In all those fairy tales we heard as children, the girl meets the prince, falls in love, and the story ends with "and they lived happily ever after." But as soon as we hit adolescence, we realize that life just isn't like that. We see our parents arguing (or divorcing); we experience our own relationship disappointments.

In the Broadway musical, Into the Woods, the first act ends with all the characters getting what they wished for—thus, a "happy ever after" ending. Or is it? What I love about this show is that there is an Act Two, and in this story—as in real life—life intervenes. The Prince's eye wanders, an angry Giant wreaks havoc on the town, and a boy loses his mother, to name a few interruptions to everyone's happiness.

I see this as a true reflection of our own lives. We reach a certain level of happiness, but life always interrupts, doesn't it? There's always something that disrupts our "happy ever after."

In my latest novel, Sea Glass Memories, thirty-something Elena Jeffries watches a professional production of Into the Woods and confesses to herself that she doesn't believe in happy-ever-afters. After all, she met and married the love of her life and they were living their own version of happiness when the greatest interruption of all—death—took him away. Who could believe in happiness after that?

Through the laughter and the tears, I’ve felt something subtle inside of me shift. Nothing in life is ever exactly the way we imagine it to be. How could it be? We are always changing, and life always seems to throw obstacles in our path, no matter where we are on our journey, and sometimes those obstacles show up in the way of loss. What was that line in one of the songs? "Sometimes people leave us halfway through the woods." Unfortunately, I know that to be true. But isn’t it also true that our journeys can be interrupted by what we find in addition to what we lose?

I think Elena is onto something here! Is happiness something that comes to us and stays with us always? Should we even expect it to? Or does it ebb and flow like waves on the shore?

And what about living "happily ever after?" Is that even possible? I know that real life and real relationships also ebb and flow through all of the emotions. Do I always feel happy with my husband? Of course not . . . Life has thrown SO many interruptions our way. Do I still love him? Absolutely! In that sense, happy-ever-after seems to be a choice that we make, no matter what life throws at us.

As for the books I write, and the books I read, I have to admit I enjoy a happy ending, an ending that satisfies and gives me a feeling of completion. The thing about novels is that there has to be an ending, right? But who knows what will happen next for the characters? In my imagination, I like to think that they will ebb and flow with life's surprises and emotions. After all, that is what constitutes a real happy-ever-after, isn't it?

Do you agree? I'd love to hear what you think about this. Please send a reply to this email or fill out the short questionnaire in the give-away section below.

 🏆 December Give-Away Winners 🏆

a paperback copy of One Day in December, by Josie Silver.

Elizabeth from Tennessee

Darlene from Nebraska

The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins is a thoroughly enJOYable book for anyone who loves books, libraries, and a little romance.

Sarah Dove is no ordinary bookworm. To her, books have always been more than just objects: they live, they breathe, and sometimes they even speak. When Sarah grows up to become the librarian in her quaint Southern town of Dove Pond, her gift helps place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Recently, however, the books have been whispering about something out of the ordinary: the arrival of a displaced city girl named Grace Wheeler.

To enter, just fill out the short form here

and I'll do a random drawing

I will send you an email notice that you've won,

(NOTE: I use the random generator at random.org to choose the winners

Greetings! Thanks for reading my author newsletter! This is me with the love of my life, my husband Jeff, recently at Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, getting ready to see an amazing performance of the musical Children of Eden.

In between newsletters, I'll be posting more often on Instagram, my blog, and/or my Facebook Author page, so please be sure to visit me there too.

Also, don't forget to enter our February fiction give-away, The Book Charmer, by Karen Hawkins.