HOME SWEET HOME

Hi all, I'm author Clare London, I write gay romance for a variety of publishers, both novels and shorter works.  I've been published since 2007 and I'm having a great time making friends and - hopefully! - pleasing readers.

I met Ginger along the way - she was one of my first publishing online friends, and became SO MUCH MORE with all the support and practical help she's given me.  And now she's kindly invited me to join in her Valentine's blog this month! :)

My short story HOME SWEET HOME is out this month at Amber Quill Press and its romantic theme makes me think about love in all its guises.  In it, Chaz is moving house and his ex-boyfriend Ryan comes to help. They're trying to stay friends and are still attracted to each other. But they haven't made things work well in the past.  Chaz is fairly irresponsible and selfish, Ryan is too reigidly controlled and always tries to take charge.  But over the course of moving around a few packing cases - and smashing some bits of china! - they discover their love is far stronger than their different characters, and they decide to try again.

I remember a friend telling me my future husband was a very different person from me, and it'd never work long term between us. That was - *cough* - twenty six years ago LOL.

Love is much more than lust and excitement.  Easily said, and I think you need the years to pass before you can see the layers that develop, but I've found it to include respect, a sense of humour (and that's sorely needed sometimes!), kindness, tolerance, friendship, trust, care, regular communication, similar core values toward good behaviour, moral ethics, unselfishness .... and then it becomes not only a Love but a HOME. 

We have a slot on BBC Radio 4 each morning called 'Thought for the Day' where various people - usually clergymen, but of all faiths - make comment on current affairs and the thought they have about human life. This morning's was very apt, listening as I drove into work. It was based on COMMON VALUES, and how everything we do and say and love should be done with both tolerance and respect. *Those* are the common values, not necessarily society's pressures and rules, which are often human-made and also can be subject to fashion and manipulation.

Thanks again Ginger, it's great to see all the posts here this month - and especially lovely to think on the subject of love ♥.

Here is the link to HOME SWEET HOME and an excerpt. The book is adult-rated, the excerpt PG.
Please feel free to visit any of my fiction - and maybe buy some :).

My Website: http://www.clarelondon.co.uk/
My Blog: http://clarelondon.livejournal.com/