
Your oils, more fragrant than any spice.

Your lips, my bride, drip honey,
Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And your clothes hold the scent of Lebanon.

An enclosed garden is my sister, my bride
A hidden fountain, a sealed spring.
Your watered fields are an orchard of pomegranate trees
laden with delicious fruit,
flowering henna and spikenard,
spikenard and saffron, cane and cinnamon,
with every tree of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
all the finest perfumes.

You are a garden spring,
A well of living waters
That flow from Lebanon. Awake north wind! Oh South wind, come!
Blow upon my garden
and let its spices stream out.
Let my lover come into his garden
And taste its luscious fruit.

  Chapter 5.

I have come into my garden,
My sister, my bride,
I have gathered my myrrh and my spices,
I have eaten from my honeycomb,
I have drunk my wine and my milk.

Feast, friends, and drink till you are drunk with love!

I was asleep but my heart stayed awake.
There it is... the sound of my lover knocking: Open to me, my sister, my friend,
My dove, my perfect one!
My head is wet with dew,
My hair drenched in the damp of night. But I have taken off my robes,
How can I dress again?
I have bathed my feet,
Must I dirty them?

My love reached in for the latch
And deep within me, my heart stirred.

I rose to open to my love
My hands dripping myrrh
My fingers flowing myrrh
On the doorbolt.

I opened to my love,
But he had turned away and was gone.
My soul fled when he spoke.

I looked for him, but could not find him,
I called, but he did not answer,

Then the watchmen who circle the city
Found me,
They beat me, they bruised me
The watchmen of the walls
tore the shawl from my shoulders.

Swear to me, daughters of Jerusalem
If you find my beloved,
You must tell him
That I am in the fever of Love.

How is your lover unique
Oh most beautiful of women?
How is your lover unique
That we must swear to you?

My beloved is radiant and earthy
He towers above ten thousand.
His head is burnished gold,
The wave of his hair
Shiny black as the raven,

His eyes like doves
By the flowing rivers
of milk and plenty.
His cheeks are a bed of spices,
Treasures of sweet perfume,
His lips red lilies
Wet with myrrh.

His hands are rods of gold,
Studded with topaz,
His body is polished ivory,
Inlaid with sapphire,
His thighs are marble pillars
On pedestals of gold.
Majestic as Lebanon,
A man like a cedar!

His mouth is luscious,
He is all delight.

This is my beloved
And this is my friend
Oh daughters of Jerusalem.


 
Chapter 6.

Where has your lover gone,
Oh most beautiful of women?
Where has your beloved turned?
and we will seek him with you. My love has gone down to his garden,
To the beds of spices,
To graze and to gather lilies.

I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine,
He pastures among the lilies. My friend, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Majestic as Jerusalem,
Daunting as the stars in the sky,

Turn your eyes away,
For they dazzle me.

Your hair
Like a flock of goats
Trailing down Mount Gilead.

Your teeth like a flock of ewes
That come up white from washing,
All of them alike, all shining and present.

The curve of your cheek
like a pomegranate
hidden behind the thicket of your hair,

There are sixty queens,
And eighty concubines,
And young maidens beyond number.

One alone is my dove, my perfect one,
One alone so luminous in her mother's heart.

Every maiden delights in her,
Queens and concubines praise her:

"Who is that rising like the morning star?
Clear as the moon, bright as the sun,
Daunting as the stars in the sky." I went down to the nut grove,
To see the new green by the brook,
To see if the vines had blossomed
And the pomegranates had bloomed,

And oh, before I knew it,
She sat me down in the most noble of chariots. 
 Chapter 7.

Turn and return, Oh Shulamit,
Turn and return that we may gaze upon you!

Why do you gaze upon the Shulamit
As she dances through the camp? How graceful your steps in those sandals,
Oh nobleman's daughter,

The curves of your thigh are like jewels
Shaped by a master craftsmen,

Your navel is the moon's goblet,
Ever filled with wine,

Your belly is a mound of wheat,
Fringed with lilies,
Your breasts are two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.

Your neck is a tower of ivory,
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon,
By the gates of Bat-Rabbim,

Your nose, like a tower of Lebanon
That turns towards Damascus,

Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,
And the hair of your head is like royal purple,
A king is held captive in its tresses,

How beautiful and how sweet is Love
In all its pleasures!

