Love Stories

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Yesterday at Mass, Father Colm talked about how the English language word for "love" is inadequate. He then shared the four of the Greek words for love, agape, philia, storge, and eros. (There are actually seven Greek words for love, but I am wandering into the weeds and forgetting the point.)

My books are not romance novels. Some of my books include the origination or development of a romance as one of the intertwined stories, but the romances are always part of a larger collection of stories.

That said, I believe all of my books are love stories. But they are love stories that celebrate the many kinds of love that we humans experience.

Many contemporary romance novels focus on physical attraction, and acting on that attraction. The Greek word for that love is eros. Physical attraction is important, but it is also fleeting. If we are lucky, we end up old. And most of us are not going to retain the same level of physical attractiveness as we age.

The kind of love my books celebrate are the love of family, the love of God, and God's love for us. They celebrate agape love in the Greek, the highest most selfless form of love.

I know that romance books are incredibly popular. I know that if I wanted to sell to market, I would try harder to write romance books, or even the latest really popular trend, romantasy, a combination of romance and fantasy. (I could wander into the weeds on this topic as well, but I won't.)

But I have to write what I am called to write. And that means books that are love stories - the kind of love stories that recognize the expression of love is often not romantic and sexy.

The love celebrated in my books involves sacrifice, and selflessness, and devotion. The kind of love that makes caretaking a loved one an honor, not a duty. The kind of love that endures all the trials life can throw at us.

We are all capable of that great love, whether or not we enjoy a great romance. And that is why I write the kind of love stories that I do. Because if we all try to demonstrate that agape love, the world will inevitably be a better place.