Shannon here: Amy R. Anguish shares insight into her real life romance, plus a chance to win a copy of her latest Contemporary Romance, Saving Grace. Heads up, this is a new release from Scrivenings Press, where I’m part owner and content editor. Comment or answer the question in any post dated Oct 13 – 16 to enter the drawing. Deadline: Oct 24th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Amy:
Friends to Love in Real Life
A question a writer gets more than once is “What is your favorite book?” Seriously? Do you know how many books are out there and how many I’ve read? I can’t pick a favorite. It depends on my mood.
Now, if you ask what some of my favorite literary romances are, I can list those.
In no particular order:
- Emma and Mr. Knightley from Jane Austen’s Emma
- Anne and Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea
- Jo and Professor Baer from Little Women
Know what’s similar about all of those? They all start out as friends. It’s true. Well, maybe Anne and Gilbert start out as enemies, but they become friends.
All the girls who would rather have Mr. Darcy can have him. I’d rather have Mr. Knightley.
I love the friends-to-lovers trope. Maybe because it’s how my own romance began. You see, the man who is now my husband was dating my friend when we first met. That means, off-limits, obviously.
Their relationship didn’t last long, though. And he was in my dorm lobby one night, hanging out with another mutual friend. Joking about planning a spontaneous date for sometime the next semester. I was single, so I volunteered for one, too.
Between then and when our “date” was scheduled, we started to get to know each other more. We attended worship services together, ate together, sat and chatted together in the commons or on a swing. And everyone kept asking if we were dating.
We’d laugh. “Oh no. We’re just friends.”
But you know what? Friends turn out to make the best romances. Because we already had that relationship to build on, when the romance entered, it only made things better.
And you know what? He’s still my best friend. We don’t always see eye-to-eye on everything, but we’ve always got each other’s backs, he always supports me and makes sure I have what I need, and we can make each other laugh better than just about anyone else in the world.
Our friendship might not have been as long as some, but I still love that it’s how we started. And that we’ll always be friends first. Maybe that’s why I love stories that start as friends.
Maybe that’s why I wrote Saving Grace to be that way. But we’ll talk more about that on Friday!
About Amy: 
Author of An Unexpected Legacy, Faith and Hope, and Saving Grace. Amy R Anguish grew up a preacher’s kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good. Learn more and connect:
Amy’s Website Amy’s Facebook Amy’s Twitter
Learn more about her books: Amy’s Pinterest
Check out the YouTube channel she does with two other authors: Once Upon a Page
About the book – What if saving Grace doesn’t mean what she thinks it does?
Michelle Wilson’s one goal in life was to become a top journalist at the local paper back in her hometown of Cedar Springs, AR. But on the way to bringing that dream to reality, a life-changing wreck interrupts Michelle’s plans and adds an orphaned baby into the mix. Now, she has tough decisions ahead—did God put her in that accident to save baby Grace? And if so, why is it so hard to convince everyone else she should be the baby’s new mommy?
Greg Marshall has been Michelle’s best friend his whole life. He’s thrilled she’s moving back home, but not so sure about her sudden desire to be a single mom. His feelings for her have grown through the years, but she’s never seemed to notice. Can he help Michelle with the adoption and grow their relationship at the same time?
Watch: Saving Grace Book Trailer
Questions for Readers: Did your romantic relationship start as a friendship? Do you prefer Darcy or Knightley? I’d love to hear!
Thanks so much for having me today!
Yes mine did start out as a friend then turn romantic! Mr. Darcy hands down
Nice! Everyone loves Mr Darcy, right?
Hey Amy, glad to have you here today. My husband and I are best friends, but the romance came first in our case. Here’s my confession, I don’t read classics and I’ve never read any of the books you mentioned and have no clue who Darcy or Knightly are. Did I mention I like contemporaries?
Oh Shannon! You’re breaking my heart! 🙂
Amy, We have the same taste in men, at least the classic ones. And for a time in grade school, I liked a boy named Greg Marshall. Saving Grace just jumped to the top of my reading list!
Rita, what a crazy coincidence! Such a small world… at least when it comes to names. 🙂
Sounds like a great book- Saving Grace!
Thanks so much, Barb!
When I met my second half, my cousin was in love with him … sigh (she is the one who introduced us 😉 I didn’t even like his name…
Well, we started to hang out together and there was a beautiful person inside that I got to know. Three months later we started dating and he proposed five months after that. My biggest supporter and my best friend!
I love this story so much! Thanks for sharing.