Beth Albright, author of The Sassy Belles trilogy, has stopped by Traveling With T today to discuss: Belles, love and Valentine’s Day. Beth’s recently released novella, Saved By The Belles, is creating quite a buzz in the romance world. Beth has been steadily promoting the latest novella while also getting ready for the next trilogy- yes, the Belles will be back in summer 2014!

When Beth and I started talking about this post, I suggested a couple of different options- Belles and love, Belles and friendship- because both those topics really go hand in hand with Beth Albright’s trilogy. The friendships and the romance are something to remember- and after reading Beth’s books, you may find yourself craving sweet tea and a Southern accent.

A Belle’s Love Story

 

 

So thrilled to be guesting today! Thank you Tamara for this fantastic opportunity to share some good ol’ southern stories with your lovely readers!

 

In this month of February, love is in the air! Well, for a romance writer, Love is always in the air! My Belles are all steeped in love and laughter pretty much all the time! And yes, SOME of these stories have a tad of truth in their foundation. Ahem. Maybe more than a tad!

 

A southern belle just has to be a little flirtatious in the way she approaches love. We would never become the pursuer. It’s just not Belle-like. No. We love to be the pursu-ee. Our prince charming needs to chase us, even if just for a few minutes. We love to be desired. It makes us feel beautiful. It gives us a reason to bat our eyes and tease our men—and we live for that.

 

In my most recent book, Saved By The Belles, a particular scene takes place in a hotel room on Valentines Day. My narrator, Blake, is eight months pregnant. Sonny, her soon- to- be- husband and old childhood sweetheart lures her to a hotel and tricks her into peeking into a random room by finding a key on the floor in the hallway. Just as he opens the door, she is enveloped in the amber glow of flickering candles. Rose petals were strewn across the bed and all of her overnight items in the bathroom. He had packed for her. That was amazing as he knew just what she would need.

 

Sonny, her lover, sits down on the bed next to an overwhelmed Blake and tells her things are about to change—change for the better with their new little bundle, but change no less. This would be the last time they would be together as only the two of them, a couple, and he wanted to make it as special as he could.

 

I have received so much mail on this—now the truth comes out.

 

It was a tearjerker of a scene and every reader LOVES Sonny. He is such a romantic, (and quite a lover- attentive and gentle and soft.) But he loves to devour her whenever he can. Their romance has been hot through all of the series.

 

Y’all, this was an actual scene from the pages of my real life. I know. I’m a lucky girl. My hubby did this for me just two months before our sweetheart son was born.

 

He took me to a hotel, telling me I should go to the bathroom before we hit the road to drive the sixty miles back to Tuscaloosa after a day of shopping up in Birmingham. He pulled into a hotel and said he better go to. I came out of the bathroom and he said, “Look I found a key,” and before I knew it, he opened the next door in the hallway and voila. Rose petals, candles, my lotions and makeup, gifts…man he works FAST. I was overcome. And I never forgot it.

 

Scenes from my own life seem to always wind up in my novels. And that’s okay. Writers write what they know.

 

For example, in Saved By The Belles, that accidental pee scene, where Blake hides her entire pregnant self under a red blanket in the front seat of her car? She is trying to hide as she MUST go potty RIGHT THIS MINUTE! She is pregnant after all– Yep, that happened too! But that story will have to wait for another time—just know that it was me relieving myself in a 32oz Slurpee Styrofoam cup from the seven-eleven! I wasn’t pregnant for this one but was trapped in a car in the middle of the Chicago Marathon! And I had to go! When you read the scene, you will know just what happened next!

 

Love is a funny thing. But Belles really love LOVE. Romance is the key to a Belles heart. Give me candlelight, soft music, love notes, and soft kisses any day. And always in front of a fireplace. Surely I’m not alone here. At our core aren’t we all Belles? We loved to be wooed and pursued. No matter what age you are, femininity never ever goes out of style. And honey, chivalry wins out over hot bods every time. Well– chivalry AND a hot bod wouldn’t be a bad thing! But the minute someone opens the door for me, I melt a little inside.

 

Valentines Day is a day for romance and love—have a love-filled month y’all! Why limit all that fun to just one day?? *Wink Wink*

 

Did you LOVE the guest post? Well if you did, be sure and check Beth out on social media!

Facebook, Twitter, and blog– shoot Beth a tweet, talk to her on Facebook and follow the blog- for all the fun of Beth!

 

*Thanks to Beth for guest posting today at Traveling With T.

 

Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T