Book Blurb:
Ida Deloraine intends to build herself a new life and a new career in catering, after a painful divorce. When the much younger Ethan Holt moves in across the street, an innocent flirtation quickly becomes serious when the two realise their age difference is no barrier to all-consuming passion.But Ethan is the exact opposite of what Ida is looking for in a sexual partner. He is young and vibrant, with his life and his dreams still ahead of him, whereas hers are all in the past. Can Ethan, who is fighting his own demons in the form of a car accident, failed marriage and forced career change, convince Ida to overcome the past and live for the moment?And just who is educating who in this cougar encounter?
Guest Post by Jennifer Lynne
Welcome, Jennifer.
Thank you Kat for having me here at Forever Book Lover as today's guest author.
Maintaining the romance in a blended family
I'm in that exact situation myself. My partner of seven years and I finally decided to move in together just over a year ago, and we subsequently sold our individual homes and bought a place together, with my two teenage children and his young adult son, and as an occasional visitor, his daughter. (And my cat, of course!).
Easy, we thought. Settle down now into a life of bliss, where each of us no longer has to live alone as a single parent and make all those decisions without support from a loving partner.
Hmm. Not quite that easy. The main issues I've found in being part of a blended family are in relation to the children – setting limits and boundaries (particularly for teenagers), discipline, and expectations of behavior. The biggest piece of advice I would give anyone considering blending families is not to directly discipline the other person's child/children. If you have an issue with behavior then speak with the child's parent, privately, and ask that they discipline their own child, keeping to the rules and expectations that you both set up before moving in together. And do set some ground rules, beforehand, so that you know what each other's expectations are.
Most of all, though, the challenge in blending families is to build in time for yourselves as a couple. It can be really hard in the midst of day-to-day family living to maintain the romance of what is, after all, a successful enough relationship that you wanted to live together in the first place!
Going to the movies is one thing we enjoy as a couple. Luckily my partner loves cooking, so we enjoy spending time in the kitchen devising gourmet meals that we test (usually epic fails) on the kids. Even going for a walk together in the evening – especially in summer when it gets dark a lot later – can be quite pleasant, too. And it doubles as exercise – great for time management!
About the Author:
Find Jennifer on the web at:
If you'd like to follow my tour, next stop will be Reading Romances on Mar 16th, where I'll be discussing the so-called "cougar" phenomenon.
Ok, reader, let's hear from you. The more you comment at the other blog stops, the better your chances of winning.
Thank you for hosting Jennifer today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me to visit today!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though you handled your blended family quite well. I never had that problem,and I don't know if I would have been able to be quite as good as you at dealing with it.
ReplyDeleteYour story sounds fun. I married someone younger than myself. It worked.
Hi Mom Jane, great to see you here today! We certainly have good and bad moments at our place, but I suspect that would be the same whether the family was blended or...well...not blended! Teenagers! There's a fair age difference between my partner and I as well, though I'm the younger one. An ability to choose based on mutual attraction, not on someone's age, is really precious, isn't it.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck on your tour promoting your books! The "Cougar" thing is something new to me as far as hearing about, but I think when someone finds love it is so wonderful that I hope that will allow the potential partners to overcome a difference in age!
ReplyDeleteHi Vamp Writer
ReplyDeleteI agree! I love the idea that two adults have the freedom to choose who to love, regardless of their age. Thanks so much for stopping by :)
I'm not in a blended family relationship, but I can see how it would take work. The joys would be amazing though.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I'm not in a blended family and we don't have any kids. It sounds like you're doing a good job of keeping the communication open and also keeping a focus on your "couplehood." Keep making that time for the two of you--without the kids. You want to see each other as a partner, not just a parent.
ReplyDelete@marybelle
ReplyDeleteHi Marybelle, lovely to see you here. And yes, there are definite pitfalls in a blended family relationship that take some getting used to. But so worth it!
@Catherine Lee
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine, thanks for commenting! Yes, I think the key is to make time for each part of the family - for you both as a couple, overall as a family, and for each parent to have time with their own children as well. Easier said than done in these busy times, I can tell you!
Hi Karen, lovely to see you here - and never too late to join the party!
ReplyDeleteI want to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the book tour for Educating Ethan. I’ve had a wonderful time chatting over the past three weeks - meeting fellow book lovers and engaging in some really in-depth discussions about love and relationships. I hope we can keep in touch via Twitter, Facebook or at my own blog.
ReplyDeleteThe giveaway draw is now closed and I’ll be announcing the WINNERS on my blog in a few hours' time: http://www.jenniferlynne.com.au/blog
You can find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/JenniLynnAuthor or FB at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-Lynne-Romance-Author/297504180262670
Once again, thank you everyone!