Harlequin Superstar Marie Ferrarella is melting all our hearts at Romance HQ today with her Ultimate Crush!
My biggest crush was also my only crush. By crush, I am referring to that oh-my-God-I-can-hardly-breathe feeling where your fingertips tingle, your knees feel weak. The room gets suddenly hot and the whole world actually does fade away.
It only happened to me once and rather than eventually just disappear, that crush grew, changed shape and became something of substance. In other words, my crush slowly evolved into love. The only man I ever loved not only became my husband, but he also became the basic model for all my heroes. (Write about what you know, right?). Because people are not one dimensional, I had a lot of different traits to work with. The brooding hero with a vocal vocabulary of ten words, the wise cracking hero who matches the heroine quip for quip, the serious hero who thinks things through to the last detail, the whimsical hero who just goes with the flow and the kind hero who rescues puppies out of the middle of the street, away from on-coming traffic. These and so many more traits comprise my husband’s many sides. I use those, and yes, some of his less than endearing attributes (he’s not always as patient as I’d like him to be) to flesh out my heroes and define their relationships with the heroines who populate my books. And if you’re wondering, yes, I use him for all the love scenes, too.
After being with him for half an eternity, he still makes the room fade away. Pretty good for a crush, eh?
*Sigh* What a wonderful entry for this week’s Ultimate Crush! Let us know if Marie’s post had you reaching for the tissue box too!
2 replies on “Marie Ferrarella’s Ultimate Crush”
Aww!!! This is so perfect. What an awesome testament to your love. You’ve written a LOT of heroes, so it’s awesome to think they all originated in some way with your real life hero is amazing.
I think Betty Neels did this as well. I love her books as well. Much continued success in your career!
Wow, Marie! Getting it right with your first crush…having is last…and bettering with time–that’s golden!
Thanks for sharing, and for entertaining us for so long.
Comments ( 7 )
I spent the entire shutdown working. Had no time to wind down. I didn’t see my son much when school shutdown. My one co worker was told to stay home for 3 weeks so I picked up her hours. This year has been really crappy.
Ugh, Janell. Here’s hoping the rest of your summer is better.
Thanks for the info, Carol! Everyone is different in how they deal with the shutdown! I stay at home all the time since I don’t work so I haven’t been too effected but my shopping and errands sure have been effected!
Valri, I’ve been doing most of my shopping online. My local Target is still low on some items – mostly cleaning supplies. Grocery store is pretty much back to normal. Most of the dining in our town is outdoor. I can’t imagine have school-age kids!
Wow–getting your creative process on track must have been daunting–especially with “extra-large dog” glad to have you home. You don’t like coffee–I love coffee and have enjoyed my fortifying 2 cups in the morning even more than usual! How as COVID affected your story lines and characterizations? Best Wishes for all releases!
Interesting question, Virginia. You’ll have to tell me if the tone of my “COVID” books changed any! LOL
Life has changed so much! My dad passed Feb 2. The assisted living facility my folks were at went into hardcore lockdown the beginning of March. Mom couldn’t leave her apartment for 4 months! She was on the third floor, Will be 89 in two months & doesn’t use the phone. My husband and I remodeled the lower level completely and moved her in with us July 1. What a life change and difficult transition for the 3 of us! But we’re working thru it!