GAAHHHH! Why Bridget Jones Rocks

The Bridget Jones Soundtrack rocks. This is the one with the bonus tracks and it's only available from Great Britain. I loved this movie and the book (although I was a bit disappointed in Hollywood's treatment of the second one, but still loved the book) and I think Renee Zelwegger did a fabulous job in both movies.

Anyway, I just finished balancing the checking accounts and seeing which bills I can pay this week and which can wait until next week (raise your hand if you play this game, too!), and I put on this soundtrack because it always has a way of putting me in a good mood. Well, the entire movie puts me in a good mood and a good writing mood. I love romantic comedies and Bridget Jones is one of my all-time favorite movies. And who wouldn't want to be her kissing the absolutely yummy Mark Darcy (the oh-so-delectable Colin Firth!) at the end? That is one helluva kiss. Whenever I watch it, I jab hubby in the ribs and say, "THAT's how I want to be kissed!"

This is why I write romance. I love romance. I love the boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, fight, kiss, make-up, and live happily ever after. I have always been a romantic, from the earliest I can remember. I have never read Danielle Steele simply because there is too much tragedy involved. I don't want to read about tragedy. I want to escape that world. And even if there is a hint of tragedy in my books, there will always be a happy ending. ALWAYS. And - there will always be a passionate kiss involved!

I am one of those people that is strongly affected by movies. Watching Bridget Jones releases some sort of endorphins or something because I just feel so darn good after watching it and I want to channel that feeling into my books. But if a movie is a downer or explores subjects I am very sensitive about - for example, the movie on cable today was called "Nicholas' Gift" about a little boy who dies in a car shooting and his parents donate his organs - I'll avoid it at all cost, except I didn't make that decision until and I sat there watching it, tears rolling down my cheeks. Midway through, I thought, WHY am I watching this? It will make me feel depressed the rest of the day! And yes, it would have, which is why I promptly got off the couch and went to do the dishes.

It's the same with a book. If a book does not end happily, I'll mope around for hours or days. I simply do not want to write a book that will leave me in such a depressed mood. Real life does that enough already!

So Bridget Jones rocks because she's quirky and funny and she is slightly overweight and doesn't care if she makes a fool out of herself - and I can SO RELATE to her. And I'd rather relate to the good stuff in my novels than the bad stuff. No, we can't bury our head in the sand, but we can choose what we want to surround ourselves with. I choose the positive!