{"id":522,"date":"2013-03-15T02:51:28","date_gmt":"2013-03-15T02:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/?p=522"},"modified":"2013-03-15T12:50:26","modified_gmt":"2013-03-15T12:50:26","slug":"lucky-in-love-blog-hop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/lucky-in-love-blog-hop\/","title":{"rendered":"Why “Fated Mates” Annoy Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This post is part of the Lucky in Love blog hop. Scroll down to the end for information about prizes available and other participants.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why \u201cFated Mates\u201d Annoy Me<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve read about them, those couples where a man or woman looks at another and suddenly sees colors, an aura, or gets some sign that this is the one, and it\u2019s meant to be.\u00a0 Two random people see each other, the rockets go off, and they just know that they\u2019re right for each other at some deep, primal level that guarantees happily ever after. Because they\u2019re soulmates or fated mates, so it has to happen.<\/p>\n

It seems particularly common in paranormals, where forces beyond normal bring two people together like two separate halves of a whole.<\/p>\n

I call BS.<\/p>\n

The whole \u201csoulmate\u201d thing has a certain appeal, but for all the wrong reasons. It\u2019s way too easy.\u00a0 There\u2019s no risk in the relationship. You may argue with each other, but because this is your soulmate, you\u2019ll find ways to work it out, and it won\u2019t create any permanent damage. You can do pretty much anything or say anything because you\u2019re meant to be so it won\u2019t be a problem.<\/p>\n

I understand why the idea appeals, why it seems so romantic. To find the person who is your perfect partner for the rest of your life is a goal worth striving for. To find someone so completely right and perfect for you is an ideal.\u00a0 But that’s really all it is: a fantasy.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to work at finding ways to accommodate each other, to live with each other, to settle the issues that divide you.<\/p>\n

It’s lazy storytelling because the author doesn’t have to work at showing a developing relationship. The subtle back and forth of people exploring their interest in each\u00a0other, learning about each other, trying to decide if there’s more than lust\u00a0at work, and if they can manage\u00a0to forge a bond and create a family, gets lost when we already\u00a0know<\/em> it’s gong to happen. Because it’s fated.\u00a0I tend to avoid stories that use that trope because it skirts over what interests me most in the romantic storyline: how two people figure out why they’re drawn to each other and how they can combine themselves into a couple.<\/p>\n

So…Does the idea of fated mates or soulmates work for you?<\/p>\n

\"\"My most recent release, The Wizard’s Shield<\/strong><\/em>, features a romance between two people who are clearly meant to be together, but they’re not fated mates in the sense that they know the minute they see each other that no one else will do for them.\u00a0At the start of the story, they\u00a0have been separated for a long time by circumstance. When they come together again, they have to work hard, overcoming a lot of painful history, numerous differences, and conflicting goals, to reach their happily ever after.<\/p>\n

Blurb for The Wizard’s Shield<\/em><\/strong>: A powerful\u00a0 wizard with a physics degree and a checkered past invents a shield to ensure\u00a0 he’ll never again be tortured almost to death.\u00a0The wizarding powers-that-be fear the repercussions of such a device and send\u00a0 his former girlfriend, an accomplished wizard herself, to retrieve the device\u00a0 or destroy it.<\/p>\n

When the shield is stolen by the magical mafia, Ilene McConnell and Michael\u00a0 Morgan have to set aside their differences and work together to recover it.\u00a0 Michael claims he needs the device as insurance against the kind of injury and\u00a0 injustice he suffered once before. Ilene maintains its potential to upset the\u00a0 delicate balance of power makes it too dangerous and that it needs to be\u00a0 destroyed. But none of that will matter if they can\u2019t retrieve it before a ruthless,\u00a0 powerful wizard learns how to use it for his own ends.<\/p>\n

Trade Paperback<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Amazon Kindle <\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B&N for Nook <\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Smashwords<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally \u2013 about the prizes: To enter all of the contests, comment here and be sure to include your email address!<\/strong><\/p>\n

My Prize:<\/strong> One commenter here will win their choice of ebook from any of the following: A Question of Fire, Programmed for Danger, The Night Prowlers,\u00a0 A Vampire\u2019s Christmas Carol or a paperback copy of A Gift for Murder.<\/p>\n

Blog Hop Grand Prizes!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We have\u00a0TWO\u00a0<\/strong>grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!\u00a0 Everything BUT the swag prize is international.<\/p>\n

1st Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card<\/strong><\/p>\n

2nd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!<\/strong><\/p>\n

More information: http:\/\/www.carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com\/<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is part of the Lucky in Love blog hop. Scroll down to the end for information about prizes available and other participants. Why \u201cFated Mates\u201d Annoy Me You\u2019ve read about them, those couples where a man or woman …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":527,"href":"https:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522\/revisions\/527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmccullough.com\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}