Seasoned... mature... 'of a certain age'... do older couples belong in romance?

(Not interested in my ramblings? Just want the free books? Here you go!)

Hello ,

Oh my goodness! Last week I mentioned I'd started forcing Mr Bloom to watch Christmas movies with me and asked for your suggestions... and boy did you deliver!

Sadly, being in Canada means we don't get the same movies in our Netflix, Prime, Hulu... or that other one we have a subscription to... packages! Some of your recommendations are written on a sticky note and stuck to the back of the TV so that I can check in a few weeks to see if they've been added to Canadian streaming services for the holiday season.

So far, we've watched 20 minutes of more movies than we've finished. Although my husband is a patient man, as soon as he utters, "This looks like it was filmed in Canada," I know it's time to hand over the remote! We'd like to enjoy a movie together, not have it be 'one of us suffer in silence' together time. 😆

One of the things I really appreciate about being 15 years into this relationship is the short-hand we have in our communications. Sometimes an eye brow pinch says more than a 10-minute conversation could! It's actually one of the things that caused tension in our home when my brother was living with us since DJ and I have an entire childhood of shared experiences.

We can finish each other's thoughts with as few as three words in the right context, breaking into uncontrollable laughter at, what appears to everyone else, as pure insanity. And no matter how hard we try to explain why just saying "Uncle Bill" while making mashed potatoes sends us into hysterics, it's one of many "you just had to be there" experiences I share only with my two siblings.

Married to a man as old as my dad??

Lately I've been thinking about the richness of all the experiences that we need two or three decades of adulthood to be able to understand.

Maybe because Mr Bloom submitted his retirement letter last week... his last day of 8-4 office life will be on January 28, 2022. And a few weeks later he'll cross a milestone age and I'll be married to a 60-year-old man!

It's weird to me, since in my mind, my mother and father stopped aging in their early 60s, so by Danika math, in less than 3 months I'll be married to a man who is as old as my father...

Now I know age gap, May/November romances happen in real life, not just romance novels, but I'll admit—I'm struggling with this!

Age is just a number, you say. I know that.

He'll be the same man on the day after his birthday as he was on the day before, you chide. I know!

The most hypocritical thing about this is that when I turned 50, I was actually glad to be out of my 40s. I thought,

"Excellent. Now people will take me seriously!"

In reality what happened was I started to take myself seriously.

As in, I accepted who I was without feeling like I had to apologize for doing things differently than other people my age. I still wear Doc Marten's - boots that punk rockers (and I) wore back in the 70s and 80s. I wear what most people would call pajama pants when I walk the dog—since I don't wear PJs, for me they are house-pants, thank you very much... which I also wear outside! I jump around like a little kid when I'm excited—even in public.

I used to be embarrassed or worried that I'd embarrass my first husband about so many things I do and say. And now... I'm just not.

The fascinating thing about how Mr Bloom's imminent retirement and birthday have gotten under my skin has had an impact on the way I'm thinking about my romance writing career.

Seasoned or later-in-life romance?

I've published six romance novels and all had heroes and heroines in their 20s—which is actually an age you could not pay me enough to relive.

It's been 25 years since I waved good riddance to that decade of life... why am I forcing myself to relive that age in the stories I write?

Hello, masochist, much??

Anyway, that's what's on my mind this sunny Friday afternoon. I'm thinking about the half-a-story I've written about a broken billionaire who's 32, and a feisty 27-year-old heroine who helps him heal... but maybe, just maybe, I could be writing their love story as 52 and 47 year olds...

Why not? Imagine how much richer their characters could be with all those years of life experience—and emotional wounds—impacting their relationship.

Later-in-life love... what do you think? How interested would you be to read about a couple who have wrinkles and cellulite, falling in love?

And if the thought of reading about older couples makes you think, "bring it on!" what about steam level? Bedroom door open or closed?

If you've never read a later-in-life romance, give my friend Jeanine Lauren a try. You can find a link to all the Amazon later-in-life bestsellers on my promo page. Check it out! (And show some download love for the authors who are giving their books to you for free).

That's all from me, my friend. I plan to take the weekend away from my desk, to put away Halloween decorations (please don't judge!) and put up the Christmas tree. Mr Bloom will handle the lights and ladder work outside because we're expecting rain and my flannel house pants are not rain proof!

Hit reply if you have thoughts about romance stories featuring older couples. I'd say 'mature' couples, but that may be false advertising for the characters I have in mind to write!

love & seasonedstuff,

Danika,

xo

PS - all the free books you could ever want are right here!