The Lure of Everafter...

Nothing spells fairytale more than the idea of the perfect wedding. From the gown and the vows to the music and flowers it goes straight back to the famous happily everafters our mothers told us as little girls. From the time most of us could hold a book in our hands, love stories have enchanted, and when we grew up we all wanted to live the dream. We have either been a bride, wanted to be a bride or curse the day we were a bride. That one day and everything that went into it lingers, good or bad, funny or sad, for the rest of our lives.

Over the past few days I have been writing a wedding scene for my characters, Lily and Sean, from my Cursed by Blood Saga. I put the gown's description to my Street Team, and even then people of like mind who love the characters concerned drew lines as to what made the fairytale for them and what didn't.

We all know it's not just the gown or the party that follows that spells magic. It is the idea of Everafter.

So what exactly is the lure of Everafter? What makes us so enchanted with the idea of a grand love that endures all things for all time? Does it stem from a need  to banish loneliness? Is it just a chemical reaction? Or perhaps it's a man-made desire for a form of immortality where love exists between two people in an endless spring? Or is it simply a validation of worth?

I honestly don't know if there is one answer. Love, at least in my experience, is work. It's messy and happy, angry and joyful, giddy and sad. It's full of angst and worry and lighthearted moments and heavy hearts. It's bittersweet and its soulful. It's old and it's young. But most importantly, it's subjective.

If asked, I'm sure each one of us would give a different description of what love means in our life. Like white light passing through a full spectrum prism, love is a multifaceted gift as warm and beautiful and full of color as sunlight with just as much power to heal as it does harm.

Whatever your answer, whatever your description, my guess is we would all agree life is better, richer and more worth living with love in our lives than it could ever be without it.

Valentine's Day may be a man-made holiday, but it is still a celebration dedicated to the love in your life. My wish for you this February is that you look at the the friendships and relationships that fill you with emotion and appreciate them.

From me to each of you...Hail to the "V"... and Happy Valentine's Day!