When my kids were in elementary school one of the popular Valentine party games was a matching game. Room moms cut large paper hearts, then cut them in half and wrote the names of popular “couples” on each half . . . Romeo and Juliet, Beauty and the Beast, Hans Solo and Princess Leia, etc. The idea was for the kids to find their match.

It was just a fun way to pass some time during the classroom Valentine party. But it reminds me how fictional couples capture our hearts. So much so, that some book and movie couples become legend.

One of my favorite couples goes way back to childhood reading – Loved reading about the budding romance between Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder and their eventual marriage. A couple of other favorites: Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy (of course), and Matt and Meredith from Judith McNaught’s novel “Paradise.” Movies also are a source of some of the greatest romances. A few that come to mind: Rose and Jack from Titanic, Sally and Harry, When Harry Met Sally, Ian and Toulah in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

It’s Valentine’s Day, so let’s have some fun. Everyone share your favorite couples!

Authors, take a few lines to introduce us to your “couple” characters. I’ll go first:

Darlene

From my novel “Unexpected Legacy,” fiction with romantic elements: Matt Dalton is about to meet his 16-year-old son for the first time. Kate Austen is an interim high school principal fighting to make her mark in a man’s world. Sparks fly when the two clash over the best approach to Matt’s son’s recovery given the recent tragedy in his life. Unexpected Legacy

Theresa Hupp’s latest novel, Forever Mine: Love Along the Oregon Trail, is the story of Esther and Daniel, who are emigrating with their families in a wagon train to Oregon in 1847. Esther and Daniel fall in love, but what chance does their romance have, when their fathers argue at every turn of the trail and their travels bring only danger, disease, and death? https://www.amazon.com/Forever-Mine-Along-Oregon-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B0797F39SL

When I was young I watched Roy Rogers and Dale Evans on a black and white tube TV and fell in love with the “singing cowboys/girls.” Today, as a writer of suspense and time travel, I’ve logged a number of characters. My first novel, Return of the French Blue, features Catalina Syrah and Nicholas Bonhomme. The story takes place in the California Wine Country, and the beautiful coast of southern France. Pit two strong spies against each other who desperately want to retrieve the legendary French Blue diamond—and you have the makings of a suspense-packed novel. The settings couldn’t be more beautiful, and the characters—oh my! I still see them in my dreams.  Please indulge at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BDBKTS     Pamela B. Eglinski

Scroll through the comments below to discover other fave couples!