Guest Post by Author Alexandria Weis

My first book, To My Senses, has been called a romance by some and more than a romance, a love story if you will, by others. Is there a difference between a romance and a love story? I believe so, but do not get me wrong I support the romance genre. There is a formula for the characters and plot that is followed much to the relief of romance fans around the world. But a love story gives us much more, emotionally from the characters and engages the reader on a deeper level. Romance brings predictability but a love story does not because as many of us know from experience love is never predictable. Some romances may be forgettable, but a great love story will live on in the reader’s memory for many years to come.
Why are love stories so engaging? Perhaps it is because of the nature of love itself. Love changes us, and can alter our direction in life, as Nicci Beauvoir was awakened by David Alexander’s love in To My Senses, or Pamela was transformed by Daniel’s love in my novel, Broken Wings. Such great love can act as a sudden wind on a calm sea, righting the sails of a ship, giving us a new course and a new horizon to aim for. We are penetrable souls, influenced and defined by whom we love. In such a way, love can move mountains or melt even the coldest heart, as is the case with my favorite character, Dallas August in Recovery.
When looking back on our lives, it has never been the house, car or other material things we long for, but those individuals most cherished whom we hold in our hearts forever. Kara Barton realized this in Diary of a One-Night Stand, and Dallas August also has such an epiphany during his adventures in my fifth book, The Secret Brokers. These characters learned that in that final moment of life, we remember those we have loved, and hope to carry that love with us to the other side.
It is not to say that the love shared between the characters of an always happily ever after romance novel is any less sincere than the emotional ties binding two star-crossed, and sometimes tragically torn apart, lovers. Maybe it is when characters are taken to heart and become embedded within our psyche that they move from the light fragrance of a romance to the rich bouquet of a love story. Where romance may tweak at our hunger for passion and adventure, a love story reaches down into the inner workings of our soul and touches us in a way never expected.
That is what I hope my books do for the reader; takes them on a journey through the highs and lows of love. Teaching everyone that it is the attainment of life’s greatest endeavor that matters most, and everything else we garner along the way simply pales in comparison.
Did Nicci’s saga in To My Senses, Recovery, and Sacrifice mirror my own experiences with Cupid’s arrow? I have been asked that question a great deal by readers and friends alike. Suffice it to say that many first novels are mostly autobiographical tales of the author. I admit To My Senses does contain many elements reflecting my life experiences.
And David, you might be asking, did he really exist? Yes he did. He was as he is written. But who he was and what he meant to me will be forever sealed within the confines of my healing heart. To do otherwise, would be remiss of my own sweet remembrances.

Alexandrea Weis is an advanced practice registered nurse who was born and raised in New Orleans. Alexandrea began writing at the age of eight. She has been writing novels and screenplays for over thirty years. Her first novel, To My Senses (part I in the Nicci Beauvoir Series), was a finalist for commercial fiction in Eric Hofer Book Awards, a finalist for romance in the Foreword Magazine book of the Year awards, and a finalist for romance in the USA Book Awards. Her second novel in the series, Recovery, won the Gold Medal for best romantic suspense from The Reader’s Favorite Book Awards and was named best Romantic Suspense by the NABE Pinnacle Book Awards in 2011, as well as being a finalist in the ForeWord Book of the Year Awards for 2012. Book III in the Nicci Beauvoir series, Sacrifice, was published by World Castle Publishing in 2011 and has received critical praise. Her last novel, Broken Wings, combines her love of writing and rescuing wildlife, and was a winner of the NABE Pinnacle Book Awards in 2012.
Alexandrea Weis is a permitted wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries and when she is not writing, Ms. Weis is rescuing orphaned and injured wildlife. She lives outside of New Orleans with her husband and a menagerie of pets.