Monday, February 3, 2014

That All Important Element of a Good Romance-THE MEET by Lyn Cote

Today I’m blogging about written romance and real romance. As an author, a compelling MEET for my hero and heroine is a challenge. And in my own life I know I’ll never forget MEETING my husband. (He's the guy grinning in the photo!)


So let’s talk reality first. Initially met my husband at a church singles New Year’s Eve Party. I did not feel drawn to him that night. But a few weeks later, he visited our church again for a Sunday evening service and WHOA! Everywhere I looked in our church’s fellowship hall, it was like a bright light shone behind him. Not anyone else. Just him. I kept blinking and looking around but the bright light was only around him. I took it as a sign. I’ve never experienced anything like it before or since.

Needless to say we connected that night and were secretly engaged a month later and married nine months later. We did it the old fashioned way—fell in love, got engaged and then married within a year. And we’re still together over 35 years later. We recently visited my dh’s friend who invited him to that singles New Year’s Eve Party and who subsequently was our best man. Lovely memories. If you’d like to read more stories like this, click here for a free Kindle ebook titled: How I Met My Husband. Two dozen romance authors share their MEET stories.

So how did you MEET your true love? Or do you have a classic MEET in a favorite romance? DO TELL!
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Since her first Love Inspired romance debuted in 1998, Lyn Cote has written over 35 books. A RITA finalist and a Carol Award winner, Lyn writes contemporary romance and historical. Her brand is "Strong Women, Brave Stories." Visit her website/blog at http://www.LynCote.net and find her on Facebook, GoodReads and Twitter.
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http://www.amazon.com/Heartland-Courtship-Wilderness-Brides-Cote-ebook/dp/B00EFPVDKC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391002248&sr=1-1&keywords=Heartland+Courtship
Lyn's latest release, Heartland Courtship, debuts on February 4th from Love Inspired Historical.

About writing meets in fiction, Lyn says: "When I write a romance, I try to come up with a unique and also a very personalized MEET. I want it to showcase their personalities and coming conflict. In my newest release, my heroine arrives in a frontier town by river boat and is shocked when the captain abandons an unconscious and feverish man on shore. In a town without a doctor, she with the help of her cousin take him home in hopes of saving him."

21 comments:

  1. I met my husband through a dating service. No not an online one. This was an actual dating service that you went to and looked at pictures. If you liked the picture and the write up, then you were given their number or they were notified of your interest. He called me many times but would never leave a call back number. So I contacted the lady who ran the service and told her if he wanted to meet great but he had to leave a number to call me back. He was a long haul truck driver at the time. She was going to get in touch with him when on about his 5th call he FINALLY left his pager number. (Yes an old pager, we are old LOL) I called him but he was leaving on a haul to California so we only talked on the phone for the first two weeks. When we finally met, I walked out of the office that I worked with one of the doctors that I worked for. We were just talking and laughing about our day but it made him jealous. We spent the next 4 hours just talking at a restaurant. The waitress was great since we occupied her table for so long. (He compensated her well with her tip). The rest was history. Although he have to ask me to marry him five times before I said yes. My dad did not approve at all.

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    1. What a great story & the kernel of a great meet--may I use it? And yes, I remember pagers. My dh had one long ago!

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  2. I was at the Marriott at the San Francisco Airport for a meeting with work. I saw a man in a blue oxford shirt sitting a few rows ahead of me. During a break, he turned around. Whoa! I elbowed my coworker, Annette, and told her that was the man I was going to marry. She joked she'd take the guy next to him. I had no clue who he was and didn't like him much when we finally met face-to-face (too arrogant), but we'll celebrate our 19th anniversary in April!

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  3. Lovely blog, Lyn. I met my husband on a Scottish Island! We were both studying Botany and Zoology at college together, but taking mostly different units of study. The one we shared was one where I skipped most of the classes! The main part of the course was actually a field trip to Scotland--so that's where we ended up meeting. Not very romantic really as it was cold, blustery and I'm sure it rained a lot. We had to finish college before we married and have just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary.

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    1. At least you knew you had botany in common. I was an English teacher and my dh an electrical engineer!

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  4. I met my husband when he visited California. We were on a double date, but not with each other. Neither of us were impressed that time. giggle.

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  5. I met my husband at college within the first weeks as a freshman. He was a junior. I felt we were fated because my parents met at the same school, too.

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  6. I love the story bout how you met Steve. if there was ever a sign...

    I just clicked on the link for How I met My Husband, and bought it. It will be a fun read, I know!

    I met my husband at a vet school fraternity party, while my boyfriend was ignoring me. That evening was the end of the old relationship--and the start of one that has led to to over 36 years of marriage!

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    1. Well, that old boyfriend deserved to be dumped! And of course you'd attend a vet frat party. You and your four footed furry friends!

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  7. What a wonderful story of meeting your husband, Lyn! You were destined for each other for sure.

    I met my husband through an online alumni connection. He was a professor at a college my daughter was considering and I wrote to ask him a question. A few months later, once she'd decided on a university, I wrote him back to let him know.

    We got to "talking" and realized we had a lot in common. Both of us were single parents and extremely dedicated to our families. A friendship formed via email, then he called me for the first time on my birthday.

    A few weeks later he made the two-hour drive from out of town to take me for coffee, and that was the beginning of the end. We've been happily married for six years and will always feel a certain debt of gratitude to our alma mater, UNC-Chapel Hill.

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    1. How about the beginning of the BEGINNING, Ginny?? :-)

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    2. Yes. My original thought was to say that...lol. :)

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  8. What a great story! My husband and I have been married for 16 years, and we did it in the old-fashioned way too: started dating in October, engaged in January, and married in September--BUT we'd known each other since we were children :) And funnily enough, by January I was wondering what had taken him so long to propose!!

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  9. I met my husband when my roommate, who was visiting with another girl in our apartment complex, brought him over to apartment to meet me. He was with his roommate. The two of them had just moved into their apartment. My roommate invited them to go to a birthday party we were attending at our old apartment complex. I can't say it was love at first sight, but there was definitely an interest.

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  10. So interesting to read everyone's stories. Thank you for the blog, Lyn! My husband and I met in the church choir. We sang in the choir throughout our 30 years of marriage, and those people are still some of my best friends. (They stood by us while my husband was ill and made it possible for him to continue to sing in the choir as long as he was physically able.) My son met his fiancee in a choir, too. It's a nice tradition. :)

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    1. My dh and I have sung in more than one choir together!

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  11. What a great story, Lyn! I had forgotten that your story was part of that book, too! Mine is listed as well . . . :-)

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