Love

“Love doesn’t make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.” – Franklin P. Jones

Four years ago, my husband was tasked with cleaning and selling his mother’s house after she passed. This task can be laborious and emotional. Inside a family Bible, he discovered a Valentine. It was a grade school Valentine with his mom’s first name and last initial. My husband didn’t know the name of the sender, but we swooned over the sweet gesture. Who was the sender? Why did his mom keep the Valentine for nearly 70 years? Why was it special enough to keep inside a family Bible?

Photo by Susan Holt Simpson on Unsplash

I write love stories, and the magic of love has always inspired me. What draws two people together? When writing about relationships, there is a definite emphasis on the physical attraction between a couple, but in order for the story to work, there has to be more. The lust must morph into love. There is nothing better than creating a relationship out of thin air and plotting ways for it to grow into a happily ever after.

I applaud writers who can dream up the twists of psychological thrillers or dive deep into history for historical fiction. The research it must take to write a nonfiction book is daunting. Mystery writers are so clever, and I will always be a fan of their work, but writing a whodunit is not for me.

After writing and publishing four short stories in 2025, I’ve returned to a manuscript only to be sidelined by another short story contest. This one is different. The publisher posted a cover, and the writer is to write a story to go with the cover. I’ve enjoyed this project and will submit it next week. I’ll keep you posted.

My short story “Finding Peace” won honorable mention in a short story contest last spring for the Wake Forest Review.

This publication is now available online, and print copies will be available at a local Wake Forest bookstore in mid-March. The Wake Forest Review is a collaboration of writers, artists, and poets from the Raleigh, Durham, and Wake Forest region of North Carolina. My short story “Finding Peace” illustrates love after death.

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