Guest Blogger V. Joy Palmer

Erica here: It is purely my pleasure to introduce to you my friend V. Joy Palmer. Joy is everything her name implies! I met her at an ACFW Conference, and she could not be any cooler! I'm so glad she agreed to visit us at Seekerville today, and I know you'll make her welcome. 

Take it away, Joy!

I love spit-in-your-face-to-kissy-face romances. There’s just something about the enemies-to-sweethearts trope that is so. much. fun! Case in point, Pride and Prejudice.

We should get this out of the way right now… Yes, my favorite movie adaption of Pride and Prejudice is the 2005 version with Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen. This was my very first exposure to Jane Austen’s stories, and I will forever love it because of that fact. Can we still be friends?

Moving right past that awkward plea, let’s get back to the awesome literary sauce that is (to channel all the Baby Yoda memes) the stabby-stab-to-kissy-kiss trope.

I love how this trope can add that extra spice of sarcasm with a side of burning bickering to romances in any genre! From the classics hate-to-love couples like Han Solo and Leia from Star Wars to Joe Fox (NY152) and Kathleen Kelly (Shopgirl) from You’ve Got Mail.

To the trope within a trope. The slow burn, will-they-won’t-they couples like Luke and Lorelai from Gilmore Girls to the second chance romances like Melanie and Jake in Sweet Home Alabama.

To Cary Grant because no list would be complete without a Cary Grant appearance, such as I Was a Male War Bride!

In my biased opinion, Cary Grant personifies the standard that all other heroes should be measured against when it comes to snarky romantic tension!

Wow…I’m potentially making a lot of enemies with that statement… Forgive me!

Ultimately, my favorite aspect of the enemies-to-sweethearts trope isn’t the laughs it provides but rather the way I can see God softening hearts, redeeming lives, and breaking lies that hold hearts captive! I love seeing characters who screw up, who’ve made bad decisions, who put their giant feet in their big mouths, who definitely say the wrong thing once or twice…or two dozen times. I love these characters because I am one of these characters in the story God’s writing with my life. His love, forgiveness, and grace covers so much in my life, and I love writing characters that get to experience these things!

Whether it’s second chances at love or botched first impressions or unrequited love sprinkled with family drama, the initial fighting makes the ending so much sweeter for me – to watch, read, and write!

But perhaps my love for a bickering yet wonderfully sappy story was destined to be. Maybe it all goes back to that day twenty-two-ish years ago when my own enemies-to-sweethearts story started on a school playground. That’s where my future husband said, “Girls are stupid. Your doll is stupid.”

Rude, right? It’s okay; I got even with him. Who’s laughing now, buddy?

That’s right. Me.

Because I’m the writer.

*mic drop*

What are some of your favorite stories with a hate-to-love thread?

Isabel “Izze” Vez, bridal consultant extraordinaire, has been helping brides find The Dress for years. She loves nothing more than helping make wedding dreams come true…but sometimes the happy endings grate on her. How many times can a girl discover someone else’s gown without dreaming of the day it’ll be her turn to wear one?

When James Miles Clayton walks into her life, he represents everything Izze can’t handle: change. He’s determined to bring the Ever After Bridal Boutique into the black…and to prove to Izze that she should give him a chance.

But if there’s anything Izze handles worse than change, it’s trust. She may have a few issues—fine, she knows she does. But will they keep getting in the way of any chance of her own Happily Ever After? She wants to trust God to give her those dreams of love and lace, but that’s going to require some…minor alterations.

Read a sample HERE!

Available now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, and WhiteFire Publishing’s READ Store!

Seventeen years after being orphaned, Apryl Burns and her twin sister Courtney have their own expectations for life. While Courtney continues to shine at everything, Apryl holds fast to the mantra that as long as her potato chip stash remains intact, then she'll be fine.

But when their beloved grandmother ends up injured and unable to manage her struggling antique store, Courtney makes it their mission to revamp the business and save what's left of their family's legacy. Despite rampant doubts in her abilities, Apryl finds herself trapped under the weight of family loyalty as they transition to a wedding venue decorating service. Soon she's forced to ask (translation: blackmail) their grandmother's renter/handyman, Chance McFarland, for hep, an arrangement that is made even worse by the fact that Chance is her former (ahem, and current) crush.

Chance knows a few dozen things about family loyalty, which is why he begrudgingly agrees to Apryl's insane plan. While Apryl claims they're archenemies, the girl Chance only glimpsed in their teens starts to emerge, stealing what remains of his heart.

But expectations are a powerful thing. Amidst the glamorous weddings and swaying willows, can those old expectations be revised into something new?

Read a sample HERE!

Available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and WhiteFire Publishing’s READ Store!

V. Joy Palmer is the author of Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is also an avid blogger and co-founder of Snack Time Devotions. In her spare time, Joy is an unprofessional chocolate connoisseur/binger, and she loves acting crazy and drinking coffee with the teens she mentors. When Joy isn't urging the elves that live in her computer to write, she's hanging out with her husband, their adorable baby girl, and their socially awkward pets.

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Joy is giving away a reader's choice of either of her books, print or ebook to a US resident, or ebook to an international resident. Leave a comment answering Joy's questions (Go ahead, scroll back up to read the question....) and we'll draw a winner!