Valentine's Day: Books with LOVE Hop Author Post- Robin DeJarnett

Valentine's Day: Books with LOVE Hop

On our last day of Book with LOVE hop I bring you a few more post from great authors. Author Robin DeJarnett wrote for you all a great post today. She is the author of Whirlwind. Enjoy! 

Love at First Sight

February is the month of love and romance, and what could be more romantic than that staple of romance novels, love at first sight?  Dating back to Biblical times, love at first sight has been written and sung about for millennia.  But is it real or merely a fictional fantasy? And what makes it so romantic, anyway?

Instant Attraction

“Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight!

For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.”

– Romeo, upon seeing Juliet for the first time

Science has lots of reasons why we might be attracted to someone when we first see them.  Beauty, as Romeo notes, is a factor, indicating superior genes (it’s not fair, I know, just recapping scientific reports here). Freud claimed that women are more attracted to men who resemble their father, and men their mother (EW!), while other studies suggest we’re most attracted to the person who resembles ourselves (can you say Narcissistic?). [1]

No matter the psychology or genetic reason, science seems to agree that instant attraction is definitely possible.  But is that love?  For some, yes, for some no.  But it’s not particularly romantic, in my opinion, thinking your heart is controlled by a subconscious urge to find the best genes!

And what did the ancients know about DNA?

It was Love First, or Was It?

Before CSI and DNA, there was love.  From the Bible to the Greeks, Shakespeare to Homer Simpson, love at first sight had little to do with science. Sure, the physical attraction was there – but by all accounts, it was love that amplified that attraction, causing those struck by Cupid’s arrow to overlook any faults in the object of their love.  But is the romance of love at first sight the lightning strike moment, or the promise of forever?

That’s the difference, I think, between love at first sight and “wow, he’s hawt!” Sure, instant physical attraction can be explained,  even anticipated, but how romantic is it if that pivotal moment only amounts to a one-night stand?  “I came, I saw, I conquered" ...not necessarily in that order…  That’s not love, and not very romantic, in my opinion.

So it seems there’s more to love at first sight than instant attraction.

More than Love, Commitment

To me, the romance of love at first sight is a connection being made on a level so deep it can’t be avoided. Whether it’s real or not, the idea of being able to just know this is the person you’re meant to be with, even if you don’t know anything else about him, pulls at my heart.  And once that connection is made, nothing better break it.

That doesn’t mean things are all hearts and flowers forever – there’s definitely romance in watching lovers overcome obstacles designed to test their love and commitment.  Maybe that’s why the “boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl-back” formula is so popular. Love at first sight must be tested – and commitment confirmed – to be fully realized.

But, I have to admit that the mysterious zing, whether it’s lightning, or the click of rightness, or just a feeling of “you’re the one,” has a certain magic to it that can’t be beat.

Which leads me to…

An Excerpt from Whirlwind

As you may have guessed by now, like so many authors before me, I too employed the device of love at first sight in my book, Whirlwind.  Would you like to see how?

CLICK HERE to enter giveaway to win a signed copy of Whirlwind

First, how about a peek at the trailer:

Those blue eyes…but I’ll let Melissa tell you what happened.

From Whirlwind by Robin DeJarnett:

With a wistful sigh, I checked out the group of ushers at the door. Maybe I should’ve taken [Beth] up on her offer to introduce me — would it be so bad to have someone to talk to?

I’d worried that seeing so many men dressed in black would bring back unpleasant memories of my last trip to church, but instead I found myself drooling over the group like the rest of the women around me.

Chase looked great, but he was only one of an entire herd of GQ-worthy, immaculate men — a stunning sight in their matching tuxedos. One of the guys I recognized as Mitch’s classmate, and a couple more were from the rodeo team, though I’d never seen them this clean before. The rest were anonymously good looking. They whispered to each other, play­ing with their ties or cuff links while they waited for their turn to show someone to their seat.

It was my first and only high school dance all over again.

Chase caught my eye and pointed to his neat bow tie before he ques­tioned the guests in line ahead of me. I gave him a thumbs up, happy I could contribute something to Mitch’s big day. I stepped forward, expecting the I-got-stuck-with-her look from the next piece of eye candy.

A tall, lean stranger approached, stealing my breath.

He didn’t look directly at me at first, so he missed my Exorcist-like double take. I had two heartbeats to collect myself — and to shut my gaping mouth. The guy I’d seen with Chase earlier moved toward me so smoothly he seemed to skate across the carpet.

I recognized his movie-star hair immediately, the molten-chocolate waves just touching his collar, divided by a soft part just right of center. My previous assumption had been correct; he was exceedingly handsome. I drank in his flawless face, tracing his bold cheekbones and square, strong chin with my eyes, trying to find a suitable description for what I was witnessing. The word that came to mind wasn’t stunning or exquisite, though both were appropriate; it was familiar. This animated David reminded me of someone. Before I could put a name to his doppelganger, he turned to look at me, and all thought vanished. His eyes were the brightest blue I’d ever seen, and when our gaze met, time stopped.

They say that in the moments before death it’s common to experience a lifetime’s worth of memories. As I drowned in the sapphirine depths of his eyes, what I saw wasn’t the past, but the future. My vision blurred. In my imagination, his vibrant blue eyes appeared inches from mine, and his arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly against his perfect body. I felt every sculpted muscle, every virile heartbeat as he bent down and gently kissed me. As my tongue sought his, the scene shifted and we lay in a darkened room, wrapped in each other’s embrace, wearing nothing but the sweat of ecstasy. We panted together in perfect rhythm, and a single strained word left my lips: “Yes.”

The scene changed, and he was at my elbow, guiding me into a long black car. Cameras flashed in our faces, and specks of rice crunched under our feet. His azure eyes twinkled as he brushed the white veil away from my cheek and whispered, “My wife.” The image darkened again; he nuzzled my ear as his hand slowly stroked the skin of my swollen belly, sending a shiver through me. The pictures flew by faster and faster, flipping like pages in an imaginary scrapbook: we sat on a couch, surrounded by toys, his arm wrapped around my shoulders; we stood in a crowd and watched mortar boards fly into the air; he held my hand as we cut a cake decorated with the words 25 Years and Counting.

Woven through the fast-forward of my life were kisses, touches, and intense releases of passion — all shared with this unknown, gorgeous man. Decades of life, love, and lust passed before my eyes in just two long seconds. I didn’t even know if he liked girls, but I could see myself giving everything I was to him.

He smiled tentatively at me, and as fast as it had appeared, the vision vanished. I blinked, breaking eye contact with him, and inhaled, channeling all my strength to my rubbery legs. He stepped forward, and I realized his lips — his perfect lips — were moving. When I didn’t respond, his face fell.

I tried desperately to regain my composure. I’d never experienced a fantasy like that before. It must be lust at first gawk.

He tried smiling again, and I was able to respond in kind this time.

“May I show you in?” he asked slowly and extended his arm.

Unable to speak, I imitated a bobblehead doll instead.