Amy Andrews | Love at First Sight
March 4, 2015
My name is Amy Andrews and I am a hopeless, unashamed believer in love at first
sight. The romance genre takes a huge hit over these insta-love storylines with critics
decrying it as anything from dribble to anti-feminist to setting up unrealistic
expectations for women. WOW! That’s a lot of pressure on a writer when they sit down to tell a story about
two people falling in love (or three or, you know, a person and a
werewolf/vampire/alien or whatever your particular hankering). I tend to think
making women stay at home and cook and clean and pop out babies and have the
pipe and slippers ready for when the man came home from work is/was a ridiculous
societal expectation for women. Or, on the flipside, telling us we can have it
all which just means we get to go to full time work but are still expected to do
all the other stuff, too, is also kind of crazy. Love and how people do and don’t do it, not so much. I can tell you why I never listen to the people who tell me insta-love is
a crock and it’s not because I often write books where people meet and fall in
love pretty damn quick but it’s because I knew the moment I opened up my door as
a sixteen year old to a twenty year old blonde spunk that I was going to marry him. I shit you not. I hadn’t yet said a word to him - not even a hello – but I was a goner. Now here is where I need to clarify that I’m not a person given to flights of
fancy. Most people who know me would probably describe me as pragmatic - even as
a teenager. I don’t believe in a lot of woo woo stuff. I’m pretty much a
show-me-the-evidence kind of a gal. I’ve never astral planed or convened with
spirits. Fine if that’s you. I have no problem with you believing/doing whatever it is
you do. Just sayin’ it’s not me. But that day all those years ago it was like I was having an out of body
experience. I could almost feel myself floating above my body and shouting down
at myself, “Himmmmmmmmmmmmm!” Ah, but I hear the critics say, "That’s just sexual attraction." Lust. Hormones. Pheremones. Good old teenage horniess. But it wasn’t. I was sixteen. I didn’t have a freaking clue what lust
was. I had read quite a few romance novels by that stage in my life where
brooding bosses lusted after their virgin secretaries, but I’d had no personal
experience of lust with a man. Sure, I’d liked a few guys, checked heaps of them
out drooling and giggling over them with girlfriends. I went out with some and
even shared a few heated kisses, but this guy was different. He hadn’t said a
word to me, and I was feeling feels I’d never felt before. I didn’t think, oh lordy, lordy I want to rip this guy’s clothes of and do
him sooo bad. I simply thought with every cell in my body – him. He’s
the one. I’m going to marry him. When he left I said to my friends, that’s the guy I’m going to marry. And I did.
And we’ve been together pretty much from that day to this. So I believe in it because I know it happens. And think about it, is it
really that hard to wrap your head around? Quantum physics, how a freaking
aeroplane manages to stay in the air, the conflict in Ukraine. These are all
things that are difficult concepts. Since when did love become such a difficult concept? Critics decry insta-love as
a complete fantasy (and hello that is one of the reasons why women read and
love romance) like it’s some kind of mystical force or being. Like aliens
making crop circles or a freaking unicorn. Like it doesn’t exist. Like it’s
unattainable. And it is true, most people won’t have an instantaneous
experience. For some it will take longer. Weeks, months, years and that’s fine. But it can happen in the blink of an eye too. And that, I am here to tell you,
is pretty freaking glorious. GiveawaySo, what say you? Insta-love yes, or insta-love no? I’d love to know everyone’s
thoughts. I’m giving away a copy of NO MORE MR.
NICE GUY (the book before ASK ME
NICELY) to one person who leaves a comment. About ASK ME NICELYShe craves what only he can give her. But he's not giving in without a
fight... Veterinarian Sal Kennedy's lost her mojo and is desperate to get it back. In
fact, as the anniversary of the tragedy that destroyed her life looms large,
she'll do anything to erase the painful memories, including overdoing the
tequila and making a pass at the most annoyingly inappropriate man on the
planet. Fellow veterinarian Doyle Jackson is her flatmate and her employee and
therefore strictly off-limits. Unfortunately, Doyle knows how to bring the goods and make her mojo sit up and
beg. Doyle is only too happy to oblige Sal in her hour of need, but then she
demands more, and she's perfectly happy playing dirty to get it. He wants more,
too—more than just sex, that is, and it's something Sal's not willing to give.
