Are you a daydream believer? Does love lie bleeding in yer hands? Has cupid's arrow hit a Hazzardite in the posterior? Or are you simply a fan of the Valentine's Day Massacre ?

Write a story and tell us all about it. I'm lookin' for Valentine's Day / Romance fics! Yes, you can show a fun-filled date between Daisy and Enos - or, have Miz Tizdale chase Uncle Jesse around the post office. You can show Bo Duke falling for Girl Du Jour, or maybe Daisy gets another disappointment from the latest drifter-passing-through-Hazzard. Happy or sad, 1-pagers or full stories, it's up to you!

NOTE, there's just a couple of ground rules, which I'm sure you've anticipated, given our family audience:

1) Keep it at PG-13 and under, please

2) Traditional gender pairings, either "boy-meets-girl" or "girl-meets-boy."

Any questions, just ask me. I'd like these in by 02/10 at the latest, so I can get them posted before Valentine's Day.

Send your completed stories to : briancoltrane@yahoo.com

Have fun!

Brian

We are true "Daydream Believer"s (and avid fans of the Monkees who covered that song ) and while we have already done over 10 ways Enos and Daisy should have gotten married, we will certainly ransack our brains for the latest edition specifically for Single's Awareness Day...oh, I mean...(grimaces) Valentines Day. We are not bitter...nor are we ever sarcastic.

We also appreciate your specific ground rules (esp. rule #2). We've seen too many Harry Potter fan-fics go in a scary direction.

There's definately a few things worth avoiding on the net, and that, Jamanda, would be one of 'em!

Anyhow, a couple of people have asked me for some tips on writing romance stories. ( That's like asking a cat for swimming pointers, y'all.) But in the interest of bein' helpful, I give you the following.

ROMANCE WRITING MADE EASY!

Here’s a fun guide you can use to build your story framework. Pick an answer for each item:

The hero of the story is a:

1. Soldier

2. Pirate

3. Highwayman

4. Aspiring Politician

5. Celtic Warrior

The hero’s heart has been scarred by personal tragedy. Namely:

1. Death of previous lady love

2. Death of entire family

3. Death of dog

4. Casino losses

5. Missed breakfast

The hero, despite his wayward life, is noble and lovable because:

1. He’s filthy rich

2. He looks good in costume

3. He has a good heart

4. He has one or two friends

5. He sprang for pizza last Friday night

The hero initially doesn’t care for the heroine in the story, because:

1. She’s a tart

2. She’s one of the enemy

3. She’s smarter than he is

4. She doesn’t like football

5. She talks too much

The hero finally falls in love with the heroine because:

1. Opposites attract

2. She’s charming beneath all that sarcasm

3. She’s beautiful

4. He feels sorry for her after treating her awful through most of the story

5. All the other women hate his guts

The heroine, after enduring suffering and endless sacrifice to prove her courage and love, eventually:

1. Tells the hero to go chase himself

2. Tells the hero she’s carrying his baby

3. Tells the hero she’s actually a princess who’s filthy rich

4. Tell the hero she didn’t mean it when she pelted him with rocks

5. Tells the hero she’ll marry him

There ya go! Nothin’ to it.

Brian