Your stature seemed tall as a palm tree,
And your breasts, the clusters of its fruit.

I said, "Let me climb into that palm tree,
And take hold of its branches."

May your breasts be like clusters
Of grapes on a vine,
The fragrance of your breath
Like apples,
And your mouth, like the best wine.

Let it flow smoothly to my beloved,
Gliding between sleepy lips,

I am my beloved's
And his longing is for me,
Only for me.

Come, my beloved,
Let us go out to the field
And lie all night among the flowering henna,

Let us go early to the vineyards
To see if the vine has budded,
If the blossoms have opened,
And the pomegranates are in bloom,

There I will give you my love.

The mandrakes yield their fragrance
And at our doors are all kinds of precious fruits,
Both newly picked and long-stored,
I have hidden them away for you.

Chapter 8.
Oh that you were my brother,
And had nursed at my mother's breast!
I would kiss you in the streets
And no one would scorn me.

I would bring you to my mother's house,
And she would teach me,
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
My pomegranate wine.

His left hand beneath my head,
His right arm embracing me,

Daughters of Jerusalem swear to me
That you will not awaken love
Until it is ripe.

Who is that rising from the wilderness
Leaning upon her beloved?
I awakened you beneath the apple tree,
In that same place where your mother
Conceived and gave you life.

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
A sign upon your arm,
For Love is as strong as Death
Its passion is as harsh as the grave,
Its sparks become a raging fire,
A Divine Flame.

Great seas cannot extinguish love
No river can wash it away,

If a man tried to buy Love
With all the wealth of his house,
He would only be scorned.

We have a young sister
And she has no breasts,
What shall we do for our sister,
When she is courted?

If she is a wall, we will build
A silver turret upon her,
If she is a door, we will bolt her
With beams of cedar.

I am a wall
And my breasts are towers,
But for my lover, I will be
A city of Peace.

Solomon had a vineyard
In Baal-Hamon,
He gave that vineyard to watchmen,
anyone would give a thousand pieces of silver,
for its fruit.

I have my very own vineyard,
So keep your thousands, Solomon,
And pay two hundred to those
Who must guard your fruit.

Oh woman in the garden,
All our friends listen for your voice,
Let me hear it now!

Hurry, my beloved,
Be my gazelle, my young stag
On the mountain of spices.

   

 

The Tempest A Guy of Gisborne Story

 A Richard Armitage fan on Pinterest highly recommended that I read this book The Tempest A Guy of Gisborne Story.  Since the Kindle version is only $3.99 I decided to pucrhase it.   I started reading it the next day and I literally could not put the book down until I finished the story.  It is written by Charlotte Hawkins.

I really enjoyed reading this book.  A couple of people on amazin hated it but I don't get that at all.  I found the storyline to be very engaging.  It was nice to see Guy of Gisborne find the true love of his life and I was glad that it was not Marian.  It was also nice to see Guy's transformation from a man who was wicked and cruel to a man who deep down had a good decent side to him and was really ashamed of the way he acted and the lives he ruined.  

Cassia DeWarren is the woman who loved Guy of Gisborne and was able to see through him to his soul.  She saw that deep down there was goodness in him and with her love she brought that aspect of Guy to the fore.   At the start of the story Guy is still obssessed with Marian, but after he is injured and left unconscious, his body was found by Cassia and her father Robert DeWarren.  Cassia and Robert managed to bring Guy's body to the house and from there worked on his injuries which were very serious and life threatening.  As Cassia's unwilling patient Guy gets to know Cassia who is of peasant birth.  Being in constant close proximity with Cassia, Guy is forced to get to know her better.  The more Guy gets to know Cassia the more he is drawn to her as a person.  Guy is also physically drawn to Cassia.  She is a dark beauty just as Marian was but instead of having green eyes Cassia's eyes are dark.

 In the BBC Robin Hood series Richard Armitage plays Guy of Gisborne and you can easily recognize Richard's protrayal of the character in this book.

 

 

Over time Guy of Gisborne realizes that he is in love with Cassia and that his love for Marian paled in comparison.  Cassia inspires Guy to want to be a better person and he is ashamed of the misery and heartbreak that he caused in the past.          

