Showing posts with label Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romance. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

I seriously need an ending to this romance people! #haveyouseenthiscouple

Hello friends. I kind of got swept up in the romance of this documentary built around Justin Timberlake's song "Not a Bad Thing." The video that explains it all is embedded below and you REALLY should watch it because who doesn't need a real life romantic story? This kind of thing just warms my heart.

And there's also a lot of wisdom in this video from practically every kind of couple imaginable. Wisdom in the form of couples struggling to define what love is and what love means for them. I went through the video and made a transcript of all the times the couples mention love. Hopefully in the comments you will tell me which one is your favorite. And maybe you'll share something of yourself, and tell me what you think love is and how you would define it. Here's to wishing you many warm fuzzies (and seriously watch the video).
This is a true story. January 12th, 2014. It was a crisp cold Sunday night on a Long Island Railroad Train speeding towards New York City. It was a scene out of a movie like "Say Anything." A young man proposed to his girlfriend playing a Justin Timberlake song. They were so in love. You almost NEVER see that. We don't know who these people are or what their story is, but maybe you do. We're making a documentary about falling in love. Have YOU seen this couple?

Love is not something you can really look for. It's not scripted. It just happens.

You find love and then you lose love and then you have to work to find it again. And then you lose it.

I think if you really like...ya know, grow yourself and get to really know yourself first; then you can find love.

I think when you publicly propose to somebody it really inspires love all around.

Proposals, you plan it in your head, you plan it on paper, and in the end it's just who you're askin' to marry you and spend the rest of your life with.

I rolled out of bed one morning before my wife and said, "Will you marry me?"

I was confident that she would say yes. Otherwise I'd--
No, you weren't confident!
I was confident.

I think love is an attachment. And, um, I found that I was so attached to my lady that I couldn't love anyone else.

I think it's like a very brave thing to look for love, to fall in love, and to ask for someone to love you back.

Once you're in love, you're in love. You can't control that. It's not an off and on switch.

Love doesn't go in a straight line. There's curves and twists and turns and bumps.

Love finds you. Yeah, it finds you.

Twenty years later we're here and this guy...has appeared...four years...ago.

Six years later...engaged! See the ring!

We just got engaged.

Love is...whew...

Friday, August 31, 2012

Distraction from J.L. Campbell - The Friendship is Forever Tour

First off, know that Distraction is FREE on Amazon right now. :)))) Get your kindles and download! If you don't mind, please tweet about this so that Joy can get maximum exposure for her free book and hopefully climb the rankings.

Please welcome author J.L. Campbell who has written a wonderfully enticing book called Distraction.  I've been reading this book over the last couple of weeks, and it's a real page turner thus far (at least a four star book if not a five star). Campbell has an expressive sensuousness to her writing that leaps off the page. Each chapter begins with a Jamaican proverb, which she graciously translates for the reader who would most likely be unable to understand the meaning.  And each proverb does come into play in the chapter's content.  Distraction isn't filled with the most likeable characters, but they feel like real people.  In Distraction, Justine is hopelessly in love with Xavier (a real hunk). Only there's one hitch, she's married and so is he. And therein lies the tension. I will part by dropping these lines written by Ms. Campbell:
"He made love to her again, smothering her beneath him, holding her climax at bay. He meant to frustrate and punish her, and when she lay exhausted, he wouldn't meet her eyes."
J.L. Campbell, author
Good stuff, don't you think? Oh and did I mention that every chapter begins with palm trees in silhouette? Gotta love palm trees. Ah Jamaica. Take it away J.L. Campbell.

***

As with anywhere in the world, island living has its peculiarities. Many things have changed in the past twenty years in Jamaica. We’ve seen the development of a network of highways, our public transportation system has been upgraded, and most buses now have air-conditioning. Many homes have cable television and at least half of us have two cellular phones, owing to high cross-network charges.

