Crista McHugh | The Importance of Laughter in Love

I’m the first to admit I have a warped since of humor. It varies from dry to witty to (at times) juvenile, but I’m always up for a laugh. So it’s no wonder that I try to incorporate a few comedic moments in my romance novels.

Laughter lightens the mood, relieves the tension, breaks the ice. In the beginning of a relationship, it can help tear down the walls between a couple. How many people out there met their significant other over a joke or a funny story?

But as the initial phase of a relationship deepens, so does the need for laughter. According to author Lauren Blakely, “Looks fade, but humor lasts forever!! Laughing together is key to a great relationship!”

Studies have shown that laughter increases intimacy and strengthens the bond between couples. It can smooth over differences, help couples overcome problems and setbacks, put things in perspective, and increase creativity. Humor neutralizes conflict by interrupting the power struggle, allowing people to be more spontaneous and be less defensive. Laughter opens people up, freeing them to express what they truly feel and allowing their deep, genuine emotions to rise to the surface.

So when was the last time you and your significant other shared a laugh?

About LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND STEAMY EVER AFTERS

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BELLA ANDRE -- Can't Help Falling in Love (The Sullivans)
He can't make the mistake of falling for another fire victim. She can't love-and lose-another man with a dangerous job. Gabe Sullivan & Megan Harris have every reason to stay apart...but they can't help falling in love.

MELISSA FOSTER -- Seaside Dreams (Seaside Summers)
Bella Abbascia has quit her job, put her house on the market, and sworn off relationships while she builds a new life in her favorite place on earth, Wellfleet, Massachusetts. That is, until good-time Bella's prank takes a bad turn and a sinfully sexy police officer Caden Grant appears on the scene. After fourteen years of focusing solely on his son, Caden cannot resist the intense attraction he feels toward beautiful Bella, but starting over proves more difficult than either of them imagined. Can true love really conquer all?

LAUREN BLAKELY -- Trophy Husband (Caught Up in Love)
Sometimes you can't help falling in love, even when you try to do the opposite... McKenna embarks on a playful, ironic quest for a trophy husband after her ex has ditched her, but along the way she meets someone who rocks her world. And she'll have to choose between protecting her heart from hurt, or letting go of her fears of a new beginning.

VIOLET DUKE -- Love, Tussles, and Takedowns (Cactus Creek)
After his combat injuries retire him from the military career he wasn't ready to give up, battle-scarred Hudson Reyes now spends his new life as a movie industry fight scene and weapons specialist simply doing what he knows best: surviving. Until he meets her. The sweet, angel-faced wrecking ball to his good intentions--antique arms authenticator and martial arts maven, Liana Lin. Even though she's everything he's told himself he can't have, sure as sin, if one woman could sneak past the barbed wires he's wrapped around his heart, it'd be her. Now if only they could stop sparring long enough to find out...

SAWYER BENNETT -- On the Rocks (The Last Call)
He left to travel the world for fame and glory, but only after spurning Gabby Ward and crushing her young heart. Now Hunter Markham has come back home to the salty breeze of the North Carolina Outer Banks and looking at the all-grown-up Gabby in a whole new way. Still bitter over his rebuff years before, Gabby is content to stay far away from him and his dangerously charming ways, but when Hunter presents an offer to her that she simply can't refuse, she has to battle her ever growing attraction to the man that first taught her about heartbreak.

CARLY PHILLIPS -- Dare to Desire (Dare to Love)
Quarterback Alex Dare, had it all--an all-star football career and his choice of willing women--until injury forces him into early retirement. Social worker Madison Evans grew up in foster homes and knows what it means to have-not. She isn't impressed by Alex Dare's wealth or charm. Not since she fell hard for him once before, only to discover she was just one of his too-easy conquests. This time around Madison refuses to succumb. But Alex wants Madison. And if there is one thing Alex does well, it's to get what he wants. Can he convince Madison to take a risk and dare to love?

ERIN NICHOLAS -- Out of Bounds (Boys of Fall)
Wild child Jackson Brady doesn't think twice about returning home to help out when his beloved high school football coach gets sick. Jackson's done a lot of growing up in the past twelve years and this is an opportunity to atone for his past sins. But to get back into everyone's good graces, he needs to prove he's changed. Sweet, well-respected Annabelle Hartington is the key. If she'll give him a second chance, everyone will know he's a new man. Surprisingly, he's not the only one who's changed and it turns out nothing stirs his inner bad boy like the *former* goody-two-shoes.

MELANIE SHAWN -- Actually Love (Crossroads)
Real or fake... As VP of public relations for SPC, the beautiful and talented Jessie Sloan knew the difference. The order and control she had in her life was real. Love was fake and she didn't have time for fake. Win or lose... Sexy, sculpted boxing champ Zach Courtland has had his share of losses in life, but inside the ring, he knew nothing but wins. He was used to taking and landing punches, but little did he know that he was about to get the knockout of his life.

JESSIE EVANS -- Diamonds and Dust (Lonesome Point Texas)
Pike Sherman is a legend in Lonesome Point, a hometown boy who made it to the big leagues. Literally. Professional baseball acquired one hell of a pitching arm and its latest celebrity bad boy when the gifted Pike was drafted. His broken heart came along for the ride, too, but he kept that private. After a few days back in Lonesome Point, Pike can't imagine life without Tulsi Hearst, the girl he left behind, but when Tulsi's secret is revealed, his heart is broken all over again. The only thing worse than losing Tulsi, is losing six years with the daughter he didn't know he had.

CRISTA MCHUGH -- Falling for the Wingman (The Kelly Brothers)
Air Force pilot Caleb Kelly has come back home with one mission in mind--to propose to the woman whose letters and lucky charm helped him survive his deployment in Afghanistan. But when he finds their apartment empty with a note saying she's left him, he arrives at her mother's house in rural Alabama too find Kourtney is about to marry another man. Her little sister, Alex, convinces him that the best way to get Kourtney back is to make her think he's fallen for someone new--her. But when a fake romance becomes all too real, Alex's deception may leave them both grounded.

About Crista McHugh

Crista McHugh is a multiple award-winning author of fantasy romance and paranormal romance with heroines who are smart, sexy, and anything but ordinary.

Growing up in small town Alabama, Crista relied on story-telling as a natural way for her to pass the time and keep her two younger sisters entertained.

She currently lives in the Audi-filled suburbs of Seattle with her husband and two children, maintaining her alter ego of mild-mannered physician by day while she continues to pursue writing on nights and weekends.