But Doyle is in this for the long haul now, and he's prepared to fight even
dirtier to get what he wants. Even if that means they both keep losing all their
clothes in the process… About Amy AndrewsAmy is an award-winning, best-selling Aussie author who has written forty +
contemporary romances in both the traditional and digital markets. She has
written for Harlequin Mills & Boon, Entangled, Harper Collins, Momentum and
Escape. To date she's sold over a million books and been translated into
thirteen different languages including manga. She loves her kids, her husband, her dogs, cowboys, men in tool belts, cowboys
in tool belts and happily ever afters. Please, DO NOT mess with the HEA! Also
good books, fab food, great wine and frequent travel - preferably all four together. She lives on acreage on the outskirts of Brisbane with a gorgeous mountain view
but secretly wishes it was the hillsides of Tuscany. To keep up with her latest releases and giveaways sign up for her newsletter.
Comments
14 comments posted.
Re: Amy Andrews | Love at First Sight
Insta-lust yes Insta-love NO (MaryEllen Hanneman 12:34pm March 4, 2015)
Yes , But it doesn't always work both ways. Thanks for this giveaway , I'm keeping my fingers crossed . (Joan Thrasher 1:09pm March 4, 2015)
I guess it can be insta love... my mom knew the moment she met my dad he was the one... it took him a while longer... (Colleen Conklin 3:21pm March 4, 2015)
No I do not believe in instant love. Yes, I believe there can be an attraction you work on and find things uncommonly I think if you immediately fall, it is lust. Just my own worthless opinion. (Vicki Hancock 6:58pm March 4, 2015)
I guess insta love could happen but I've never seen it. (Pam Howell 9:46am March 5, 2015)
I believe in insta-love, as you put it, because it happened to me, too!! The first time I saw my Husband, I knew he was the man I was going to marry!! I had to carry a torch for him for a few years, but when he asked me to marry him, I was over the moon!! We've been together for over 32 years, and look back and laugh about those early days now. He always says to me how he wishes he had married me sooner, and how much time he wasted not being with me right from the start!! We can't turn back time, but we can love the time we have left together!! I am looking forward to reading your book, and have it on my TBR list. I also enjoyed reading about your love story. I connected to it immediately, and it took me back to mine, even though mine was a bit different. Congratulations on your forever- after!! (Peggy Roberson 10:13am March 5, 2015)
Yes, beshert and fate. (Sharon Berger 10:31am March 5, 2015)
Yes to insta-love! It didn't happen with my husband and me, but I do believe in it. It took us a couple years before we started dating. We've now been together for 23 years. Thanks for the opportunity to win! (Kelly Powell 10:41am March 5, 2015)
Yes to Insta-love . It happened with my husband and i but that was after we heard about each other thru his ex- mother in law and i lived in Ca and he lived in ia. But now we both live in ia and have been married 12 years and so happy with 2 chiwahwahs and several children between us but we are empty nesters and loving it. (Peggy Clayton 12:17pm March 5, 2015)
I believe in true love and soul mates, but i think it depends on the couple whether or not it is insta-love. My hubby and i knew eachother for 6 months before dating, but everything after that happened quickly (engagement, pregnancy)It all depends on the people involved. (Rachel Collings 12:30pm March 5, 2015)
I enjoy the love-at-first-sight concept, but did not have a great experience with it. I fell hard for my first husband. From the first meeting, I was totally intrigued and marriage followed within months. Three years and one son later, a very bitter divorce. Then I was introduced to a man that had I not been paired with as his sponsor to help him get settled into his new base, Torrejon Air Base near Madrid, I wouldn't have given a second thought, let a lone second look. He became a great friend and feelings grew on me slowly. We will celebrate 30 years this fall...not to mention 7 boys and 2 girls. But perhaps it happens that way for the lucky few... (Kelly Knapp 2:05am March 6, 2015)
thanks for the chance
susan gannon (Susan Gannon 7:25am March 6, 2015)
Im am a believer because like you at age 12 one day I looked at a very good friend of mine and it hit me that he was mine not just mine for the moment but eternity. I ran as fast and as far as I could. |Over the years when the whatever you want to call it when I was in need of someone most times with out even knowing it myself he would pop up as if by command and he would see me thru my struggle then Id disappear because I was young but when I hit age 15 I was a goner and we started dating and we,ve been togethet\r 25 yrs next month. I felt like a Fuke who was pressured but for me it wasnt people but fste. You cant run from it know matter how hard you try. LOL (Michele Gardner 9:27am March 6, 2015)
Insta-love- YES 48 years later to prove it! (Jane Cavanaugh 8:31pm March 6, 2015)
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