I like background noise when I'm working. Recently, I was watching Chocolat and it struck me how great the movie is. Johnny Depp (in addition to being sexy) has an amazing on screen presence. His chemistry with Juliet Binoche was brilliant.

Their relationship was doomed and they both knew it. Still, they grabbed ahold of the time they had and made the most of it. They ignored what the townspeople thought. They thought about what was best for them.

More than that even, this movie reminded me of many of the subtleties that we as romance writers put in our stories. Life is hard. Secrets can be ugly. Hate and bias impacts us all. Tragedy strikes. But no matter how dark times grow, no matter how hopeless life may seem to be, there is the hope of something better.

Embrace the joy of life!