Despite the passage of time and changes, at heart Jamaicans are conservative. I see this in the public outrage over things that aren’t considered the norm, and I also know there are many narrow-minded people in the world.

While I was writing Distraction, I had many stirrings of doubt over whether I should finish the story. I posted chapters as I wrote them on my writing network, and there were people reading along who were outraged by the behaviour of the women. I knew I’d probably get this reaction from other readers. However, I’ve found that writers are more open to scenarios outside of what the average person considers normal and many understand need, motive and resulting choices. To date, I haven’t seen more than a single one-star review on Amazon, but I’ve conditioned my mind to the fact that more will come.

I’d like to invite you to download a complimentary copy of A Baker’s Dozen: Thirteen Steps to Distraction. In this prequel, you’ll meet Dionne, Kyra and Justine a year before Distraction takes place (and before they start doing the forbidden).

The actual novel Distraction will be free to download from Amazon today through September 3rd! How cool is that?

Leave a comment on this post and you’ll be entered to win an e-copy of Distraction. At the end of this Friendship tour, there’ll be a main prize of a Distraction note pad & pen and a $10 Amazon gift card. The second prize is a paperback copy of Distraction. Sign up for that at the Rafflecopter here.

I appreciate you taking the time to read.

Michael, thanks so much for hosting me.

Distraction on Amazon

J.L. Campbell on Amazon

J.L. Campbell on Facebook

J.L. Campbell on Goodreads

J.L. Campbell on Twitter

J.L. Campbell is a proud Jamaican and the author of Contraband, Distraction, Dissolution, Don’t Get Mad…Get Even, Giving up the Dream and Hardware (pen name Jayda McTyson). Campbell is always on the lookout for story making material, loves company and can usually be found lollygagging on her blog at http://thecharacterdepot. blogspot.com

Monday, March 26, 2012

Showtime's Shameless. Writing so good, it soars.

Shameless is one of my favorite shows. It's created for Showtime and is the story of a very dysfunctional family that somehow, manages to find love and function despite extreme poverty. It's a story of survival and opportunism and is probably one of the most heart-breaking, yet uplifting shows I have ever seen. The scene below, in the pilot episode, made me tear up. This writing is incredible. Please watch the embedded clip and get ready for some seriously heavy romance. Grab a tissue. This is a conversation between Fiona and Steve (who loves Fiona so much). Fiona is a girl who has been denied her childhood because she has to care for her brothers and sisters. Mom left; dad's a drunk, and it's only her. And life hasn't been kind. Not one bit.
FIONA played by Emmy Rossum
STEVE played by Justin Chatwin
Steve: "Hello"
Fiona: "If that wasn't bullshit, what was I wearing?"
Steve: "Huh?"
Fiona: "First time you saw me...if that wasn't a lie."

Steve:  "Black top with gold trim, black shiny jeans, thin shoes...straps...sandals...with your hair pinned high. Dangly gold earrings that made me smile. A big watch...too big. So subtle arm movement looked great. And you were dancing next to a red-haired girl in a green dress."

Fiona: "Yeah yeah. Jenna. It was Jenna's birthday. So you were...were watching her...who's a lot better lookin' than me."

Steve: "You think so? Really?"
Fiona: "Yeah...so how come you're not stalking Jenna?"

Steve: "Because you-y-you think like that and Jenna doesn't. Jenna dances for an audience and you dance like there's no one else in the room. Your life's not simple, Fiona and you can't stop it from showing me 'cause you're no fake, you're not lost, you don't need finding. This whole city belongs to the Jennas, but I'm sick of them. I swear Fiona you're nothing like anyone I've ever met! You make me want to enjoy my life again! Are you there?...Fiona?"

It's writing that's so good, it soars. Please please watch the clip. You won't regret it. The embedded video is unwatcheable on Apple iPad and iPhone. I assume it has something to do with flash. Also the video comes from a Chinese server because YouTube had embedding blocked for the exact same video clip. So I went to a lot of trouble to show this to you guys!

Happy Monday.

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