My husband jokes that I am the definition of the marriage book we highly recommend, Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti by Bill and Pam Farrel. Where men compartmentalize, women tend to start talking on one topic, switch to another, and another, and before you can stop her, she’s asking you what you thought of her wedding day.

He’s not wrong, and I try not to take him on a journey too crazy when I talk, but my mind tends to be jump around with all tabs open. Today is such a day, and the thing in common is “like.” I thought I’d share those thoughts with you.

• The book I mentioned above. That helped start and keep our marriage. Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti. See, the word like. 🙂

• As I write this, it’s my birthday, and our son noted that there were a lot of birthday wishes on my Facebook wall. I told him it’s probably because I have a wide selection of friends there. People I truly know, family, online friends, authors, readers. He joked that he’s going to become an author and when someone asks why, he would confess he’d want to be liked and have a lot of birthday wishes. We’re a silly family that likes to laugh.

• I critique work as well as send my own chapters in to groups for their review. I also review books when I’m able. A romance I recently finished had a flaw that I’m on the lookout for when I critique—unlikable characters. If you have a hero/heroine that isn’t likable in the beginning, there needs to be something vulnerable there with a heart to change throughout the story. When there’s no change, the reader won’t want to keep reading. Who wants to read a romance with a whiny, obnoxious character that never evolves? The character can be troubled, but if they are straight-up mean with no backstory, I’m done. My favorite villain is Lex Luthor from Smallville. He was written with a brilliant backstory that explained why he became the criminal he did. It was so well done that I felt sorry for him. His path was laid out, but still, a part of me was rooting for him. I liked him despite his evil schemes. That’s a “like” I think about a lot as an author, and a reader.

• The last like on my mind deals with my author page on Facebook. I am so close to 1000 likes. Crazy. Awesome. For the 1000th person who likes the page (not a post,) I plan to bless them with my Surrendering Time series and my latest release, You’re Beautiful. If it is an international winner, it will be eBooks. If US winner, they can choose between eBooks or softcover. 

There you have it. What things are on your mind that you like? It can be totally random, I love reading what you’re thinking about.