That Sweet Old Familiar Feeling by Jeanmarie Hamilton

Earline Barnes oil painting "Floral"
gives me that sweet old familiar feeling

It isn’t just about love. The title of my blog this month can apply to many things. It could be a favorite home, a vacation spot, a park, a beach, or anywhere. It could apply to a comfortable chair, bed, etc. It could be a beloved object of some kind, a piece of china that belonged to your family, or grand parents, or someone close to you, or that you’ve seen somewhere. It could be a book, or characters in a book, or a setting in a book. It could be a movie, or a play, or someone who entertains you. It could be a painting, a sculpture, or anything. What gives you that sweet old familiar feeling?

I’m thinking about books, stories, and characters today. I love to read romances, stories with a happily ever after feeling. I’ve read lots of romances over the years that I’ve been reading romances. I’ve read single title romances that don’t have characters which continue in a similar story in a follow-up book, and I’ve read series romances which have returning characters along with new characters in all of the books in the series. The setting stays pretty much the same too. But I have to say that for me it’s the returning characters that give me that sweet old familiar feeling.

 You know that feeling. When it comes to books, the feeling makes me want to curl up in my favorite chair with a cup of coffee or a soda, and some chocolate, and settle in to read for hours. I feel like I know the characters in the story, and I know how they’ll react. It’s a warm fuzzy feeling that makes me comfortable, like I’m returning to a favorite place I’ve enjoyed before. It’s as if I can take a deep breath, because the characters are people I know and love. They’re good friends within the pages of a story, and I know how they will behave. It’s a good feeling. Have you had that sweet old familiar feeling while reading?

Since I discovered that I like to read series stories with returning characters, I’ve decided to write series stories. I want to give readers of my stories that same sense of the sweet old familiar when they discover characters they’ve known and enjoyed in previous stories I’ve written.

Do you have a favorite series that gives you that feeling?

I have a new novella coming out July 25, next week, that is part of a new series I’m writing. The series is Hondo, Texas Wolves, and this novella is the second book in the series. It’s titled "Guardian of Her Dream."

You can find it at Siren BookStrand Publishing, under my author name, Claire Adele.

I wish you stories to curl up with and read.

Jeanmarie Hamilton
                 
http://www.JeanmarieHamilton.com
aka Claire Adele
Hondo, Texas Wolves
Wolves of West Texas