Guy of Gisborne is extremely amorous in this book and it does contain detailed lovemaking scenes.  Some people do find this sort of thing uncomfortable, but I don't as long as it is written tastefully and is connected to love and not base lust.  For being such a formerly cruel person Guy is a very sweet, tender, considerate and passionate lover who has no problems expressing himself in the bedroom.   I was blushing as I was reading the love scenes.

 

If I am not mistaken the author of this book based Guy of Gisborne on Richard Armitage's portrayal of him in Robin Hood.  In the book Guy had the same way of smirking that Richard brought to the character.  They have the same brooding and arrogant temperament.    

 

 



Thank you Richard Armitage and thank you Charlotte Hawkins for a great book.  Click HERE to go the the author's blog.  This is the first and only book I have read by her.  Miss Hawkins does wrote "adult" books.  I enjoyed this one and was not offended but I am not sure about the others.  Some people may consider her books soft porn which I am not into either.  I may give another one of her books a try since I enjoyed this one so much.     

5 Stars

The Spinster & The Beast

I really dislike this cheesy looking book cover

 I had to give this romance novella 4 stars even though there are a few spelling errors and other things I did not like.  It is almost the perfect romance story.  The premise is really great and so it could have happily been a longer book.  I think the letter writing back and forth between the hero and the heroine could have been stretched out.  I also did not care for the use of the word "snot" or the scene with Nan and the ear wax.  OMG!  Those things took away from the quality of the writing and were gross. 

Never the less, I was not distracted away from the beauty and message of this story.   Some people reviewing this book on amazon gave it low ratings because they focused on historical accuracy and the fact that the book is so short.  I think that when you spend time over analyzing things what happens is that you miss what is really important.  This story is a tale of two people making a soul to soul connection that defies convention and is the true nature of love.  It is the same type of connection that John Thornton had for Margaret Hale and that Mr. Darcy had for Elizabeth Bennett.

This is the second book by this author that I read and both were extremely enjoyable.  Some may be put off by the name of the book, but it really is a novella of substance.  I LOVED IT!!!  I will definitely read it again

4 Stars

    

Cinderella's Wedding Wish

This book was very sweet.  It was predictable and cliche but I enjoyed it never the less.  I really liked the hero and heroine.  It was a bit of a breathe of fresh that the heroine was not your cliche perfect drop dead gorgeous female that are in most romance books.  Romance writers tend to convey the message that a handsome man with all the best qualities could never fall deeply in love with a women who is not a "perfect" physical specimen.  I remember once reading a romance novel where the hero fell in love with the heroine who was attractive and full figured.  Women of all shapes, sizes and beauty is worthy to be loved.  Jessica Hart writes very nice romance stories that are easy and quick to read.

3 Stars

Newlyweds of Convenience

A lovely romance story that I could not put down until I finished reading it.  The fact that it included a castle in the Scottish Highlands made it all the more romantic.  I loved the hero Torr McIver.  As much as he tried to hide the depth of his love for the heroine you could still sense it.  I loved the businessman side of him as well as the part of him that could find happiness in the Scottish countryside.  I find that quite a sexy combination.

   I found Mallory the heroine quite frustrating.  Her former fiance was a con-man yet she continued to pine after him for quite some time after he walked out on her leaving her in huge debt and her career shattered.  Mallory was also constantly arguing with Torr for no good reason.  After what Torr did for Mallory she should have been more respectful to him.  Granted their marriage was approached as a business arrangement, but Mallory had to be totally self absorbed to not, at least, suspect that Torr had real feelings for her.   

The ending is precious and I wanted it to be a little longer.  This book is a cute and fast read.

4 Stars

 

Shanna

I read this book when I was 19 years old, still a virgin and naive as all heck.  I had no idea that it contained intimate love scenes.  I was so shocked when I got to the first one...LOL  It was written very well and I was not in the least offended.  I loved reading this book and found it hard to put down.  It was the very first romance novel I ever read.  I read it that one time and have not read it since.  So I am giving it 5 stars based on what I thought and felt about the book when I was 19. 

I am much older now, and I have a feeling that Shanna would not affect me as it did when I was 19 even though I think I could still enjoy the story.  Shanna who is basically a good person is also a very spoiled brat.  I don't think I could stomach Shanna today.  The hero Roark Beauchamp (pronounced Bee-chum) is a dream.  He is just about everything a woman could want in a man and strikingly handsome to boot.  As a 19 year old it never occurred to me that the hero deserved someone better than a spoiled rich brat.   A lot of females reading Shanna today cannot stand her and it is easy to understand why.  The only flaw that I could detect in Roark is that his love for Shanna seemed to be primarily based on the fact that she is extraordinarily beautiful which is shallow.  Somehow through Shanna's bad behavior Roark can see that she is really a wonderful person. 

After reading Shanna I read every book that Kathleen Woodiwiss wrote up until my mid twenties. I could not stomach "bodice ripper" novels today, but Kathleen Woodiwiss will always have a special place in my heart for putting me on the path to romance novels.  I love them, I am proud to admit that I read them and always will.  

5 Stars

I just may read Shanna again and see how I would rate it now as a woman over 40..

Proposal Scene - Extended Version From The Movie

This video contains the full extended version of the proposal scene in the BBC North & South.  I wish the BBC had not cut out so much of it.

 

Richard Armitage Reading The Proposal Scene from The Actual Book

Richard Armitage is reading just a small part from the book North and South but it is so beautiful.  I wish he was reading the entire book.  The proposal scene is actuall;y longer in the book and even better than the movie...IMHO.  This is shirt but very sweet.

Writing Romance?

I first started reading romance novels when I was 19.  I think that I already mentioned that in a previous post.  I literally read hundreds of them because I love them.  It is a great way to escape into fantasy and believe it or not helped relieve stress.  I read romance novels for years.  Some time in my early thirties I found myself not going to read them so much .  I started reading a lot more new age spiritual books that really helped to empower me to create my best life.  

Several years later African American romance novels were being published by Harlequin Arabesque.   I was delighted because now I could read romance novels where the heroine looked like me.  Amen!  Hallelujah!  

For years I always fancied myself writing a romance novel.  I still want to write a romance novel but I don't want it to be cheesy.  I would like to write at least one romance story that is timeless just as Jane Austen's novels are timeless.  I wish that I could take 6 months off just to write it.  I know that I could do it if I had a few months to devote to it.  I have the title of my romance story already.  I chose it about 10 years ago and I know who the hero and heroine is.  I see them in my mind's eye all the time.  What I am not too sure about is what their story is going to be.  

I decided to go for it and dig into writing.  I put it all out into the Universe.  And so It IS.

     

 

Love North and South

The book North and South has replaced Pride and Prejudiced as my favorite all time romance novel.  North and South first appeared as a 22 part weekly serial in the magazine Household Worlds from September 1854 thru January 1855.  I was written by Elizabeth Gaskell.  Charles Dickens pressured Elizabeth Gaskell to finish the serial which accounts for the sort of abrupt ending to the book.

North and South is the story of Margaret Hale and John Thornton.  Mr. Thornton is a broody and hard owner of a cotton mill during the industrial revolution in England.  Deep down Mr. Thornton is also quite kind and concerned about the welfare of those who work for him.  Mr. Thornton lives in fictional Milton-Northern in the area of Darkshire.  Margaret Hale is from Helstone, a small country village in the south of England.  Margaret's father uproots the family to Milton when Margaret is 19 years old.  That is when she meets John Thornton.  Mr. Thornton falls for Margaret at first sight, but Margaret dislikes him because she is not able to get past his broody and hard exterior to see through to the kind and caring man that Mr. Thornton really is.  Through it all, John Thornton's love for Margaret never wavers.  Mr. Thornton loves Margaret for all that she is.  His love is deeper than physical attraction even though he is very attracted to Margaret and thinks she is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.

This is the type of love that seems to be missing much today in relationships and I think it is the main reason that this novel has stood the test of time.  It is read far and wide today.  It may even be more popular today; especially after the BBC mini series starring Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe.  Mr. John Thornton definitely gives Mr. Darcy a run for his money.           

 I read the book North and South, but I also listened to this unabridged audio book.  It is very well done and captured my heart.  I never get tired of listening to it.

The BBC miniseries North and South.  A movie that I will never forget or tire of watching.